Nesquehoning is weighing whether or not it needs to have new police applicants take polygraph tests as a requirement before hiring.

On Wednesday, Councilman Don DeMarco raised the question after state police removed the polygraph requirement from its process for applicants."If the state police aren't going to have polygraph tests anymore, why should we?" DeMarco asked.Borough secretary/treasurer RoniSue Ahner said the polygraph has helped the borough weed out potential applicants who may not be a proper fit for the job in the past.DeMarco said a reason he is bringing this up is the cost of the tests that the borough must pay.Ahner agreed, but said that without it, the borough would also incur costs for uniforms and training and may then find out something that may have been caught in a polygraph."It's a tossup," she said.Council said that it would speak with police Chief Sean Smith, who reviews the polygraph test results, to see what his feelings were on the matter and will continue to evaluate the necessity for the future.Other businessIn other matters, council acted on or discussed the following items:• Set the tax collector compensation, effective 2018, at 3 percent for money collecting during the discount period and 5 percent of tax money collected in the base and penalty periods.• Approved Brior Environmental Services at the sewage enforcement officer for 2017.• Reappointed David Hawk to a five-year term on the borough water authority.• Voted to advertise a proposed ordinance regarding key lockboxes for the three borough fire departments, any business who opts into the program and habitual false alarm offenders. The upfront cost to equip five firetrucks would be approximately $3,290 with the approximately $350 cost for each box for a business or residence on the property owner. The fire chiefs are in agreement of the program, but there are some reservations within council that will be further discussed before any formal action to implement the ordinance is taken.• Mayor Sam Kitchko reported that for the month of December, the police collected $1,728.83; issued 31 citations; had eight crashes, three reportable; reported on a total of 467 incidents; and drove 3,030 while on patrol.• The next electronics recycling event will be held from 2 to 5 p.m. on May 23 near the recycling bins on Locust Street.