Lansford Borough wants more information on a countywide police testing consortium, as it searches for a new police chief and additional officers.

Council on Wednesday moved to allow the public safety committee to obtain information from Jim Thorpe and Lehighton police departments on forming a consortium.

“This consortium will be a central collection point for advertising and obtaining applications,” Council Vice President John Turcmanovich said. “They will do a very basic screening of the applicants.

“When a municipality needs officers and puts in a request for officers, the applicant list will be made available to the municipality,” he said, “And the municipality can take it from there.”

Turcmanovich explained the municipality can then contact the officers and see if they’re interested.

“If they are, we start our own screening and our own testing process,” he said. “This will provide us a pool of applicants. Instead of, as people say, ‘without spending a fortune on advertising in newspapers.’”

The borough did advertise for police officers in several newspapers in the region, including the Times News, and papers in Hazleton and Pottsville, with no takers.

The borough did not advertise in an Allentown newspaper, because the same ad was nearly three times the cost as the other papers.

Turcmanovich reported last week that Mayor Hugh Vrablic and the officer-in-charge, Shawn Nunemacher, were screening an applicant for a police officer position. That hire did not pan out, he said this week.

Council President Bruce Markovich asked if there was any cost involved with the consortium, and Turcmanovich replied, “From what I understand so far, no.”

Earlier in the meeting, Vrablic asked if the borough could advertise for officers through the state Chiefs of Police Association, as they did with the search for a new police chief.

Markovich said they could get prices from the association the next day.

Council also fielded questions regarding security cameras for police and other borough property, using COVID-relief funds for police sign-on bonuses and how many vacant positions for police there are.

Councilman Martin Ditsky said they have the chief’s position open and they were looking at hiring another officer, in addition to a chief.

“I would like to see two additional police officers, which means we’re going to have cut someplace else,” he said, referring to the next year’s budget, which council has begun working on.

Police chief

The first round of interviews for the police chief is set for Oct. 20. Five applicants will be interviewed by the association, and ranked based on test scores.

Borough council along with an association representative will interview the candidates in the second round. Markovich said he expects council will interview all five applicants at that time.

Markovich did not know how long the process will take after the first round interviews, but believes council may need a special meeting to hire a police chief if the process isn’t over by the next monthly council meeting.

There was some discussion that one of the applicants would be away on vacation when the first round interviews were scheduled.

Markovich said the applicant agreed to interview via ZOOM, but there was disagreement on whether he would or should interview that way.

“No, he’s not going to do it via ZOOM,” Ditsky said. “You do something via ZOOM. We don’t do council meetings via ZOOM.”

Markovich said he agreed to it, and Councilwoman Jennifer Staines said the man would be in Florida with his family.

On Thursday, Nunemacher, who is one of the applicants for police chief, confirmed he would be out of state on a Disney vacation with his family when the first round of interviews is scheduled.

“I’m going to try my best to take the interview,” he said, but noted that he doesn’t know where he will be when the ZOOM call happens as they have paid in advance for special events and attractions while away.

Nunemacher said he asked if he was able to change the interview date, but was told by the association that was not possible.

“I wish I could have the same interview process as everyone else,” he said.