Residents again raised issues this week about police coverage in Lansford, as borough council wrangles with hiring issues.

For months, resident Tommy Vadyak has complained about noise, fights, drug houses, displays of weapons and other issues in his West Abbott Street neighborhood.

On Tuesday, more residents came forward seeking the 24/7 police protection they thought they had when moving to Lansford and citing the similar concerns.

Louis Vega, who also lives on West Abbott Street, explained that he was told by state police that Lansford has 365-day police protection, which he found isn’t true.

“There were times we tried to contact 911 and were left basically helpless for an hour,” he said. Terrible things could have occurred in between the amount of time we had to wait for the police.

“We had some encounters with some gangsters from Philly,” Vega said. “So, we would like to know what is going on with our police.”

Council members referred questions about police coverage to the mayor, who is in charge of scheduling police officers and noting that some officers were off on vacation.

The borough only has two full-time officers and four part-time officers, Councilwoman Michele Bartek said.

Council pointed out that Mayor Hugh Vrablic usually attends regular council meetings, and they could address concerns with him next week or email him.

Vega was concerned about an officer not having backup while on duty, and also questioned the police department’s funding.

“Their budget is $864,000,” Council President Bruce Markovich said. “We pay more for police officers than any community in this valley. A police officer costs us $142,000 a year per officer.”

Bartek pointed out that rate included benefits, insurance and pay, and officers have a very good benefits package.

Council has wanted to bolster the force, advertising for full- and part officers, but the latest civil service testing produced no eligible candidates to hire.

Markovich said that under the borough’s civil service guidelines, they can’t have an open advertisement for officers, and they must set a deadline for applications.

The borough is working on that advertisement, which will appear on the Pennsylvania Chiefs of Police Association website and other online job search websites, he said.

The deadline will be Sept. 2, and then those applications will be turned over to the Civil Service Commission for testing and ranking, Markovich said.

Civil Service Commission Chairman John Zym said that he wanted to hold a meeting Monday morning to discuss procedures moving forward, including physical agility and order of tests administered.

He also pointed out that the borough gave the commission $500 to hire an attorney, and the going rate is nearly $200 an hour, which gives them two and a half hours of legal counsel. They need more to at least have someone on call, as needed, Zym said.

He also checked into getting an independent party to administer the physical agility tests, and that cost $1,500 in 2021, according to paperwork he received from a past commission member.

Resident Kevin Soberick, who came late to the meeting, told council members that they should not lower the standards for hiring police officers.

“You’re hiring people in the most litigious job in the municipality, and you want to cut corners to just hire person X,” he said. “That’s unacceptable as a police officer. That’s an insult to people that are on the job and have done the job.

“If you can’t pass it, then you don’t get to work as a police officer. That’s the bottom line.”

The Municipal Police Officers’ Education and Training Commission has minimum standards, and some municipalities have added additional standards to better serve their communities, he said.

Soberick also pointed out that they’re opening up the borough to court challenges, if they don’t follow the minimum standards established.

“You should not be bending rules to facilitate people that can’t pass the test,” he said. “The one thing you should be doing is hiring police the right way.”

Soberick worked in law enforcement for 30 years and is a former police chief in Lehigh County. He was one of the top candidates for police chief in 2023, but withdrew his name.

His brother, Jack, is a Lansford councilman and a retired borough police chief. Councilman Soberick was not at the workshop meeting.