Weatherly Borough Council may have run afoul of the state’s Sunshine Law Monday night when appointing a police chief following an executive session for personnel.

Council unanimously appointed Sgt. Michael Bogart as police chief pending the union’s agreeing to a side letter regarding his benefits.

The appointment of a police chief, however, was not listed on council’s agenda for the meeting as required by the state’s Sunshine Law.

Agendas must be posted 24 hours ahead of a meeting and detail items for deliberation and voting. Council can only take action on non-agenda items if they are minor or an emergency, under the law.

“If the issue was not on the agenda, it should not have been discussed or acted upon at the meeting, unless there was an emergency,” said Melissa Melewsky, media law counsel for Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association in Harrisburg.

An amended agenda would also need to be posted afterward, if the action met the exceptions, she said. Weatherly had not posted an updated agenda on its website as of Thursday morning.

“This is a Sunshine Act issue that creates potential liability for the borough,” Melewsky said. “The fact that an issue was discussed in executive session does not allow it to be added to the agenda during the meeting.”

Neither Borough Manager Harold Pudliner or Borough Solicitor James Nanovic could not be reached for comment regarding the matter.

Bogart believes the action wasn’t official until the side letter is signed, and he had not been approached about it yet, he said on Thursday. He remains at the rank of sergeant, he said.