Lehighton has welcomed its newest full-time police officer into the fold.

At Monday’s borough council meeting, Mayor Ryan Saunders swore in Robert Howard.

In August, council hired Howard, which now gives the police department 12 full-time officers.

That came after council on a 5-0 vote in June approved a $2,000 sign-on bonus for entry level employees.

One full-time officer position remains open, borough police Chief Troy Abelovsky said after Monday’s meeting.

He said his hope was that the department would have another full-time officer by the end of the year.

In May, council unanimously agreed to dissolve the civil service list and advertise/test to establish a new hiring list.

That decision came after it agreed in April following a 75-minute executive session on a 6-0 vote to hire candidate No. 1 as a full-time patrol officer, pending acceptance of a conditional offer and completion of a background check.

Abelovsky said in May “he took another option that was more conducive to his schedule.”

As a result, Abelovsky said they would go back to the process of re-advertising and establishing a new eligibility list.

In February, council had agreed to waive the $45 application fee for entry level testing for police officer positions for 2025.

Contractual salary ranges from $62,592 to $86,795 (based upon prior experience) through 2026.