McADOO - McAdoo borough council hired two full-time police officers at a special meeting Monday.
Mayor Dane Watro said Tony DiVirgilio, Zion Grove, was elevated from part-time to full-time status by a 4-3 vote by the council. The voting went along party lines, with council President John Shigo, Marion DeBalko, Clara Preputnick and Joe Madochick, all Democrats, voting in favor of the status change and Republicans Mary Labert, William Slovik and John Perhonitch voting against it.
Watro, a Republican, said he did not have anything against DiVirgilio's work as a part-time officer but was against hiring him full time because he wasn't on the Civil Service Commission list.
"It should have been handled through the civil service list. Why do we have a Civil Service Commission in place?" Watro said.
Watro once served on the Civil Service Commission until it was disbanded by the current council, which has since reinstated it.
The mayor said the candidates on the list are evaluated and ranked based on a number of tests.
Three names were submitted to the council by the commission; all three were at the top of the list.
The top candidate, William Curilla, Hazleton, was hired by council on a 7-0 vote.
DeBalko, who chairs council's police committee, said DiVirgilio was hired full-time because of the fine work he has been doing for the past three years.
"He has done an excellent job part-time and he is well liked by everyone in the borough. We feel he is very good," DeBalko said.
She also said that since the borough did not have three full-time officers when the council moved DiVirgilio to full-time status, the council did not have to hire strictly from the civil service list. She noted that Curilla, who was at the top of the list, was hired right after DiVirgilio.
Curilla and DiVirgilio join Chief Jeff Wainwright as McAdoo's full-time police officers along with Alfred Walsh, who has not worked for more than a year.
The council authorized its solicitor to begin action to separate Walsh from his employment with the borough.
Watro said he learned from Wainwright that part-time officer James Patterson, a Navy veteran, submitted his letter of resignation. Patterson worked for the borough for about a year. The council is expected to act on his resignation at next month's meeting according to Watro.
DeBalko said the borough now has about six part-time officers to complement the three full-time officers. She also noted that she is sorry to see Patterson leaving because he, too, did a good job for the borough.
"It's such a positive thing for the borough to now have three full-time police officers again," DeBalko said.