Police department eliminates lieutenant position

HAMBURG — Just over a year after Hamburg opted to eliminate the position of police chief in favor of the more cost-friendly civilian police director, Hamburg’s Borough Council voted 4-2 to eliminate the position of lieutenant from the borough’s police force.

The two dissenting votes came from Councilwoman Joyce Oehler and Councilman Russell Law.

Oehler, the more vocal of the two at the March 4 mayor and council meeting, said “It kind of makes me nervous” to lose the position of lieutenant. As the majority of Hamburg’s seven-officer force is very young, she added, she fears the officers will feel like they don’t have any potential for promotion.

Mayor Paul Marino agreed the department is young, but said the seven-person department does not need three ranking officers to oversee four patrol officers. As of now, there is only one sergeant on the force, but the department is in the process of promoting a second from their pool of patrol officers.

Additionally, the position of lieutenant is seen more as an administrative position and the majority of the council believes Civilian Police Director Wayne Yahm is handling the administration of the department “pretty well,” according to Marino. The promotion of a second sergeant will serve to assist with some of those duties while still being a presence on patrol.

“We have an administrator in place,” Councilman Dan Barr said. “The department is too small to put another one in.”

“We need these people on the road,” Councilman Mark Sena agreed.

“We’re trying to keep the costs down over there,” Marino said. “If people want to move on [because of the lack of potential promotion], we fill the spots.”

While the difference in salary between sergeant and lieutenant is only $2,000 yearly, Yahm said the move is more to keep police presence on the road, where it belongs.

“I haven’t heard any grumblings” from the force about the loss of the position — which hasn’t been filled since former Chief Jan Wright held it before becoming chief in 2008, Yahm said.

The borough hopes to promote their second sergeant by May, at the latest, Yahm added.

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