JOE LINTNER | COLUMBIA SPY
History was made Tuesday night as Columbia Borough Council voted unanimously to approve the promotion of Holly Arndt to Police Chief, making her the first woman to hold the position in the department’s 131-year history.
Arndt succeeds Jack Brommer, who is retiring at the end of April and will assume the position of Columbia Borough Manager on May 1.
Arndt is a graduate of York College, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice. She launched her law enforcement career in 2004 as a corrections officer at York County Prison, and in 2006 became a deputy sheriff with York County. She joined the Columbia Borough Police Department as a patrol officer in March 2008.
Over the course of her 18-year tenure with the department, Arndt became the first — and only — female officer to achieve the rank of lieutenant in the department’s history when she was promoted from sergeant in 2025. She had been promoted to sergeant in November 2023 and corporal in 2019.
During her career, Arndt helped shape the department and was involved in developing a field training program and a defensive tactics program. For the past 11 years, she has served as the primary or secondary trainer for every officer hired by the department. She has also completed the FBI National Academy’s leadership certification program and the Penn State Criminal Justice Program’s police leadership series, and is a graduate of the Northwestern University Center for Public Safety School of Police Staff and Command — an intensive 10-week program for command-level supervisors.
Arndt is a member of the Lancaster County Crash Investigative Unit, the Lancaster County Forensics Team, and the Lancaster County Crisis Intervention Team. In addition, she coaches girls basketball for the CBAA, mentors youth through the Big Brothers Big Sisters “Bigs and Blue” program, serves as a lead instructor at the Harrisburg Area Community College Municipal Police Academy, and contributes to the development of annual in-service training for the Municipal Police Officers Education and Training Commission.
Arndt’s promotion takes effect May 1 at an annual salary of $123,497.
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