Council narrowly approves police chief agreement

JOE LINTNER | COLUMBIA SPY 

Columbia Borough Council voted 4-3 to approve an employment agreement for new police chief Holly Arndt during its May 5 work session, despite concerns about contradictions in the document.

Eric Kauffman, council president, said he, Borough Manager Jack Brommer, and Chief Arndt had reviewed the agreement together, and Kauffman described it as similar to the contract Brommer worked under when he was the borough’s police chief. Arndt also requested that council support her in pursuing a master’s degree in the future.  

Heather Zink, council vice president, said that although she believes Arndt is the right person for the job, she had reservations about the agreement sent to council members the night before the work session.

“It did not match what we had talked about in executive session,” Zink said, noting that the borough’s labor attorney said certain language he had included in the contract had been removed.

Zink also pointed out that council had previously agreed to remove civil service language from the agreement, but the version sent the night before still contained it. According to Zink, that language directly contradicted another provision in the document. Officials didn’t state the specific language of the agreement due to confidentiality constraints. 

The issue boiled down to whether the chief would be an at-will employee, or be entitled to civil service protections. 

“I feel council is being strong-armed into voting for something,” Zink said. “We want a contract that’s going to stand up if there are challenges.”

She also dismissed the argument that the agreement was acceptable because it was similar to Brommer’s agreement. “That was 14 years ago and things change,” she said.

Mayor Leo Lutz defended the agreement and called the labor attorney’s comments largely advisory and “wishy-washy.” “I don’t see any reason to stall this and keep this chief on the hook,” he said.

Council member Ethan Byers moved to table the matter, but the motion failed. Council then voted 4-3 to approve the agreement, despite the concerns over contradictory language. Zink, Byers, and council member Jeanne Cooper voted against the motion.

The action was unusual because council typically does not vote at a work session. Also, the late distribution of the agreement gave council members only a short time to review it.