HONESDALE, PA — Citing recent local newspaper articles, Victim Intervention Program (VIP) Executive Director Michele Minor-Wolf asked the Honesdale Borough Council at its May 15 meeting why a borough police officer fired for cause in 2015 and reinstated per arbitration decision in 2016 has been assigned responsibility for scheduling borough officer duty rosters.

Minor-Wolf specifically asked Mayor Melody Robinson why Police Chief Rick Southerton was relieved of that duty in the first place, to be replaced first by the mayor and then by a reinstated officer with the rank of sergeant, when a lieutenant would be a more appropriate choice. Her question was echoed by council vice president Bob Jennings. Neither Jennings nor Minor-Wolf got a straight answer to their questions.

Robinson and President Mike Augello said they couldn’t discuss the issue because they were bound by confidentiality constraints of ongoing litigation. “I’d like to shout what I know from a mountaintop,” said Augello. “Our silence is not voluntary. It’s required by law. To do otherwise would be to invite further litigation.” Robinson said personnel issues precluded public discussion of the scheduling decision and refused to elaborate further.

Minor-Wolf, a staff manager herself, said she understood the need for confidentiality regarding personnel issues, adding that she thought some residents might interpret the council’s silence as stonewalling. She said her main concern was that more third shifts (12 midnight to 8 a.m.) are being canceled, and that poses a safety threat to her clients and staff. “Quick response time by borough police has meant the difference between life and death for some of our clients,” said Minor-Wolf. “I doubt Pennsylvania State Police will respond as quickly.”

Minor-Wolf’s life-and-death claim was verified by a VIP staffer who recalled a recent suicide prevention line call; borough police were at the victim’s address within two minutes of the staffer’s 911 call, and there was a favorable outcome.

When asked by Minor-Wolf how May’s duty roster schedule looked, Robinson said there were quite a few uncovered shifts, owing to staffing shortages and poor morale. Staffing shortages have worsened recently, since a directive from the Wayne County Sheriff’s Department has prohibited deputies from working second shifts for other law enforcement agencies. Several of the borough’s part-time officers are sheriff’s department deputies.

The staffing shortages could even result in the end of a long-held holiday tradition, the Honesdale Memorial Day parade. Per May 1 council decision, VFW parade organizers were to submit a plan for traffic direction and crowd control to Southerton for review. They have not yet done so. Asked how many men would be needed for those tasks, Southerton said four or five people certified in traffic control. Fire police are certified and have done the job in years past, but they are volunteers and may or may not show up.

Additionally, Southerton thought 13 people would be needed for crowd control. Poltanis interjected that that job could be outsourced to a professional crowd-control service and the service company’s bill forwarded to the VFW for payment.

Southerton noted that today’s borough force is a far cry from that of the nine full-time officers once on the payroll.