Police News from Baldwin Borough Council Meeting (Sept. 20)

Promotions

The Baldwin Borough Council was faced with three proposed promotions within the  on Tuesday night.

For one, the promotion of Officer Thomas Kearns to the rank of sergeant was passed by unanimous vote.

For the others, when council President Michael Stelmasczyk’s invited comments from council members, Councilman Bob Collet prefaced his forthcoming roll call votes by saying that his opposition to the promotions of Sergeants Craig Cavlovic and Matthew Kearns to lieutenants was not based on criticisms of their personal or professional lives.

Collet said that his vote was governed by his position as Chair of the Personnel Committee and that he didn’t think that the borough should have changed its existing plan to promote officers without trying the first plan that it had for an appropriate period of time.

Stelmasczyk voiced his reasons for also opposing the promotions. Noting that he had nothing against the named officers, he said that, organizationally, Stelmasczyk did not think that the promotions were a good direction for the borough, as they would add an additional layer of bureaucracy that he did not think was necessary at this time.

Baldwin Borough Mayor Alexander R. Bennett Jr. responded to Stelmasczyk’s remarks. Bennett said that, while he recognizes Stelmasczyk’s concerns over the expenditures associated with the promotions, he believes that the promotions have been a long time coming and that they should be made to bring the police department into the 21st century.

At the conclusion of comments time, the council voted on Cavlovic’s and Matthew Kearns’ promotions, each of which passed by a vote of 5-2. Collet and Stelmasczyk voted against the promotions.

The policemen were sworn in by Bennett to their newly appointed positions and received a standing ovation from members of the audience.

Peterson Praises Police Practices

Bennett summarized a letter that he received from resident Tom Peterson pertaining to Peterson’s impression of police services provided in response to three calls to his residence on Sept. 14.

Portions of the letter that Bennett read included accolades of the demeanor, courtesy and politeness of the four officers who assisted Peterson on the calls to his home. Peterson wanted to let the mayor know of the good things that his police department had done.

and officers John Prilla, Michael Snider and Luke Sedar were the policemen who served Peterson on that date, and each were present on Tuesday night to stand before council in acknowledgement of their praise.

Say “Go” to Drugs

Baldwin Borough police Chief Michael Scott announced that his department will once again be participating in the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s National (Drug) Take-Back Initiative on Oct. 22.

Any person interested in safely disposing of unused or unwanted drugs of any type can drop them off at the Baldwin police station, no questions asked, on or before Oct. 22.

Scott said that fliers will be posted containing information about the program. Moeller suggested that Scott post fliers in area libraries and churches in order to reach more of the public. Scott said that he will consider doing this in addition to posting fliers in pharmacies and nursing homes like his department did prior to previous take-back dates.