It is the belief of Pottsville’s solicitor that there is still a vacancy for the rank of Sergeant on the city’s police force.
Solicitor Ed Brennan said Monday that he’s spoken with a new attorney representing Officer Jonathan Randolph. Brennan said “we have not heard anything on that grievance so at this point, the vacancy is still pending.”
Back in July, Randolph returned to the job after a period of administrative leave. It’s not been publicly disclosed why he was on leave. In the same week of his return to the Pottsville Police force, he was promoted to the rank of Sergeant and a swearing-in ceremony was held at City Hall.
But at the August meeting of City Council, council members were asked to vote to ratify that promotion. They did not, voting 4-1 against ratification. Only Mayor Bill Messaros voted in favor.
Few words have been said publicly about this situation. During that regular August meeting, prior to casting a No vote, Councilwoman Dottie Botto said, “I have to say, I know this may put us in a not good position but morally, I can not vote ‘Yes’ to this, so my answer is ‘No’.”
During that same meeting, on the advice of Brennan, the council did vote to authorize the Civil Service Board to certify a list of eligible candidates for promotion to Sergeant.
At a special meeting of Pottsville City Council later in August, Randolph was represented by attorney BJ Evans, who argued that council members could not legally vote against a grievance that his client had filed after his promotion was not ratified.
Evans argued that the City’s Collective Bargaining Agreement with the police union forces them to accept the Mayor’s recommendation for the promotion to Sergeant. He said it does not give the right to council members to select who gets promoted.
After meeting behind closed doors for about two hours after hearing Evans’ argument, City Council members ultimately voted unanimously to deny Randolph’s grievance.
Again, few words were spoken publicly. In a conversation with The Canary afterward, Councilwoman Cat Mahon once again referenced morality in discussing the situation with Randolph but left out specifics.
“Our job is to think of the people who live here and their safety. You can’t put a price on morality. There’s the right thing to do and we need to own up to what we did,” Mahon said.
On Monday, Brennan provided a brief update on the Randolph promotion or lack thereof, and added, “My legal opinion is that the vacancy has not been filled. It is subject to grievance, which has not yet been scheduled.”
FULL COVERAGE:
- Pottsville Council’s Vote to Deny Police Officer’s Grievance Could Result in Legal Battle
- Pottsville Council Votes Against Police Sergeant’s Promotion After He Was Sworn In
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