To be eligible for participation in any examination for any position
with the Police Department, every applicant must submit a completed
application form to the Commission before the deadline stated by the
Commission for that specific examination.
Editor's Note: Former Subsection B, requiring that applicants
successfully complete ACT 120 training before completing the testing
process, amended 1-14-2013 by Ord. No. 2674, was repealed 4-12-2021
by Ord. No. 2928-2021.
The applicant must verify that the application is completed fully
and truthfully and acknowledge the applicant is subject to disqualification
and/or the penalties of 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 4904 relating to
unsworn falsification to authorities.
The Township is an equal opportunity employer. It is the Township's
and the Commission's policy to grant equal employment opportunities
to qualified persons without regard to race, religion, color, national
origin, gender, age, veteran status, marital status or non-job-related
physical or mental handicap or disability.
Application forms shall be available to all interested persons in
the office of Human Resources and from such other offices and officers
that the Commission, from time to time, may choose to designate.
Application forms may be mailed upon written or telephone request.
However, the Commission assumes no responsibility for missed filing
deadlines due to any delay.
All applicants must have reached their 21st birthday before
the deadline for submitting completed applications.
Every applicant for any position in the Police Department shall possess
a diploma from an accredited high school or a graduate equivalency
diploma (GED).
Every applicant must be a United States citizen, be physically and
mentally fit to perform the full duties of a police officer, and,
prior to permanent appointment, possess a valid motor vehicle operator's
license issued by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
In addition to meeting the qualifications in § 32-23 above, all applicants for a promotional position, except Chief of Police, shall have not been suspended without pay for more than five days in the two years prior to the deadline for submitting applications.
Any suspension to which the applicant has timely appealed, pursuant
to a grievance procedure or pursuant to this chapter, shall be disregarded
unless the appeal is resolved prior to the creation of the eligibility
list.
An applicant for the position of Deputy Chief shall have at least
five years combined experience as a Sergeant and/or Lieutenant within
the Police Department.
The Commission may refuse to examine or, if examined, may refuse
to certify as eligible after examination any applicant who is found
to lack any of the minimum qualifications for examination prescribed
in this chapter for the particular position for which the applicant
has applied.
Is affiliated with any group whose policies or activities are subversive
to the forms of government set forth in the constitutions and laws
of the United States and/or the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Any applicant who, through ex parte communication and/or third-party
solicitation, interferes with, attempts to influence, or otherwise
attempts to circumvent the procedures in this chapter or engages in
any deceitful conduct or causes to be made any material misrepresentation
shall be barred for a period of two years from participating in any
examination.
Applications for positions in the Police Department shall be received
at the Township building only after an examination has been properly
advertised in the general manner as set forth in Form A-4[1] and before the deadline for receiving applications which
must be set forth in the public advertisement.
Applications will be received by Human Resources, as designated in
the public advertisement, or the Commission's designee. That person
shall record the receipt of all applications and provide each applicant
with notice of the time and place for the first portion of the testing
procedure, the written examination. Should an applicant provide the
Commission with an e-mail address, he, by doing so, has consented
to receiving, at the Commission's sole discretion, any notices required
under this chapter by e-mail, in a manner that provides confirmation
that the e-mail was received by the applicant.
Any application containing material errors or omissions may, at the
discretion of the Commission, be returned to the applicant for correction
prior to the deadline for filing applications, after which no new
applications or amended applications will be accepted.
Any application which has been amended and/or corrected at the request
of the Commission shall be considered to have been properly filed
on the date and time the amended and/or corrected application is filed.
Any applicants or other persons who believe that they are aggrieved
by the actions of the Commission in refusing to examine or to certify
them as eligible after examination may request, in writing, a hearing
before the Commission.
Within 10 days after receipt of the request, the Commission shall
designate a time and place for the hearing, which shall be conducted
pursuant to the procedures set forth in the Local Agency Law, 2 Pa.C.S.A.
§ 101 et seq., unless continued by the Commission for cause
at the request of the Commission, the appointing authority, or the
appealing party.
The applicant or aggrieved party must make his request for a hearing
in writing to the Administrator, care of Human Resources, Township
of Haverford, 2325 Darby Road, Havertown, Pennsylvania 19083-2251
within 10 calendar days of the date when the party knew or should
have known of the Commission's action which is being challenged.
The Commission shall conspicuously post in the Township Building,
and on the Township website, an announcement of the hiring or promotional
testing and set forth the time and place of every examination, together
with the information as to the type of position to be filled, the
requirements for that position, where applications may be obtained,
and the deadline for filing those applications. The job description
and list of essential job functions for the position to be filled
shall also be posted.
In addition, at least two weeks prior to the close of the application
period, publication of the notice shall occur in at least one newspaper
of general circulation or a newspaper circulating generally in the
Township. The notice shall be of the general manner as set forth in
Form A-4.[1]
The Commission shall, after each step of the examination process,
post anonymously the cumulative scores achieved by all applicants.
Anonymous posting shall be accomplished by using number codes assigned
to each applicant taking the written examination.
The Commission shall, upon the creation of an eligibility list, date
and post said list in a conspicuous place in the Township Building
and Police Department. The date of the list shall commence the one-year
period of the validity of the entry level eligibility list and shall
commence the two-year period for the promotional eligibility list.
The Commission may, at its sole discretion, require that a reasonable
fee be charged in connection with the filing of a preliminary application
to take a written examination for an entry level position under this
chapter.
Any fee required to be paid under this section shall be paid to Haverford
Township at the time of the filing of the preliminary application.
There shall be no fee assessed in connection with any promotional
examination.
The Commission may, at its sole discretion, and without authorization of the appointing authority, adjust any fee permitted under Subsection C above. Any adjustment shall be made at a meeting of the Commission. The amount of any fee required under this chapter shall be stated in all job postings and newspaper notices in the general manner as set forth in Form A-4.
Any applicant whose check is returned shall reimburse the Commission
for any associated fee and may, at the sole discretion of the Commission,
be disqualified from proceeding in the examination.