In order 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, or its designated
authority, before the deadline stated by the Commission for that specific
examination. The applicant must make an oath or affirmation that the
application is completed truthfully, and the applicant is subject
to 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 policy
of both the Township and the Commission 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. The
Township and the Commission will provide equal opportunities in employment
and promotion.
Application forms shall be available to all interested persons
in the office of the Township Police Department, 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 a delay in the mail.
Applications for positions in the Police Department shall be
received at the office of the Township Police Department, or at the
location of the designated authority, only after a hiring or promotional
test has been properly advertised and before the deadline for receiving
applications which must be set forth in the public advertisement.
Applications will be received by the municipal officer designated
in the public advertisement or that official's designee. That
municipal officer 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. 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.
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. In addition, 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 appointment, possess a valid motor vehicle
operator's license issued by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Applicants must have completed and passed or be enrolled in the police
officers' training course approved by the Municipal police officers'
Education and Training Commission (MPOETC) as set forth in 53 Pa.C.S.A.
§ 2161 et seq. at the time of application. An applicant
must have completed and passed the course prior to being eligible
for appointment or qualify for a waiver of training from the Pennsylvania
Municipal police officers Education and Training Commission.
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, which shall include providing any false or misleading
information or material omissions at any time during the examination
or investigation process. In addition, the Commission may refuse to
examine, or if examined, may refuse to certify, any applicant who
is physically or mentally unfit to perform the full duties of the
position applied for, or who is illegally using a controlled substance,
as defined in Section 102 of the Controlled Substances Act (Public
Law 91-513, 21 U.S.C. § 802), who has been guilty of any
crime involving moral turpitude, or of infamous or notoriously disgraceful
conduct, or who has been dismissed from public service for delinquency
or misconduct in office, or who 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 the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania.
Any applicant who is aggrieved by the actions of the Commission
in refusing to examine or to certify the applicant as eligible after
examination may request a hearing before the Commission. Within 10
days after such request, the Commission shall designate a time and
place for a public hearing, with or without counsel, which shall be
conducted pursuant to the procedures set forth in the Local Agency
Law, 2 Pa.C.S.A. § 101 et seq. The applicant must make his
request for a hearing in writing within 10 calendar days of the date
when the applicant knew or should have known of the Commission's
action which is being challenged. The request for a hearing shall
be addressed to the Chairperson of the Commission and delivered to
the Township Police Department office. At the hearing the Commission
shall consider evidence and review its refusal to provide examination
or certification. The decision of the Commission shall be final.
The Commission shall conspicuously post in the Township Building
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. 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.