Ford City Police Chief Paul Hughes and Mayor Jeff Cogley review various reports given at Monday night’s Council meeting.
Ford City Mayor Jeff Cogley during his monthly report to Council Monday night said, “A lot of changes are going on in the police department… catching up on things not done in years.”
Following the meeting, Cogley explained some of those changes.
“New standard operating procedures (SOPs), police procedures - we got them finalized. We are just waiting for Council to look them over. Job descriptions, duty descriptions - we haven’t had them updated in a long time. They were tasked to the past couple chiefs we had, but they weren’t able to get to them for some reason or another. So we finally got them taken care of.”
As part of the administration in the police department, Police Sergeant Robert Yough updated Council about a business registration system that is currently being developed in case of emergency.
Sgt. Robert Yough explained to Ford City Council an updated procedure for contacting businesses and organizations in case of emergency.
“We have been going through emergency contact forms for businesses in town,” Yough said. “I sat down and created a new form. I went to 85 businesses (on Friday). It was astonishing that there are so many small businesses in town. I received back 54.This is just for our information in case there is ever an emergency at your business or organization. If there is an alarm, or a door open, we know how to get a hold of somebody. It eliminates the process of playing guessing games. That way we can be on scene when the business owner or the church trustee shows up. We can walk through your business for you and make sure it is safe.”
Police Chief Paul Hughes told Council that the police department had 210 calls within the last month, which is above the same time period last year at this time. He said the department is keeping up and doing more with less personnel.
“This is something we are very proud of. The men and ladies in the department are doing a fantastic job. They should be commended.”
Hughes also said that the police secretary, who is part-time, will be resigning to take a full-time job. He said that applications are now being received for her replacement.
“She did a lot for our department. She helped every one of us. She will be greatly missed.”
The next meeting of Ford City Borough Council will be held on Monday, November 12 at 6:30 PM at the Latin American Club.