Police changes

Chief search continues: Lansdale’s borough council is also still continuing to search for the borough’s next police chief, and Dec. 20 could bring the next step in the process toward filling three open officer positions. “The committee is recommending to council that it come to a vote on the 20th to activate the Civil Service process, to begin to prepare to hire those three additional officers,” said councilman Tom Work, chairman of the Public Safety committee. Longtime police Chief Robert McDyre, Lieutenant Alex Kromdyk and Sgt. Dean Miller all retired in 2017, and council hired an outside search firm in May to help find the next police chief. That council search committee met in November and was slated to meet again in mid-December, according to Van Dame, “to hopefully trim to group down, and bring the final candidates to full council for consideration.” While an announcement on a new chief is not likely until 2018, Van Dame and Work said, the Dec. 20 vote is necessary to formally begin the process of filing those vacancies. “That will bring us back to our standard level of 24 officers, which is a good thing for all of us here in Lansdale,” Work said. The public safety committee has also begun discussing the future of the department once a new chief is on board, and what changes will be necessary to the department’s leadership structure, according to Work. With police Sergeant Michael Trail currently filling the role of Acting Chief and no replacement for the lieutenant spot, promotions could be needed in 2018 for officers interested in moving up in the ranks. “We talked briefly about the promotion of patrol sergeants, anywhere from two to four. I say ‘two to four’ because it depends on how the chief hiring process plays out,” Work said. “We also have a sergeant who could take the lieutenant’s test, so that could be part of the moving and shaking as well. The point is, we could have up to four promotions, depending on how things play out,” he said. Lansdale’s borough council next meets at 7 p.m. on Dec. 20 at the borough municipal building, 1 Vine St. For more information or meeting agendas and materials visit www.Lansdale.org.