Catasauqua Borough Council voted unanimously to defer police officer hiring based on a Civil Service Commission recommendation presented at a special meeting of council held on May 20.

Five candidates were interviewed for two open positions on the Catasauqua police force. The commission did not recommend two of the top scoring candidates.

"This is a delicate matter," said Catasauqua Solicitor Jeffrey Dimmich. "The candidates have the right to appeal the Civil Service Commission's decision in 10 days, and I recommend that we wait to see if any of the candidates will appeal the decision."

Dimmich said he expects the candidates to appeal.

"If a candidate is rejected by a municipality they must report that on all the applications that they file in the future. So, it is in their best interest to make the appeal," he said. "I have worked on situations like this before so I have some experience in how these are handled."

No reasons were provided for the rejections because such a disclosure is deemed confidential.

Council conducted interviews with the candidates prior to last month's council meeting, but before background checks were completed. Civil Service representatives indicated that the background information on the two rejected candidates was a problem.

The candidates have the right to appeal to the Civil Service Commission, the same commission that rejected their application.

"The appeals can go from the commission to Common Pleas Court to Commonwealth Court," said Dimmich in his assessment of the situation. According to Dimmich, the borough would be required to hire a candidate who successfully appealed the decision even if the slot was filled by another candidate on the list.

"We don't want to be in a position where we are forced to hire someone that we don't need," he said.

Council unanimously voted to defer the hiring decision until the council's next regular meeting in June.

"The 10 days will be over by then and we can find out if the candidates are going to appeal," said Dimmich in his explanation to council.

Based on how the appeals, if any, are processed, there is no guarantee that new police hires will be made at the June meeting.