CURWENSVILLE – The Curwensville Borough Council has voted unanimously to remove Police Chief Mark Kelly.
At a special meeting Monday, the council voted to remove Kelly following a Loudermill hearing.
According to Lawnet.com, a Loudermill hearing must be held for any public employee before being terminated. This requirement protects the employee from erroneous discharge and is derived from the due process clauses of the fifth and 14th amendments to the U.S. Constitution.
The specific purpose of the hearing is to provide an initial check against erroneous termination by allowing the employee to respond to the charges before losing his source of income.
According to an e-mail from Councilwoman Harriet Carfley, following the Loudermill hearing, the council concluded Kelly “has been negligent, inefficient, intemperant (sic), disobeyed orders and (for) conduct unbecoming an officer.”
Carfley said the council made and seconded a motion to remove Kelly as chief of police during Monday’s special meeting.
When asked if the Loudermill hearing was prompted by a specific incident or an ongoing problem, whether the council has appointed an acting chief and if there would be problems with police coverage in the borough until a replacement for Kelly is found, Carfley said she was not at liberty to discuss anything further at this time.
According to previously-published GANT News articles, Kelly was appointed as chief in 2018 following the retirement of previous Chief Dave Johnston.
Kelly had served as a patrolman for the borough for several years but was one of three officers who had been furloughed when the borough experienced financial difficulty in 2016.
Kelly had been the only police officer working for the borough until another officer was hired in 2018.
