CLEARFIELD – A Clearfield Borough Police Department uniform change was once again heavily debated before being approved by the Clearfield Borough Council at Thursday night’s regular meeting.
Borough officers will be permitted to wear the summer polo-style, short-sleeved shirts so long as they are all wearing the same attire. In addition, new police attire must be purchased with each officer’s uniform allowance so that additional funding isn’t required to pay for them.
Council member Fred Wisor was the lone opposing vote.
“This was discussed last week at our [Public Safety] Committee meeting, and I was disappointed that no one asked how much this is going to cost the taxpayers,” said Wisor.
“No one was concerned about how much money we were spending to do this. To me, it seems like an awful waste of borough money. This is just something they want, and I am totally against it.”
The new polo-style shirts will cost $1,233; further, two shirts will cost $96. In addition, the shirts can only be worn by one officer, as they identify the officers by name.
Council member James E. Kling asked Police Chief Vincent McGinnis about the department’s plans if officers switched to the winter uniform but had insufficient funds. He sought answers about how an officer would pay for any necessary mends or replacements to the winter uniform.
“This was not a scheduled change,” Kling said.
If an officer does not have sufficient funds, McGinnis said he has a full balance in his uniform account. He said he would be willing to give his $400 to anyone who needed assistance purchasing additional uniforms.
The police contract was also discussed by the borough council during the discussion of the officers’ new uniforms. By voting on the polo-style shirts, there isn’t any motion to alter the police contract. If the uniform change wants to be formally made, it would have to be added to the contract when they renegotiate.
