UNION TOWNSHIP, PA. Supervisors hire full-time officer

One applicant wonders why he has been passed over .
By MARY GRZEBIENIAK
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- Union Township supervisors have hired another full-time police officer.
At a special meeting Wednesday, supervisors hired Jason Domenic to replace Mike McBride, who resigned to take another job. Domenic is employed in Slippery Rock and Shenango Township as a patrolman.
Township officials said Thursday night that they didn't know how much he would earn, but it will be determined by the police union contract. He starts Nov. 4. Police Chief Joe Lombardo is the only other full-timer on the force.
Abstained from vote
Supervisor Steve Galizia abstained from the vote to hire Domenic. He said that while he has nothing against him, he is upset because supervisors Ralph Nuzzo and Kevin Guinaugh did not follow the procedure they agreed on to review applications.
Paul Rosta, one of the unsuccessful candidates for the job, said after the meeting that although he was in the top three out of 15 candidates for the patrolman's post, Nuzzo and Guinaugh have told him this does not mean he is at the top of the list for two other positions expected to open soon.
Hiring another full-time patrolman is expected in 30 or 40 days and hiring of an additional part-timer will take place "maybe next year," Nuzzo said.
Rosta, a township native who has police officer certification and has experience in private security positions, has had his application on file with the township for some time. He said he does not understand why he would be passed over for the next job openings unless it is for political reasons.
Guinaugh commented that Rosta had been active in the campaign against Guinaugh in the November 2001 election. In that election, supervisors' handling of police matters had been a central issue, and a coalition of police supporters, including Galizia, had supported another candidate for Guinaugh's seat.
Nuzzo said three or four more candidates will be interviewed before the next hiring occurs. He was noncommittal about Rosta's chances, however, stating that he has one vote and cannot speak for the other supervisors.
Galizia agreed that Rosta was the third-place candidate in this week's hiring. Nuzzo later said his recollection was that Rosta was fourth, and Guinaugh, also contacted after the meeting said Rosta was "in the top five" finalists for the job.
Other police matters
In other police-related matters, Galizia voted against approving payment of $1,968 in attorney fees in the other two supervisors' ongoing dispute with Lombardo.
The police chief was suspended for five days after an allegation in February by Sally Byler, township secretary-treasurer, that Lombardo had pushed her after he was asked to leave a room at the municipal building in which a resident was complaining about the police department's handling of a case.
The case is in arbitration and will be decided soon. Nuzzo and Guinaugh tried to demote Lombardo last year.
Guinaugh said the township had no choice but to hire a labor attorney when Lombardo took the matter to arbitration. So far, the attorney fees have cost the township more than $20,000.