It was standing room only for last night’s meeting of Ambler’s Borough Council.  The crowd was there for Police Chief Bill Foley, who read a statement that was focused on his impending retirement. In his statement he announced that last night’s meeting would be the last one he attends as the Chief of Police.  AroundAmbler.com caught Chief Foley’s statement which can be viewed here:

During the the public comment portion of the meeting, residents expressed concern about how they felt Borough Council was conducting the search. The main issue being that the search would consider candidates outside of Ambler’s current police force.

Former Public Safety Chair and retired police officer Ed Curtis asked several question to gauge Borough Council’s knowledge of the police department.

“How many people on Borough Council know how many police officers we have?”

“How many Council members speak to officers?”

“Why is Council going outside to look for a new chief?”

To the first question Borough Council person Nellie DiPietro responded,”16″, which is three too many (there are 13). When the second question was asked, only Council President Frank DeRuosi raised his hand.

In regards to the third question DeRuosi answered, “It is best practice to look outside in a job search.  The search has nothing to do with whether we don’t feel officers are capable. That’s not coming from this table.”

DeRuosi remained consistent in his message that he and the committee will consider the best candidate for the position, including the possibility of hiring from both inside and outside the department. If you missed last night’s meeting, it can be viewed in it’s entirety below:

Video from Ambler Borough Website