During the meeting, Milliard Wilkinson was sworn in as Berlin Police Department Chief of Police
Two officers were sworn in to new positions with the Berlin Police Department at Thursday’s Berlin Borough council meeting.
After the retirement of Michael Miller, Milliard Wilkinson was promoted to chief of police, while Michael Scheer was promoted to lieutenant. Mayor Jim Bilella swore both in with family and friends in attendance.
During council reports, Councilman Dan MacDonnell stated he has presented council members with the roads report. The report will help the borough determine which roads are to be fixed and worked on over the next several years, with multiple aspects being factored in.
“It gives you an idea of which roads are going to be in the road program for the next five years based on expected capital spending by the borough and expected state grant funding,” MacDonnell said.
Future plans regarding how to address road resurfacing and other issues are expected to be discussed at the next workshop meeting.
Councilman Rick Miller said the borough is continuing to move forward with website redesign. Final proposals are still being completed, however Miller said the redesign is included in the upcoming budget proposal.
Councilman Jim Pearce announced February statistics for the department of public safety, stating the Berlin Police Department received 1,878 calls. The department arrested 27 residents due to drugs, 46 residents due to criminal activity and 23 residents due to warrants.
Additionally, Pearce said volunteers with the Berlin Fire Company have established an evening crew for Monday nights to better assist career firefighters, which is in addition to the similar crew already in place during Friday nights.
Councilman Mike Buchanan said the borough is in a “very strong position financially” moving forward and introduced the first reading of the budget during the meeting. The borough will have the budget’s second reading next month.
A large emphasis on the new budget is on improvements needed to water and sewer lines due to new state regulations, according to Councilman Ron Rocco.
“There are a lot of infrastructure projects that we are supporting within the borough and within the buildings,” Buchanan said.
The Sun will be following up with the budget proposal for Berlin Borough as it affects residents.
