In order to be eligible for participation in any examination
for any position with the police department, every applicant must
submit a completed application form to the Commission or the Commission's
delegate before the deadline stated by the Commission for that specific
examination. The applicant must make an oath or affirmation that the
application is completed truthfully, and the applicant is subject
to the penalties of 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 4904 relating to unsworn
falsification to authorities.
Hatfield Township is an equal opportunity employer. It is Hatfield
Township's and the Commission's policy to grant equal employment
opportunities to qualified persons without regard to race, religion,
color, national origin, gender, age, veteran's status, marital
status or non-job-related physical or mental handicap or disability.
Hatfield Township and the Commission will provide equal opportunities
in employment and promotion.
Application forms shall be available to all interested persons
in the office of the Township Secretary, and from such other offices
and officers that the Commission, from time to time, may choose to
designate. Application forms may be mailed upon written or telephone
request. However, the Commission assumes no responsibility for missed
filing deadlines due to a delay in the mail.
[Amended 1-13-2021]
All applicants must have reached their 21st birthday before
the deadline for submitting completed applications.
[Amended 1-13-2021]
Every applicant for any position in the police department shall
possess a diploma from an accredited high school or a graduate equivalency
diploma. In addition, every applicant must be a United States citizen,
be physically and mentally fit to perform the full duties of a police
officer, and, prior to appointment, possess a valid motor vehicle
operator's license issued by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
The Commission may refuse to examine, or, if examined, may refuse
to certify as eligible after examination, any applicant who is found
to lack any of the minimum qualifications for examination prescribed
in these rules and regulations for the particular position for which
the applicant has applied. In addition, the Commission may refuse
to examine, or, if examined, may refuse to certify any applicant who
is physically or mentally unfit to perform the full duties of the
position applied for, or who is a habitual substance abuser, who is
guilty of any crime involving moral turpitude, or of infamous or notoriously
disgraceful conduct, or who has been dismissed from public service
for delinquency or misconduct in office, or who is affiliated with
any group whose policies or activities are subversive to the forms
of government set forth in the Constitutions and laws of the United
States and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Applications for positions in the police department shall be
received by the Commission or the Commission's delegate only
after an examination has been properly advertised and before the deadline
for receiving applications which must be set forth in the public advertisement.
Applications will be received by the municipal officer designated
in the public advertisement or that officer's designee. That
person shall record the receipt of all applications and provide each
applicant with notice of the time and place for the first portion
of the testing procedure, the written testing. Any application containing
material errors or omissions may, at the discretion of the Commission,
be returned to the applicant for correction prior to the deadline
for filing applications after which no new applications or amended
applications will be accepted.
Any applicants or other persons who believe that they are aggrieved
by the actions of the Commission, in refusing to examine or to certify
them as eligible after examination, may request a hearing before the
Commission. Within 10 days after such request, the Commission shall
designate a time and place for the hearing, which shall be conducted
pursuant to the procedures set forth in the Local Agency Law, 2 Pa.C.S.A.
§ 101 et seq. The applicant or aggrieved party must make
their request for a hearing, in writing, within 10 calendar days of
the date when the party knew or should have known of the Commission's
action which is being challenged.
The Commission shall conspicuously post in the Hatfield Township
Municipal Building an announcement of the hiring or promotional testing
and set forth the time and place of every examination, together with
the information as to the type of position to be filled, the requirements
for that position, where applications may be obtained and the deadline
for filing those applications. In addition, at least two weeks prior
to the close of the application period, publication of the notice
shall occur in at least one newspaper of general circulation or a
newspaper circulating generally in Hatfield Township.