After weighing the long-term cost versus the immediate need, Coaldale Borough Council has agreed to hire an additional full-time officer for its police department.

Five years ago, a previous council laid off all of the department’s full-time officers because they couldn’t afford them. They’ve since been hired back.The current police chief, Keith Krapf, has been asking for more manpower for several months. The borough currently has three full-time officers, not including the chief. At the meeting Tuesday night, council determined that they have enough to pay another officer.“We went three years without raising taxes, and we were able to bring all the police back, and the borough worker, and repair the streets and all the things we’ve done in town. So I think with us continuing to raise the taxes appropriately, to adjust for the fact that there is a cost of living, that we will be fine,” said council President Angela Krapf, the chief’s wife.The vote was 5-1, with Thomas Keerans sr. voting against, and Michael Doerr absent.He and police committee Chairwoman Yvonne Stoffey have been advocating for an additional officer for several months.The volume of calls has increased in the borough, Chief Krapf said. Council has hired several part-time officers over the past year, but they’ve found that they still have trouble covering weekend and holiday shifts.The struggle to cover shifts frustrated council to the point that last month they refused to accept a part-time officer’s resignation because he did not give them advance notice.As a result, they’ve had to pay out more overtime to the full-time officers. Hiring a full-time officer could actually lead to a slight reduction in their costs.“We’ve been getting a lot of part-time applications, but they also work for multiple other departments. So when it comes down to it, and you need them, they’re working elsewhere,” Angela Krapf said.But council members expressed concern over whether they could afford a police officer in their budget, not just this year, but in five to 10 years.Borough police officers receive a 3 percent raise each year. Keerans said he was concerned about the health care cost, especially if the officer has a family.Councilwoman Anne Girard said she was concerned about potentially raising taxes on elderly residents of the borough who live on a fixed income.“Are they going to get forced out of their homes because they can’t pay the taxes?” she said.