The negative assertions against police officers, especially in major cities, appears to be having an impact on smaller communities.

During a meeting of Summit Hill Borough Council on Monday, Sgt. Jeff Ohl said there are fewer candidates at the police academies and virtually nobody is applying for part-time positions.

As a result, the town is facing a patrol shortage.

“We pretty much have no part-timers,” Ohl said.

There are five full-time members of the police department, with one member presently off for medical reasons.

“We’re shortly going to have less guys on the street than we did 15 years ago,” Ohl said.

Kira Steber, the borough’s secretary-treasurer, said newspaper ads for part-time police officers haven’t netted much response.

Ohl said, “It’s just a mess right now to do this job. Nobody supports you.” He criticized the media for also being unsupportive.

“We do the best we can with what we have to work with,” he said.

In other matters related to the police department:

• Zoning officer Danny Matika suggested that once a week police accompany him on addressing zoning complaints. Matika does not have the authority to issue citations; only the police can.

Ohl said he will try to accommodate the request “if an officer is available.” He said the department has been assigning a part-time officer to be in charge of code violations.

“We soon will have zero part-time officers available to work,” he said.

Council member Mike Alabovitz asked the solicitor, attorney Robert Frycklund, if Matika could be given permission to issue citations.

Frycklund said he will review the zoning ordinance and report back to council.

The matter of zoning violations was raised by borough resident Joseph Bohovich, who complained about “lots of debris and dilapidated stuff that never gets moved” is obvious throughout the borough. He said in some alleys, there are junk cars and eyesores that attract skunks and rodents.

He told the council “people are moving all over town” and not getting moving permits.

Alabovitz agreed with him about the existence of many junk cars in alleys.

He said people also don’t adhere to the trash collection ordinance, putting their trash outside days before collection occurs. Trash collection is every Tuesday.

He said on his way home on Sunday, he witnessed a bear rummaging through a garbage can which was placed in an alley.

Bohovich also asked if the borough could clear weeds and debris from properties and pass the costs on to the landlord.

Steber said it is sometimes difficult to recoup the costs, noting it often means attaching a lien.

Matika said property owners could be assessed three times the hourly rate of borough workers, plus costs.

• Resident John Eckhart voiced a complaint about loud fireworks being detonated late at night.

“We do have an ordinance,” said council member Karen Ruzicka.

Steber corrected her and said one for fireworks was never enacted by the borough.

Copies of a proposed ordinance, which limits late-night fireworks, will be forwarded to council members for review.

Ohl explained the difficulty of catching those who violate such an ordinance or even the state law, saying either a police officer has to witness the detonation or an individual must see the incident.

He said often people light one or two fireworks and then run into their homes before they can be detected.