A Summit Hill police officer, who also served as code enforcement officer and vector control officer, was dismissed by the borough council Monday night.

Jason Bell, who earlier that night was given the position of vector control officer, will have his employment terminated at the conclusion of his work shift on Friday.

The action came following a 30-minute executive committee meeting of the council.

Aabout 90 minutes earlier, council told Bell as he sat in the audience during its monthly meeting that he was to assume the title of vector control officer.

He wasn’t present when the council announced it was dismissing him.

As a result, the borough has a vacancy in the police department as well as no zoning enforcement officer and no vector control officer.

The council said it was releasing Bell because in agreement with the mayor and chief of police’s view, Bell failed to meet probation requirements. Because it was a personnel matter, no other information was given. The council’s action was by a 5-0 vote with Billy O’Gurek and Gino DeGiosio absent.

Council said it will receive letters of application until its meeting on Aug. 8 for the full-time police vacancy. Councilman David Wargo said another police office in the department is considering doubling as the zoning enforcement officer.

Bell was hired as a full-time police officer in January. Before that he served as a part-time officer in Summit Hill since last September.

He was named code enforcement officer, with council stating it wanted someone full-time in that position. Before that the zoning enforcement officer position was a part-time one and the individual didn’t have the authority to issue citations. The citations can only be issued by police officers.

The position of zoning enforcement officer seemed crucial in the borough the past few months when several residents voiced complaints about rodent problems. Also, there has been a lot of concern about the reported increasing numbers of unmaintained properties.

At last month’s meeting of the council, Wargo said that Summit Hill is the only town in the county that has a full-time police officer dedicated to code enforcement and zoning.

In the monthly police report, it was stated that 20 quality of life tickets were issued in the borough between June 12 and July 13, and four quality of life warnings were given in that span.

In another zoning related item, Bell suggested that the borough purchase a computer system to keep statistics on zoning matters and create a paperless citation system.

He obtained several quotes for a system ranging from $4,800 to $46,000 annually.

He recommended a system from a Utah firm at a cost of $5,000 a year. The council tabled action on the matter because the firm indicated there could be yearly price increases and the firm did not have a known Pennsylvania business registration.