FRACKVILLE - The status of Frackville police Chief Michelle Ashman remains unclear after the borough council furloughed her at its June meeting.
Ashman was a full-time borough police officer when she was nominated to the position of police chief at a council meeting Oct. 14, 2009, with the council's vote of approval Oct. 28, followed by the immediate swearing in by then-Mayor Delmar Phillips. Ashman is the first female police chief in the borough.
On June 12, the council voted to furlough Ashman without elaborating, according to Councilman Charles Berger.
Since the end of November, Sgt. Marvin Livergood has been the officer in charge, according to Mayor Kim Phillips. However, Phillips said she preferred that borough solicitor Mark Semanchik answer questions.
"I'm not sure what I'm allowed to say because of the HIPAA laws," Phillips said Monday.
As for a new police chief, there is nothing being done right now.
"Borough council hasn't done anything at this point," Phillips said.
The borough's website at www.frackvillepa.org lists Ashman as police chief.
Borough Councilman John Morgan is chairman of the personnel and law and order committees. He also referred questions to the borough solicitor Monday.
"Because it is a personnel issue, I can't say a lot about it until we get it resolved," Morgan said. "As with any personnel issue, the employee has rights and has channels and processes to go through if they don't agree with any decisions that are made by the borough. Nobody was fired that I'm aware of but Michelle has a process to go through, and until that process is exhausted or resolved, I can't talk about it at this point."
Borough solicitor Mark Semanchik said Morgan explained the situation properly as it stands right now.
"I would have nothing more to add than John Morgan's explanation as to the process," Semanchik said.
Ashman could not be reached for comment this week.