Borough of Pitcairn v. Westwood

OPINION BY

Judge SIMPSON.

In this first-impression appeal by a displaced police chief, we consider the effect of full compliance with the statutory civil service process on his appointment by a borough council majority about to leave office. We affirm the conclusion of the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County (trial court) that the outgoing council majority improperly sought to bind the successor council to the appointment of the police chief.

As the undisputed sequence of events is important, we detail it here. In August 2001, the chief of police of the Borough of Pitcairn (Borough)…