JOE LINTNER | COLUMBIA SPY
Police Chief Holly Arndt told Columbia Borough Council on Tuesday night that her department is operating with too few officers, too little administrative support and almost no legal guidance. She said that “continued operation without addressing these issues would NOT be responsible.”
Arndt, who took command of the department May 1, delivered a lengthy prepared statement at council’s October 13 meeting. She described a department in need of what she called “a foundational rebuild.”
Arndt said the department has 13 patrol officers, one of them on light duty. It has no lieutenant and no administrative sergeant. By comparison, the borough website, (which still lists Brommer as chief) describes a department of 19 full-time officers, three part-time officers and two full-time support staff.
Since August 25, officers have answered 1,784 calls for service, which Arndt said works out to roughly 223 calls per officer. “This volume is not sustainable and raises legitimate concerns about citizen and officer safety, response capability, and the quality of service,” she said.
She said officers cannot investigate properly when they are “merely going call to call to call.”
She added that in the past two weeks officers have stopped several people on e-bikes and motorized bikes, resulting in citations and a DUI arrest. “They continue to show up for this community,” she said.
Arndt said she offered to work patrol shifts at a sergeant’s pay rate to maintain coverage, but the offer was declined. Since May 1, she said, the department has also handled several serious incidents that took significant investigative resources.
Arndt also raised several concerns about borough finances. She said the evidence room holds 19 bags of coins from parking enforcement, which the borough manager directed be stored there. She called them “unprocessed borough revenue.”
She described confusion over a “Police Special Bank” account. She was told October 2 that the borough had moved funds from a Truist police account to a new Fulton account, and she was recently given checks tied to it. Arndt said she has received no explanation of the account’s purpose or the source of its money. She has heard some of it may be citizen donations, but she has seen no documentation and no bank statements from before the transfer. The account appears in next year’s police budget but has not been included since 2021, she said. “I will not access or utilize this account until it has been audited,” Arndt said.
She also said she found records showing $269,942 was cut from the police budget in 2021. “How can we effectively do our jobs when that much money is cut from our budget?” she asked.
Arndt said the department began pursuing state accreditation three years ago and has spent $50,000, but is only in phase three of six. She said the accreditation manager’s role is a full-time job. The department has 50 policies, she said, while most accredited agencies have roughly 80 to 150, plus written directives.
Until this year, she said, she was the department’s only defensive tactics instructor. She delivered the state-mandated training herself while serving as chief. Steps are now being taken to expand that capacity.
She also cited a backlog of older equipment, files and records that need reorganizing. She said supervisors under the previous administration “were not afforded the autonomy to make decisions,” and that she is working to build “a culture that strengthens leadership mentality.”
The department has received 36 Right-to-Know and Act 22 requests since May 1, Arndt said, and has not received proper training on handling them. Act 22 governs the use and release of body-worn camera and other recordings.
She said the department lacks redaction software and is nearing its storage capacity. Its current Act 22 policy also omits the fee schedule the municipality is supposed to set. She warned that mishandling such requests exposes the borough to “potential appeals, litigation costs, and liability.”
Arndt said she has contacted the borough solicitor several times over several months about policy review and other legal matters. The most recent response she received was dated July 29, she said, so “policy and compliance work is currently proceeding without formal legal guidance.”
Arndt said she is not asking for lower standards. She asked council to recognize the difference between setting high standards and expecting “years of organizational deficiencies” to be fixed quickly by one person “without adequate staffing, appropriate training, supervisory support, administrative assistance, authority, and resources.”
“I care deeply about this department, its officers, and this community,” she said. “That is why I am raising these issues now.”
(Council unanimously approved Arndt’s appointment as chief earlier this year, and she became the borough’s first female chief of police. She joined the department in 2008 and rose to lieutenant under former Chief Jack Brommer. Brommer was absent for the last two meetings. )
