During the Springfield Township Board Meeting June 9, changes were made to the Springfield Township Fire Department application process allowing officials to hire people who have committed felonies.
As Fire Chief Charles Oaks noted, the application was not updated in years, and the paper application and hiring process needed to be realigned.
An application for employment with the fire department will still ask applicants to disclose any previous felonies, but will no longer ask if the felonies were committed in the last five years.
The fire department will have the discretion in hiring candidates with a previous felony.
Oaks stressed that the scrutiny of candidates will be kept at a high level.
‘In going over the application with the township attorney. We reasoned we should allow for some rehabilitation. We do a thorough background check and will continue to do so,? said Oaks. ‘We do a criminal background check and driving record check. We won’t put someone in the department with six points on their driving record. We’re not going to hire people with major offenses.?
‘Before, they could never consider an individual with a felony. This doesn’t require them to hire a felon, but leaves it to their discretion,? said Springfield Township Clerk Nancy Strole.
Oaks noted the outdated application needed alteration for some time and the adjustment to hiring a candidate with a minor felony was part of a larger process of cleaning up the application’s language.