Morrisville Borough filled its first ward vacant seat on council Monday night in a 4 to 3  to vote and rehired a “furloughed” police officer.

Helen Hlahol was appointed, over Regina Wallace to represent the first ward until December 2021 and was immediately sworn in by District Justice Corryn Kronnagel.

Soon thereafter, Hlahol with the rest of council approved the re-hiring of police officer Gary Zumpano in a 5 to 3 vote.

Officials say the cost of the rehiring comes to around $50,000 with an additional 30K for the position coming in the form of benefits.

Discussion on how to pay of the hiring continued, as Morrisville continues to deal with budgetary issues.

In response to questioning about how to pay for the recall,  Borough Manager Scott Mitchell said the finance director has looked in to the borough finances and there “isn’t a lot of wiggle room.”

Zumpano was expected to be back on patrol after the council’s reorganization meeting earlier this month, Police Chief George McClay said,

Council had to reschedule the item for Monday’s meeting due to a procedural issue.