K-9 Getro will retire in March after Tyrone Borough council members voted to end his service early due to his age. In his prime, Getro was an asset to the borough and officials look forward to having another K-9 program in the future. Courtesy photo

TYRONE — Getro, Tyrone Borough’s K-9 officer, is set to retire March 11 after a majority of borough council members voted in favor of ending the dog’s service, without giving prior notice to his handler, Officer Traci Winters.

During Monday’s meeting, the borough council voted 6-0, with Bridgette Gill abstaining, to end Getro’s K-9 program early due to the dog’s age and decreasing use, interim Borough Manager Kim Gurekovich said, adding the council previously discussed retiring Getro by the end of this year.

Getro, a German shepherd, has served the borough’s police department for nearly eight years, police Chief Jessica Walk said during the meeting.

The dog’s early retirement was discussed in an executive session prior to the meeting, Gurekovich said. Since the matter wasn’t advertised on the meeting’s agenda, the council opened the discussion to public comment prior to voting.

Tyrone Borough police Officer Austin Miller voiced his frustration with the decision, noting Winters wasn’t given “common courtesy” prior to her dog’s retirement.

“I think it’s wild that she has yet to hear about this,” Miller said.

Gurekovich replied, “It’s a personnel issue, Austin. So, it had to go to council first tonight for a vote.”

Miller asked why the matter was a personnel issue, to which Mayor John Harlow said the K-9 is considered personnel.

Miller then asked whether anyone spoke with Winters prior to the meeting. Harlow said the borough doesn’t have to consult with her before taking action.

“Any common courtesy? Professionalism,” Miller asked.

“It would be talked about after we decide,” Harlow said.

Miller then abruptly left the council’s meeting room.

“This is wild,” Miller said in the nearby hallway as he walked out of the room.

Winters was not present at the meeting. Attempts to reach her and Walk for comment were not successful Tuesday.

In a statement, Gurekovich said Getro was an asset to the borough in his prime.

“The borough looks forward to having another K-9 program in the future,” Gurekovich said.

However, when resident Paul Erb asked the council whether officials are looking into getting another K-9, Gurekovich replied, “Not at this time.”

Another resident noted the borough has a “drug problem” and questioned why officials aren’t looking to replace Getro immediately.

Harlow said Operation Our Town provided the money to purchase the dog, indicating they are expensive to obtain. According to Mirror reports, however, tens of thousands of dollars were raised by community members to obtain Getro in August 2019 when he was 14 months old.

Council member William Wiser said he took offense to Miller’s “attitude.”

“There are other drug K-9s in the area. We’re retiring it at the end of the year,” Wiser said. “I’m sorry this was blunt, right to the point. But that was a personnel decision to be made.”

On Tuesday, Gurekovich confirmed Getro’s final day of service will be March 11.

Gill said she felt the council should have tabled the vote until Winters was consulted and “at least offered that courtesy.”

“It could have been offered as the common courtesy of letting her know this was happening ahead of time,” Gill said. “You can obviously understand why people are upset because they’re blindsided by it.”

Gurekovich said Winters has the choice of keeping Getro once he retires, but Winters has not yet informed borough officials of that decision, she said.

In other business, council voted to remove 12 parking meters in the areas along Pennsylvania Avenue in front of Reclamere’s parking lot and along 12th Street in front of Ace Hardware.

Gurekovich said the borough’s 160 parking meters are reaching the end of their service life, and the cost to replace them all is about $187,000.

The 12 parking meters that were approved for removal are rarely used and provide little to no money for the borough, Gurekovich said.

Those meters will be used for parts to repair other meters while the council decides how they want to move forward with replacing the remaining meters, she said, noting replacement parts are hard to find.

The council voted 6-0 to approve the resolution, with council member Ken Patterson abstaining from the vote.

Mirror Staff Writer Matt Churella is at 814-946-7520.