BUTLER TWP — The Butler Township Police Department’s chain of command will be expanding as township officials prepare to hire a deputy police chief early this year.

Township supervisors voted unanimously at a meeting Monday, Jan. 19, to draft a job description and advertise for the position of deputy chief of police for the township department.

Township manager Tom Knights said the job description was written by himself and police Chief Brian Barnhart and is almost ready for advertisement.

The salary would fall between $110,000 and $120,000 and was already set aside in the 2026 budget.

Knights added the position was created to keep up with the expanding department and to help create a chain of command larger than the chief alone.

“Last year, commissioners approved an increase to the size of the department to keep up with the growing population in the township,” Knights said.

Barnhart said the role would primarily take over some day-to-day administrative work as reporting systems for the department have expanded as of late.

The new deputy would also be outside of the police union, giving the role the responsibility of internal investigations of policy violations.

Knights said his hope is that interviews will begin by late February and a candidate is chosen by April.