TREVORTON — Supervisors in Zerbe Township are spinning their wheels waiting for paperwork to come through so they can hire a police officer.

Supervisor Joan Miller said a mistake in the processing of paperwork in Harrisburg has led to the delay in hiring Shawn Packard, of South Williamsport, as a patrolman for the township.

The paperwork should be complete by the end of the week, Miller said, at which point Packard can begin patrols.

The township has been without police coverage since the resignation in May of officer Mark Botts, who had been alone on the job for about five months after the resignation of Chief Degg Stark.

Miller said the months without police coverage, although the township is covered by state police at Stonington, has been frustrating.

“We don’t want to just put anyone in there,” she said. “We have to have someone who can handle it.”