Dunkirk has delayed hiring its new police and fire chiefs.

The Common Council refused to vote Tuesday on resolutions confirming Nicholas Bartre as fire chief and Christopher Witkowski as police chief. For both chiefs, Councilperson Nancy Nichols motioned to send the resolutions concerning their employment to the council’s Personnel Committee “for further review and clarification.” No further explanation was offered.

The council voted, 4-1, in each case to confirm Nichols’ request. Councilperson James Stoyle was opposed.

The votes came a little while after Councilperson-at-large Nick Weiser asked for an executive session, apparently to discuss the Barter and Witkowski resolutions. The candidates were asked to join council and Mayor Kate Wdowiasz in a closed-to-the-public meeting within the meeting. They retreated to the mayor’s conference room.

Barter and Witkowski returned to the meeting room after about 15 minutes. Around 20 minutes after their return, the elected officials came back and reopened the meeting to the public.

The executive session was called immediately after Wdowiasz said she hoped the council would confirm Barter and Witkowski as chiefs.

She also commented on the city’s financial challenges: “I’m looking forward — or maybe not forward — to working with this council and the public to make sure that your voices and concerns are being heard. We will get through this, We will get through this and we will work with our budgetary constraints through the year. That’s first and foremost, everybody is expected to stay inside their budgetary constraints.”