Bethlehem City Council approved Mayor Robert Donchez’s $87.4. million proposed budget Dec. 15 in a vote of 6-1 with Councilman Bryan Callahan voting against. This figure includes $16,500,231 for the Bethlehem Police Department.

Prior to the vote on the budget, Police Chief Michelle Kott addressed the council, saying the Bethlehem Police Department’s goals are summarized in a memo that emphasizes building understanding, trust, confidence and respect.

Also adopted was the ordinance fixing the tax rate for the year 2021 for general city purposes at the sum of eight and sixty-one hundredths (8.61) mills on each dollar of assessed valuation.

Council approved several mayoral appointments: Ellen Foscue Johnson and Sandra B. Gillen to the Fine Arts Commission; Jessica L. Lee to the Zoning Hearing Board; Kenneth C. Loush and Mike Simonson to the Historic Conservation Commission for South Bethlehem and Mount Airy; and Barry S. Cohen, P. E. to the Codes Board of Appeals.

During public comment, Artistic Director for the Touchstone Theatre James Jordan urged the city to take a more lenient position on what he said is a city requirement that police be present any time alcohol is being served in a city park.

Jordan expressed a desire to sometimes celebrate Touchstone Theatre’s achievements with a “celebratory atmosphere” that could include using Parham Park, which is adjacent to the theater on East Fourth Street.

He said sometimes the theater has 150 to 450 guests, and would like to use the park without the onerous cost of hiring police to be present. “Having to spend X amount of money to hire X amount of police is cost prohibitive,” said Jordan. He called the cost for police a type of “sin tax.”

He said the requirement for police presence forces the theater to not run events in the way that they want to run them. He said some of the events have “street-party” atmosphere.

Jordan suggested that the city establish some type of threshold, such as 500 people in a park, before requiring police presence.

He said in his travels around the world he has been to places where drinking in public is “not demonized.” He said Bethlehem’s attitude toward drinking in public is a “cultural” attitude.

“The minute you make it a sin, then it becomes a sin; it’s not being dealt with in a healthy way.”