At the Dec. 16 Northampton Borough Council meeting, taxpayers received an early holiday present: Council passed a no-tax-hike budget for 2022.

Council was able to hold the line on an increase with assistance from grants and funding from the federal American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. Prudent budgeting also played a role in council’s budgetary success.

Outgoing councilman and current mayor-elect Tony Pristash said he has enjoyed his experience on Northampton Borough Council. He will be sworn in as the next Northampton Borough mayor and will preside over the council reorganization meeting Jan. 3, 2022.

Pristash’s inaugural tenure as mayor in 2022 ends a four-decade political career of outgoing Mayor Thomas Reenock. Reenock was a fixture in elected Northampton government and was active with the Pennsylvania State Mayors Association.

The year 2021 saw several new members appointed to council and the appointment of a junior council member, Ryleigh Tillotson, a junior at Northampton Area High School.

The re-establishing of the junior council role was much anticipated, with borough Manager LeRoy Brobst coordinating the junior council program with Northampton Area School District.

Council’s plans in 2022 include renovations to the Northampton Municipal Swimming Pool to bring it up to date. Another improvement for 2022 is potentially livestreaming council meetings, so residents can participate in the council meetings from their homes.

There are also a number of plans to beautify Canal Street Park with flower gardens and possibly a monarch butterfly waystation.

A monarch butterfly waystation is a place that provides necessary resources for monarchs to produce successive generations of butterflies and sustain their long migration in North America. Monarchs are known to travel 2,500 miles from Canada to central Mexico.

Kudos from council were in abundance for the borough’s holiday tree-lighting ceremony held in late November.

Northampton Borough Council will hold its reorganization meeting 7:30 p.m. Jan. 3, 2022, at the municipal building, 1401 Laubach Ave.