The Alburtis Borough Council meeting took place Dec. 29, 2021. There was no public comment to open the meeting.

During the mayoral report, Mayor Kathleen Palmer swore in a part-time police officer. The new part-time officer is a 23-year veteran of the Allentown Police Department and has served as a police officer for nearly 30 years.

Police Chief Robert Palmer was in attendance and remarked this meeting would, most likely, be his final meeting. He retired at the end of the year.

The bills for payment and fiscal consultant’s report were approved without comment.

Ordinance 569 was approved during the meeting. This establishes the real estate tax rate for the fiscal year 2022 at 3.83 mills. Additionally, charges for dwelling units, commercial establishments and institutional establishments saw a decrease in yearly tax costs.

Next, Ordinance 570 was passed. This increased pay ranges for employees working for the Borough of Alburtis.

There were several appointments made at the meeting.

In Resolution 2021-10, Chad Atkins was appointed to the parks and recreation commission. In Resolution 2021-12, Steve Werley was appointed to the civil service commission. In Resolution 2021-13, Stephen Reichenbach was appointed as an alternate to the civil service commission. Lastly, In Resolution 2021-14, Eric Gratz was appointed to the planning commission.

After the list of resolutions, the 2022 contract with the Sanctuary at Haafsville for animal control was approved.

In an update, a play set for the upper ball field is set to be built where the sand volleyball pit currently sits. There was strong Facebook support for putting the play set there.

The meeting closed without further news.

The next Alburtis Borough Council meeting will be held 7 p.m. Jan. 12. Meetings take place at Alburtis Borough Hall, 260 Franklin St., Alburtis.