Northampton Borough Council granted Northampton taxpayers an early holiday present at its final in-person council meeting of 2022, held Dec. 15. Council voted unanimously to adopt resolution 17-22 to approve the borough’s 2023 general fund budget with no tax hike.

Council then adopted ordinance 1225 to set the 2023 tax millage at 11.5 mills. This millage rate was identical to its 2022 budget.

Assistant Manager Brian Welsko noted the Jan. 5, 2023, council meeting starts a new year in Northampton politics. The year brings the start of livestreamed borough council meetings. Livestreaming of public governmental meetings was discussed over a period of months by council.

The livestreamed meetings will provide a visual and audio record of council meetings that can be archived to view at a resident’s convenience. An additional benefit of livestreaming is to allow for online public attendance.

At a previous meeting, Mayor Anthony Pristash voiced support for livestreaming. He noted it will bring Northampton council into the 21st century to allow greater access for residents.

In other matters, council approved a request for an accessible parking spot at 1213 Main St. Police Chief Bryan Kadingo recommended approval.

In his solicitor’s report, Brian Panella mentioned residents must clear their sidewalks of snow 24 hours after the snowfall ends. Also, if there is a fire hydrant on the resident’s pavement, the snow should be cleared around the hydrant for easy access by firefighters in case of an emergency.

UGI Utilities was granted a one-time relief from the borough’s street excavation moratorium Nov. 1-March 31, 2023. There is a current UGI project at 10th and Main streets that UGI feels needs completion. A disruption of services there could reportedly create an outage of services affecting a sizable number of other homes in the nearby community.

In his administration and finance report, Councilman Kenneth Hall listed open borough positions. The borough needs two members on its zoning hearing board, and two members are needed on the planning commission. Contact the borough office to apply.

Hall added the borough office will be closed Dec. 23 and 26 and Jan. 2, 2023, for the holidays.

In Councilwoman Judy Haldeman’s building, land and recreation report, she noted a nice holiday gift to a loved one could be a membership at the Northampton Recreation Center. Call 610-502-2990 for membership information.

In Councilman Trevor Stone’s code and police report, he said a Northampton police officer was bitten by a dog that was running loose on the Pennsylvania Turnpike and was brought to the Northampton police station. The dog is in the police department kennel on a 10-day quarantine. The officer is under a doctor’s care.

In the fire and health report, Vice President Judy Kutzler said several fire departments responded to a fire at 2121 Hokendauqua Ave. The fire damage was minimal, she said, but the activation of the water sprinkler had residents evacuated.

Councilwoman Bonnie Almond said she received a number of texts about the situation and apparent confusion about when residents will be able to return safely to their homes.

There was concern expressed by several council members, including Kutzler, about the evaluation and inspection process of the property to allow for residents’ safe return. Borough Manager LeRoy Brobst agreed to monitor the situation for resident safety.

Councilman Anthony Lopsonzski Sr. said he believes the borough code enforcement officer needs to be involved in the safety inspection process decision for reentry.

Kutzler noted Northampton County awarded a grant of $14,300 for the replacement of the sign at the borough fire station. She thanked former Gold Cement Bag award recipient Mark Laub, the fire department’s grant writer, for his effort.

The next borough council meeting is set for 7 p.m. Jan. 5, 2023, at the municipal building, 1401 Laubach Ave., Northampton. The meeting is expected to be livestreamed. Contact the borough office for the call-in number and access code to view the meeting online.