Emmaus Borough Council held its final meeting of the year Dec. 16, 2024 addressing a full agenda and setting the stage for 2025. All council members were present.

The meeting began with the call to order and the Pledge of Allegiance, followed by a public appeal, with many residents in attendance. The residents who spoke were upset with the 26% property tax hike planned for 2025. The complaints included the borough’s need for a paid fire department, increased salaries for borough employees, rent price increases, the 2025 budget surplus and unnecessary infrastructure upgrades.

Several residents suggested strategies to combat the property tax increase, which included a per capita tax increase, a reduction in paid emergency services and no salary increases for borough employees. The residents pleaded with council to take another hard look at the budget and challenge several of the budget items.

As public comments came to an end, Borough Manager Shane Pepe provided a presentation on the 2025 budget and the process to which the council put it together.

Pepe said the borough is eliminating six borough positions, which saved the borough over $500,000. Additionally, the borough is dealing with many increased costs, including a 30% increase in electricity rates and refuse rates, among many others. The borough does not have the ability to negotiate these fees, as they must go out for a public bid and council must select the lowest bid received.

The main increase will be the 2026 Lehigh County Authority/Allentown Kline’s Island sewer upgrades the borough will be forced to fund. This is an unfortunate, but necessary project for the county as the sewage facility is nearly 90 years old and soon to be failing. It is going to be an extraordinarily expensive upgrade.

Pepe closed the presentation by addressing the questions and complaints of the residents. He said there was a three-year litigation with the fire department and they are unionized. The borough solicitor said getting out of the union contract is extremely difficult and would require the union themselves to vote to dissolve.

In terms of cutting services and departments, council did not want to jump to conclusions before having an open forum with the residents of the borough. Additionally, Pepe agreed with some resident comments the borough can do a better job communicating. He said transparency through social media should be better and welcomes help from those willing.

Additionally, Councilman Brent Labenberg answered the question of why income tax per capita couldn’t be increased, stating this tax is state-mandated and local municipalities cannot impose a tax of more than 1%, although this would be split with the school district.

Each council member then addressed the crowd and provided their thoughts on the budget. They all thanked everyone for attending and voicing their thoughts. They wished for more community engagement throughout the year and promised that they were doing their best to save the community as much money as possible. They encouraged continuous ideas from the community about ways to improve the borough. They also highlighted there will be an open seat on council starting next year and encouraged any residents to apply.

Following the budget presentation, council amended the agenda to move personal appeals, part two, to the next line item. Some of the residents stepped back up to the microphone, first to thank council for addressing their concerns, but also to continue to provide ideas. Some voiced their frustration toward the federal and state governments.

Members of the Emmaus Community Foundation were in attendance to ask any able or willing members of the community to please donate or help with fundraising so that the newly established foundation can help ease the financial pains the borough is experiencing.

Following the second round of public appeals, council amended the agenda to address the budget ordinances. Ordinances 1274 and 1275 amended the water and sewer rates for the 2025 fiscal year. Ordinance 1276 established the 2025 tax levy at 10.4455 mills, with allocations to the general fund, fire fund, special roads fund and streetlight fund. These ordinances were approved by council.

Questions were raised on when the budget needed to be adopted, with Pepe stating it needs to be in by Dec. 31, although it needs to be advertised by Dec. 21, as the law requires it to be advertised 10 days prior.

Next, council reviewed and approved the meeting minutes from Dec. 2, with no revisions.

The next portion of the meeting was devoted to addressing appointments and resignations for key borough boards and commissions.

Council approved William Huber Jr.’s reappointment to the civil service commission for a six-year term expiring in 2031. Other reappointments included Wendy Bartkus to the community garden commission, Frederica Stringfellow and Christopher Carter to the library board, Jennifer Macharsky to the Emmaus General Authority, John Stover as an alternate member of the zoning hearing board, Susan Schmidt to the zoning hearing board and John Hart to the board of health. Council also accepted the resignations of Ken Biles from the historical commission and Matthew Hutchins, thanking them for their dedicated service.

In unfinished business, council adopted the rest of the ordinances on the agenda.

Ordinance 1272 was approved to expand residential permit parking areas to additional streets, addressing growing parking concerns in the borough. Ordinance 1273 updated parking regulations, including adjustments to disabled parking and timed parking, as well as the removal of the kiosk at 311 Main St.

Mayor Lee Ann Gilbert thanked the police officers who participated in the No Shave November fundraiser.

In the budget and finance report, several resolutions were approved. This included the adoption of the 2025 borough budget, updates to the fee schedule and approval of the refuse collection fees for the coming year.

In the borough manager’s report, council approved the retention of Taylor Branciforte as a full-time public works employee, citing her valuable contributions. Additionally, Pepe announced the borough was able to sell a 2006 F-550 for a bid of over $14,000.

The meeting concluded with Council President Chad Balliet reflecting on the progress made in 2024 and expressing optimism for 2025. Following his comments, the meeting was adjourned. Residents are encouraged to visit the borough’s website or contact the office for additional details and access to meeting minutes.

The next meeting will be held 6 p.m. Jan. 6, 2025 at borough hall, 28 S. Fourth St., Emmaus.