Bethlehem City Council Third Budget Meeting - November 20, 2025
Bethlehem City Council Third Budget Meeting - November 20, 2025
The city council held its third and final budget review meeting on November 20, 2025, to discuss the proposed 2026 budgets for the Community and Economic Development Department, Community Development Block Grant, Police Department, and Fire Department. The meeting began at approximately 6 p.m. and extended past 2 a.m., reflecting extensive debate on staffing, public safety, and fiscal priorities.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Community and Economic Development (CED): No members of the public signed up to speak on the CED or CDBG budgets.
- Police Department: Officer Robert Nicholson, FOP representative, expressed support for the creation of two non-sworn positions (IT professional and intelligence analyst) from two vacant sworn positions, calling it an investment in the department and community.
- Fire Department: Multiple firefighters and union representatives spoke about critical staffing shortages, mandatory overtime, and safety concerns. They urged council to fund four additional firefighters for 2026, warning that current staffing levels jeopardize firefighter and public safety. Speakers included retired firefighters, lieutenants, and union president Lou Jimenez, who argued that the city has been reactive rather than proactive.
Discussion Items
- Community and Economic Development (CED): Director Collins presented an overview of the department's bureaus, including health, code enforcement, community development, planning/zoning, recycling, economic development, and housing inspections. The total budget is over $16 million, with 96% funded by grants or fees. She highlighted the use of civic expense accounts for affordable housing, homelessness initiatives, and the community recovery fund. Council members discussed staffing increases (two new positions funded by construction permit fee increases), the success of the community recovery fund, and the need for fiscal sustainability.
- Police Department: Chief Cott reported that the department is authorized for 154 officers but currently has 138 assigned, with only 127 available for duty due to military deployments, illness, and other absences. She proposed converting two vacant sworn positions into a dedicated IT professional and an intelligence analyst, noting that these are operational necessities. The department has seen 56,000 calls for service annually and seized 131 guns in the past year. Council members discussed recruitment challenges, overtime management, and the need for community policing.
- Fire Department and EMS: Chief Griffin and Business Administrator Evans presented the fire budget, emphasizing staffing shortages, overtime costs, and the need for a comprehensive study. The fire department is budgeted for 106 positions but currently has 76 on duty per shift (with vacancies and leave). EMS Director Fritz reported on call volume, mutual aid reduction, and new initiatives including pre-hospital blood administration and e-bike pilots. Council members debated the merits of immediately hiring four additional firefighters versus conducting a study first. The city administration argued that using one-time revenue for recurring expenses is fiscally unsound, while council members and firefighters stressed immediate safety risks.
Key Outcomes
- No final votes on the 2026 budget were taken. The meeting was a review session; final adoption is scheduled for December 16, 2025.
- Proposed amendments must be submitted by Tuesday, November 25, 2025, at noon. Council will hold a final budget meeting on December 4, 2025, to consider amendments.
- Fire Department Staffing: A motion to add four firefighters was discussed but not voted on. Council members expressed interest in finding funding through reallocation, potential fees on universities, or other means. The administration advocated for a departmental study before adding positions.
- Police Department Restructuring: The creation of two non-sworn positions (IT and intelligence analyst) from existing sworn vacancies was presented as a budget-neutral proposal and received support from the FOP. Council expects a memo on use of salary savings from police vacancies at the December 2 finance meeting.
- Community Recovery Fund: The city will continue to administer the fund for 2025 awards, with $980,000 remaining after committed grants. Council discussed the need for transparency and potential future sustainability.
- Upcoming Meetings: Final budget meeting on December 4, 2025, at 6 p.m.; final reading of budget ordinances on December 16, 2025.
Meeting Transcript
Okay. We're one of them. We are recording just so everyone's aware. Okay. Thank you, everyone. And anyone who's still funneling in, I will call the third budget meeting to order and ask Mr. Miller to call the role. Mr. Callahan. Present. Ms. Graham C. Smith. Present. We attack. Present. Ms. Laird. Present. This is Leon Present. This Wilhelm present. And Mr. Cologne. Present. Thank you, Mr. Miller. Just a YouTube reminder for our audience at home. If you want to follow along in real time after 6 p.m., feel free to scroll forward to the live portion of the meeting. Tonight is our third and final meeting to review the budget. The following proposed 2026 budgets will be reviewed this evening. Our community and economic development department, which starts on page 51, our community development block grant fund, which starts on page 301, our police department, which starts on page 137, and the fire department, page 153. After the appropriate administration representatives make their presentation for each item, I will recognize the appropriate committee chair and chair members and then open it up to questions and comments from other members of council. There will be public comment after the we'll do public comment tonight after I would I would say each item, but we'll probably just I'm gonna group community economic development slash community development block grant as one public comment. We'll do a public comment after the police department, and then we'll do another public comment after the fire department. I will remind everyone we have a five minute time limit as is custom for our city council meetings. And I ask you to limit your comments to the respective budgets that we're discussing this evening. Just a couple general things for anyone who's presenting, anyone who's asking questions, uh anyone who's commenting. If if you have a budget book with you, try to reference the pages you're looking at if you talk about certain line items or budgets, just so we could all follow along in our budget books. And then I expect we're gonna be here tonight. I welcome everyone's comments, I welcome everyone's questions up here in every presentation. I just asked to be mindful of repetitiveness. If I if I hear someone repeat themselves a few times, I'll likely ask us to move it along just out of respect for everyone's time. Uh I mean, I will acknowledge we have a number of members of the fire department here tonight. Fire department was last on the pre-planned agenda. I don't want to keep everyone here later than you have to be. So the we'll get started tonight. So starting with our community and economic development department, I'll recognize Ms. Collins, the director of the department. And again, that starts on page 51. Yes, um, good evening, council.
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