EASTON, Pa. — Mayor Sal Panto Jr. on Wednesday celebrated Easton’s positive changes over 2024 while looking at the next hurdles to overcome.
Panto, in delivering his annual State of the City address to City Council, highlighted the historic difficulties Easton has overcome and explored success stories throughout the administration and city government over the past year.
“Today, I am proud to stand here and speak to you about not only our accomplishments of the past year, but also what we are most likely to move forward for in the next year."Easton Mayor Sal Panto Jr.
And while those triumphs were noteworthy, the mayor spoke of issues ahead involving homelessness, housing affordability and work on municipal projects.
He advised council and the public to keep an eye on the future to ensure the city’s continued success.
“Today, I am proud to stand here and speak to you about not only our accomplishments of the past year, but also what we are most likely to move forward for in the next year,” Panto said.
Administration, police and fire
According to the mayor, the city’s human resources took on 46 new hires in 2024, instantly fleshing out the department and maintaining its staff of 275.
Panto added that the police and fire departments also have held a full staff, with the fire department keeping 16 full-time staff members in anticipation of potential retirements.
The administration also finalized a new contract with the Fraternal Order of Police that featured increased wages — a move Panto said he hopes will entice more officers to join.
"I'm also happy to report that there were no homicides in 2024.”Easton Mayor Sal Panto Jr.
“Now, when you look at the report, you're going to see that violent crimes, part one — crimes which are most violent — increased by 14.93 percent," Panto said.
"But this was driven up primarily by the nonviolent auto thefts, and that's unfortunate.
“Part two crimes decreased by 11.6 percent, driven mostly by a decrease in weapon offenses and drug offenses. And total calls for service decreased by 2.55 percent.
"I'm also happy to report that there were no homicides in 2024.”
Meanwhile, the administration still is negotiating a contract with the fire union, Panto said, though his outlook on the matter remains optimistic.
The mayor stated the Easton Fire Department responded to 2,265 calls in 2024 — largely not related to fires, but auto accidents, gas leaks and other issues.
The department was dispatched to 33 building fires, 38 cooking-related fires, 530 emergency medical calls and 22 assistance calls to other neighboring departments.
Panto celebrated the recent arrival of a new pumper truck, and said a new $1.7 million ladder truck was on its way.
Commending the department’s outreach, Panto pointed out it distributed carbon monoxide detectors to homeowners and launched a Community Connect program for residents.
Looking forward, Panto said the department will need to hire and train four new firefighters at the Allentown Fire Academy, reduce overtime, hold certification courses and apply for grants to increase staffing and safety.
Growth and improvement
Information technology operations also are improving, Panto said. He said new equipment and improved services have made a positive impact for city hall.
Communications from the city also have improved, Panto said, with the city signing a contract with Blabbermouth Communications and amassing 25,000 followers on Easton’s official social media accounts.
"All the things you do to build a city ultimately boil down to whether city people want to live there or not."Easton Mayor Sal Panto Jr.
“Our community and economic development department has often said that population growth is the ultimate judge of a city’s success," Panto said.
"All the things you do to build a city ultimately boil down to whether city people want to live there or not."
Based on recent figures, it appears Easton is attaining some success: Population in Easton has grown from about 26,000 in 2008 to 30,506 and growing in 2024, Panto said.
“This year we witnessed the completion of the Commodore, the commencement of construction of Watermark, The Marquis and the Confluence, and The Great Square Hotel will start within the next 60 days,” Panto said.
As for the Department of Public Works, Panto said it has made substantial achievements with its $17 million budget to improve the community’s festivals, trails and parks and recreation programs.
He also highlighted the completion of the Wood Avenue corridor rehabilitation, Cattell Street corridor improvements, the capital project at the wastewater plant and numerous projects with local parks.
While Easton often sees an unemployment rate over the Lehigh Valley average — which is currently 3.5% — Panto said he was pleased to report the current rate for the city sits at 3.3%.
That's a sizable drop from 3.7% in November.
Planning and Codes saw a continued increase in construction permit applications, Panto said, with the 1,421 applications marking an increase over 2023.
But he said he is wary the trend will continue in 2025 due to a lack of homes to buy. He said he found only three properties available in Easton on Zillow.
Panto pointed out the city’s use of ARPA funding, $4 million of which went to an affordable housing task force. Also, $1.5 million was allotted for the façade program.
The challenges ahead
Among the largest challenges will be addressing homelessness, Panto said.
He said the city's work with Safe Harbor is helping to assist those in need. An expansion into an adjacent building is planned to build out its day room for more occupants.
“We must rise to build more housing, to bring down the cost of housing.”Easton Mayor Sal Panto Jr.
“The private facility next to them that’s not owned by the city is going to increase their day room to give our homeless population a place to go during the day," Panto said.
"So they can get out of the elements, whether it’s raining or snowing or freezing cold, and get them off the streets.”
Expanding housing overall also is a major goal, Panto said, He told council and the public, “We must rise to build more housing, to bring down the cost of housing.”
To make it happen, though, Panto said, it will take a new attitude toward growth while maintaining the small city’s trademark charm.
Another priority is to potentially lease water facilities in the city, which would earn Easton about $5 million per year, he said.
“What I would rather do is lease it with long-term lease to the water authority for the next 30 years, 40 years,” Panto said.
He said the funds could be put into the capital budget to pay for improvements to parks, water and sewer lines, sidewalk improvements and more.
'Every day is a challenge'
Panto also said he wants to continue working on a proposed community center, which he said he may not see completed by the time his term is up in 2027.
But he said he intends to have completed designs, funding and potential groundbreaking set up in the next year or so.
A new senior center is on the table, which would provide a place for people to socialize, Panto said.
“So the state of the city is good. It's strong. There's a bright future ahead of us. For the first time in probably 100 years, the city has money."Easton Mayor Sal Panto Jr.
Acquisition of the Hooper House and rehabilitating the structure is another major goal for 2025, according to the mayor.
Work on the 2036 Comprehensive Plan is paramount, as well, with Panto asking the crowd, “What do we want Easton to be in 2036?”
“So the state of the city is good," Panto said. "It's strong. There's a bright future ahead of us. For the first time in probably 100 years, the city has money.
“Now that doesn't mean we have money to just throw around. We don't. Every day is a challenge, but it's a challenge because we have not met the thresholds that city council set for each of our fund balances.
"And we're getting close with the general fund balance, but we're not there yet. I think we had $11 million for the general fund, so we have a way to go. We have a little over $8 million [now]. So thank you very much.”
