LOWER SAUCON TWP., Pa. — The township’s initial 2025 budget doesn’t call for a tax increase, according to Acting Township Manager and Finance Director Cathy Gorman.
But a number of officials at Wednesday’s Township Council meeting said they were concerned about how the township’s newest controller, Lynn Hill, outlined her budget comments and recommendations prior to the meeting.
“My comments here arise from my obligation to save the taxpayers money,” Hill wrote in a budget memo to council.
“I hold all the township personnel in high esteem and deeply appreciate that they do an excellent job for the residents of Lower Saucon.”
“My comments here arise from my obligation to save the taxpayers money. I hold all the township personnel in high esteem and deeply appreciate that they do an excellent job for the residents of Lower Saucon.”Lower Saucon Township Controller Lynn Hill
According to Hill, some general spending plan numbers include the following:
- Total budgeted revenue in the general fund: $9.75 million
- Total budgeted expenses in the general fund: $9.18 million
- The resulting budgeted surplus is “insufficient” to cover proposed capital projects
- Between $1 million and $2 million would have to be pulled from township savings to get through proposed activities for 2025
Hill called portions of the current spending outlook "worrisome."
“I recommend that the township return to living within its means, as it did in the years of management under [former township manager] Leslie Huhn,” Hill wrote.
Huhn served the township for more than 20 years, with her final six as township manager before resigning in 2022.
Hill wrote she would be overseas on vacation at the time of the meeting Wednesday but would look to continue work on the budget once she was back.
'Maintain our employees'
Among a variety of capital projects and new hires for the township as proposed in the preliminary budget, a bulk of the conversation Wednesday revolved around public safety.
Last year, public safety accounted for $4,426,599 of the budget — up nearly $390,000 from the year prior. That number accounts for both the township police and fire departments.
The potential spending plan for next year shows total police department expenses of $3.9 million — $355 in per capita cost, according to Hill’s memo.
She suggested officials work to get that down to $3.8 million and $300 per capita, respectively.
“We maintain these buildings, we maintain vehicles, we maintain parts. Why don’t we want to maintain our employees, which should be the important goal for every administrator, and it is of mine.”Lower Saucon Police Chief Thomas Barndt, speaking on a potential first responder chaplaincy program for his officers
Some of the associated budget line items include:
- An automated license plate reader ($17,000). Barndt said the department currently has three mobile LPRs on patrol cars and two fixed models elsewhere in the township
- Signing a five-year lease for new Tasers for every officer ($21,200 annually) since the department currently has a limited amount of the current models on hand. The old Tasers also are out of warranty, Barndt said
- Replacing six-year-old duty handguns ($22,000) across the board with models with higher-capacity magazines and red-dot sights. The chief said that price also includes accessories such as holsters and weapon-mounted flashlights
- Adding a second detective to the ranks to assist in the specialized workload facing the department. The department added four officers under the previous township administration
- Joining a responder chaplaincy program ($6,000) that’s used within departments across the Lehigh Valley, including Palmer Township police and fire departments, Bethlehem Township Police and East Allen Township Fire and others
Regarding the chaplaincy program and addressing some concerns about overlapping medical coverage through the township, Barndt said the insurance only takes them so far.
“We maintain these buildings, we maintain vehicles, we maintain parts,” he said. “Why don’t we want to maintain our employees, which should be the important goal for every administrator, and it is of mine.”
Crime in the township
Hill's letter also included a chart showing “comparative data from PA Uniform Crime Reporting System and DCED data for department per capita costs.”
It lists both “Total Offenses 2023” at 89 cases and “2022 Per Capita Expense” at $282 in Lower Saucon. It compared those numbers with surrounding municipalities with the conclusion that the township's crime rate is lower than other areas nearby.
Barndt said the chart “does not show the complete picture,” as it failed to distinguish that crime reporting comes in two parts: “serious crimes” such as Part I offenses (homicide, forceful rape, arson, etc.) and “less serious” Part II offenses (forgery, stolen property, DUI, etc.).
Councilwoman Victoria Opthof-Cordaro wanted more information about how high Lower Saucon’s per-capita expenses appeared to stack up to neighboring communities listed on the chart, coming in at third-highest behind Bethlehem and Allentown.
'A partisan mouthpiece'
Councilman Jason Banonis wasn't present at Wednesday's meeting but did tune in by phone. He said Hill should have tried to do the same.
Banonis and Councilman Thomas Carocci agreed Hill didn’t understand her role as controller.
“I operate on the premise that Lyin’ Lynn Hill is totally incompetent, unqualified, dishonest and a partisan mouthpiece,” Banonis said.
“In this memo that she provided, or whatever you want to call it, she’s engaging in policy and opinions that have absolutely no foundation in fact.”
“I hope that the police can see that by me asking questions to Chief Barndt and asking for his understanding and clarification, that it’s not misconstrued to be something other than asking questions — which, I think, is my job.”Lower Saucon Township Councilwoman Victoria Opthof-Cordaro
Opthof-Cordaro asked for broader details on the police-related line items, especially since some topics on the list came with only brief spurts of context.
“I hope that the police can see that by me asking questions to Chief Barndt and asking for his understanding and clarification, that it’s not misconstrued to be something other than asking questions — which, I think, is my job,” Opthof-Cordaro said.
'You watch'
Carocci said that during his and Banonis’s previous terms with the panel, an annual township budget always was prepared and advertised with ample time for review.
“You watch, they’re going to try and sneak in a tax increase in December. They’re going to think nobody’s paying attention, like they do.Lower Saucon Township Councilman Thomas Carocci
“You watch, they’re going to try and sneak in a tax increase in December,” Carocci said. “They’re going to think nobody’s paying attention, like they do.
“They’ll either raise the taxes or they’ll raise the fire tax; they’ll do something, you watch.”
Councilwoman Laura Ray said, “I mean, we would have been done [tonight] if we wouldn’t have been making motions on everything. This was just to provide general direction … a general consensus.”
