Business owner Tim Romig received some answers from Macungie Borough Council to questions directed at the mayor's application for and receipt of a grant for purchasing GPS units recently installed in police department's vehicles. Council president Chris Becker and Borough Manager Chris Boehm addressed each question insofar as they were able and those specific to the mayor were forwarded to his attention. The mayor was not present to answer Romig at Monday night's meeting.

Mayor Rickie Hoffman obtained a grant from Walmart for $1,000 to purchase the GPS units, and although it appears in the August treasurer's report, Boehm said, "No one picked up on it." The grant money was ceded into the general fund, which Boehm said is procedure for grants of that kind. Other grants and donations, like the funds for the police department's K-9, have a special line item. Romig questioned why the Walmart grant had been overlooked since August but was present in the discussions early in 2013 when the mayor received council approval to install the GPS units.

Council president Chris Becker said other than reviewing for the next year's budget, he takes expenses into consideration more than revenue, and the grant "didn't make a red flag for [him]."

Boehm confirmed a grant unspent will carry over into the next year but the money cannot be used for anything other than its designated purpose. When asked what the mayor would do with the grant if the GPS units had not been approved by council, Boehm was not sure, but assumed the mayor would have to give the grant back.

Neither Boehm nor anyone on council was aware the grant had been obtained. Boehm stressed the grant had not been accounted for, but she had not noticed it. When Romig pressed to learn how the GPS units had appeared again on the agenda months after the grant was received he was not given a direct answer. "This council can't speak to anything about the grant," Becker said before promising to forward Romig's unanswered questions to the mayor again.

The GPS units send data to a software program installed on the police chief's computer and the mayor's computer. Becker confirmed this after Romig reiterated the question. "Apparently right now the answer is yes." Becker stressed some of Romig's questions may come up in current litigation so he was not at liberty to discuss them further.

Since becoming president, Becker has endeavored to spur the completion of the lagging emergency management plan for presentation to Lehigh County. Since emergency management coordinator David Boyko has not appeared at recent council meetings to present the finished plan, Becker asked Boehm to take over and see the plan finished by assigning parts of it to individuals of her choosing. The plan will then be given back to Boyko and a resolution will be adopted before presenting it to the county. Becker emphasized "no one is looking to replace [Boyko]."

On April 1, council will hold a workshop 6:30 p.m. to discuss going forward with capital financing projects. The list includes a traffic light at Church and Main streets and reconstructing Cotton Street. A traffic study would be necessary to determine whether a light is warranted, and council has received bids as low as $4,000. While some council members are concerned that conducting a traffic study would push them into a corner and force them to install a light, Borough Engineer Bill Erdman told the borough manager otherwise, saying PennDOT will only recommend it if the light is warranted. But, Boehm pointed out, no one says no if it is warranted.

Boehm also reminded council taxes will go up no matter what, it's just a matter of now or later. Joe Sikorski is pushing for financing as soon as possible to take advantage of low interest rates. Boehm has estimated council will need to borrow about $1 million so a loan will be the first thing they look at because it is such a small amount for a bond issue. Council will focus on fixed rate loans and those that allow pre-payment. Estimates on the borough's annual payments are currently $100,000 for 10 years, $73,000 for 15 years, and $61,000 for 20 years. The borough may request estimates on different terms based on how much it is determined they want to pay annually.

The Main Street streetscape plan is moving ahead to its next step, a public presentation led by Becker to get public feedback on ideas and designs discussed at the business owners meeting Feb. 25. Becker wants to hear input and concerns from citizens of Macungie now which can be addressed before bringing the plan before the borough engineer.