Lehigh County Executive Tom Muller arrived minutes before the call to order of Fountain Hill's Nov. 3 council meeting, and like the rest of the small audience, he was on his way out the door about a half hour later.

It was the evening before the midterm elections, but aside from Muller's silent presence – he declined to make any public comments – it was business as usual.

Mayor Jose Rosado had a few encouraging comments for the police department regarding the response to a recent shooting, after which two suspects were apprehended. Chief Ed Bachert said in a later phone interview the shooting was suspected to be drug-related, but nobody was injured.

Rosado commended Bachert and his officers, and offered thanks to the City of Bethlehem and Salisbury Township for their rapid assistance. Bachert said, "Those guys did a great job," assisting with the investigation. Rosado said, however, Bethlehem's speed was likely due to the incident taking place a half-block from city residences, and incoming reports fueling fear of violence within city limits.

"Had [the shooting] taken place a half-mile into the borough we probably wouldn't have gotten the response we did," Rosado said with a tone of cynical resignation.

He and Bachert did say they will continue to reach out to the city for coordinated police operations.

The mayor and chief then swore in a new full-time officer, Anthony Cruz, who has been training for several months and will bring the department's full-time complement to six.

In non-police affairs, Council member Philip Trabel was pleased to announce a recent newspaper article citing falling firefighter volunteerism has been successfully combatted by six new participants at the borough department.

Council member Helen Halleman then voiced her displeasure, condemning her peers for inaction in bills collections. "We have a very, very, very big delinquency is sewer and sanitation," she said hotly, "and I could do something about it if I had the cooperation of my colleagues."

Halleman called the figures owed to the borough "astronomical ," and while limited actions to approach the problem have proven ineffective, she's been unable to get any support on council to hire a collections agency.

President Larry Rapp's only response was that bills are increasing because the city is billing the borough more. He then called for a motion to adjourn, which was quickly exercised.