For years borough council has tried to stress to residents the importance of catching up on outstanding taxes and bills, and now a coordinated effort with the city is approaching to collect on lapsed water and sewer bills.

Borough Manager Judith Danko said at the April 5 council meeting the final notice is on its way – a real final notice declaring literal cut-off deadlines for people to pay or have their water or sewer services halted.

Danko said there are 84 such residents in the borough. Freemansburg and the city will mail notification to those very far behind on their bills, while hanging paper notices on their front doors.

While she had no exact date, Danko said this could happen within weeks.

Insofar as curbing unnecessary borough expenses, council is now planning to charge a fee for excessive false alarms for emergency services. More than three false alarms from the same address, in either 60 or 90 days, another point to be resolved, will result in a fee to defray the costs of services.

The verbiage is still being discussed, and residents and business owners should be aware not every instance of an alarm sounding is a false alarm. Emergency Services Manager John Rossi said even something like burning pork chops is treated seriously be fire and EMS and would be recorded as a “culinary incident” rather than a false alarm.

Fire and EMS will work with council and police to manage and record all incidents properly for legal purposes.

But the police department, which recently lost longtime Chief Todd Pantuso to a resignation, citing micromanagement, is not likely to get a new chief soon.

Council President Homer “Bud” Lorrah said no job opening has been publicly advertised and there are as yet no concrete plans for doing so.

Cpl. Jonathan Itterly is acting officer in charge of the department, which is currently down from a full complement of 10 officers to only two full-time and six part-time officers. One part-timer left for a full-time position elsewhere about a month ago.

The next meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. May 3 at borough hall, 600 Monroe St.