Bath Borough Council President Mark Saginario and Mayor Fiorella Reginelli-Mirabito opened a well-attended meeting May 20 by thanking the residents for their attendance. They had arrived at the 9 a.m. town hall meeting for a discussion on the possibility of a policing change in the borough.

“No decisions have been made,” Saginario said. “We want to hear from you today.”

The meeting is seen as the next step in the process to decide the future of policing in Bath.

Bath Borough Manager Brad Flynn led the charge in chronicling Bath’s dire fiscal woes. In his multi-page report, he explained the borough has a choice.

“We can do nothing and let these financials become the next council’s problem, or we can make changes now,” Flynn said.

Only four streets were repaired in Bath since 2012. Some streets are in such a state of disrepair that total replacement will be required. Estimates of the needed street repairs exceed well over $1 million.

The Lehigh Valley Planning Commission estimates traffic in Bath will increase by 30 percent in the next few years because of surrounding municipality development. Bath will bear the brunt of the traffic, yet be responsible for the road repairs. There is little room for development in Bath to increase its tax base.

Flynn reported there are unfunded mandates coming from Harrisburg regarding stormwater runoff that will potentially cost upward of $1 million. Numerous grants have been applied for, with little success.

Bath Borough is the seventh poorest borough in the Lehigh Valley, according to Flynn. Currently, 16 percent of Bath residents are below the poverty line. Flynn asked how these residents will pay for projected tax increases. His concern is that residents will flee Bath’s higher taxes and create a downward spiral that could lead to the borough’s demise.

Although the meeting was called to discuss the potential policing change from the Colonial Regional Police Department (CRPD) to possibly the Moore Township Police Department (MTPD), the meeting was in part a presentation about the difficult financial issues the borough faces.

Most present had no complaints about CRPD. Both Saginario and Reginelli-Mirabito said they were very satisfied with CRPD police services.

Debra Sellers, a resident of the Old Forge area, said, “This is about our safety. We need to feel safe in our homes. I recognize this is a difficult decision.”

The overarching discussion centered on if Bath can afford the police services CRPD provides.

In attendance were CRPD Chief Roy Seiple and several of his officers. No representatives from Moore Township or Pennsylvania State Police were present.

Bath taxpayers pay $413,000 per year for CRPD police services. Moore Township placed a bid to provide police services to Bath for $273,000 per year. The Moore Township figure is guaranteed not to change for three years. If accepted by council, over the next three years, Bath taxpayers can save between $420,000 to $500,000-plus for police services.

Residents asked questions about the CRPD contract, drug issues in Bath, crime data from municipalities who disbanded their police departments, CRPD presence in the borough and the possibility of Bath merging with another municipality.

Saginario raised eyebrows when he said, “Will there be a Bath Borough, or will we tax ourselves out of existence? I want Bath to remain Bath Borough. But, we need to change how we do things.”

A vote to change police services can occur as early as June or July. The deadline for the vote is Dec. 15. If the policing change is approved by the vote, it will begin January 2019.

Flynn’s final remark to those in attendance was, “I know this council is not afraid of change. You should not be either.”