Police Chief Jonathon Itterly released his 2019 incident totals at the Feb. 4 council meeting, reporting another record year: 3,278 incidents.

Itterly says this amounts to about a 60 percent increase since the casino opened in 2009. The highest number of incidents include about 1,000 assorted traffic-related counts

To keep up with demand, the borough now employs three full-time and five part-time officers, the newest of whom, Victor Alpizar, was introduced to council that night. Alpizar served in the U.S. Marines for four years and said, while Council President Homer “Bud” Lorrah presented his badge, that he is excited to serve the Freemansburg community.

Mayor Donald Lasso said the department is already seeking a sixth part-time officer to get the department back to regular staffing.

Council also heard from Zoning Officer Shannon Calluori, who detailed changes to local code enforcement by CodeMaster being sold by Boyle Construction to Barry Isett & Associates. She assured council that existing and ongoing permit matters would continue through April 1, and she encouraged council to hire Isett to continue the work once CodeMaster is officially dissolved.

Isett Code and Inspection Department Head Matthew Walter said all the involved teams to the exact same work, and the company’s employees usually even attend the same training. “The change the borough will see is our shirts won’t say CodeMaster any more, they’ll say Barry Isett.”

The next regular meetings is scheduled for March 3 at 7 p.m. at Freemansburg ES, with a possible workshop meeting Feb. 18.