Police Committee Meets Without Mayor Monday

The three-member Police Committee—an arm of Nazareth Borough Council—and Police Chief Thomas Trachta will hold its first meeting tonight without a leader.

The resignation of Mayor Fred Daugherty Jr. went into effect April 15, and he previously said his “recent and sudden resignation has not been for any other reason than personal.” 

When announcing the change in leadership, Council president Dan Chiavaroli said, "The Council and I have worked with Mayor Daugherty very hard over the last three-plus years dealing with the Nazareth Borough Police Department and its difficulties.”

He added that borough officials will now "look in a different direction.”

According to the Act 43 of 2012—Section 1123.1—which modernized and recodified the Borough Code:

Mayor's Powers; Police

(a) The mayor shall have full charge and control of the chief of police and the police force.

(b) The mayor shall direct the time during which, the place where and the manner in which the chief of police and the police force perform the duties of their rank.

(c) The mayor may delegate to the chief of police or other officer supervision over and instruction to subordinate officers in the manner of performing their duties.

(d) The mayor may appoint special police during an emergency in which the safety and welfare of the borough and the public is endangered.

(e) The mayor may activate auxiliary police in accordance with general law, and notwithstanding any other provision of crowd and traffic control for limited periods during events where, in the mayor’s discretion, public safety is promoted by the activation of the auxiliary police. 

Daugherty had long been an advocate for disbanding the Nazareth Borough Police Department. In June 2011, he announced his recommendation to buy coverage from Colonial Regional Police.

Six months later, Daugherty withdrew his recommendation, saying, "It has become patently clear that contracting police services from Colonial Regional Police will not happen. I stand by my recommendation that it would be the best alternative to what we now have, but because of several reasons I am withdrawing my recommendation.”

Daugherty cited rising operating costs as the reasoning behind his recommendation.

Nazareth Borough Council approved a motion Dec. 3 to revisit contracting police services from a neighboring municipality. Nazareth wants an outside source to provide police services and asked six municipalities—three of which make up Colonial Regional Police—if they were interested.

But the sirens from Nazareth continued to fall on deaf ears.

During the Police Committee's Feb. 18 meeting, Councilman Jack Herbst said the fate of the Nazareth Borough Police Department lies somewhere among Plan A, Plan B and Plan C.

But he refused to elaborate.

According to an event page created by "Nazareth PA" on Facebook, some borough residents have started a grassroots campaign and petition to help "save" the Nazareth Borough Police Department.

Tonight's Police Committee meeting will start at 7. Meetings are held in Council Chambers, 159 W. Center St.