Policing Problems Plague Nazareth

A fatal shooting in the heart of the downtown. A fight outside the American Legion parking lot. A crime in which $15 was swiped from a parked car.

As spring turns to summer, Nazareth residents are really beginning to wonder about their safety.

"The streets are getting hot. The kids will have no place to go during the day," Rick Troxell said.

As a war of words took place at Thursday's Borough Council workshop between council members and Police Chief Thomas Trachta over police scheduling, residents are worried that the political red tape over the police department's future is getting in the way of one thing: their safety.

"You can't run a police department with two people," Trachta said Thursday night. "It just doesn't work."

Trachta said his department is operating at 35 percent of what its capacity should be.

Meanwhile, the borough is awaiting a proposal from Colonal Regional Police about it taking over policing.

"We're still in negotiations," Council President Dan Chiavaroli said.

And that process continues to drag on. Meanwhile, at every council workshop and regular meeting, residents continue to express frustration over a lack of resolution.

"We have close to 6,000 residents at risk," Resident Becky Butz stated. "How can the police chief hold us hostage with this scheduling? Who is in charge here?"

"That's a good question," Chiavaroli said.

Council members continued to update residents about the process and its history.

"Upper Nazareth turned us down," Chiavaroli said.

"We did explore departments other than Stockertown," Councilman Jack Herbst said. "We went to Tatamy. Upper Nazareth strung us along. We wanted a response from Colonial Regional by Jan. 1. But they couldn't get a proposal together."

"We ought to be focusing on our own police department," one resident stated at the workshop.

Residents were told that the cost to run a borough police department would be $1.47 million and that signing on with Colonial Regional would be a cost savings.

Herbst said the borough does have a proposal in place to revamp the police department.

"We have that all ready to go," he said.

The council can't seem to fill holes right now either.

"We still have civil service openings," said Herbst, who oversees the township's Police Committee. "And we have openings for part-time police officers."