Lock Haven council holds public hearing on 2025 budget; public safety, fire apparatus and senior housing highlighted

Lock Haven City Council opened a public hearing on the proposed 2025 budget and heard departmental briefings on public safety, code enforcement and a developer’s senior-housing proposal.

City staff told council that public safety accounts for a large share of the city’s spending. “This evening is public safety that accounts for 46 pennies of every dollar that’s paid to the city in taxes,” a staff presenter said during the budget overview. The presentation showed that much of the police budget is dedicated to wages and benefits and left little discretionary room for other operations.

The police department reported a recruitment challenge and a small grant to help address it. A department representative described a grant award of $14,000 intended to support hiring and training and outlined a timeline: applications close Jan. 17, testing is scheduled for Jan. 25, and an academy would begin in May if recruitment succeeds. The presentation also outlined a planned co-responder program to provide follow-up care for people taken to hospitals after mental‑health incidents, intended to reduce repeat crisis calls.

Fire Department representative Chip Wood said the department maintained an ISO Class 3 rating and noted increasing maintenance costs tied to an aging fleet: “Three pieces of our apparatus currently are 36 years old,” he said, adding that the department will pursue grants to replace apparatus and explore insurance-reimbursement opportunities for outside responses.

Councilors asked detailed questions about professional-services line items, vehicle lease and salvage accounting, and the cost and payback of modern parking meters. Staff said some figures in the budget are placeholders pending insurance and contract quotes and that vehicle transfers between funds use a calculated salvage value; they cautioned that cash constraints and unplanned events can limit discretionary spending.

On code enforcement and housing, staff reported progress on the rental-inspection program and a digital-tools grant from the International Code Council to modernize inspections and reduce duplicate software purchases. Property maintenance staff said inspectors issued 102 notices of noncompliance this year and pursued citations where necessary.

A developer presentation outlined a planned 40-unit, age-restricted (62+) senior housing project at a Belmont Avenue site. The proposal includes demolition of the existing structure, construction of 40 units, an on-site parking area of roughly 46 spaces and financing anticipated through federal low-income tax credits. Staff said the developer (who has a signed purchase agreement with the current owner, Robert Maguire) will seek a use variance at the zoning hearing board. Council members discussed parking ratios used in comparable municipalities and encouraged public outreach and attendance at the zoning hearing.

Council was also briefed on a zoning-hearing appeal and subsequent court action: staff said the city paid for legal representation and that a court of common pleas recently granted a variance on appeal. Separately, staff announced a grant-funded sign‑ordinance review and an RFP expected by year end to hire a consultant.

The council’s reading of the budget ordinance (listed in the agenda as Ordinance 2024-07) set the five‑fund total at about $13,000,659.08 and identified millage rates (20 mills for land and 9.3 mills for buildings and improvements). Staff stated this was the final reading and that formal adoption is scheduled for a meeting next Monday.

Next steps: the zoning hearing board will consider the developer’s use‑variance request and council will return to adopt the budget at the next meeting.