HONESDALE, PA — With two councilmen out, Mike Dux and Troy Johnson, and Jeremy Ebert’s seat vacant, Honesdale Borough Council just met quorum at its October 16 meeting. Nevertheless, it appointed one of only two applicants to serve the remainder of Ebert’s term, expiring on January 6, 2020

James Jennings, no relation to Vice President Bob Jennings, is a Honesdale native who left the borough to attend college in Philadelphia, then stayed on to start his career in urban planning. Two years ago, he returned to Honesdale with a wife and two children in tow. He was favorably impressed with the way the borough had evolved during his absence and knew then that he wanted to indulge his passion for community development here.

The other candidate, unnamed at the meeting, was detained by work responsibilities in Italy. President Mike Augello told the council that it did not have to nominate a replacement for Ebert at that meeting, but that if it did, he would move to appoint that person. After James Jennings introduced himself and made a brief statement of intention, Augello had only one question for him: “Can you commit to attending two council meetings per month for the next two plus years?”

Jennings said he could. “Did you know about our 10/10 budget prep meeting?” asked Augello. “Because you didn’t attend, and I think it’s important that all council members participate in budget planning.”

Augello spoke from bitter experience; when borough secretary-manager Judy Poltanis unveiled a 10-year tax history chart, it was discovered that Augello’s oft-repeated accusation—that former councils had not raised taxes for 10 years—was patently untrue. There were six tax raises since 2007.

James Jennings was appointed by unanimous vote, sworn in, and seated on the council as it continued 2018 budget development. With an outsize computer monitor mounted above the council table, the various budget scenarios Poltanis presented were visible to all. One anticipated the hiring of two full-time police officers, upgrading of the police department phone system ($3,690), trade-in of four vehicles, purchase of a license-plate reader ($22,413), and replacement of all officer handguns.

As Augello stated a need for upgrading the phone system and replacing all officer handguns, Police Chief Rick Southerton explained that the outdated phone system has been performing unreliably, often failing to register voice mail messages. Also, for reasons unknown, the Honesdale police department is alone in using Smith and Wesson handguns while all other local law enforcement agencies use Glock handguns. That was not an issue for full-time officers, but when the force became a hodgepodge of part-time officers, the week-long weapons training provided to officers became prohibitive in terms of both cost and time.

Poltanis showed that the average borough tax bill is $810.57. With the hiring of two full-time officers, that bill would rise to $889.65, an increase of $79.15.

The next budget development meeting is October 23.