HONESDALE, PA — The parking meters in Honesdale are due for an update, according to the Honesdale Borough Council’s parking committee.

At the September 27 borough council meeting, councilor Jason Newbon, chair of the parking committee, said that 50 new digital parking meters are en route to Honesdale. The committee is also recommending that the borough raise meter rates to 50 cents per hour, up from 25 cents per hour.

Currently, if you get a parking ticket in town, you have 24 hours to pay $5. After 24 hours, the fine jumps to $25 and after a week the fine is raised to $50. The committee is recommending raising the base violation fee from $5 to $25 for street parking, and from $25 to $50 in the shopping parking lot by the Fred R. Miller Pavilion.

For now, these are just recommendations.

Adjustments like these are part of the council’s efforts to remain revenue-neutral by balancing tax revenue loss and the rising costs of materials, labor and infrastructural upgrades such as stormwater and energy projects, according to council president James Hamill. The council is required to advertise the increased rate proposal and hear public comment before approving any rate increases.

The next borough council meeting is Tuesday, October 18, when citizens can comment on the rate increases. Send advance public comment statements to hdleboro@ptd.net or call 570/253-0731 by 12 noon on the date of the meeting. You can also sign up at the meeting to speak during the second comment period of the evening. Hamill also said citizens can send him an email at hamill18431@icloud.com, or call him at 570/419-8461, if they have questions or concerns.

In other news, mayor Derek Williams presented his anti-discrimination policy statement. He was inspired to create one after hearing community feedback about anti-LGBTQ+ actions in town and a comment from a council member about gender identification. (Click here for more coverage of these actions and this comment.)

The mayor’s policy statement contends that it should be the policy of the mayor’s office to counter discrimination on the basis of a range of personal characteristics and identities, including race, gender, religion, residence, sex, health or workplace.

“Citizens being heard, treated respectfully, and feeling welcome to engage with their local officials are vital components of functioning, responsive, and thoughtful democratic institutions,” the statement reads. “Creating things together is more valuable than dividing each other.”

The council also discussed the possibility of collecting more detailed information on crime in Honesdale.

The Honesdale Borough Police Department provides the council with a report on the number of arrests made, crimes reported, tickets issued and other stats at each meeting. While the council has been receiving those reports, police chief Richard Southerton has not been attending meetings.

Council members have asked that he be present or send a representative in his stead. Williams oversees the police department, and has been communicating with Southerton on the issue, discussing the possibility of an officer attending the meeting during a regularly scheduled shift.

Council members have said it would be helpful to have a person who can supplement the information they receive in reports.

“If these [crime] reports are somewhat helpful for the department, it still doesn’t give us a full scope of what’s happening in our community,” Hamill said at the meeting.