Police staffing, parking fine increases among borough concerns

By ELIZABETH LEPRO
Posted 10/25/22

HONESDALE, PA — Honesdale Borough Council members have been asking for more direct communication with police chief Richard Southerton. This month, their wish was granted.

At the …

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Police staffing, parking fine increases among borough concerns

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HONESDALE, PA — Honesdale Borough Council members have been asking for more direct communication with police chief Richard Southerton. This month, their wish was granted.

At the council’s most recent meeting, Southerton said he is frustrated with the state of the Honesdale Borough Police Department, namely that there are just three full-time officers serving the borough, which he said is not enough to address serious crime. State police help fill gaps by responding to immediate threats, he said, but don’t usually follow cases. Southerton noted that the one officer on the overnight shift has been in several “bad situations.”

“You can’t run this town with three people,” Southerton said. “You got to make some decisions about where you want to go with the police department.”

In response, council members said it has been difficult to attract officers to Honesdale. Two possible hires have fallen through in the recent past. Southerton and the council both expressed the desire to collaborate on solving the staffing issue. The council also agreed to add an advertisement for part-time officers to the borough website.

Also at the meeting, several Main Street business owners decried proposed parking fine increases. Currently, if you get a parking ticket in town, you have 24 hours to pay $5. The council’s parking committee has proposed increasing that base violation fine from $5 to $25.

Jill McConnell, owner of Finders Keepers Consignment Boutique and Memory Lane Photography, was one of four business owners who spoke at the meeting. She presented the council with a petition signed by 38 local businesses. A Facebook group McConnell created to address the issue has nearly 300 members.

“It really does feel like a punishment for people coming in if they happen to spend extra time at our local businesses,” one new business owner said at Tuesday’s meeting.

The council did not vote on the rate increases Tuesday, as it needs to correct errors in the ordinance related to parking, and has not yet announced when the vote will take place. The borough did vote to make parking at the Park & Shop Lot at 640 Main St. free on weekends.

Though speakers seemed most concerned with the fine raise, the council’s parking committee has also recommended that Honesdale raise meter rates to 50 cents per hour, up from 25 cents per hour. Borough council members have said that raising the rates and fines is part of an effort to balance revenue and to free up spaces so that more people can shop on Main Street.

“The objective from the council’s perspective is to ensure that more spaces are available, and to allow more spaces to turn over quickly,” said councilor William McAllister. “The problem is we don’t have 5,000 spots.”

There was some back-and-forth about where employees who work on Main Street should park. Attendees suggested increasing the number of hours cars can park on side streets.

Lucas Greene, a building owner who spoke during public comment, suggested that new digital meters accept credit cards.

“It seems like the system is being designed to give tickets and I think that just sacrifices the goodwill of both residents and visitors,” Greene said. “I think that goodwill is worth more than any revenue we would get from citations or fees or raising the prices of the meters themselves.”

Of note: The borough will hold a special meeting to finalize its budget on Tuesday, December 6 at 6 p.m. Honesdale’s official trick-or-treating hours will be 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Monday, October 31.

Honesdale Borough Police Department, staffing, parking fine

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