Bethlehem Landfill is located at 2335 Applebutter Road in Lower Saucon Township. The facility was owned and operated by the City of Bethlehem from the early 1940s until the early 1990s, when it was transferred to private sector ownership. An expansion proposed by current owner Waste Connections Inc. on more than 275 acres to the northeast of the current landfill’s limits has proven controversial and is an issue in this year’s township council election. (FILE PHOTO)
Editor’s Note: The next Lower Saucon Township Council meeting will be held Wednesday, Sept. 20 at 6:30 p.m. at Lower Saucon Town Hall. Meetings are also livestreamed on YouTube. The YouTube link as well as a draft agenda may be found on the township’s website.
To the editor,
Lower Saucon Township residents need to closely watch Lower Saucon Township Council. Check the minutes, go to meetings, watch the YouTube videos. Every meeting brings more outrageous spending plans and ridiculous assertions about Bethlehem Landfill. Priscilla deLeon is the only council member who is responsive to the needs of township residents.
Council took advantage of the bully pulpit at the Aug. 30 hearing/meeting to push landfill propaganda and threaten a tax increase of $3,500 per year, per household, if the giant garbage dump closes. That would equate to $14 million per year in extra revenue! Annual township expenses are $8 million.
Propaganda peddling didn’t stop there and included ‘talking points’ posted on the LST website for the sham of a hosting agreement and the dubious new conservation easements. Who wrote these, and why are they telling these one-sided fairy tales? Township finances have shown surpluses in recent years. We are not so dependent on landfill revenue. Let’s keep it that way.
We need a new majority to curb extravagant spending and stop threatening a tax increase. It seems at every meeting, Council reveals a new way to squander taxpayer money. On Aug. 16, it was a plan for a $4 million little league field renovation, followed by Aug. 30’s sudden declaration for a $2.5 million paid fire department. Outrageous salary increases, legal fees through the roof, lawsuits, lies, contemptible behavior and the laughable ‘library of the future’ instead of funding Hellertown Area Library?
Please restore good government this November–vote for deLeon, Opthof-Cordaro and Ray.
Sincerely,
Lynn Hill
Lower Saucon Township
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