County council supports student cellphone ban – Lehigh Valley Press

In a divided vote at the meeting Feb. 19, Northampton County Council passed a resolution supporting state legislation banning cellphone usage in public schools.

The resolution, which passed by a 5-4 vote, stated council “expresses its support for Pennsylvania Senate Bill 1014, which would establish a bell-to-bell statewide ban on student cellphone use during the school day” and urged advancement of the bill “in order to provide public schools with clear guidance, consistent standards and enforceable authority,” according to language in the resolution.

Jeff Warren, council vice president, has had dialogues with school superintendents on the topic during the first two years of his term, he said.

“This is an issue that is not going to be going away anytime soon,” Warren said. “I think as local leaders, every now and again, when we see societal-based problems that we can kind of nudge our state legislators (on), that we should take that responsibility and really move forward with it.”

Councilwoman Lori Vargo Heffner questioned whether the council should weigh in on the topic.

“We are not a school,” she said. “I would be more aligned with this as a parent, but I am concerned about us stepping onto the school district side, so I am not sure how I feel about the resolution.”

Several council members did understand the concern about jurisdiction but stated their support for this resolution.

“I do share concerns about overstepping our bounds,” Councilman Jason Boulette said. “But, as a parent of a 13-year-old who sees the impact that cellphone use has, in this case, I do think it is good for us to encourage our state house members to move on this.”

Council President Ken Kraft added the resolution came as a suggestion from the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania.

Councilman David Holland expressed concerns about expressing support for a bill without more details.

“I agree that there needs to be a policy,” Holland said. “Is this (Senate Bill 1014) the policy that should be? It’s in the wording, right? If this policy is implemented, does the good Bethlehem School District policy get superseded? I think we need to get a sense of where our school districts that lie within the county are.”

Councilmembers Kraft, Boulette, Warren, Thomas Giovanni and Kelly Keegan voted in favor of the resolution. Councilmembers Vargo Heffner, Holland, Theresa Fadem and Nadeem Qayyum voted against the resolution.

The county will now transmit the resolution to the governor and the county’s state legislative delegation.

As for Senate Bill 1014, it is currently in committee in the state House after passing the state Senate by a 46-1 vote Feb. 3.

In other business, county council voted to table a resolution stating support for and urging the state of Pennsylvania to enact “sustained and meaningful” increases in Medicaid reimbursements for county-owned nursing homes, such as Gracedale Nursing Home in Upper Nazareth Township, as well as expressing support for the development of a low-interest, revolving loan fund to finance capital improvements at county-owned nursing facilities by the state.

In calling to table the resolution, Vargo Heffner requested more information regarding the reimbursement formulas.

“I do not know if we have the purview in terms of the Medicaid reimbursement rate,” she said. “I love Part 2 (about the revolving loan fund), but I have some questions about how the actual (reimbursement) formula works.”

Warren, who introduced the resolution, said he could support Vargo Heffner’s request. Council members voted unanimously to table the resolution.

The council did approve a series of Gracedale-related fiscal year 2025 budget amendments. Those budget amendments reallocated approximately $7 million within the budget to fully cover the facility’s expenditures for FY2025 from unspent funds and other savings, said Mark Aurand, Northampton County director of administration.

Aurand presented the county executive’s report on behalf of Northampton County Executive Tara Zrinski, who was attending an out-of-town conference, he stated.

Several local residents received committee appointments. William McGee, of Northampton, was appointed to Lehigh-Northampton Airport Authority for a term to expire Dec. 31, 2030; Joe Welsh, of Bath, was appointed to the Jail Advisory Board for a term to expire Dec. 31, 2027; Christopher Amato, of Walnutport, was reappointed to Lehigh Valley Planning Commission for a term to expire Dec. 31, 2029; and Judith Haldeman, of Northampton, was also reappointed to LVPC in an elected official appointment for a term to expire Dec. 31, 2026.

County council approved personnel requests for the Department of Human Resources’ Area Agency on Aging to convert an aging care manager 2 role to an aging care manager 3 role and to upgrade a supervisor position, as well as a position upgrade for the Department of Public Works’ Parks and Recreation Department.

The county council approved a contract with High Concrete Group, of Denver, at a cost of $4.265 million to serve as the precast concrete prime contractor on the government center parking deck replacement project. This contract amount came in around $1 million less than expected, county officials said.

County council members also approved a three-year contract with BSI Corporate Benefits, of Bethlehem, at a total cost of $111,407.40 to provide brokerage services to the county for employees’ health and ancillary benefits.

A resolution was approved by county council, expressing support for and agreeing to serve as the grantee for a potential state Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program grant for the Dixie Cup factory site redevelopment project in Wilson Borough. If the grant is received, the county will not have to put money into the project as a result.