CATASAUQUA, Pa. – Catasauqua Borough Council has voted to terminate the employment of Borough Manager Glenn Eckhart.
Eckhart told 69 News the dismissal comes after he used the phrase “Heil Hitler” during a meeting with the borough’s mayor and another borough staff member.
The vote Monday night was 6-1, with Howard Cunningham the only member of council not voting in favor of the termination, Eckhart said.
According to Eckhart, the meeting in question took place on the virtual platform Zoom earlier this month. It was not a public meeting; rather, it was supposed to be a chance for him to clear the air with Mayor Anthony Alcalde, with whom he has had a contentious relationship since Alcalde took office in January, Eckhart said.
By about 11 minutes into the meeting, Eckhart had grown frustrated.
“I raised my hand up, and I said ‘Heil Hitler,'” Eckart said. “I was not (acting) like myself. I made a mistake.”
Eckart said he apologized immediately after the meeting. He said, since then, no one from the borough has reached out to him to get “his side of the story.”
The meeting- at least a portion of it- was recorded, according to Eckhart.
Eckhart has served as Catasauqua’s borough manager since October of 2022. He announced his intention to retire early last year but then decided to stay on to help the borough as it weathered a number of financial challenges.
His termination becomes effective in 30 days, he told 69 News.
The vote on his employment status was not listed on the agenda for council’s meeting Monday night. Council made a motion on the issue following an executive session behind closed doors.
Eckhart was not in attendance at the meeting.
69 News reached out to Mayor Alcalde and all seven members of borough council on Tuesday morning.
Councilman Cunningham told us he “completely supports” Eckhart.
We did not hear back from the others.
At a borough council meeting last month, Cunningham introduced a motion to censure Mayor Alcalde, but the motion did not receive enough support to pass.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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