CATASAUQUA, Pa. – Catasauqua Borough Council has voted to terminate the employment of Borough Manager Glenn Eckhart.<\/p>\n
Eckhart told 69 News the dismissal comes after he used the phrase “Heil Hitler” during a meeting with the borough’s mayor and the borough’s treasurer, Deanna Decker.<\/p>\n
The vote Monday night was 6-1, with Howard Cunningham the only member of council not voting in favor of the termination, Eckhart said.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
By about 11 minutes into the meeting, Eckhart had grown frustrated.\u00a0<\/p>\n
69 News spoke with Eckhart over the phone. He said it all dates back to a meeting he had with Catasauqua Mayor Anthony Alcalde on October 7.<\/p>\n
“It was actually a meeting to discuss how we can try and get better relationship, and clearly it didn’t go well, and I lost my temper,” said Eckhart.<\/p>\n
Lost his temper, and made an offensive reference to Adolf Hitler.<\/p>\n
“He just kept saying I, I, I, I, and I go Heil Hitler,” said Eckhart. “I was not (acting) like myself. I made a mistake.”<\/p>\n
The meeting- at least a portion of it- was recorded, according to Eckhart, but not the part leading up to his comment. The meeting’s minutes have been transcribed by Decker. Alcalde responded to Eckhart, saying in part:<\/p>\n
“I am so glad this is recorded. Thank you, Deanna, because you did\u2014in the\u2014in the political environment that we’re in, he just did that.”<\/p>\n
Decker characterized the conversation leading up to the comment as antagonistic toward her and Eckhart, a theme she said has been consistent during the mayor’s tenure.<\/p>\n
“After all these months, Glenn just couldn’t take it anymore,” Decker said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
We asked Eckhart why he chose to make the reference to Hitler.<\/p>\n
“I did it because he’s a dictator. I could have said Nicholas Maduro, I could have said Vladimir Putin,” said Eckhart.<\/p>\n
Eckart said he formally 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”, so he was surprised last Friday when he was told he was being terminated.<\/p>\n
“Two weeks you had the information of me saying sorry about this, and not one of you come to me,” said Eckhart.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
His termination becomes effective in 30 days, he told 69 News.<\/p>\n
Eckhart said he plans to fight his firing in court.<\/p>\n
“This is not over,” said Eckhart.<\/p>\n
“That sounds like you’re considering legal action,” said 69 News Reporter Rob Manch.<\/p>\n
“I am, I am,” said Eckhart. “My legal rights have been violated, and I will work to get those things corrected.”<\/p>\n
The vote on his employment status was not listed on the agenda for the council’s meeting Monday night. Council made a motion on the issue following an executive session behind closed doors.<\/p>\n
Eckhart was not in attendance at the meeting.<\/p>\n
69 News reached out to Mayor Alcalde and all seven members of borough council on Tuesday morning.<\/p>\n
Councilman Cunningham told us he “completely supports” Eckhart.<\/p>\n
We reached out to Alcalde for a comment on Eckhart’s firing, but he declined our request.<\/p>\n
Councilman Sean O’Boyle told 69 News he has “no tolerance for the actions taken by our Borough Manager in his references toward our mayor.”<\/p>\n
“This type of conduct has no place in our borough and especially no place in the administration,” O’Boyle continued.\u00a0<\/p>\n
We heard back from the mayor late Tuesday afternoon. “I do not have a comment at this time, maybe down the road I will,” Alcalde said in an email to 69 News.<\/p>\n
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.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This story was updated with new information from the borough treasurer and reaction from council members and the mayor.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\nCopyright 2026 Maranatha Broadcasting Co., Inc.. All Rights Reserved.\n<\/p>\n
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