Borough of Macungie

Mayor Plans to Leave Macungie for Virginia

Macungie Mayor Rick Hoffman has sold his home and will give up his office on June 28, his last official day as a borough resident.

Macungie Mayor Rick Hoffman plans to head for the hills this summer. If all goes well, it will be the hills and valleys of Virginia to be more precise. Hoffman and his wife have accepted an offer on their home in the borough and the official closing date is set for the end of June, according to the mayor. As a result, he says he will resign his office on June 28, which should be his last official day as a Macungie Borough resident, "and not a day sooner." Hoffman's term as mayor doesn't expire until the end of the year. It's not yet known if council will appoint an interim successor. Gary Cordner, a Democrat, is the only mayoral candidate on the ballot. Any opponents would have to run as write-in candidates. Hoffman, whose tenure as mayor …

•  8 Comments
• Photos (1)

get real

9:28 pm on Wednesday, May 15, 2013

No Doris, we thank you for finally retiring from the Borough. I wonder if there would be an extra seat for you on the exit bus?   more ›

Police Safety Not Compromised by Virus on Home PC, Mayor Says

Mayor Rick Hoffman called Patch to answer concerns raised at Macungie Borough Council meeting about the security of the GPS system in borough police cars.

Macungie Mayor Rick Hoffman had a short answer to the question “Did Computer Virus Risk Safety of Macungie Police?” raised earlier in the week by Macungie business owner Tim Romig in front of Macungie Borough Council. “No.” Hoffman called Patch on Thursday after reading a Patch article summarizing the concerns raised by Romig about the email virus on the mayor's PC, which Romig documented using printouts of an email exchange between Hoffman and Macungie Police Chief Ed Harry. In those exchanges, which Romig obtained through a right to know request, Harry told the mayor about the virus and suggested he try to get it taken care of. Even if his computer did have an email virus, Hoffman explained, there is no way a virus in his email could put…

•  2 Comments
• Photos (1)

Did Computer Virus Risk Safety of Macungie Police?

Macungie business owner Tim Romig raised his concerns about a virus on the mayor's computer at Monday night's borough council meeting.

Did a computer virus on the Macungie mayor's home computer put the safety of police officers and borough residents at risk? Macungie business owner Tim Romig thinks so. Romig addressed council at its Monday meeting to raise the issue, with copies of email exchanges between Mayor Rick Hoffman and Macungie Chief of Police Ed Harry in hand. Romig said he obtained the emails after filing a public information act right to know request. The emails, which Romig shared with Patch, date back to January and include at least two exchanges between Harry and Hoffman in which Harry told the mayor that he had received spam email from Hoffman's account. Harry recommended that the mayor do something about the virus. Romig's concern stems from the fact that…

•  24 Comments
• Photos (1)

Borough of Macungie

West End Trail Will Close for 5 Days

The main artery to several businesses will close for paving.

West End Trail, the main artery between busy Route 100 and several businesses, will close at 7 a.m. July 9 for paving. The stretch between Macungie's main artery and CVS, Turkey Hill and the Macungie Post Office will be closed for five days -- weather permitting, according to Borough Manager Chris Boehm. "The extent of the work zone is West End Trail from the intersection of SR 100 for approximately 250', just before the second entrance to the Turkey Hill, she said in an email. "The traffic signal at West End Trail/SR 100 will be placed in ‘flash’ mode for this time period since no active side streets exist," she said.  A detour route will be created as traffic will be flagged at Brookfield Drive and SR 100 at peak traffic volume periods …

•  1 Comment
• Photos (1)

Borough of Macungie

Update on Our Poll: Should Macungie Put its Own GPS Systems in Police Cars?

Vote before 8 a.m. Monday.

Editor's note: Our poll will be available for reader votes through the weekend and will close at 8 a.m. Monday. At last week's borough council meeting, Macungie Mayor Rick Hoffman again tried to move council to vote to place a GPS system in borough police cars that can be monitored by him from his home. And though he has not consulted with Police Chief Edward Harry Jr. about any of the characteristics of the system or even that he wants to put the units in the cars, Hoffman says Harry will also be able to monitor the system from police headquarters. Lehigh County recently put GPS systems in police cars throughout the county. They were installed in the Macungie cars about a month ago. The county systems can do all the things the mayor's …

•  36 Comments
• Photos (1)

Mrs. B

10:23 pm on Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Props to the ones that stick around waiting for this "drama" to end....   more ›

Lower Mac Officials Debate Police Service

Public Safety and township commissioners met jointly to discuss public input on regional police service.

Although everyone in attendance at the Aug. 16 joint meeting of the Public Safety Commission and the Lower Macungie Board of Commissioners agreed that a survey mailed to the residents regarding police protection is essential, the group remained divided as to an appropriate time to send it. All five township commissioners and the township manager joined the members of the Public Safety Commission to discuss the issue, which has been gaining importance in the township, as well as in the borough of Macungie. Township Commissioner President Roger Reis was disappointed at the low turnout of 10 residents. “I thought this would be more important to the residents than it obviously appears,” he said. Reis felt the main issue was whether township …

•  3 Comments
• Photos (1)