At the Bethlehem City Council meeting on Tuesday, residents raised concerns about whether U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement have access to Bethlehem Police Department data and about staffing shortages in the Bethlehem Fire Department.
This meeting followed a Financial Committee meeting at which the City Council recommended approval of 10 amendments to Bethlehem’s budget, including transfers for the Fire Department’s Pipeline Emergency Response Grant, additional revenue reported by the Bethlehem Golf Course and an Emergency Housing-Emergency Solutions grant.
All 10 amendments were approved unanimously at the general body council meeting.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement
On June 6, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid at the Five 10 construction site — part of the rebuilding of an apartment complex after a fire in May — resulted in 17 arrests, according to Lehigh Valley News. Community members protested the raids the following weeks.
During public comment, Bethlehem resident Alex Mille said he was uneasy about the Bethlehem Police Department’s contract with Flock Safety, a manufacturer of security hardware and software, particularly amid the presence of ICE in the city.
Miller said his concerns stem from instances in which other police departments failed to properly secure livestream video by not password-protecting administrative portals or by sharing unsecured links online. He also cited a University of Washington Center of Human rights study that found U.S. Border Patrol agents had backdoor access to Flock Safety automated license plate reader cameras used by several local police departments.
Miller said the Department of Homeland Security’s purchase in Schuylkill Haven and Berks county Pennsylvania, which he believes will be used to detain people, heightens the urgency for the Bethlehem Police Department to end its contract with Flock Safety.
“I urge you to end the city’s partnership with an endorsement of Flock safety,” Miller said.
“Do not continue to pay a company that is at best grossly negligent and complicit in unspeakable state-led violence and cruelty. So many realms of modern life have been forever changed by Silicon Valley’s ethos — move fast and break things — surely we should not apply this to our civil liberties.”
Bethlehem Police Chief Michelle Kott said the department’s contract with Flock Safety states that the Bethlehem Police Department is the sole owner of data collected through the company’s automatic license plate readers.
Kott also said the department doesn’t use Flock’s Safety cameras, only its license plate readers. For cameras, the department contracts with Genetec Surveillance.
“I am aware of what transpired,” Kott said. “Some police departments, for one reason or another, decided to release all of that information unredacted. It makes no sense. I can’t speak to why they would do that, but that did indeed happen. But that’s something that we’re not in the practice of.”
City Council member Hillary Kwiatek said she understands Miller’s concerns, though she believes the police department is working to protect residents’ data.
“I think we all heard the news about the purchase of the warehouse in Berks County with some alarm and know that the Lehigh Valley is not alone and that something like 23 different municipalities have woken up to this news as well,” Kwiatek said. “But our city and our valley is full of really good people who care and want to protect their neighbors and want to do the right thing.”
Bethlehem resident Henry Faber also spoke during public comment, reiterating Miller’s concerns and calling on the City Council to adopt legislation preventing the Bethlehem Police Department from sharing information or resources with ICE.
“As it’s been said, injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere; inaction is action,” Faber said. “By not acting you enable the ethnic cleansing of our community.”
Understaffed fire department
Bethlehem’s 2026 budget passed City Council on Dec. 16 by a 6-2 vote. Council members Bryan Callahan and Grace Crampsie Smith voted against the budget, citing its failure to fund additional firefighters.
During public comment, Bethlehem resident Stephan Antalics raised similar concerns and said the decision not to replace four firefighters dismissed in 2025 leaves the community vulnerable.
“The approval of the city budget, which allowed the hiring of several individuals as officers of the Department of Human and Economic Development, and the recent vote by this body to not replace the four dismissed firemen has sent a very clear message to the community,” Antalics said. “Revenue enhancement over public safety.”
Later in the meeting, Callahan said he would continue working to identify funding to increase fire department staffing.
“I am not gonna let (the fire department’s understaffing issue) die,” he said. “I don’t want to stop pushing that until we get these guys fully staffed. I know there’s a study going on, but the study’s going to tell us exactly what the firemen already told us. They’re overworked.”
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