Oct. 4, 2026
— Jeff Ward, Lehigh Valley News Briefs
Bethlehem Township will vote Monday to appoint Doug Bruce again as Township Manager.
Bruce came back as interim manager in September, when Edward Hozza Jr. resigned after about five months. No reason was given for the departure at the last Board of Commissioners meeting.
Bruce served as township manager from 2018 until earlier this year, and he was assistant manager before that.
Here in classic government-ese is the term of his appointment:
Doug Bruce shall serve until the first Monday of January of the even numbered year succeeding this appointment unless and until his/her successor is elected and qualifies.
My interpreter is off today, but I think that means he’ll be appointed through January 2028 unless and until stuff happens.
He returns at budget time, never easy. Bruce also returns in the wake of the township’s settling a dispute about an off-line retaining wall at the St. Luke’s offices being built at Farmersville Road and Easton Avenue, across from the blue grillhouse. The site was once a concrete plant.
Residents at a recent meeting were not happy about the township taking $900,000 for a settlement that moves lines on paper while the wall remains. Some have said a wealthy developer paid its way out of compliance, while homeowners have to go by the book.
Meanwhile, the township has set budget hearings, but I don’t think the budget is out, nor is it on the agenda Monday. Budget hearings will start Oct. 22. There will be another commissioners’ meeting on Oct. 19.
The 2027 budget will have been shaped by two managers, but I suspect the final spending plan will be 100% a Doug Bruce production.
His budgets are always interesting because of his candor about revenue challenges that apply to the township and every other town. That doesn’t mean everybody will like his budget, but he won’t toss out a lot of fluff and jargon to appease the gullible. A Bruce budget is concise and blunt.
Here’s a line from his 2026 budget presentation:
Several years ago I wrote in a budget message: “This is the stark financial picture of Bethlehem Township… a mature. nearly built-out municipality where annual revenues have not quite been keeping up with annual expenses for the better part of a decade.” I think this continues to be the case. Despite the large projected fund balances of the past few years, which I believe to be a short-term anomaly, the annual balance between operating revenues and expenses remains too close for comfort.
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Here’s a link to the schedule of budget hearings.
Agendas and meeting dates are subject to change. Check the township website closer to the dates.
The Bethlehem Township Board of Commissioners will hold its regular meeting at 7 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 5, at the municipal building, 4225 Easton Ave.
