'Strong & promising': Lebanon mayor says crime numbers lower than most cities in region

Low crime rates and new infrastructure projects were some of the highlights Lebanon Mayor Sherry Capello shared with residents during her annual State of the City address Wednesday.

Speaking to a packed house at a luncheon in the Hebron Social Hall, Capello said the state of Lebanon City is "strong and promising." Serious crime in the city has significantly decreased over the past decades, with Capello saying 2023 representing the second-lowest serious crime count in "statistical history."

"Our crime numbers are lower than most other cities in our region," she said. "Lebanon continues to be safe, but we do need to change the mindset of using guns to resolve problems."

When comparing the city statistics to those of 20 years ago, serious crimes such as homicide, rape and assault have decreased by more than 57%. Capello said the decrease has been a consistent trend over the years.

The city saw six homicides in 2023. One was in November 2023, involving a murder/suicide in the 300 block of S. 9th St. The second was use of deadly force by a private citizen against a 33-year-old Lebanon city man in May 2023, which was ruled by the Lebanon County District Attorney's office as justified under Pennsylvania’s self-defense laws.

The third was in March 2023, when Jean Ortiz-Rivera was fatally shot on the 900 Block of Lehman Street. Police have charged Juan Delgado Rodriguez, 31, Lebanon, with the shooting.

The final three where in May 30, 2023, when Joshua Lugo-Perez, along with 9-year-old Sebastian Perez-Salome and 8-year-old Jesus Perez-Salome, were shot and killed by three assailants outside of their home in the 400 Block of North 5th Street.

Alex Torres-Santos, 22, and James Fernandez-Reyes, 16, were arrested May 31 after the Lebanon County SWAT team executed a search warrant in the 400 block of North 9th Street. Ivan Claudio-Rosero was arrested in a public area in North Philadelphia June 6 after a week-long manhunt for him conducted by various local law enforcement agencies.

In 2023, street crimes involving gunfire were 11 and random gun fire incidents were 8, according to Capello. Through various investigations, law enforcement believes three groups were responsible for at least 10 of the gunfire incidents in 2023. Capello did not identify those groups in her speech but did say the police logged 43 firearms into evidence in 2023.

"In all instances with the exception of the triple homicide, all victims were targeted," Capello said. "That's important, because they are not random acts of violence on uninvolved people. These are people who resolve conflict with guns."

Assaults and police use of force

More than 36% of assault incidents in the city were domestic violence related, which was the same as in 2022. Capello said the last two years represent the lowest percentages for this type of assault in the last decade, with the number of domestic violence cases slowly trending downward since 2011.

Police made 753 arrests in 2023, up from the 597 arrests that were made in 2022. Officers had to use force to make an arrest, detain a suspect or to protect an officer or resident in 45 of the arrests made in 2023.

There were three complaints filed against officers in 2023, which includes a complaint concerning neighbors and police not taking action, an officer entering a house thinking it was an apartment building vestibule and an officer not issuing a ticket for a tractor trailer parking complaint. Capello said officials determined all three complaints were unfounded.

In 2023, the Lebanon City Police Department implemented a 12-hour shift schedule for patrol. The department also received an $817,000 grant, which was used to purchase items including mobile license plate readers, upgraded department computers and provide officer retention and recruitment bonuses.

Unemployment rate

The unemployment rate in the city ended at 2.3% at the end of 2023. City officials reported a record high unemployment rate at 17.8% in April 2020.

"Usually, low unemployment rates mean an economy is strong, however, one factor behind this lower rate could be a slow recovery in the labor force participation rate since the onset of COVID," Capello said. "This could be a concerning sign for the economy moving forward and should be considered in workforce development planning."

According to a report by the Center for Rural Pennsylvania, Lebanon County is expected to see a 12.7% growth through 2025. Officials agree that if the projections are correct, the county could see a population of over 161,410 by 2025.

In 2023, the median household income in Lebanon city increased by $5,000 to over $47,000. However, Capello said that amount is still significantly lower than the county and the state.

"Our percentage of persons below 100% of the poverty level decreased by 2% to about 23% of the population," she said. "The percentage of households receiving food stamps or SNAP benefits also decreased by more than 2% to little more than 30%. These are positives for our community."

A recent housing study commissioned by the Lebanon County Coalition to End Homelessness found households increased by 8% in Lebanon County between 2010 and 2022. That growth was already expected to increase by another 1%, or an additional 580 households, by 2027.

Across Lebanon County, 27% of households have at least one person employed, yet struggle to afford basic necessities, including housing, utilities, food, child care and health care, according to the Asset Limited Income Constrained, Employed, or ALICE, report. ALICE records household incomes that exceed the federal poverty level but are not high enough to pay for basic needs.

The City of Lebanon, Annville Township, Myerstown and Palmyra were identified by the ALICE report as having more than 40% of households not having incomes to pay for basic needs.

In 2021, more than 4,300 Lebanon County residents reached out to the United Way's 211 program. It connects families to local programs to help them financial, housing and food assistance.

Fire and public safety calls

There were 1,762 calls for public safety and fire department calls in 2023, which is the highest number of calls in the city's history. The city received a 17.5% increase, or 262 more calls, than in 2021. The increase was due to false alarms, mutual aid to other municipalities and rescue and emergency services calls, according to Capello.

"We experienced a total fire count of 92," she said. "This is 18 counts lower than 2022 ... Fortunately, only 31 calls were structure fires with 9 calls in the county and 22 calls in the city representing 1.2% of all city calls for service."

Capello added that 50% of all structure fires in the city were due to cooking fires.

Building and street maintenance

More than $12 million has been invested in resurfacing city streets over the last 16 years, according to Capello. A significant increase has occurred in the last three years due to the route 422/72 project and the use of ARPA funding for paving projects in 2023.

The next major street to be resurfaced in 2024 will be Cumberland Street, from 5th Ave. to 16th St.

"Prepping will start in June of this year with the projected completion in October," Capello said. "Cumberland St. from 5th Avenue East to the city line and beyond is anticipated to occur in 2025 with PennDOT as the lead."

Officials have started using AI software to asses the conditions of the city's roads. Capello said about 88 of the 94 miles of streets have been mapped and rated on their level of condition.

"More than half of our streets are in great condition and 22% good, representing 73% of all our streets," she said. "33% are moderate to severe. This gives us a good starting point to measure our progress moving forward."

The city has around 110 condemned properties, which represents about 1% of total housing units. In 2023, the city issued 72 new condemnations due to no utilities, and lifted 108.

A total of 62 permits were issued to various groups for the use of streets, sidewalks and parks in 2023, with 78 permits issued in 2022. Capello said that the number of permits issued have not returned to pre-COVID numbers, which ranged in the 90s.

City official acknowledge that a majority of small businesses continue to struggle, Capello said. Inflation continues to have a negative effect on establishments operating their businesses.

"Our downtown is the core of the city and county, and we will be working on a retail strategy for the downtown this year," Capello said.

Highlighting the work done in her 14th year in office, Capello said her administration has made a positive impact on the health of the city in many ways.

"We acknowledge we have work to do in some areas, especially with our housing shortage," she said. "We will continue to work to improve our city."

Matthew Toth is a reporter for the Lebanon Daily News. Reach him at mtoth@ldnews.com or on X at @DAMattToth.

This article originally appeared on Lebanon Daily News: Lebanon PA mayor: Positive impacts made in the city in 2023