Capello highlights falling theft, rising drug arrests in 16th State of the City

Mayor Sherry Capello gave her 16th State of the City address Wednesday in what has become an annual spring tradition.

The luncheon address was sponsored by Lebanon law firm Buzgon Davis and hosted by the Community of Lebanon Association.

Speaking to an audience of elected officials, business people, nonprofit representatives, and community leaders at the Hebron Banquet Hall in Lebanon, the mayor touched on almost every aspect of city government and civic life. Here are some of the highlights.

Crime

The mayor noted that, just for 2025, year-over-year comparisons of city crime statistics were harder than usual due to a switch of record keeping systems from the Uniform Crime Reporting system (UCR) to the newer, enhanced National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS), which should give a more detailed picture of criminal activity. Precise year-over-year comparisons of 2024 versus 2025 can’t be made due to the re-classification of specific crimes under the new program, she said.

There were three city homicides in 2025, Capello said, compared to one in 2024 and six in 2023. Two were the result of domestic incidents, the third was due to a neighbor dispute.

There were 13 offenses in 2025 classified as rape, up from five in 2024. “The increase is a direct result of NIBRS crime reporting,” Capello said. “While UCR counts rape as [solely] the criminal charge of rape, NIBRS counts rape as any of the following: institutional sexual assault, sexual assault, aggravated indecent assault, indecent assault, and involuntarily deviate sexual intercourse.”

Other assaults rose from 70 in 2024 to 188 in 2025, due to another NIBRS re-classification that for the first time included the low-level crime of summary harassment by physical contact as an assault. Otherwise, assault statistics would have remained level, according to the mayor.

44% of assaults were related to domestic violence, the third straight annual increase, but 33 of those were the newly re-classified harassment offenses. Otherwise, Capello said domestic violence-related assaults would have risen by only four in 2025.

“While the current numbers remain significantly lower than they were 16 years ago, the recent upward trend is concerning and something we are monitoring closely,” she said.

Thefts decreased by 21%, to 237. “This is a significant drop and represents the lowest in our statistical history,” which began in 1998, the mayor said.

Burglaries decreased by three last year, to five non-residential and 28 residential, “an 8% decrease and the lowest count in our statistical history.”

Drug arrests were a different story last year. They rose from 212 to 285, “making the third consecutive year with an uptick,” the mayor reported.

The Lebanon City Police Department’s clearance rate “demonstrated strong overall performance achieving crime clearance rates that exceed the national average in 27 out of 31 offense categories,” Capello said. She noted the new NIBRS system allows a “meaningful comparison with peer cities in the region,” which “clearly shows that Lebanon city experiences lower rates of serious crimes across nearly every major NIBRS group.”

Fire service

City firefighters responded to more than 1,700 calls for service in 2025, 24 less than 2024. Total calls have remained about steady for the last three years.

Capello said 49% of these calls were for false alarms; that’s an increase over 2024, although the mayor did not say by how much. 17% were for rescue and emergency services and about 13% for hazardous conditions, vehicular accident cleanups, and gas leaks.

City fire companies responded throughout the county to 86 actual fires, just 5% of all 2025 calls, and two fewer than 2024, according to the mayor. Within the city itself, there were 23 structure fires, two more than in 2024.

Sadly, an early morning structure fire Sunday, Sept. 28, at 815 Church Street killed five, despite city firefighters arriving at the scene and initiating rescue efforts within two minutes of being dispatched.

Capello praised the city fire service, noting it is the only combined career (paid)/volunteer department in the county, with career firefighters on duty 24/7. City firefighters also provide coverage to parts of North Cornwall Township under a cooperation agreement and regularly assist county departments who lack enough volunteers.

Capello reported that the city is moving forward with plans to modernize Fire Station No. 1 at 8th and Orange streets, which was built in 1968 and last updated in 1999, and is focusing on a variety of training and certification programs to insure that firefighters have the latest knowledge and skills.

Housing & Sanitation

More than half of all code enforcement issues involved what Capello described as “nuisance issues,” such as garbage, rubbish, and weeds.

Capello said a key change in housing code enforcement in 2025 was the use of “re-occurence violation fees. … Rather than relying on costly and time-intensive court filings, repeat violation fees have driven faster corrections, reduced chronic nuisance issues, and achieved better outcomes for residents.”

Reducing long-term condemned properties is a top priority of the Department of Public Safety. Capello noted that in 2025 five properties that had been condemned for longer than a decade were fully rehabbed, and several others were making significant progress toward compliance. “This work strengthens neighborhoods, stabilizes housing, and supports long-term reinvestment.

The mayor said that 2025 saw only six food safety and sanitation complaints investigated, less than half the amount reported in previous years.

She touted a number of housing initiatives that advanced in 2025, including:

• A comprehensive housing strategy “focused on home ownership, rehabilitation of substandard housing, and the conversion of unused downtown upper floors into housing.”
• The launch of the Lebanon County Housing Collaborative and three countywide “housing summits.”
• The city’s support for Lebanon County’s first housing director.
• Continuing work by the city’s land bank, which returns blighted properties to “productive, owner-occupied use.” The land bank secured $200,000 in PHARE funds from the commonwealth to enable additional property acquisitions and rehabilitations.

Streets and highways

Capello said nearly $15 million has been invested in resurfacing city streets during her tenure, “with not quite half a million performed in 2025.”

A less visible project was the repair and restoration of a 1/3-mile-long culvert and bridge beneath the grounds of the Lebanon County and City building on South 8th Street. Injection grouting, seam repairs and patching of exposed metal rebars were included in the work. The subterranean structure is part of the Hazel Dyke flood control channel.

Capello added that repairs to several city bridges are scheduled in upcoming years.

As reported recently in LebTown, Capello also mentioned that a joint city-state project will result in the upgrade of outdated traffic signals and crosswalks at the busy 12th and West Maple streets intersection in the northwest part of the city. Overall, “significant progress was made on updating signals and equipment” elsewhere in the city, which has 52 signalized intersections, she said.

City finances are solid

As she does at every opportunity, Capello emphasized the city’s solid financial footing.

“Prior to 2010, the city faced significant deficits, but … has addressed this issue during my tenure. According to our last audit filed, the city’s fund balances for governmental funds increased by more than $1 million, and the city’s net position increased by $2.3 million,” she said. “Over time, increases or decreases [in net position] indicate whether the city’s financial position is improving or deteriorating.”

“Although not as much as in the year prior, it is still in the positive category. Our long-term obligations … have decreased by more than $850,000. This decrease was mainly due to a decrease in pension liability offset by an increase in other post-employment benefits.”

Capello added that all pension plans sponsored by the city are properly funded and none are considered “distressed.”

The mayor said that Lebanon city is the only city in the commonwealth with a population of more than 15,000 that has not raised taxes in the last 11 years.

“We can be proud of our efforts to keep taxes low while still completing major projects and providing appropriate services to our residents and benefits to our employees,” said Capello.

“During my tenure, the city has strengthened its financial position by eliminating deficits, increasing our surplus, and improving cash management. We established a capital reserve fund, improved our bond rating to ‘A- stable,’ and maintained properly funded pension funds while keeping taxes low.”

“At the same time, Lebanon has experienced more than $298 million in commercial and residential investment, and secured more than $80 million in grants to support police, fire, and public works operations, enhance parks, improve environmental conditions, and promote economic development.

“We have also invested nearly $15 million in street resurfacing, increased our capital assets and net position, reduced serious crime, and lowered the number of condemned properties, helping reduce blight.

“With that being said,” the mayor concluded, “I am pleased to report that the state of the city remains strong and optimistic.”