Does Coaldale Borough Council have too many members?

The mayor believes so, and is asking voters to support a petition to shrink the seven-member council to five.Joel Johnson says that doing away with two council seats would make council more efficient and orderly. He proposed the idea at the board's regular meeting Tuesday night."It is my hope that a reduction in the number of council members would become a reality for Coaldale borough," Johnson said.In a statement read to council, the mayor said he believes residents "desire to have a more orderly and cordial function" for borough council.Under state law, boroughs with fewer than 3,000 residents can potentially reduce the number of council members to five or even three. First, a minimum of 5 percent of registered voters in the borough have to sign a petition. Then it goes before a judge in county court who ultimately makes the decision.If the petition is approved, seats would be reduced as members' terms expire, giving each member a chance to run for a seat.Johnson, citing the Schuylkill County Elections Bureau, said there are currently 1,260 registered voters in Coaldale. That means 63 signatures would be required for a hearing.Council members have no say over whether a resident starts a petition. But several members offered their opinions about the idea of downsizing council, and they were varied."I think it's a great idea," Claire Remington said. She offered to help circulate the petition.Harry Hontz Jr., Angela Krapf and Yvonne Stoffey all said that they do not agree with the idea to reduce the number of council members."There are way too many things to handle that are not getting done with seven of us sitting here," Krapf said.