Weatherly’s mayor would like the town’s district judge to set bail higher in cases where a person is accused of selling heroin.

Mayor Tom Connors, who also serves as council president, asked his fellow council members at a meeting Monday night to join him in a letter to Magisterial District Judge Joseph Homanko.

When police charge someone with a crime and arrest them, a magisterial district judge is the first court that they see. Part of the district judge’s job is to set bail in cases.

Connors said he would like to see Homanko’s court in Weatherly, which serves three boroughs and five townships, impose higher bails when someone is accused of possessing heroin with intent to deliver.

He said that after attending a number of meetings aimed at the heroin problem, there need to be new ideas.

“Nobody has the answers, and I don’t want heroin in my community,” Connors said.

The recommendation came after Connors and another councilman met with Homanko to discuss how judges determine bail, and the factors they have to consider.

Connors said Homanko made it clear that bail cannot be used as a punishment. Suspects are considered innocent until proven guilty.

But Connors said that bail can be set higher if someone is a danger to themselves or others. A suspected heroin dealer, he said, is certainly a danger to others.

Connors plans to draft a letter for his fellow council members to sign at their next regular meeting in July. The five other council members in attendance Monday night said they supported the idea.