A former mayor and councilman will return to a familiar seat on Palmerton Borough Council.

On a 5-0 vote, borough council appointed William Gallagher to fill the vacancy. Councilman Richard Nothstein was absent.

Gallagher was sworn in by Mayor Don Herrmann, and immediately took his seat on council.

Afterward, Councilwoman Holly Hausman-Sell said the borough is “very lucky” as four people applied.

“We were fortunate enough to have several people apply,” Hausman-Sell said. “I’d like to thank those people, and encourage those people to run at election time.”

Gallagher will serve until the end of this year, and takes over for former Councilman Michael Ballard.

Earlier this month, council accepted Ballard’s resignation.

Ballard, who had served on council since 2012, cited health reasons for his resignation.

Gallagher most recently served as mayor, a position he took over in September 2020 after he was selected to fill the then vacant mayor seat.

As a result of his appointment, he resigned his seat on council at that time.

Gallagher served in that capacity until Dec. 31, 2021.

In January 2022, Herrmann was sworn in to a four-year term as mayor, as he replaced Gallagher.

Before he became mayor, Gallagher served for over four years on borough council.

After the meeting, he said he’s happy to return to a familiar position.

“My interest has always been the people of Palmerton,” Gallagher said. “Especially the Northface project; that’s why I reapplied to get back on council.”