Lehighton is hoping its engineering firm comes back with a reduced increase in pay rate.

Councilman John Kreitz suggested to borough council on Monday that it talk the matter over with Vanessa Nedrick, an engineer with Remington and Vernick Engineers.

Borough Manager Dane DeWire brought the matter up at council’s special meeting last month after Remington and Vernick Engineers requested a considerable increase in its pay rate.

After discussion with council, Nedrick said her firm would be willing to work with the borough.

“Our rates are negotiable,” Nedrick said. “We typically don’t raise our rates every year.”

Nedrick said this is the fist time they proposed a rate increase for its services to the borough in some time.

DeWire said some of the issues have been untimely responses and unreturned phone messages, to which Nedrick said the minute they receive messages, they review them.

Councilwoman Autumn Abelovsky asked whether DeWire spoke with Nedrick since council’s instruction last month.

Nedrick said she received a text message from DeWire in the time since.

“We want to continue working with the borough,” Nedrick stressed.

Councilman Steve Hawk said he believes it’s important for the borough to have that continuity with an engineering firm.

Abelovsky said she would like to see Nedrick and Remington and Vernick Engineers come back to the borough with a reduced rate.

DeWire said last month that council could choose to retain Nedrick, or go with one of two other candidates whom council met with earlier in 2024.

Kreitz asked at that time why council doesn’t just look to retain Nedrick.

But council members David Zimmerman and Becky Worthy both said at that time they liked the idea of looking into another engineer.

DeWire noted Remington and Vernick’s rates have gone up across the board, and added all engineering rates have increased between 21% and 30% between the 2024 and 2025 rates.

Comparatively, he said the other firms in council’s top three choices from earlier in 2024 only had rate increases of 5% and 4%, respectively.

DeWire said his main point of contention was regarding the professional estimate that the borough received for the I & I abatement project.

Remington and Vernick firm serves various municipalities, including ones larger than the borough.

As a result, DeWire said it appears at times that the borough isn’t always given top priority, and noted correspondence isn’t always swift.

In February, borough council on a 4-2 vote, with one abstention, reappointed Nedrick to the post.