Over in Weissport, they’re swimming in pudding.

The borough’s government came to a screeching halt last month after three members of council resigned for different reasons.

And now, with only two sitting members, Weissport council can’t transact any business.

A revolving door of council members and supervisors over the last few years has slowed the progress in many of the region’s smaller municipalities, and the tiny Carbon County community has become a microcosm of the phenomenon.

It came to a head last month, when Weissport couldn’t hold its regular monthly meeting.

Greg Mousseau, borough solicitor, delivered the bad news, saying that due to the lack of a quorum, no business could be conducted.

Only two council members of the five-person board — Arland Moyer and Bill Hartzell — were in attendance. Three others were among the missing.

Thomas Ketchledge, then-president of council, resigned the post at a Feb. 17 meeting, citing personal reasons. The resignation was effective immediately, and remaining council members didn’t have a replacement for the seat, or the council president position. Ketchledge served as council president since Feb. 20, 2023. He ran for the position as an independent candidate in 2021.

Weissport’s woes continued last month, when two more members left.

On March 3, Brenda Leiby, a 10-year council veteran, and Joe Foster, who was elected to council in November 2023, called it quits, citing personal and medical reasons. Foster was reappointed as council vice president during its reorganization in January.

The two remaining council members gathered for their regular March meeting, but solicitor Mousseau explained they were powerless to do anything.

The resignations were never accepted by council, thus leaving the remaining members to follow Borough Code. According to code, resignations would be effective 45 days after March 4 and March 11, when council was notified.

Code dictates that council could fill the vacancies within 30 days,

But without a quorum, council can’t take action.

Another possible solution the code offered would be that a vacancy board could choose to fill the empty seats. Unfortunately, when council had a quorum, it failed to appoint a vacancy board.

Procedurally, the last gasp to fill any of the positions would be for a “recognized electorate of the borough” — essentially one of the two remaining elected council members — to petition the court after the 45-day waiting period that ends April 25.

A judge would then weigh in to fill the position so the borough could resume conducting business.

The larger issue, though, is the absence of people who want to serve.

Realistically, those who’ve been holding the seats are just like any of the people they serve.

Let’s face it. Life happens.

They have medical issues, personal issues and family issues that are far more important. Choosing to leave an elected position is a tough decision — almost as tough as it is to commit to running for office.

And continuing to serve while experiencing any of those issues is actually a disservice, since the 100% commitment an elected official has to any position is compromised by what’s going on around them.

What’s more, especially in tiny places like Weissport, the pool of potential candidates isn’t really that full.

Filling five council seats in a borough with a population of around 500 is a daunting task. Looking at the list of candidates who’ve filed to have their names included on the May primary ballot, there are no names from any party for any open position in Weissport.

This year, the three vacant, four-year council seats are up for grabs, as are the mayor and tax collector posts.

That shows little interest in anyone stepping forward, especially since just 10 signatures are needed to get on the ballot.

Write-ins are possible in both the primary and general elections, and getting just 10 votes would put a candidate into office.

But none of that matters, since anyone elected this year wouldn’t take office until January 2026.

There’s an outside chance that one of the resigned council members could have a change of heart, step forward and attend the next regular meeting April 21.

At the very least, it would constitute a quorum, allow council to fill a vacancy — if there’s anyone interested in taking the seat — and catch up on regular business.

If that doesn’t happen, a judge’s decision will dictate Weissport’s future until year’s end.

The sad part about all this is that with nobody interested, the process could continue into next year — and years to come.

And leave Weissport swimming in pudding.

ED SOCHA | tneditor@tnonline.com