On March 8, Allentown solicitor Robert P. Daday Jr., also a Republican candidate for his party's nomination for mayor, took credit for suggesting to Mayor William Heydt that a law firm, Portnoff Associates Ltd., be hired to collect unpaid taxes. Improved maintenance would attract more golfers and generate more money for Allentown, city officials said. Varkony defended those remarks Monday. She said the next mayor is going to have to make crime and police reorganization a top priority. If elected, she would hire more police officers, strategically redeploy them to high-crime areas and work to ensure that higher ranking officers are paid better than their subordinates.
Some patrolmen now earn more than their bosses because of overtime.