Residents and councilors clash over borough social‑media use and President Heller's role

Public comment dominated a large portion of the meeting as residents and some council members pressed the borough for answers about social‑media posts and the handling of a recent police traffic stop involving Council President Heller.

A longtime resident who said they had served on borough committees for decades told the council they had been banned from the Brookhaven Police Department Facebook page after questioning a press release's description of the stop; the resident said, "I am within my rights to go to the attorney general because it is a civil rights violation being a government entity page," and said they considered filing a complaint. (speaker 5)

Other residents and councilors said the episode had created ‘‘blowback’’ against officers trying to perform their jobs and criticized the process used to place the chief on leave. One speaker urged that, at minimum, President Heller should not be serving as council president while the controversy continued. Another resident, Jeremy Mitt, introduced himself and said he has lived in Brookhaven for 26 years and criticized what he described as a partisan approach to the issue. (speaker 14)

Council members discussed steps to streamline social‑media administration; one council member said the borough is consolidating official Facebook pages (including police and records pages) into a single page "to streamline updates and allow for validation of the information being provided." Officials said historical information and administrator details remain under discussion.

Speakers also referenced an ongoing FOP (Fraternal Order of Police) inquiry and raised questions about whether council members with potential conflicts should recuse themselves from votes. Several residents called for clearer, fairer procedures and for the council to communicate findings to the public.

The council did not reach consensus on removing anyone from leadership during the meeting; instead, the body proceeded with motions on personnel and an outside investigation while public comment continued to call for greater transparency.