SUNBURY -- If there was a theme to Tuesday night's community seminar in Sunbury, it was this: There is no single answer to the issues facing the city.

During the two-hour-long seminar, held in the Shikellamy High School auditorium, the six-member panel answered a wide variety of questions. At the end, moderator Mark Lawrence, of WKOK radio, was still left with a large stack of index cards filled with unanswered questions.

Among the questions asked was this one: "Do we really have enough policemen?"

Police Chief Steve Mazzeo, on the force for about a month, responded, "The real question is, what would it take to make people feel safe?"

He said Easton, where he served as an officer for almost 30 years before coming to Sunbury, also had problems with crime and drugs and tried to address those issues by hiring more officers.

"They threw money at the problem," he said. "The result was, they depended on the police to solve the problems of the Lehigh Valley ... To resolve a community issue, it takes the whole community. Before you start burning yourselves with extra taxes, ask yourself if there's a better way."

Mayor Jesse Woodring said rather than hiring more officers, which the city simply can't afford, a better solution is to get more out of what it has by providing officers with the technology and training they need to do their jobs more efficiently.

The officials on the panel also stressed the need to step up code enforcement. But Woodring said that, too, is subject to budget constraints. With only two full-time code officers, there is a lack manpower in the office, he said. "We just don't have anybody touring the city. I see things, and I report them, and I hope something's done. I say hope.' I know that's not what people want to here ... But you just can't go in and take somebody's property."

Councilman John Shipman said the city has gone after absentee landlords and property owners with decrepit buildings, which often results in drawn-out litigation.

A resident suggested the city take better advantage of its history to promote tourism, a point Shipman agreed with.

"Our history is one thing we've failed to capitalize on," he said.

Shipman told the audience the city recently purchased a sign-making machine it could use to create signs to mark where the historic district is. But unfortunately, while there's "a lot of discussion, a lot of interest" in highlighting the history, there's "not a lot of money," he said.

Northumberland County Commissioner Frank Sawicki said the county has plans to establish a records center in the administration building on Fifth Street to store the county's historical documents.

Having a central clearinghouse for those documents, located in the county seat, will "generate tourism and commerce for the city," he said.

Members of the panel also talked optimistically about the city's Elm Street designation -- which gives it access to a number of state grants for neighborhood improvement -- its application for downtown revitalization funding, educational programs in the Shikellamy School District and the possibility of a community college being established here.