But that hasn't stopped the township and several municipalities as well as small to midsized cities across the country from paying thousands of dollars a year for terrorism insurance - primarily to protect public buildings. Bethlehem has such insurance, as does Hanover Township, Northampton County and Hellertown.
Although the amounts are often only a small percentage of what cities and municipalities pay for insurance, the wisdom of paying for such coverage is a matter of some debate.
The policies require that an act of terrorism be certified by the U.S. attorney general, the Department of the Treasury and the secretary of state, with at least $5 million in damage and an intent to coerce or influence U.S. policy. Nuclear, biological, chemical and radiological attacks are excluded.
"The exclusions are so extreme," said David Sanko, executive director of the Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors. Sanko, a former director of the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency, said townships should instead consider spending money on public safety and emergency preparedness programs.
Bethlehem Township, with about 21,000 people, is home to the Lehigh Valley's processing plant for the U.S. Postal Service, which could be targeted like the New Jersey post office that handled anthrax-laced letters in 2001, township manager Jon Hammer said.
"We're not immune to that type of thing, as much as we'd like to think we are," Hammer said. He acknowledged, however, that the township's $3,700-a-year terrorism coverage wouldn't cover damage to the post office or other property not owned by the township. Emergency responders would be covered by a separate state-mandated workers' compensation policy.
Tom Schatz, president of Washington, D.C.-based Citizens Against Government Waste, said such coverage makes more sense in big cities like Los Angeles or New York with landmark city-owned properties.
"If you look at the worst terrorism acts, they were in places like New York, London, Sri Lanka," he said. "I don't recall seeing Allentown or any community like that."
On the other hand, the small township of Stonycreek had no reason to expect a terrorist attack until a hijacked commercial airliner crashed into the cornfields near Shanksville on Sept. 11, 2001, Northampton County Councilwoman Ann McHale said.
"A perfect example would be Flight 93," said McHale, who works in an insurance firm. "What's to prevent another situation like that from taking place with Northampton County being so close to New York City? What if it was our government center?"
But Somerset County, which includes Stonycreek Township, doesn't have terrorism insurance, and Richard Lohr, the county director of emergency management, said it isn't something he's ever really considered.
"I don't even know what the cost of something like that would be," Lohr said. "What do you put a dollar value on? I just don't know."
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Information from: The Morning Call, http://www.mcall.com
