NorCo Jail as 161 Guards, Director Says There Should be 212

DeeAnn Lawrence, Northampton County's new Corrections Director, described what's happening at the jail during a very informative Courts and Corrections Committee hearing last week. Unfortunately, the meeting was coming to a close at the time of her remarks, so it was an abbreviated report. In a nutshell, her job is to provide a safe and secure environment for the inmates, corrections officers and the general public. 

Larence told County Council that, in recent weeks, she sat down with staff from each of three shifts covering the jail's 24/7 operation, to identify the "concerns, the needs and wants of the facility." She claims these sitdowns led to " immediate resolution of standing staff grievances, grievances, better communication, and an uplifted morale. This approach will continue to increase the relationship between staff and supervisors, ensuring that staff are not merely workers, but human beings.

Unfortunately, these human beings are often mandated to work 16-hour shifts, which does nothing to make the facility more secure or safe. This is primarily due to a staffing shortage.

Lawrence claimed there are currently just 161 corrections officers (COs) in a jail with a census of 480, and this includes 4 who are in the training pipeline. The jail is budgeted for 180 COs and, according to Lawrence, should have 212. 

They still have off every other Saturday, but with mandates, it can be grueling

US House Ethics Complaint Filed Against Pa. 07 Congressional Candidate Bob Brooks

According to Apocalypse Vibes, an ethics complaint has been filed against Pa. 07 Congressional candidate Robert "Bob" Brooks for his knowing refusal to list a $130,000 judgment filed against him by his former mother-in-law that helped him acquire and build the home in which he now lives. This refusal is something I noted myself when I first reviewed his disclosure. This is something I noted myself when I reviewed his financial disclosure back in January.

His disclosure reports debt of between $380,000 and $850,000 based on a residential mortgage, an investment property mortgage, and outstanding debt to Darrell and Linda Crook. He failed to list a $130,000 judgment owed to Carol Wiley, his former mother-in-law, since 2022. 

A title search of Northampton County records reveal that Brooks owns no real estate under his own name, nor is there any recorded mortgage in which he is listed for either a residential or an investment property mortgage

Something is very fishy about Brooks' disclosure.

Review of this complaint requires approval from two members of the Office of Congressional Conduct, who must include a majority and minority member. All investigations are confidential. 

Sultana Vows Write-in Campaign, But DSA Investigating Her Treatment of Staff and Volunteers

Former Easton City Council member Taiba Sultana wanted to primary incumbent State Senator Lisa Boscola, but her nomination petition was rejected by Commonwealth Court Judge Anne Covey. The reason for this rejection is that she failed to tell the public exactly what she does for a living, Judge Covey's decision was affirmed by the Pa. Supreme Court. After being rebuffed by two courts, a normal person would sail off into the sunset.  But as we all know, nothing about Sultana is normal. Yesterday, she announced her candidacy as a write-in candidate, and oh yeah, she wants money. 

Here's her latest text bomb:

"Bernard, While Seniors and working families are struggling with the cost of living.

The political establishment spent thousands to remove my name from the ballot.

But they can’t take away your vote.

WRITE-IN 𝐓𝐚𝐢𝐛𝐚 𝐒𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐚.

It’s time for better wages, tax relief for seniors, healthcare for all, and affordable housing."

When she talks about better wages and helping working families, she probably should start with the people who were working on her campaign. In fact, the local Democratic Socialists of America has asked its members pause any work for her while they investigate allegations involving "her treatment of both paid staff and volunteers while the campaign was active."

Here's what a member sent me yesterday (it is a little unclear unless you expand it). 

NorCo's Three Treatment Courts

At last week's very informative Courts and Corrections Committee hearing for NorCo Council, Judge Jennifer Sletvold provided an overview of the county's three treatment courts She, along with Judges Brian Panella and Jeremy Clark, preside over these courts.

Sletvold expressed great enthusiasm for these programs, describing them as the most meaningful aspect of her judicial role. "I love administering our treatment courts," she said, using a word rarely heard by a judge.  These three specialty courts, sometimes called problem-solving courts, include Recovery Court, Mental Health Court, and Veterans Court. Problem-solving courts were first championed approximately 10 years ago under Judge Craig Dally as a Recovery Court for people suffering from addiction. It was then expanded with the Mental Health Court, Two years ago, Judge Sletvold provided the impetus for Veterans Court, which just had its first graduation.

Noting that she is the wife of a veteran, she told Council that she is "honored to be able to serve our veterans and our community through veterans court."  She invited everyone to watch the proceedings, usually conducted on Thursdays, calling it an "uplifting" experience. 

Speaking specifically about veterans, she said, "You'll see a veteran start out in prison so low. So just down on their luck, so sad about where they're at, in trouble, addicted, mental health court issues, PTSD, what have you. As they have progressed through this program, we have united veterans with their children. We have gotten them on their feet. We've gotten them housing, we've gotten them functioning, and it's just really wonderful to see. And the feel, the vibe in Veterans Court. Please come see it." 

A key theme of the presentation was the transformative impact these courts have on participants. Judge Sledfold highlighted how individuals often enter the program at low points, facing addiction, mental health challenges, or trauma such as PTSD, but gradually progress toward stability. Outcomes frequently include reunification with family, access to housing, and improved functioning within the community. She emphasized that while the courts serve distinct populations, there is substantial overlap among participants, particularly between mental health and substance use disorders.

Judge Sledfold explained important structural differences among the three courts. Mental Health Court operates entirely on a diversion model, meaning participants avoid prosecution if they successfully complete the program. Veterans Court uses a hybrid approach, with approximately half of participants on diversion and others entering through guilty pleas, particularly in DUI cases. Recovery Court differs in that all participants have some form of conviction and are not eligible for full diversion. Despite these differences, all three courts share the same overarching goal: to provide treatment, support, and accountability in order to help individuals reintegrate into society while reducing long-term costs associated with incarceration.

Each treatment court relies on a multidisciplinary team that includes judges, assistant district attorneys, public defenders, probation officers, and treatment specialists. Strong partnerships exist with the county prison, sheriff’s department, mental health agencies, and the Veterans Affairs system. Judge Sledfold highlighted the recent addition of a deputy sheriff as a formal team member, which has enhanced coordination and participant support. She noted that a deputy sheriff provides a perspective from law enforcement, Veterans Court also benefits from volunteer veteran mentors who provide peer support and play a critical role in participant success.

Mental Health Court even has a dog on its team. 

Weekly team meetings are held prior to court sessions to review participant progress. Court sessions then involve direct engagement with participants through review hearings. Mental Health Court is capped at 25 participants due to resource constraints, while Recovery Court and Veterans Court currently have no such cap.

She highlighted ongoing efforts to achieve formal accreditation through a national organization that establishes best practices for treatment courts. The county is currently pursuing accreditation for Recovery Court in 2026, which will be followed by Mental Health and Veterans Court. 

Participants are provided transportation assistance through community partnerships, and community service initiatives such as a veterans-run garden at Louise Moore Park, where I was evicted a few years ago for keeping a weed-infested garden.. Funding for the courts comes from a combination of county resources, grants, and volunteer contributions.

Housing and access to mental health treatment are the most significant ongoing challenges. But lack of housing is no bar to admission into the program, and securing stable housing is a key component of participant support.

A listing of treatment courts in Pennsylvania can be found here. There are even treatment courts for prostitution in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. 

DA Baratta Expects Grand Jury Report on Patient Safety at Gracedale

 At last week's meeting of NorCo Council's Courts and Corrections Committee, DA Steve Baratta that he expects a "Gracedale report" from an investigating grand jury within the next six weeks. He indicated that the report is likely going to be focused on "issues of patient safety that we were made aware of over the past year. I don't want to shock anyone when they file the report, but at the end of the grand jury period, they're required to do that if they so choose. And I believe they want to write a report."

DA Baratta Tells NorCo Council Child Advocacy Center Needed

 District Attorney Steve Barratta told NorCo Council's Courts and Corrections Committee last week that "it's a bit of an embarrassment" that the county has no child advocacy center. He acknowledged it's a "heavy lift" because a center for victims of child abuse needs both space and forensic interviewers. Most counties the size of NorCo do have child advocacy centers. He noted that Lehigh had a very vibrant center, but thanks to attacks by Controller Mark Pinsley, Lehigh Valley Hospital pulled out and the center was closed. 

He indicated that NorCo and Lehigh might work together to establish a center . 

NorCo Court Administrator Tells County Council That Higher Salaries Are Needed For Youth Care Workers

If you'd like to know more about county government, I'd strongly recommend that you view the committee hearings on YouTube. Last week, Council member Dave Holland's Courts and Corrections Committee conducted an exhaustive review of just some of the county agencies that deal with the back end of crime. This, like elections, is a core county function.  The meeting kicked off with Court Administrator Jermaine Greene and what he calls his "baby," the Juvenile Justice Center. 

Greene has been the county's court administrator for the past 10 years. Prior to that he was the Juvenile Justice Center (JJC) Director for 10 years. He explained that it is unique because it has both detention and treatment beds. It also has contracts with other counties for beds (Lehigh - 3, Monroe - 3, Lackawanna - 2, Pike - 1), that are paid at a rate of $415 per day, regardless whether the beds are filled. 

Under the prior County Council and former Exec Lamont McClure, Greene was before County Council extensively in a quest to seek better pay for better wages for youth care workers, "the backbone of our juvenile center." He repeated this request with the current Council again last week. "We need to raise the salaries of our youth care workers," he argued. The current starting wage is $19,80 an hour, and they must have 60 college credits. "They can go down the bottom of the hill, work at Wawa or FedEx, and make more than that," noted Greene. He believes that raising the starting wage is the key to ensuring that the facility is fully staffed. "We have to spend some money to make money," he expounded. If operating at 80% capacity, the JJC can actually receive $2 million in bed fees from other counties. Right now, the facility is operating at about 40% capacity. 

Greene claimed that previous attempts to set higher salaries were "roadblocked." But he said he had a good conversation with Exec Tara Zrinski, "and she got it. She got it after a half hour of conversation with her."

Greene added that "the court is fully behind me and the vision I have for the center. ... It will work. I promise you that. It will work." He complimented Council member Lori Vargo Heffner, who had unfiltered access" to staff and residents during a half-day tour, and invited all Council members to visit. 

In response to a question from member Theresa Fadem, Greene said he'd like to raise the starting salary to about $23 an hour. 

Member Tom Giovanni asked Greene about a four-county movement to create a regional JJC, which is actually up for a vote tonight in Lehigh County. Greene said he has a good relationship with Lehigh and added "we have the infrastructure right now to make it happen here." The county is currently negotiated with Lehigh for an increase in bed count. 

The JJC is supposed to be staffed by 52 youth care workers, 13 assistant supervisors and 9 supervisors. The youth care workers are only about 40% staffed. The "assistant supervisor" was created to keep youth care workers from leaving and they were filled within a month. The JJC includes detention and treatment pods for females and sex offenders. 

Member Dave Holland assured Greene that he now has advocates on Council who will support higher wages. 

In addition to Greene, JJC Director JaMarr Billman spoke. He's been there 19 years. He explained that the facility can hold up to 36 juveniles in detention, but its usual census is 12-18. He acknowledged that there are current conversations with Lehigh to increase the number of contracted beds. Starting in July, the daily bed rate will increase to $435.  This alone generates $1.4 million in annual revenue. Other counties also will send juveniles, and Northampton will accept if it has the available staff and beds. 

The JJC also offers a boys' treatment program with an on-site school, including four teachers. The boys actually go out into the community to help with fundraisers, as volunteers for local events, visits to an art museum, jib searches and even Phillies and fishing trips. They can even receive lessons on building and repairing bikes, which makes me want to enroll. Dynamic Counseling Services provides mental health treatment. 

Holland stated that the county really needs to both staff and fund every available bed at the JJC. "It's a core function of the county. and I don't know how long this (staffing shortage) has been going on , but the fact that we haven't been able to do that, is kinda outrageous. We have to find a way to do it. There's children who need help. We have empty beds. They're sitting there. We have to figure out a way to do that, and I believe we will."

Welcome to Northampton County, Mr. Holland, where tax breaks for the rich get priority over the needs of our most vulnerable. When Jermaine Greene said he was roadblocked, he has the receipts. Here are links to just some of my previous stories.

Previous Juvenile Justice Center Stories:

NorCo Administrators Respond to Staffing Crisis Story at Juvenile Justice

Express Times Awards Turkeys to Tara Zrinski & Kevin Lott

NorCo Council Addresses Staffing Shortage at Juvenile Justice Center

Our Juvenile Justice Crisis

UPDATED: NorCo Council Members Zrinski and Lott Double-Team Court Administrator Jermaine Greene

NorCo To Close Senior Centers in Lower Nazareth, Northampton Due to State Budget Shortfall

In March, NorCo Exec Tara Zrinski told County Council that the Area Agency on Aging (AAA) was facing a $400,000 state budget cut. This was certainly surprising since Governor Josh Shapiro's office had bragged that the passed budget would provide $10 million more in services to older Pennsylvanians. Instead, NorCo is going to have to close its senior centers in Lower Nazareth and Northampton.

Back in March, Zrinski explained that the state was no longer paying AAA for desk audits that determine whether someone is eligible for long-term care without a face-to-face visit. The revenue received from that service helped fund our senior centers.

In a news release you can read below, the county explains the closures.

In Northampton County, we are facing a nearly $400,000 reduction in our Area Agency on Aging (AAA) budget due to state budget cuts. As a result, the County will be required to consolidate the senior center network, and the Lower Nazareth Senior Center and the Northampton Senior Center will close as of June 30, 2026.

The reason for this funding gap is that the Commonwealth has eliminated a key revenue generating function previously available to county Agencies on Aging: aging well “desk reviews.” Desk reviews are review and comparisons of data from Functional Eligibility Determination assessments that Area Agency on Aging staff still complete to determine eligibility for long-term care services, in home or in a nursing facility. In 2025 alone, Northampton County’s AAA completed 1,440 of these reviews, generating $373,464 in revenue that directly supported services for local seniors. The loss of this function represents a loss of capacity that will force difficult decisions.

 

Executive Zrinski expressed her dismay at this immediate and significant funding gap—which she says arrives at the exact moment when state leaders are expressing concern about oversight, performance, and outcomes in elder protection.

 

“Across Northampton County, these centers are a lifeline for older adults, providing not only meals, but connection, wellness support, and a place to engage with their community and live vibrant, healthy lives,” said County Executive Tara Zrinski.

 

Northampton County’s AAA serves thousands of older adults each year. The professionals doing this work are navigating complex cases involving medical fragility, cognitive decline, isolation, and, at times, individuals who are unable or unwilling to accept help. These are not simple interventions, and outcomes are not always within an agency’s control.

 

“We must be honest about the broader system in which these agencies operate” said Zrinski. “When funding is reduced at the scale we are experiencing, the impact is not theoretical. It means fewer home visits, slower response times, reduced oversight, and fewer opportunities to intervene before situations escalate. It means a system that is being asked to do more with less—something that is true not only in Northampton County, but across many aging agencies in Pennsylvania.”

For seniors now attending the Lower Nazareth Senior Center and the Northampton Senior Center, the County will make accommodations to help them attend a neighboring Senior Center.

Dixie Cup TIF - Developer Nat Hyman Sez Dixie Can Be Developed With NO Government Assistance

I've told you why NorCo Exec Tara Zrinski supports a tax break to convert Wilson Borough's vacant Dixie Cup factory into 405 luxury apartments. I've shared arguments of three Council members who voted for the tax break (called a TIF) when it failed last year. Now I'll share the views of someone who actually knows what he's talking about.  Allentown developer Nat Hyman has done 40 projects similar to Dixie, and here's what he shared with NorCo Council.

I write you regarding the TIF you are considering giving to the developer of the Dixie Building in Wilson Township. Please keep in mind that a TIF is the MOST generous form of tax incentive, far more so than a LERTA ! There are a few fundamental facts I believe you should consider before giving this money to Skyline Investment Group:

1. This will do absolutely NOTHING to address the affordable housing crisis. This developer has repeatedly said that they will be spending $185,000,000 for 400 apartments. That is a staggering $462,500 per apartment !!!! Basic math tells you that the interest costs alone will be $2,500 per apartment / per month (without including any amortization and all of the other operating expenses). These numbers will require rents north of $6,000 per month just to break even…..hardly affordable ! And the fee in lieu of $1.2 million that they propose paying toward affordable housing is nothing. This would build 8 affordable apartments and, more importantly, they are paying you out of the $29 million you are giving to them ! They are paying you with your money !!

2. Some have tried to claim that this project will create many jobs.  The reality is that Dixie will create some construction jobs on a very short term basis. It seems to me that some people are pushing this TIF to curry favor with those construction unions. After that, there will be virtually no jobs created. Two or three full time people will be needed to run this apartment complex once it is built. This is not a project like Eli Lily which will create 1,000 good paying and long term jobs.

3. This “developer” has actually NEVER DEVELOPED ONE BUILDING. While they did list one project on their website called “The Louis” that they said they had developed, that was a lie.  When confronted with this lie, they removed the project from their website. In addition, they had listed 5 offices around the country all with the same phone number which is the principal’s cell phone number. Those offices have likewise now been removed from the website. Finally, their supposed office in NYC is simply a shared executive office where they use a community receptionist. Do you really want to give $29,000,000 in taxpayer dollars to someone who has never built anything and is clearly a scam?

4. Skyline is presently in DEFAULT of its purchase agreement of the Dixie property with Wilsonpark. To date, they have paid ZERO principal or interest on the $11.5 million purchase price. So you are considering giving money to a borrower who has shown their inability and/or unwillingness to honor its obligations. There is not a lender in the world who would loan money to a borrower with a history of not paying its debts.

5. As I said, Skyline has said that this Dixie project will cost $185,000,000. ANY lender loaning or granting money to a borrower would want to be 100% assured that the project will be fully funded. There is NO WAY you should consider giving Skyline the $29,000,000 unless and until they can prove they have a firm commitment for the other $156,000,000 to complete this project.

6. Having done 40 developments similar to the Dixie building, I can tell you , unequivocally, that this project can be done beautifully with absolutely no government assistance. It would seem to me that the $29,000,000 is better spent on Gracedale, budget deficits or a reduction in your constituents’ taxes.

Finally, a disclaimer …..despite what some have said, I have ABSOLUTELY NO vested interest in this project and nothing to gain or lose by your choosing to give or not give them this money. This building has been sold and the title transferred to Skyline Investment Group and nothing you do will change that. I will not own this building regardless of your decision. I am simply a taxpayer upset by seeing my tax dollars wasted and I do have a philosophical disagreement with the concept of giving taxpayers’ money to a private developer to build luxury apartments. That said, I come at this from a unique perspective as the Lehigh Valley’s largest developer of adaptive reuse projects ….I have done 40 projects virtually identical to Dixie and have never taken one dime of government money or any incentive. As an example, I am converting the former Crayola headquarters in Palmer Township (only 3 miles from Dixie) into 94 affordable apartments with absolutely no taxpayer money. This developer could do the same with Dixie and he has told Council that he can indeed build Dixie without this TIF!!! So why would you give it to him??!  

Ask yourselves, if I am correct and you give this untested “developer” $29,000,000 in tax payer dollars and, as I predict, the project is never completed, what legacy you will have created for this Council?

Dixie Cup TIF - Three Council Members Reiterate Support

A TIF tax break to convert Wilson Borough's vacant Dixie Cup factory into 405 luxury apartments was defeated in November in a close, 5-4 vote. Yesterday, I told you about Executive Tara Zrinski's fallacious ceteris paribus argument for the TIF.  Today, I'll shre the views of three of the Council members who voted Yes in November. - Ken Kraft, Kelly Keegan and Jeff Warren, All three reiterated their support at the April 16 public hearing.

Kraft, in his own inimical style, argued that we should take the $2 million up-front (legal) bribe being offered by the developer.  Here's what he said: "What kind of skin do we have in the game? Which is really minimal. But now we got a number on it. $2 million. They're giving it to us. So, our saying no to this project would be the most bonehead thing you could possibly do, because you're not losing anything. ... We're not even impacted anymore. I mean, we have no impact at all. You've given us the money up front, that, you know, I don't know, not a financial person, but supposedly we can leverage to loan more money at no percentage, you know, to do affordable housing somewhere. ... So we're not losing a dime."

He's right, too. It's not a dime.  It's a lot more. According to the TIF ordinance, which he really should read, the county is giving up $5.6 million in real estate tax revenue over the next 20 years. 

That seems pretty boneheaded.

Keegan played a math game. "All right, so Wilson Borough Council approved the TIF in 2024 and then again in 2025, and 9 members sit on the council. It was unanimous. Wilson Area School District approved the TIF. All 9 supported it. It was unanimous. They lived there in Wilson. They were elected officials for Wilson. My district is, uh, Wilson is part of my district as a district 2 commissioner. If 5 out of 9 of us on this board votes no, then out of 27 elected people, 81.4% support it, and if 5 of us vote no, 18.6 will not."

Although Keegan's math is correct, she misses the point. The TIF is authorized by the state Urban Redevelopment Law, which requires the approval of a majority of all three separate taxing districts impacted by the handout. These taxing bodies all serve different taxpayers. The representatives of taxpayers in Upper Mount Bethel Tp and Lower Saucon should have a say in decisions that give their money away. 

Finally, Warren had something to say, too. He said he "wasn't planning on speaking," which is code for "Get the NoDoz out." This time he did spare us from his argument that we should grant a TIF because his grandfather worked at Dixie.  Now he's likening government to mechanics, saying that a TIF is just a "tool in the toolbox." I'm a terrible mechanic myself, but even I know that you do not use an allen wrench to put air in a bicycle tire. And you don't kiss away $26 million in tax revenue to an inexperienced out-of-town developer who has admitted a few times that he doesn't really need the county's participation. 

Warren commended developer Brian Bartee, who he said has "truly given so much to the community by what he has done with that building already."

Say what? There are still gaping holes instead of windows. And what has government already done for Skyline's Bartee? Skyline has already been awarded $1,000,000 from an RACP application in 2024 and this year. It has received $163,257 from a DCED Multimodal Transportation Funding Grant and a $175,000 Greenways, Trails and Recreational Program grant. It is seeking even more grant money from PennDOT, DCED Mixed Use Housing Development, another DCED Greenways grant, another DCED multimodal transportation grant, and Pa Historic tax credits

It also wants $28.5 million in federal tax equity credits.

WaPo Picks Up on Inconvenient Truths About Congressional Wannabe Bob Brooks

Journalist Dan Merica, a co-anchor of the Early Brief at The Washington Post, has picked up on some of the more outrageous and Trumpesque social media posts that Pa. 07 Congressional candidate Bob Brooks  posted before he announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination. Of course, before Brooks announced, he gave his Facebook page a good scrubbing. 

Although WaPo is kind enough to credit this blog for at least some of what I found, I got a lot of my material from Rich Wilkins' Apocalypse Vibes. He has a pretty good summary of his and my previous stories, which are now being picked up by more mainstream outlets after months of hesitation.

They didn't want to piss off Governor Josh Shapiro, who handpicked Brooks so he could get his hands on firefighter union campaign donations. 

I don't know about you, but I tend to resent it when a Governor or the DCCC powerbrokers attempt to inject themselves in a primary.

Let us make our own mistakes. 

Dixie Cup TIF - The Illogic of Zrinski's Logic

I have written numerous times about a special tax break known as a TIF for the redevelopment of the long vacant Dixie Cup factory, located in Wilson Borough, into 405 luxury apartments. At a time when many families are facing increased housing costs here in the Lehigh Valley, it seems like a sick joke. Northampton County rejected this boondoggle in November in a narrow, 5-4 vote. But three of those no votes are no longer on Council, so like the Terminator, pitchman Brian Bartee was back again before a new County Council on Thursday night to sweeten the deal with a little more sugar to make the medicine (or should I say poison?) go down. Instead of a scant $1.2 million in county coffers, he's now willing to offer $2 million up front if the county would agree to a tax break that allows him to float bonds for $26.4 million in construction costs for the nesting perches of our well-too-do betters. We'll get the money back in 20 years. What could possibly go wrong?

While running for office and after taking the helm as county exec, Tara Zrinski has stated she'd be no Lamont McClure 2.0. That may be true, but she certainly seems like at least a Lamont McClure 1.5. Instead of proposing to tax the rich, the owners and renters of luxury apartments, she wants to give them a tax break

She started off by warning everyone, "I'm going to say some pretty unpopular things." But it was sweet music to the ears of private equity and developers whose bottom line is and always has been, "What's in it for me?" It was honey on the lips of trade unions who want the temporary construction jobs. And those trade unions, by the way, have bankrolled Zrinski's political ambition. 

She acknowledged that she went on a tour of the site, and as she was perched on the roof or perhaps even the Dixie Cup with the raptors and vultures, she could see the state of disrepair of Wilson Borough homes. Some are in need of new roofs. Others need siding. That alone should have told her all she needed to know. This project will do nothing but create more disparity between the haves and the have nots. 

She argued that the developer is willing to make public improvements to the property that will spare the county the expense of doing so. That's a flat-out canard. She knows that the county has nothing to do with roads, power lines or sewer. Moreover, the developer has proposed these changes for his own benefit, to make the luxury apartments more attractive. In reality, his apartment is going to create an even bigger traffic nightmare along 25th Street. 

Her biggest and most illogical argument is that building 405 luxury apartments will ease the Lehigh Valley's housing shortage of 9,000 units. It will in fact exacerbate the problem.

Let me give you her argument, as she states it herself. "The Lehigh Valley Planning Commission says that we need 9000 units. That's not all affordable housing. There's a downward pressure that exists that is pushing people who can afford higher level into lower level. So while it doesn't intuitively make sense that if we put this higher priced apartment in, it makes sense if somebody who is occupying a $2,000 or $1,800 apartment or a $1,600 apartment, who could move into a $2,400 apartment, would be able to move because there's a place to go. Thus freeing up the other spaces. That is the logic here."

And that logic, as she puts it, is completely illogical. It assumes, and you know what happens when you assume, that the population remains constant. And that is belied by the very same Lehigh Valley Planning Commission, who notes we are adding 4,300 people every year, most from other states. So these luxury apartments will not be attracting affluent Lehigh Valley residents who will ditch a $1.600 a month apartment for one that rents at much higher rates for that cathedral ceiling. It will instead attract NY and NJ residents fleeing a higher cost of living there. It will make housing less affordable.

Take a look at nearby Easton, beautiful river town that is beginning to rival Frenchtown, Lambertville and New Hope. There are now several luxury apartments in what was once called Fishtown. Has that eased affordable housing there? The opposite has happened. It has attracted NY and NJ tenants who can commute or work from home. This in turn has made rentals there ridiculous. That problem is just made worse by giving a tax break for more luxury apartments even when a developer is willing to give you a pittance to ease your conscience at what you must know is wrong. 

And what about nearby landlords like the Wilson Borough landlord who gobbles up properties at tax and sheriff's sales and then rents them out? They are delighted and one of them actually appeared at the TIF hearing in November. They can now demand even higher rents. 

The only real way to ease the housing crisis is by encouraging more smart development that includes tiny homes, a reduction in minimum lot sizes and setbacks, an ease in tariffs on construction materials, accessory dwellings and more mixed-use development. County government has no say in any of these things.

As government screw-ups go, this would be the biggest one since the swaption debacle. And to make things worse, I have serious doubts that this great developer that Zrinski touted, will ever complete the project. More about that tomorrow,