Wednesday, at 2 pm, Northampton County Exec Lamont McClure will unveil his proposed 2025 budget from the County Council meeting room on the third floor of the county courthouse. Will there be a tax hike? Tax cut? You can find out yourself by going in person or watching it online.
Northampton County's spending plan last year was a half billion dollars. In his nearly seven years as Executive, he has never proposed a tax hike. He actually reduced taxes once.
I will tell you more about the budget after listening to McClure's address.
Under our Home Rule Charter, McClure must submit a balanced budget. Total proposed spending may not exceed anticipated revenue. Also, if County Council decides to reject the budget, McClure's spending plan automatically does into effect. Council does have the power to amend, but it must leave intact any payments scheduled for debt service and it has no authority to modify the Executive's revenue estimates. If it wants to fund something, it has to find the money by making cuts elsewhere. It must take action by December 16.
The spending plan approved for 2024 is for $633,743,600.
The current 10.8 mill tax rate means that a home assessed at $75,000 will receive a tax bill for $810.
I do know that McClure's budget will include a step increase for career service workers
Since next year is an election year, I doubt it will include a tax hike.
17 comments:
No, a tax cut either this one or the next. Need those votes.
Sound budget proposal. Watch for Lori Vargo Heffner and her political partner John Brown to nitpick.
I'll believe a tax cut when I see it. Democrats cut taxes about 0.00% of the time. This is widely accepted fact of American life. Also, watch the fees. Panto brags about not raising taxes. But Easton is topped out by state law. Instead, Panto has enacted skyrocketing fee increases. He DID enact a cruel commuter tax on county employees. Dems gonna Dem.
McClure cut taxes in ‘22.
And Jeff Warren was on Easton city council at the time and the only member of council then to have voted against the commuter tax.
they, the DEMOCRATS, cut taxes in 2022. the only tax cut the Republicans gave you was an increase when they had the executive position (John Brown) and majority on council, so take your republican bull&*^% and shove it i'm voting for the Ds
As much as we like tax cuts counties notoriously don't and then some poor executive has no choice after so many years. The person's in office don't do it and leave an impossible situation for the next executive
It’s an election year. No tax hike. The way he’s running the budget means there’s a big one coming next year. He’s got to start paying what the surrounding counties are paying there an employees.
OK Kelly, McClure is the luckiest executive ever. All the county development means money pouring into the county coffers. Even a dummy like Barron can look like a financial genius squireling away all the tax revenue. Plus, the boatload of cash from the feds they used to backfill their previous budgets. McClure should not raise taxes for years. Of course, the worse move is to do a tax cut, rather than keeping everything steady for years. Bur that will be the next executive's problem and McClure will be on to bigger and better things.
Are you looking for a second John Brown tax increase then ?
We should cut taxes again next year !
How does this budget compare to Lehigh's which in 2024 was $554M with a larger population. Where does Norco need the extra $$?
Apologies- 2025, not 2024 for the Lehigh budget.
7 years of good luck ? Dude should play the lottery.
It is easy for McClure he just takes it out on county employees. Employees that have been with the county for 15 ,16 17 years still on step 4,5 or 6. It is how he makes his numbers every year.
And your starting to see it in the numbers. Lamont crying about a health center to help the benefits funds. Because the contributions aren't where they are supposed to be Because senior employees aren't getting their steps. And now they are changing the multipliers on retirement for new employees Because they can see in 30 or 40 years the numbers will get worse. But don't worry get another tax cut like the last one. What did it save??? 51 dollars a home?? In a couple of years it will crash and when Lamont and Steve are sitting somewhere laughing the tax payers will get crushed.
What we need is one, you to stop lying in that this will be the second step increase for career service in 3 years. And, two it seems like you’re prepping for a Big Time John Brown tax increase.
This is exactly right. And in certain departments, Gracedale, Sheriff Department, and 911 that I’m aware of personally, the loss of quality workforce that has come with the poor wages and mediocre benefits and constant mandations has crept in. We aren’t hiring quality anymore and, believe me, it’s really showing. If we get lucky and a great candidate joins our ranks, they quickly see that we are getting the shaft with a lousy raise, no steps, have to fight for basic health needs with our drug plan, and they are soon out the door.
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