NorCo Council Could Adopt a Tax Hike Tonight

Tonight, Northampton County Council is poised to adopt its budget for 2026. Executive Lamont McClure as proposed a $503.6 million spending plan, slightly less than the year before. As required under the Home Rule Charter, it is a balanced budget. It would require no tax increase. The 10.8 mill tax rate would remain the same, meaning that a home assessed at $75,000 would receive a county tax bill for $810. After a series of budget hearings, County Council has considered some minor changes. Its biggest amendment, an increase in funding for the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission, failed to garner five votes. That could happen tonight, but there is funding for it in available grant funds. So this should be an unusually short and sweet budget adoption meeting, right? Wrong. I am hearing rumors that a tax hike is in the works and that the 10.8 millage rate will be going up. There may even be five votes for it.

The reality is that county council is concerned that its rainy-day fund might be too low and that it might need more money to pay higher salaries. It might also need funds for a cash contribution to Gracedale. 

Two weeks ago, Council President Lori Vargo Heffner warned that a tax hike was on the horizon. It was not a question of "if," but "when." Given concerns about the budget that incoming Exec Tara Zrinski has raised, Council might be doing her a favor. I'm sure she'd hate to have to propose a tax hike in her first year as Exec, but an increase now might help her avoid one next year. And next year, the county should use AI for cost-savings measures to streamline operations and boost efficiency, especially at Gracedale. It should consider training caseworkers so they can work from home and still be productive, thus obviating the need for a new government building. Most importantly, a reassessment is beyond overdue. Though politically unpopular, this is the only way to achieve fairness in taxation. If and when a reassessment is completed, municipalities like Easton must adjust their millage rates in a way that is revenue neutral.