At last week's NorCo Council meeting, Executive Tara Zrinski warned County Council that a tax hike is "increasingly likely" next year.
She acknowledged that neither taxpayers nor elected officials want a tax increase but said the county must balance the desire to keep taxes low with the responsibility to maintain services, support employees, and address long-deferred infrastructure needs.
She noted that the county’s millage rate has remained essentially flat at approximately 10.8 mills for many years, going all the way back to former Executive John Stoffa's first budget, in which he proposed a half-mill tax hike for a "pay as you go" open space program. After Stoffa, a one-mill tax hike was adopted when John Brown was Executive but was knocked back down to 10.8 mills when Brown was succeeded by Lamont McClure.
One of Zrinski's priorities will be to provide a meaningful cost-of-living raise to employees dealing with higher costs for groceries, utilities, healthcare and housing. She argued that competitive compensation is necessary to attract and retain employees. She highlighted particularly low wages among some county employees, including clerical positions paying approximately $32,000 annually and aide positions paying approximately $27,000. She also noted that employee benefits can cost approximately $21,000–$23,000 per employee, meaning the cost of benefits can approach the employee’s actual wages. "Wages have remained relatively stagnant, and for that, with the juxtaposition of the rising cost, we need to do something," she asserted.
She also acknowledged that there's a real problem correctional staffing and the "culture" at the jail, which I believe can be translated to poor morale. She added that the Civil War era lock-up is deteriorating and the county needs to decide whether to continue throwing money at it or just build a new one.
She also slammed the 2026 budget she inherited, which she insists "left important needs unfunded," including the retirement funds, Gracedale, the jail and even the Sheriff's office.
While pledging to keep the tax hike as low as possible, "We can't keep deferring investments in the people, buildings, equipment and systems our residents rely on. A responsible budget means making tough choices now."
A tax hike is also being considered in Lehigh County.
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