County GovernmentTop story
Lehigh County commissioners adopt a 2027 budget with a 4.41-mill tax rate
Commissioners adopted 4.41 mills, below the 4.45 first proposed
Sources: Lehigh Valley Press, wfmz.com
View as table
| Value | |
|---|---|
| Current rate | 3.78 mills |
| Fevig's plan (failed) | 4.31 mills |
| Adopted rate | 4.41 mills |
| Siegel's original | 4.45 mills |
If you own property in Lehigh County, your 2027 tax bill is going up. Commissioners adopted the 2027 budget Oct. 28, meeting the Oct. 31 deadline, with a rate of 4.41 mills. WFMZ puts the property tax increase at 16.7%, down from the 17.7% County Executive Josh Siegel first proposed.
Amendments on Oct. 14 saved about $1.39 million. Two more tries to cut deeper failed Oct. 28. Commissioner Antonio Pineda's motion for 3.78 mills, which would have kept the rate unchanged, died for lack of a second. Sarah Fevig's 4.31-mill plan drew only her vote and Ron Beitler's.
- Vote: 7-2, with Zach Cole-Borghi and Pineda opposed
- Cut: chief of staff job, $133,020 in salary and benefits
- Cut: communications director job, $129,409 in salary and benefits
- Cut: $500,000 clean election grant
- Unanimous: support for a Riverside Drive grant request
Seven of nine commissioners voted for the adopted budget
7 of 9
- voted yes
- 2 voted no
Source: Lehigh Valley Press
View as table
| Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|
| voted yes | 7 | 78% |
| voted no | 2 | 22% |
“It is incumbent on the board, if it feels the need to cut deeper, to be specific in what it thinks those solutions should be.”
County Executive Josh Siegel
