County GovernmentThursday, November 5
Lehigh County commissioners adopt a 2027 budget with a 4.41-mill tax rate
The Daily Allentown team
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.
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 |
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.”
Sources: Lehigh Valley Press, wfmz.com