ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Officials have been working on plans to make aged buildings and homes across the city more energy efficient, Mayor Matt Tuerk said Thursday.
But federal funding cuts have caused a pause.
“We're ready to go with that plan, with investments that will immediately save our taxpayers money, and we want to see Congress protect that funding and maintain federal support for programs like those,” Tuerk said.
“We're ready to do the work here in Allentown. Give us the tools to do the job and give people the ability to get ahead.”Allentown Mayor Matt Tuerk
“A delay is going to limit our ability to respond to a change in climate, and it will also limit our ability to continue to provide the basics that our residents count on in an affordable way."
Tuerk, local legislators and other officials held a news conference Thursday at the Arts Park. It was focused on energy efficient programs under threat due to cuts enacted by President Donald Trump and the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency.
With federal funding either frozen or at risk, Allentown officials said the city faces losing potentially tens of thousands of dollars in energy savings or more.
On top of that, without the programs, progress toward sustainability goals such as lower energy bills and more efficient buildings will be stalled, they said.
“I'm proud to stand here with so many of our partners to call on [Pennsylvania's] Sen. Fetterman, Sen. McCormick and Congressman MacKenzie to protect these investments under the Bipartisan Infrastructure law that help Allentown and the commonwealth that you represent," Tuerk said.
“We're ready to do the work here in Allentown. Give us the tools to do the job and give people the ability to get ahead.”
State Rep. Josh Siegel, citing residents’ savings from the Inflation Reduction Act, said, “This administration's energy planning is going to make us all poorer, sicker and less secure from our foreign adversaries.
“So not only could each consumer save money, but we could all do our part to make us a little less reliant on our foreign adversaries for energy, and our country a little more energy independent.”
Affected programs
The news conference focused on two programs, the Shared Energy Manager Program and the Weatherization for Better Homes Job Training Program.
Both Allentown and Easton were chosen for this year’s cohort of the Shared Energy Manager Program. It’s the first time Allentown has been included, but it’s Easton’s second turn.
Through the program, municipalities are paired with an engineering company to reduce energy costs and greenhouse gas emissions.
It’s funded through a State Energy Program grant to the Department of Environment Protection from the U.S. Department of Energy as part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
Last year, municipalities across Pennsylvania realized more than $2.8 million in energy savings through the program, officials said.
Tuerk said his office was notified in late January that the city wouldn’t be able to advance with the Department of Energy grants.
“Last year, we developed a plan to modernize our city operations in a way that would ultimately help us keep financial pressure off of those residents as we continue to build a city that promotes their well-being,” Tuerk said.
“Our city is full of older homes, but we're also full of older buildings.
“Our city buildings, many of which were built in the ‘20s, are also increasingly difficult to heat and cool as our employees go to work providing for the needs of our residents.”
‘Step up and unfreeze’
Plans included investing in solar power at the city’s Public Works building and reducing energy use at the wastewater treatment plant, as well as electrifying the city’s fleet.
“We were successful in unfreezing funds through USDA to plant trees in Allentown,” Tuerk said.
"Now, we need those same congresspeople to step up and unfreeze this Department of Energy funding.”Mayor Matt Tuerk
“We're successful in getting green lights through the Economic Development Administration as part of the Department of Commerce to invest in our workforce, and in getting people to good jobs through our Recompete program.
“We're successful with congressional help in getting road safety projects funded through the U.S. Department of Transportation.
"Now we need those same congresspeople to step up and unfreeze this Department of Energy funding.”
This month, city officials announced they received enough funding to cover a tree inventory after a $920,800 federal grant was frozen.
‘A huge impact’
In addition to the Shared Energy Manager Program, officials called on federal legislators to release funds for the Weatherization for Better Homes Job Training Program.
Community Action Lehigh Valley administers two programs — one for energy-efficient home repairs and another to train technicians to complete weatherization.
“We still have their names. I just don't have any program.”Chuck Weiss, associate executive director of housing for CALV
Chuck Weiss, associate executive director of housing for CALV, said the organization has “a holistic approach to healthier homes, better efficiency and more general comfort in the house.”
“We developed energy-efficient home repair programs, the focus on lowering energy costs to our low-income participants,” Weiss said.
“The program has had a huge impact on our participants, and not only in the repairs provided, but a lasting effect of lower utility bills through energy efficient appliances, heaters and water heaters, sometimes up to 50 percent a month.”
However, the challenge has been the lack of local weatherization certification programs.
“To break through this roadblock, we sought funding for a Weatherization Workforce Program that would be located right around the corner here on Fifth Street,” Weiss said.
“This program is intended to provide a critical pipeline of workers in the Lehigh Valley that could serve their community and build the economy while they're at it.
“Without restored funding, we are missing an opportunity and actively undermining efforts to lower energy costs in a real way, while building a stronger workforce and energy efficient future for Allentown and the entire Lehigh Valley.”
When the freeze of “several million” dollars hit, the multi-year program was ready to roll out, with 26 of 40 spots filled.
“We still have their names,” he said. “I just don't have any program.”
‘Worried about being able to keep up’
The federal funding cuts also are causing CALV to scale back their work in the community, Weiss said.
“I do a lot of partnering with the city of Allentown, with the city of Bethlehem, with the counties, and you build those dollars into a larger program,” Weiss said.
“So, it's all interconnected. If one gets cut, the other gets cut.
The cuts aren't the first under DOGE to affect the Lehigh Valley.DOGE records
“CALV has funding that's operational money that’s been withheld, and it's been slow coming, and we've resulted in a 10 percent layoff.
"And that includes like at our food bank, which pumps out 26,000 pounds of food a month, and now we have fewer people to do it, and we're worried about being able to keep up with that.”
The cuts aren't the first under DOGE to affect the Lehigh Valley.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities grant has been frozen, leaving a handful of local farmers in the lurch at the start of the growing season.
DOGE also has canceled Pennsylvania’s $13 million contract with the Local Food Purchasing Assistance Program. Through the program, commonwealth farmers were paid to supply local food banks with fresh produce.
The Institute of Museums and Library Sciences, the federal agency that funds libraries, has been shut down and its entire staff put on administrative leave.
