- Lehigh County’s tax rate is expected to stay at 3.78 mills, according to the budget commissioners are weighing
- The county is set to spend more than 70% of its tax revenues on “law and order” expenses, with 6.35% set aside for offices that deal with “quality of life” issues
- Commissioners are required to adopt a budget by Oct. 31
ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Lehigh County commissioners are expected to approve a $520 million budget that — for the fifth year in a row — would not increase taxes on property owners.
Lehigh County's tax rate again would be set at 3.78 mills, if commissioners ratify the 2024 budget as it's currently proposed.
That means the owner of a property assessed at $250,000 would pay about $945 in property taxes.
Budget projections from the county show the tax rate is projected to stay at 3.78 mills through 2027. County taxes peaked at that rate in 2020 after a series of minor tax cuts approved by a conservative slate of commissioners in the mid-2010s.
Lehigh County Executive Phil Armstrong proposed his spending plan in August, and commissioners appear ready to approve it without major changes.
Armstrong said his administration's "goal was to make sure we did not put another burden on the taxpayers of Lehigh County."
Small loss
The county is expected to post a loss of about $882,000 next year, the budget shows. But that is a factor of "timing," Lehigh County Chief Fiscal Officer Tim Reeves said last week, urging commissioners to consider that loss alongside a projected $2.2 million profit in 2023.
Lehigh County will get a $1.2 million grant later this year from the state, boosting the final figures for 2023, Reeves said. But that money will be spent next year on the 2024 election, he said.
"If you blend it, it's a positive return for both of those years," Reeves said.
Though the budget projects Lehigh County will bring in more than a half-billion dollars in 2024, less than a quarter — about $119 million — will come from local taxes.
A proposed "$25 million (stabilization) fund does help us in the peaks and valleys, and especially when the state doesn't pass a budget in time."Tim Reeves, Lehigh County's chief fiscal officer
More than 70% of the money in the budget will come from "special revenues," namely grants and reimbursements from state and federal sources.
Special revenues are "passthrough dollars" that the county only holds for a short period of time, Reeves said.
Where's the tax money going?
Almost half of the county's tax revenues — about $57.6 million — is allocated for courts and corrections. "Law and order" expenses, which also include the sheriff, district attorney and several other offices, represent more than 70% of the county's tax revenues.
Just over 6% of the budget — about $7.5 million — is set aside for "quality-of-life" issues, including veterans affairs, parks and trails, public-transit planning, and the county's voter registration office.
The county's total expenses are set to climb from about $133 million in 2023 to $141 million next year, an increase Reeves attributed mostly to salary increases.
Next year's budget proposal also includes a $25 million "stabilization fund" that will help the county balance its books between tax collections, Reeves said.
The county gets "almost all" of its tax revenues in May and July, he said.
"Then we have to get through the whole next cycle until the next tax revenue comes in," Reeves told commissioners. "So the $25 million fund does help us in the peaks and valleys, and especially when the state doesn't pass a budget in time."
Lehigh County could need to use some of that money to fund its human services department — normally funded by the state — if legislators don't pass a budget by Dec. 31.
Commissioners are likely to vote on the 2024 budget at their next meeting on Oct. 25. The county's home-rule charter requires commissioners to adopt a budget by Oct. 31.
