March 17, 2026
— Jeff Ward, Lehigh Valley News Briefs
Northampton County Council‘s personnel and finance committees will meet tomorrow, with no huge items looming on the agendas.
The Personnel Committee will meet at 5 p.m. in council chambers on the third floor of the government center on Washington Street in Easton, and the Finance Committee will start as soon as the first meeting ends.
The bulk of the personnel agenda is about County Executive Tara Zrinski’s appointments to agencies and boards. I haven’t gotten the call yet, but there’s hope. Appointments are made by the executive and approved by council.
Preliminary and final approval of those appointments usually is a formality, with a few exceptions. One appointment got tossed when former Councilman John Cusick pointed out that an employee of then-U.S. Rep. Susan Wild was not an appropriate choice for an elections board.
After appointments are read through, a personnel request from the Public Defender’s office is next.
End of meeting, then finance starts with reports from the County Controller on hotel tax. The county assesses a tax on hotel stays and periodically checks to see it’s getting what’s coming to it. Sometimes there are small gaps in the payments.
The money is returned via grants to activities that supposedly enhance tourism and thus bring people into hotels. In reality, some of the money does, some of it almost surely doesn’t. There are many grants, most of them small and a good audit on where this money goes is overdue.
Politicians like to say it’s not taxpayers’ money, and it doesn’t come from property tax, but it is a tax and even though I’m a county resident I pay it now and then.
The County Controller is Tim Brezinsky. I had to look that up, the office has changed so much via resignation, the deaths of Tony Bassil and Bucky Szulborski (two great guys and public servants), and now and then even by election. The controller is independent of the executive and council and acts as a fiscal watchdog for the taxpayers.
There will also be a report on Historic Bethlehem’s UNESCO World Heritage plans, and a “Review of Contingency Account Transfer to ArtsQuest for SoberPlatz at MusikFest 2026.”
The county helped fund SoberPlatz last year at Musikfest, recognizing that many people choose not to drink and would prefer a spot that isn’t all about alcohol.
That’s about it for tomorrow. The public has an opportunity to speak at each meeting.
Here is a link to County Council, and its meeting agendas as they become available.
Here’s a cut-and-paste version of the agenda:
Personnel and Finance Committees Meeting
Agenda
March 18, 2026 5:00 p.m.
I. Courtesy of the Floor
II. Review of the Executive’s Appointments/Reappointments: Area Agency
on Aging Advisory Council; Jail Advisory Board; Mental Health, Early
Intervention and Developmental Programs Advisory Board; Parks,
Recreation, and Open Space Advisory Board; Revenue Appeals Board;
Workforce Board Lehigh Valley
III. Review of Personnel Request: Office of the Public Defender
IV. Adjournment
- The Finance Committee meeting will commence immediately after the
conclusion of the Personnel Committee meeting.
I. Courtesy of the Floor
II. Review of Controller’s Reports:
a) Hotel Room Rental Tax AUP Report – Hampton Inn – Bethlehem
b) Hotel Room Rental Tax AUP Report – Best Western-SureStay Plus Hotel
c) Hotel Room Rental Tax AUP Report – Extended Stay America
d) Hotel Room Rental Tax AUP Report – Hyatt Place – Bethlehem
e) Hotel Room Rental Tax AUP Report – Springhill Suites – Easton
f) Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites AUP Report – UNESCO World
Heritage Initiative
g) Cash Collection Process AUP Report – After-Hours Bail Collection
h) Cash Collection Process AUP Report – Sheriff’s Department
i) Cash Collection Process AUP Report – Weights and Measures Division
j) District Attorney Procurement Card Program AUP Report
III. Review of Administrative Code Article XIII Contracts:
a) HT Lyons, Inc.
b) Patriot Workwear
c) Tenex Software Solutions/Data Center Warehouse
IV. Review of Contingency Account Transfer to ArtsQuest for SoberPlatz at
MusikFest 2026
V. Adjournment
Lehigh Valley News Briefs 