Oct. 2, 2026
— Jeff Ward, Lehigh Valley News Briefs
Northampton County Executive Tara Zrinski has proposed a 44% property-tax increase for 2027.
Zrinski’s spending plan for 2027 requires a tax rate of 15.5 mills (a mill equals $1 tax per $1,000 of assessed value). The current rate is 10.8 mills, or $540 for a home assessed at $50,000. At 15.5 mills, that bill would be $775, an increase of $235.
She’d signaled earlier that a hike was coming. The only question was, how much?
Prices keep going up, and even the expense of obesity drugs is weighing on the county.
“Northampton County has held the line (on raising taxes) for almost a decade,” Zrinski said.
Northampton County operates the prison, funds the court system and keeps the Gracedale nursing home going. The county runs elections, and tests the accuracy of weights and measures at stores and gas stations.
It also provides various “human services,” much of that funded by the State of Pennsylvania. The bulk of county revenue is not from the property tax.
The unfortunate truth is that many people barely know there is a county government, unless they spend a lot of time in court, or have a relative at Gracedale or in Northampton County Prison. Or if they work for the county, which has 1,920 employees.
Northampton County Council will review the budget, and while it can make amendments, the county’s Home Rule Charter gives the executive the upper hand. Council can’t alter revenue projections, as noted in Lehigh Valley Ramblings, and the budget must be balanced. That limits Council’s role.
Zrinski is a Democrat, as are eight of the nine members of County Council, but expect a lot of pushback on her first budget.
Zrinski’s predecessor, Democrat Lamont G. McClure Jr., presented eight budgets to County Council. Seven kept taxes unchanged, one cut them by a mill.
“That one mill cost us $40 million” in revenue, not annually but since the cut, Zrinski said today.
She noted needs at the prison and at Gracedale.
“We’re going to make Gracedale self-sustaining,” Zrinski said.
Zrinski also discussed the need to support the county’s pension fund, not a popular topic with taxpayers who don’t have pensions.
She also noted that there has not been a reassessment of properties in the county in more than 30 years. Reassessments are never popular; some property owners gain, some lose and there is confusion when the tax rate changes. There is no plan now to reassess property values countywide, Zrinski said.
Zrinski presented her budget today at the Human Services Building in Bethlehem Township. The event started 17 minutes late. Zrinski was County Controller before winning the election for Executive. Before that, she was on County Council.
She acknowledged that residents don’t want a tax increase, and that people’s budgets are already stretched.
“Any increase matters,” she said.
She said the 2026 county budget did not fund some needs.
The county broadcast Zrinski’s address on its Facebook page.
I will post a link to the entire budget when it’s available and it will be on the county website.
44% seems fair…… next year it will go up 44% again for sure . You have no choice but to pay it. Let’s blame it on obesity drugs while at the same providing SNAP benefits that provide free candy, chips, cookies and sodas.
Health insurance is averaging 20% increases each year for the last 5 years but not to worry about if you work for the government.
For the average working family the costs keep increasing at 5 times the rate of inflation for the last several years now.
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Northampton County Council approved giving Lafayette college $1 million of our tax money even though they have $1 billion endowment they want to spend recklessly and then turn around and beat up the homeowners.
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The $1 million for the baseball field was from the state. It’s a ridiculous expense, even from my point of view as a Lafayette graduate.
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I am
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