Oct. 26, 2026
— Jeff Ward, Lehigh Valley News Briefs
The Lehigh Valley school districts already raised taxes. Now the towns and counties are coming after us.
Northampton County is seeking a mind-bogging 44% increase. Bethlehem Township is looking at 19.8%, but about 5% net after a stormwater fee is dropped. Lehigh County will come in at about 17%.
That doesn’t mean elected officials want to raise taxes. They pay taxes too and they hear from constituents when the millage ($1 per $1,000 of taxable property value) goes up. Most I know would prefer not to be chastised when they’re shopping for groceries.
On the other hand, some people in office don’t want to make hard decisions, and sometimes their options are limited. Stuff has to get done, and as we all know, prices have been going up.
So here are a few things to look for when reviewing municipal budgets.
New positions: If a budget includes more money for fire fighters, police officers, or the road crew, perhaps that can be justified.
If the budget creates a job for somebody who will sit in an office or be a “hall walker,” with no apparent duties, be on the alert. Make sure the need is spelled out. Be very wary of amorphous job titles, such as “Director of Strategic Nincompoopery.”
In fact, be wary of any title with “strategic” in it. Big words often signal little need.
Ridiculous requests that are easy to cut: Lehigh County Executive Josh Siegel’s budget included $500,000 to fund local elections. Nobody with half a brain expected this to go through. The County Commissioners cut it but that was easy.
Such nonsensical items are a gift from the budget makers, giving town and county councils an easy cut to make and the opportunity to say they voted against spending. It’s all a game that insults the intelligence of voters.
Money for non-profit groups: Particularly at the state level, our public officials have a parasitic relationship with not-for-profit groups. We pay taxes to Harrisburg, where they support bureaucracy, benefits and pensions, and some good things, such as road work and the Pennsylvania State Police.
Then after the Harrisburg cut is taken, state officials, like little pit bulls, try to bring some of OUR money back and give it to non-profit groups.
They even boast of this. It’s weird. It’s inefficient. It’s wasteful. It’s standard operating procedure.
Sometimes money to non-profit groups is a pass-through, coming from the state, or it’s being paid for a service. That should be explained. If it’s just being given away, ask why. Taxpayers shouldn’t be making charitable donations without their consent.
Debt service: That’s the term for interest paid on bonds and other borrowing. If that amount is growing, ask why.
Debt is like erosion, it’s inexorable. It must be paid. Also sometimes the sale of new bonds is discussed during budget time. Often the new debt pays off old debt, but sometimes it’s “new money” as the bond people like to say, going to some new purpose.
Is that purpose worthwhile? It better be because the debt may last for decades. Also watch for using long-term debt to pay off current operating expenses. That’s the road to financial hell, just as charging meals and not paying the balance at month’s end is for credit-card users.
Big changes in line items: Municipal budgets are complicated, but they tend to be incremental. If there’s a huge jump in an item, maybe it’s because duties were shifted from one department to another but ask why. Residents can’t be expected to go through every line (Northampton County’s 2027 budget is 198 pages) but look for big stuff.
So there are a few things to look at, based on my years of experience reading boring things so you don’t have to.
And good luck.
