Last night, the County Of Lehigh BOC reorganized to kick off the new year. President Judge Johnson swore in 4 new Commissioners. In addition to welcoming new faces, we retained our leadership team, re-electing Chair Geoff Brace and Vice Chair Jeff Dutt. Notably, our leadership team remains bipartisan. The Chair is from the majority party and the Vice Chair from the minority party. I supported both unanimous votes.

This was a no-brainer with everything we were able to accomplish last year working with leadership including Executive Armstrong and his team. This reflected effective governance.

Notable items and initiatives from 2023 include:

✅𝐍𝐨 𝐓𝐚𝐱 𝐈𝐧𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒 𝐁𝐮𝐝𝐠𝐞𝐭: Which included a forecast for no tax increases for the foreseeable future. Hand in hand with with the executive branch we continue working to lay out and move forward the comprehensive capital plan. The plan continues to prioritize Cedarbrook the County nursing home.

𝐅𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐟𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐋𝐞𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡 𝐂𝐨. 𝐅𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦: This past year we’re on track (some farms are still in the process of settling) to preserve 12 new farms totaling 650 acres. This included the first preserved farm in Whitehall Township.

𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐒𝐚𝐟𝐞𝐭𝐲: We passed a bond supporting an upgraded digital radio system for first responders. Changing what is now an analog radio system to a completely digital one.

𝐓𝐚𝐱 𝐂𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬: We established a County Real Estate Tax Credit for Active Lehigh County Volunteer Firefighters residing in LC. As of a few days ago 168 Lehigh Co. Firefighters are taking advantage of this program. Commissioner Pineda and I were co-sponsors. Pineda did alot of the legwork to get this going.

𝐑𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭: We reconstituted Lehigh County Redevelopment Authority.

𝐋𝐞𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐲 𝐉𝐚𝐢𝐥: We established the Stepping UP Initiative to Reduce the Number of People with Mental Illnesses in Lehigh Co. Jail. And also expanded GED and other education opportunities in LCJ. Special thanks to outgoing Commissioner Bob Elbich for his work on the Stepping Up Program.

𝐓𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐲 𝐄𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐲𝐞𝐞𝐬: We enacted temporary Wage Increases for 24/7 operations.

𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐋𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐔𝐬𝐞 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠: We moved forward funding of a regional planning initiative for the northwest tier communities. This is an item I am sponsoring.

𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: Announced the D&L Trail and River Drive Multimodal Corridor. (Lehigh County will maintain trails associated with the project)

𝐀𝐥𝐬𝐨, 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐰𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐑𝐨𝐰 𝐎𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐬:
Gavin Holihan – District Attorney
Dan Buglio – Coronor Lehigh County Coroner’s Office & Forensic Center
Michelle Graupner – Clerk of Judicial Records
Looking forward to working with you all.