Bethlehem Mayor J. William Reynolds presented an $112 million budget Thursday morning that will not increase property taxes for residents, but will finance infrastructure improvements including park renovations and new fire trucks.
Reynolds framed the city’s 2026 budget as a project in honest, smart and sustainable financial planning, in an address at Foy Hall at Moravian University.
“People think that good things just happen, or that somehow the equation is, ‘I want more of the good thing, and I don’t want to have to do anything I don’t want to have to do,’” Reynolds said. “And in the city of Bethlehem, we have known this for 300 years, that your community is what you put in your community, and oftentimes, progress can only be seen over the long term.”
The city is not borrowing any money for its 2026 budget and, in fact, has not taken out any loans since 2019, Reynolds said. The city’s total revenue outpaces its annual debt service, which Reynolds credited to prudent financial planning from his own staff and that of past mayors.
The city’s finances are guided by rules, Reynolds told the audience, the most important of which is ensuring sustainable revenue sources cover recurring expenses.
Bethlehem faces an increase of about $1.24 million in expenses in 2026, almost entirely due to the 3% salary increase that city employees receive annually. However, its sources of revenue have also grown thanks to increasing earned income tax, real estate tax and casino fees, allowing it to avoid a tax increase in 2026, Reynolds said.
Bethlehem’s most recent property tax increase was a 2.6% hike in 2024, which allowed the city to hire four new paramedics and cover contractual salary and pension costs.
The city’s main investments in 2026 and beyond include the purchase of two new firetrucks at a cost of $4.6 million; $10 million over the next 10 years to improve all 40 of the city’s parks; and hiring two new permit department employees to speed up the process of approving construction permits.
The city will pay for the new permitting employees via increasing permit fees, which have not changed since 2004, Reynolds said.
At an impromptu City Council meeting Wednesday, IAFF Local 735 president Lou Jimenez, who represents the city’s unionized firefighters, made the case that Bethlehem should hire more firefighters, too. The city is currently budgeted for 104 firefighters, which is less than the city had 50 years ago despite population growth, Jimenez said.
Reynolds said the city has not yet received a copy of the IAFF study. It is working on its own comprehensive evaluation of the fire department’s staffing and infrastructure needs, he said.
Reporter Lindsay Weber can be reached at Liweber@mcall.com.