Josh Siegel, Pennsylvania’s youngest ever county executive, laid out his ambitious plans for a more responsive, progressive and active local government during his first State of Lehigh County address.
Siegel, who was elected in November 2025, said that his address was “aspirational” and bold about his plans for the county. Specific proposals included empowering local authorities to build more public housing, declaring a countywide homelessness emergency, countering new federal work requirements for Medicaid and food assistance, and ending cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. He also suggested a new 1% sales tax as a way to address the county’s structural deficit, and tying the new revenue to some of his initiatives.
During the address Thursday, the 32-year-old executive vowed to be “honest and straightforward” and transparent with his constituents, and to not shy away from difficult conversations.
“I believe a hard truth is always better than a soft lie,” Siegel said. “Leadership is about having the courage to suggest real solutions, even when they’re difficult. It’s about choosing the right path, not the one of least resistance.”
Here are the key takeaways from Siegel’s address, which was given at the county-owned Coca-Cola Park.
Addressing the structural deficit
Since 2021, the county budget has run a structural deficit every year except for 2024, when the county tapped COVID relief funds for a one-time investment to balance the budget, Siegel said. The county’s deficit is expected to rise to $5 million by 2027, as the cost of and demand for county services has increased.
The county has dug into its operating fund to balance its budget, which sits at around $28 million – a relatively paltry sum for a county with an over $500 billion annual budget – and the county risks further dwindling that amount if it does not increase its sources of revenue.
“Let me put it plainly: there are no cupboards left to raid or seat cushions to shake,” Siegel said. “Our county has done more with less for too long, and we can no longer kick the can down the road.”
He suggested the county could impose a 1% sales tax to increase revenue, and tie the increase to strategic local projects like housing, homelessness, mental health and public transportation initiatives.
“With federal funding cuts and limitations in the state’s ability to make up that shortfall, I believe it is imperative we allow regions to chart their own course, ” Siegel said.
He also proposed establishing a Tourism Improvement District, which is a type of public-private partnership that aims to increase the number of overnight visitors in the area. He claimed that such a partnership, if successful, could generate an additional $23 million in local spending, and $7.5 million in additional revenue to local governments.
“Those aren’t just heads in beds, but feet on the street, shopping and dining. Every dollar we spend attracting those visitors results in 12 dollars spent while they’re here,” Siegel said.
Housing and homelessness
Siegel vowed that addressing a lack of affordable housing in Lehigh County would “remain front and center” among his priorities for the county.
He proposed several ideas to address the crisis, all of which prioritize building additional housing to meet increasing demand. The Lehigh Valley region’s population is expected to increase by 100,000 by 2050, according to projections from the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission.
Siegel proposed empowering local housing authorities to buy existing housing stock to convert it into affordable housing units. He also called on local authorities to simplify their permitting process to allow housing to be built more quickly.
In the coming days, Siegel vowed to sign an executive order declaring homelessness a countywide emergency, and task county staff to come up with a strategic plan to address it..
The era of bulldozed encampments and reactionary responses to our homeless residents must end,” he said, referring to Allentown’s decision to evacuate a homeless encampment along the Jordan Creek in September 2025, leaving dozens with nowhere else to go.
Siegel also suggested using the county’s vacant, 400-bed Community Corrections Center as a shelter or temporary transitional housing for homeless people.
“We could functionally eliminate homelessness in this county, in this region, with that investment alone,” Siegel said, to applause from the sold-out audience.
He added that counties in Seattle and New York have repurposed former jails into temporary housing successfully.
Addressing federal government uncertainty
Siegel did not shy away from criticism of the federal government, calling Trump’s administration “animated by chaos, corruption and cruelty.”
He called the cuts to Medicaid and SNAP via the Big Beautiful Bill, which introduce work requirements to people eligible for those programs, “devastating” to Lehigh County residents. Siegel announced the county would partner with the United Way to “coordinate communications, messaging and coordinate with healthcare partners to prevent our neighbors from losing their healthcare.”
Other initiatives the county could launch to counter health insurance and food aid cuts include developing volunteer opportunities to ensure people can continue to be eligible for Medicaid and SNAP, and launching a medical debt relief fund via philanthropic partnerships.
Siegel also said that his administration would introduce a bill ordering non-cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The county is weighing creating a database of ICE operations, if the agency were to increase its presence in the Lehigh Valley.
“I believe that where there is instability and chaos, Lehigh County must step up to provide stability and certainty,” Siegel said. “There are those who believe we must keep our heads down, stay silent and refuse to speak out. I think appeasement only inspires the next Minneapolis, that capitulation only encourages more overreach. We must be the buttress and backstop against darkness and division.”
Reporter Lindsay Weber can be reached at Liweber@mcall.com.