Lehigh County property owners will see a 16.7% tax increase in 2027.
County commissioners on Wednesday voted to adopt an amended version of Lehigh County Executive Josh Siegel’s budget, which initially called for a property tax increase of 17.7%
The slightly smaller increase came following a series of hearings this month, in which the commissioners voted against adding several new administrative positions to Siegel’s office, as well as a proposed $500,000 “Clean Elections” public campaign-matching fund.
Under the new budget, the county millage rate will increase from 3.78 to 4.41. A millage rate is the tax rate used to calculate local property taxes, where one mill equals $1 of tax for every $1,000 of a property’s assessed value. The median assessed home value in Lehigh County is $169,400.
Siegel said the county’s tax revenue has been almost flat since 2011.
The new budget passed 7-2, with commissioners Antonio Pineda and Zachary Cole-Borghi voting against.
Before the vote, the commissioners considered two additional amendments. One, sponsored by Pineda, called for the county millage rate to remain at 3.78, which would mean no property tax increase. It did not move forward for a vote.
The second, penned by Commissioner Sarah Fevig, who chairs the finance committee, called for a millage rate of 4.31. It was voted down, 7 to 2.
Siegel said the tax increase was needed due to rising costs and inaction by prior administrations.
“When we talk about the context of this tax increase, it is the consequence of cumulative years of ignoring long term structural issues,” he said.
He said prior leaders, including sitting members of the board of commissioners, could have passed incremental increases to keep up with rising costs, instead of putting the county in a position where a large increase was needed.
“We have to do a better job together, at facing these consequences and facing these decisions. We have to stop passing the buck and be honest with our citizens about what it takes to finance county government,” he said.