ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Mayor Matt Tuerk’s proposed 2026 budget, which calls for a property tax increase of almost 4%, has caused little fanfare so far among city lawmakers — in stark contrast to the last time he asked them to raise taxes.
Four Allentown City Council committees have reviewed much of Tuerk’s budget since he introduced it this month, but members have shown little desire to make wholesale changes.
City officials from the human resources and parks and recreation departments presented their 2026 budget requests Wednesday night.
“We kind of squeezed everywhere we could."Gerry Anthony, Allentown's chief information officer
Each said they worked to present a budget without unnecessary expenses.
“We’ve delivered a lean budget this year,” John Ferry, Allentown’s risk and safety manager, told council members of his department’s 2026 budget.
“We kind of squeezed everywhere we could,” Chief Information Officer Gerry Anthony said Wednesday night.
Council members asked several questions on specific programs and line items, but appeared to generally accept the proposed figures in front of them.
Plan likely has council's support
Allentown is projected to generate just over $150 million in general-fund revenues — through taxes, fees, fines and grants.
It will spend $111 million on personnel costs; $17.1 million for utilities, maintenance and other services; and $7.1 million for materials and supplies.
More than $13 million is listed in the 2026 budget as “sundry,” a catch-all category for miscellaneous city expenses.
Tuerk has requested property tax increases in two of the four budgets he has presented as Allentown mayor.
He sought to raise taxes almost 7% in 2024 before dropping that request to 2%. Council eventually passed a budget for that year that included no hike.
The mayor appears to have a much smoother path to budget approval and increased taxes this time around.
Three of seven council members — Daryl Hendricks, Santo Napoli and Candida Affa — told LehighValleyNews.com they would support the mayor’s request to raise taxes.
Vice President Cynthia Mota is likely to join their support.
Councilwoman Ce-Ce Gerlach said she would back increased taxes if additional revenues supported housing initiatives in the city.
Members Ed Zucal — who is challenging Tuerk for mayor in Tuesday's election — and Natalie Santos said they would not support a tax increase.
