ALLENTOWN, Pa. — City Council on Wednesday kicked off what could be a monthslong process to reform its budgeting process, as members look to bury budget battles in the past.
All seven members participated in a meeting of the body’s Budget and Finance Committee, which has been tasked with examining how officials craft a spending-and-revenue plan for the city.
Councilman Jeremy Binder, who took his seat this month, called for his colleagues to seriously consider reforms to the city’s budget process.
Allentown City Councilman Jeremy Binder this month introduced legislation he said he hopes will bring “clarity” when future budget battles erupt.Allentown City Council meeting
He and fellow newcomer Councilman Cristian Pungo were forced to vote on the 2026 budget during their first meeting.
That vote, which confirmed higher property taxes and trash fees, ended the second drawn-out budget fight between council and the mayor in the past three years.
Council passed the 2024 budget with weeks to spare despite a mayoral veto and a successful override; the 2026 budget was not officially adopted until almost two weeks after the start of the year.
Questions abounded during that period, as council refuted Mayor Matt Tuerk’s insistence that his initial budget proposal had taken effect Jan. 1.
City voters in 2019 overwhelmingly opted to remove a mayor’s authority to adopt a budget without legislative approval, but council members never clarified what happens if officials cannot agree.
Binder this month introduced legislation he said he hopes will bring “clarity” when future budget battles erupt.
Looking for new money
Several council members appeared eager to start working on the 2027 budget Wednesday night, with the ink barely dry on the recently approved 2026 budget.
Many Allen town City Council members acknowledged the mayor’s repeated calls for additional revenues but pondered alternative sources to raising property taxes.Allentown City Council meeting
Many acknowledged the mayor’s repeated calls for additional revenues but pondered alternative sources to raising property taxes.
Councilwoman Ce-Ce Gerlach urged Tuerk’s administration to consider impact fees like some other Pennsylvania municipalities. A 1% Development Impact Tax in Philadelphia helps fund affordable housing initiatives there.
Councilwoman Candida Affa said she believes Allentown could earn a significant sum if it added a tax on entertainment throughout the city, as do Bethlehem and Easton, which levy 5% amusement taxes on certain events.
But Controller Jeff Glazier cautioned that the city cannot levy further taxes on many of its premier entertainment venues, such as PPL Center and Archer Music Hall, which are in the Neighborhood Improvement Zone.
Most taxes in the NIZ are directed back to other projects in the designated area, which covers almost 130 acres in Center City Allentown, though the city and school district benefit from increased property values, and in turn, increased property taxes, Glazier said.
