EASTON, Pa. — Northampton County Executive Lamont McClure finalized the county’s 2024 budget Monday, locking in a 10.8 mill property tax rate for next year, the same as 2023.
McClure declined to veto any of the changes County Council made ahead of adopting the budget last week, though he voiced dismay at a change he said reduces funding for lead paint abatement.
Among the amendments from the council was a new $500,000 outlay for a student loan payment assistance program, designed to attract and retain new county employees with student loan debt.
Another effort to use American Rescue Plan Act funds for improvements to the county-owned Gracedale nursing home failed Thursday after the county Director of Fiscal Affairs Steve Barron told council such a change would throw the budget out of balance.
Using ARPA money for the project would have freed up money from other, less-restrictive programs for other uses, Councilman John Cusick said.
“This budget will allow the County of Northampton to operate efficiently. I’m proud that Farmland Preservation, Open Space programs, and Gracedale Nursing Home are fully funded and that Gracedale will not require any additional money from the County next year.”Northampton County Executive Lamont McClure
“I want to thank County Council and the Department of Fiscal Affairs for working on this budget,” McClure wrote in a statement Monday.
“This budget will allow the County of Northampton to operate efficiently. I’m proud that Farmland Preservation, Open Space programs, and Gracedale Nursing Home are fully funded and that Gracedale will not require any additional money from the County next year.”
The county’s 2024 budget, totaling $582.5 million, amounts to a roughly 3% spending cut compared with 2023.
It includes $5.7 million of capital projects, mostly to be spent on updates to IT infrastructure, upgrades to Gracedale's building and repairs to the county government center in Easton.
