Entering his second year as Northampton County executive,
John Brown said he came into office looking to make changes.
For his second State of the County address at Northampton
Community College in Bethlehem Township on Wednesday, Brown looked at how those
changes created challenges and opportunities in balancing the needs of county
employees with those of taxpayers and the county’s budgetary constraints. While
at the same time, looking to build economic development.
“He is doing the hard work of managing a large operation
with multiple challenges,” said Don Cunningham, president and CEO of Lehigh
Valley Economic Development Corp., the organization which hosted the event.
Cunningham said Brown has done a good job creating
economic development opportunities, particularly in the Slate Belt.
Brown cited several tax revenue opportunities in
Northampton County, which include economic development projects and initiatives
that either got underway full swing in 2014, are in the planning stages or
about to break ground.
• The Route 33 interchange project in Palmer Township,
expected to finish in June, should bring about 5,000 jobs to the area once
several industrial sites are fully built out.
• Plans are in the works to build the Green Knight
Industrial Park, which covers several municipalities near Route 33, including
Wind Gap and Pen Argyl.
• The FedEx project in Allen Township is expected to go
under construction this year.
• Several Bethlehem City Revitalization and Improvement
Zone projects are in the works.
• The county’s Department of Community and Economic
Development will begin a new revolving loan/grant program with $1 million
available each year for economic development projects.
The Green Knight Economic Development Corp., an
organization in the Slate Belt region, is instrumental in getting the Green
Knight Industrial Park underway, and the county is partnering with the group.
“There are a number of energized, committed citizens,
businesses looking at economic development in the Slate Belt,” said Diane
Donaher, director of community and economic development for Northampton County.
“What the county is poised to do is help them come up with a plan. It’s all
about leveraging resources. The Slate Belt is an incredible environmental
resource.”
Funds from the county’s new loan/grant program derive
from casino table-game revenue and will be used for aging communities that do
not have access to resources for economic development projects, Donaher said.
These areas include Hellertown, Bangor and Nazareth. The county will launch the
program in a few weeks.
MEETING CHALLENGES
Aside from striving from economic development opportunities,
Brown said he is focused on creating a culture that embraces change in an
attempt to better fiscally manage the county’s workforce resources.
This process includes reviewing departments for
operational improvements and reviewing the organizational structure to maximize
workforce potential, Brown said.
He identified about $50 million in future needs in the
next five years that the county would have to pay, which includes costs
associated with the Affordable Care Act tax, the purchase of the Department of
Human Resources Building and the Gracedale nursing home operation.
Brown projected a $1.5 million escalation in health care
costs in 2015. He decided to go from a 100 percent covered plan for employees
to a 90/10 plan, which he acknowledged has gotten pushback from employees.
“The Affordable Care Act is forcing me to change the
health care plan,” Brown said.
Brown cited a few highlights of his accomplishments in
2014, including $17.9 million returned to the general fund and a reduction in
health care costs for the county by restructuring the health care plan.
Source:
LVB
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