The Lehigh County Board of Commissioners voted 5-4 against extending the Lehigh County Authority's charter at its March 13 meeting.

The Lehigh County Authority was seeking an extension on its current charter so it could put in a bid for Allentown's proposed 50-year water and sewage system lease. The city is in need of $150 to $200 million to help pay for its underfunded employee pension program. LCA's current charter expires in 36 years.

Chairwoman Lisa Scheller called the vote the most important the current board has had to make and likely remain so.

"The biggest effects of this could be felt 10, 15, 20 years down the road," Scheller said before the vote.

The commissioners tabled the bill at its last meeting and Commissioner Vic Mazziotti said he made the most of his time.

Mazziotti said he was initially leaning toward voting in favor of the extension but the more he looked into the proposal, the more he became concerned.

"I see tremendous risks involved in this transaction," Mazziotti said. "What this does is take a city problem and make it everyone's problem."

Like Mazziotti, many of the commissioners' apprehension to extend the charter stemmed from their disapproval of Allentown leasing its water and sewage system.

"The transaction we're talking about is a bad deal for everyone in Lehigh County," Commissioner Michael Schware said. "Whether it's LCA or another company, it's structured to extort as much money as possible needed to meet some preset amount that has nothing to do with the cost of the water and sewer systems themselves."

Schware said voting no on LCA's charter is not enough and the board has an obligation to its residents to look further into the legal aspects of Allentown leasing its water and sewer systems. He said Allentown could not raise the water rates on its own to transfer money over to the general fund because all of the money raised has to go back into the water and sewer system.

"I find it difficult that adding a middle man, whether it's LCA or someone else, would allow Allentown to do what it otherwise can't legally do," Schware said. "That is why, if warranted, we should pursue every legal action possible to stop this transaction from taking place. I know there are some on the board tonight that disagree with me about extending LCA's charter, but there should be no disagreement about the fact that this transaction is not good for Lehigh County."

Commissioner Percy Dougherty, who has supported extending LCA's charter throughout the process, said he would support Schware's investigation.

Dougherty called Allentown's water lease "blackmail in its simplest guise" but said if the city is going to go forward with its plan, all bids should be accepted.

"I think we need to make the best of a very bad situation," Dougherty said.

Commissioners Scheller, Schware, Mazziotti, Scott Ott and Thomas Creighton voted against the extension. Commissioners Dougherty, David Jones, Brad Osborne and Daniel McCarthy voted in favor.

The Lehigh County Board of Commissioners will hold its next meeting March 27 in the public hearing room of the Lehigh County Government Center in Allentown.