By a 6 to 2 vote, Northampton County Council adopted an ordinance April 1 that officially establishes a rainy day fund that will segregate between 5 to 15 percent of the general government portion of each annual budget, based on the current budget, that's between $6.9 and $20 million.

A one mill tax increase, approved by council last year, will go into this fund, which is designated officially as the committed fund balance. This measure was proposed by Hayden Phillips and Glenn Geissinger.

Before this measure was adopted, Budget Administrator Doran Hammann was asked what he thought. Hammann told council this fund is something rating agencies would look at when the county decided to float its next bond for capital improvements.

"The bond rating is very critical to the price you pay," he observed. "I see no problems with moving forward."

"I don't see why we raise taxes and put it in a piggy bank," responded Councilman Ken Kraft.

"It's not a piggy bank," responded Geissinger. "I don't want our infrastructure to fail," he said, meaning the bridges and other capital improvements that are needed down the road, including $15 million in repairs at Gracedale Nursing Home.

Councilman Lamont McClure derided the notion of raising taxes and adopting this measure "to please Wall Street and please accountants." He said the fund balance is currently approaching $30 million.

As originally drafted, this fund would be in what Phillips called a "lockbox" that could only be opened by a two-thirds vote of council.

McClure proposed giving the key to a bare majority, warning that a minority could thwart the will of council. That reasoning swayed Geissinger, who provided the fifth vote to an amendment supported by McClure, Kraft and Councilmen Scott Parsons and Bob Werner.

Democrats Parsons and Werner joined four Republicans in establishing the fund.

"It is the right thing to do," Parsons explained.

McClure and Kraft were the sole holdouts.

Councilwoman Peg Ferraro, fighting an illness, was absent.