After months of budget hearings, followed by numerous amendments, Northampton County Council voted unanimously Dec. 1 to approve Executive John Brown’s $379 million spending plan for 2017.

Council also proposed an ordinance setting the millage rate for next year at 11.8 mills, which means there will be no tax hike. A home assessed at $75,000 will have an $885 tax bill. The millage rate ordinance was scheduled for adoption Dec. 15, the last meeting of the year.

Real estate taxes make up only $99 million of the $313 million in anticipated revenue next year. The rest is mostly “pass through” money from the state and federal government to fund human services extending from child abuse investigations to senior centers. This budget will fund $27 million in capital improvements.

Brown has continued the practice, started last year, of setting aside one mill of taxes ($7.9 million) for capital projects like maintenance of the county’s 119 bridges, the purchase of the human services building and the construction of a new jail. Though Brown has told council reassessment is about 18 months away, the budget does provide for two temporary assessors to work on a prelude to what is coming.

A $2 million increase in salary costs is offset by a $2 million decrease in fringe benefit costs. Union increases are governed by their contracts. There also is a 2-percent pay hike to the county’s nonunion workforce. This was supported by all council members except Mat Benol. He gave no explanation for his dissent.

The budget includes a structural deficit. The county is spending more than it is taking in and has dipped into reserves to the tune of $8.2 million.

At a lengthy budget hearing Nov. 30, council considered a series of amendments to the budget, picking some winners and losers.

Winner: Northampton County Jail - The biggest winner was Northampton County’s aging jail. Council scrambled to find $500,000 to set aside for a renovation or relocation. Since Brown also proposed setting aside another $500,000, there should be $1 million in seed money for a new jail, either on or off campus. Brown might use some of this money for feasibility studies, although some preliminary projections place the cost at $130 million.

Winner: Braden Airpark - Councilman Glenn Geissinger wanted to give the airport authority a $250,000 grant from general funds for improvements at Braden Airpark. Ken Kraft scoffed, “You want to take $5 from people for their cars but want to give $250,000 so rich people can fly their airplanes.” Council members like Peg Ferraro and John Cusick told Geissinger he was premature. Council voted 8-1, with Ken Kraft dissenting, to fund this grant when Brown pledged to use table games revenue instead of real estate tax dollars to fund it. He told council the county needs “to step up and show good faith.” He predicted, without the revenue stream from commercial facilities to be built at the site, it will fail.

Winner: Livable Landscapes - Livable Landscapes is the most recent iteration of Northampton County’s Open Space Plan. It continues farmland preservation but also supports farming that produces food that can be consumed locally. It promotes trail systems and recreational open space. It continues to support the preservation of environmentally sensitive land, but that now includes historic and cultural resources.

Winner: DaVinci Science Center - A proposed expansion of the DaVinci Science Center in Easton will get $50,000 in hotel taxes. Council President John Cusick said Easton “is dating the DaVinci Center, and they may get married by the end of the year.” But he questioned whether they are really serious. “I think we should give them a bridal shower,” Hayden Phillips said.

Two nonprofits did well, too. The Miracle League got $10,000 instead of the $7,000 recommended. The county historical society got $50,000 instead of the $30,000 recommended by county staff.

Loser: Northampton County’s Open Space Plan - Brown refused to fund farmland preservation beyond whatever applications exist. Previously, he has made it clear if applications require more funds, he will find the money. Council also gutted the funding for environmentally sensitive land, especially after Brown told them there are no projects in the pipeline.