Republican County Commissioners banded together to force a tax cut that Democratic Lehigh County Commissioners and the Lehigh County Executive did not want and warned against. The vote will keep real estate taxes at last year’s millage rate of 3.64, opposing the administration’s plan to raise the rate to 3.79 mills.

“It will be vetoed…as soon as it gets to my desk,” said County Executive Phillips Armstrong in a post-meeting interview last week.

However, the vote seems to be veto-proof, since Republicans control the board of commissioners.

Armstrong said the budget just passed cannot be done and still maintain GFOA (Government Finance Officer Association) standards. Moreover, according to Armstrong, it is a budget that will “cause us to lose our [credit] rating according to Moody’s Investor Service.”

The Government Finance Officers Association is an advisory organization. According to its web site, “GFOA advisories identify specific policies and procedures necessary to minimize a government’s exposure to potential loss in connection with its financial management activities.”

Wiesenburg resident Bob Elbich said he thought the new budget was all about politics. “Once again the majority party [Republican] of the commissioners has kicked the can down the road with this budget and totally thrown out the window good common sense and good fiscal management.

“You’re going to raid our savings account of $12 million in order to make this budget,” said Elbich. “You have full knowledge that by reducing the reserves it increases the risk to the county and the taxpayers.”

Freshman Supervisor Amy Zanelli echoed Armstrong’s warnings. In her view, “the problem is simple.

“We cannot vote to increase our expenditures, which we are doing by about $12 million and change while we do not increase our revenue and expect our stabilization fund to remain at a level where we can borrow in a fiscally responsible way,” said Zanelli. “That’s not an equation for success.”

Chairman Marty Nothstein said, “We’re making sure that county services are being taken care of and making sure that our employees are being compensated, and we also are not increasing taxes.

“When you can cover those three issues you know you have a strong budget. It’s going to be supported by [Lehigh] county residents county-wide.”

Nothstein, who is in a closely-run contest for a Congressional seat, said, “I am very supportive of this budget.”