The Lehigh County Board of Commissioners discussed the local impacts of the continued state budget impasse in Harrisburg.

Lehigh County Chief Fiscal Officer Tim Reeves said the six-week budget impasse is halting needed reimbursements to the county used for various county expenses, specifically state-mandated services such as human services and education.

Reeves said the county has a stabilization fund that can be used in place of the state money, but the fund can only last a few more months, as the county expenses are already up $12.5 million and the fund only has $25 million per the county budget.

Reeves said the major ramifications from a continued impasse include losing interest that could be earned on the county’s stabilization fund and the loss of local nonprofit organizations that rely on the state’s funds.

“I know that a lot of these nonprofit organizations have to go through a very long list to get qualified to be part of these programs,” Reeves said. “If we are not able to pay them and they go out of business, the chances of them going back to get recertified become less likely.”

State Sen. Jarrett Coleman, R-16th, also spoke on the topic, saying the Senate and House are still very far apart on any decision.

“I don’t know how long (the impasse) will continue. We are working, we are trying to find common ground,” Coleman said. “There are just other issues that we’re working through, but I think it’s important to come here and to speak to all of you so you do understand that the impasse is real.”

New facility

The board passed a bill to award up to $92,000 from the district attorney’s opioid settlement fund to assist in the start-up of a new facility in Allentown to house women and children seeking opioid rehabilitation support.

Lehigh County District Attorney Gavin Holihan said this funding will help create the third mother-baby unit in Lehigh County, providing a “phenomenally positive” rehabilitation system.

“It’s a multigenerational, long-term crime prevention and addiction prevention strategy,” Holihan said.

“I’m very gratified … that we’re able to provide the funds that allow our drug and alcohol people to work in a program that they wanted for a long time, just couldn’t fund.”

Commissioners did a second read on a group of bills discussed during a meeting July 23, which would grant funds to a group of organizations focused on homelessness and youth violence prevention and supporting returning citizens’ reentry services.

The grants are funded by amending the budget to reallocate funds for these specific grants. Commissioner Jeffrey Dutt, a sponsor of these bills, said the Homelessness Prevention Grant program will allocate $144,000 for homelessness, which is crucial due to the current “Jordan Creek situation.

“I think this is very, very important that we do this and that we help those people that do need these services,” Dutt said. “It’s something that I pursued for quite a while.”