During the Nov. 12 Lehigh County Commissioners meeting, Commissioner Geoff Brace began by recognizing the strong support from high school students who participated as clerks and inspectors in the general election throughout Whitehall, Southern Lehigh and the City of Allentown. Additionally, the 135-day long state budget impasse finally concluded with the approval of a state budget Nov. 12. Brace indicated he will request Chief Fiscal Officer Tim Reeves to attend the next meeting and provide what he hopes will be an “end of game summary” for the financials.

During the citizen’s comment portion of the meeting, several citizens spoke about topics of importance.

Marilyn Mercado, a resident of Catasauqua, took to the podium to express her concerns over what is transpiring in Washington, D.C. As an activist and worker for the unemployment office, she is deeply concerned with food insecurity, as well as the many other challenges facing people today.

Joe Welsh, the director of outreach and government relations for the Lehigh Valley Justice Institute at United Way of the Lehigh Valley, also took to the podium to address matters of struggle in the current climate. He commented that by accessing www.lvji.org, one can view a map that displays the impacts of housing, education, socioeconomic factors, food insecurity and more which accumulate in the “various areas and produce cumulative disadvantages for certain communities within the Lehigh Valley.”

Proceeding forward with the regularly scheduled agenda items, the appointment of Timothy Chorones to the Children and Youth Services Council with a term expiring Dec. 31, 2028 was approved by all nine commissioners.

Over the course of the evening, four bills received their second reading and were approved. The first waived certain contract requirements and approved an intergovernmental agreement for talk groups with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, acting through the Pennsylvania State Police, to improve communications between the 911 center and the state police.

Two of these bills included the approval of an extension of the temporary discretionary overtime bonus program for certain employees within both the Department of Corrections and the 911 communication center through Feb. 13, 2026.

The final bill approved the donation of four male bison from the Lehigh Valley Zoo to the Wildlife Restoration Foundation for transfer to a member of the Intertribal Buffalo Council.

A motion was read and approved to approve the necessary expenses for Commissioners Antonio Pineda and Sheila Alvarado to attend the 2025 County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania Fall Conference in Dauphin County, Nov. 23-25.

Also on the agenda for the evening, five bills received their first reading and were to be brought forth for a second reading at the Nov. 25 meeting. One bill was deferred due to a missing signature; therefore, was to receive its first reading Nov. 25.

Nearing the conclusion of the meeting, Pineda commented a total of 1,025 local residents participated in the county household hazardous waste event Nov. 1. Director Rick Molchany promised to provide a more robust update once he receives the breakdown of hazardous material type.

Due to the quickly approaching holiday season, it is important to note the upcoming meeting dates are impacted. The remaining regularly scheduled Lehigh County Commissioner meetings will take place Dec. 10 and Dec. 18.