County Executive Muller Releases 2017 Five Year Capital Plan
“Commitment to farmland preservation, fire cascade truck key features”
Lehigh County Executive Tom Muller has delivered the county’s latest five-year capital plan, covering the years 2017 to 2021, to the Board of Commissioners.
Muller stated that “this latest capital plan continues Lehigh County’s commitment to be good stewards of all county assets and meet mandates as they occur without placing an undue burden on the taxpayer.”
Overall spending is projected at $58.8 million, slightly below last year’s total but excluding what will be a substantial, bond-funded project of undetermined specifics at this time for the Cedarbrook nursing homes. Within the $58.8 million total, $8.1 million is to be funded from the county’s operating fund; that amount is down 14% from last year’s plan. Importantly, this plan assumes that the projects that were budgeted for 2016 and earmarked for bond funding will be executed as planned.
In releasing the Capital Plan, Muller indicated to the Board of Commissioners that the administration strongly advocates for funding of up to $2 million annually for farmland preservation. “As confirmed by a recent Muhlenberg study and the inputs gathered during the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission’s Southwestern Lehigh planning effort, the citizens of Lehigh County are calling for aggressive preservation of farmland and open spaces.” Muller said.
Under its County Charter, the Lehigh County Board of Commissioners are required to take final action on the plan by the end of August. However, for the second consecutive year, Muller is releasing the plan almost two months earlier than required in order to enable the board’s action to sync better with next year’s Proposed Budget, which will be finalized earlier in August.
The five-year capital plan is available for viewing by the public at www.lehighcounty.org
Information Provided By:
COUNTY OF LEHIGH
Office of Public Information
Government Center
17 South Seventh Street
Allentown, Pennsylvania 18101-2401
Press release contact Frank Kane (610) 782-3001
