Allentown, Pa. — County Government that Works!, the slate of Democrats running for the four at-large seats on Lehigh County Board of Commissioners, today endorsed an amendment to the 2016 county budget that would preserve funding for farmland preservation efforts in the county.
The amendment offered by Commissioners Percy Dougherty and Thomas Creighton would establish an Agricultural Easement Municipal Match Program, designed to fund matching grants to municipalities which purchase easements to preserve farmland in the county. The program would assist those municipalities to qualify for state matching grants, which means the municipality’s investment is leveraged much more effectively.
The program would be funded by reallocating funds from expired Green Futures Fund projects. The Green Futures Fund was created through public referendum in 2003 for the purpose of funding open space preservation initiatives. Lehigh County has lost almost 15,000 acres of farmland since 2012 and Lehigh Valley Planning Commission projections show the county’s population growing by 126,000 people in the next 20 years.
To meet the LVPC goal of preserving 25 percent of the land in Lehigh and Northampton counties for agriculture, Lehigh County would have to preserve 55,473 acres. So far, only 21,415 acres have been preserved.
“This amendment is completely in line with the desire of Lehigh County residents to see farmland preserved, and it’s a great use of the money from the expired projects,” says Hillary Smith, a member of the County Government That Works! slate. “The funds were collected for open space initiatives in the first place, and this ensures the money will be used as the voters intended.”
Smith notes that the amendment faced opposition from one of the Republicans running for re-election, Commissioner Vic Mazziotti. He proposed stripping the Green Futures funds from that purpose and putting them into the county stabilization fund. Smith also pointed out that Mazziotti’s proposal contained no commitment to farmland preservation.
Both amendments were to be considered at the Commissioners’ meeting Wednesday, Oct. 14. Dougherty’s amendment was passed 7-2, with Amanda Holt and Michael Schware voting against the measure. Mazziotti withdrew his amendment after the vote.
The election for Lehigh County Commissioner At-Large is Tuesday, November 3rd. Candidates running on the County Government That Works! slate include Hillary Smith, Dan Hartzell, Joanne Jackson and Bob Martin.
For More Information:
Kelly Bauer
Vice President of Political Operations Advantage Pep LLC
2285 Schoenersville Rd
Suite 205
Bethlehem, Pa 18017
610-871-1416 (Office)
