County Executive McClure on Thursday presented the proposed 2026 Northampton County budget, saying the plan would keep the county tax rate unchanged at 10.8 mills and would not raise property taxes for 2026. "The McClure Administration's 2026 budget does not raise taxes," McClure said.

McClure told attendees the budget is balanced in accordance with the Home Rule Charter and continues priorities the county committed to during his first term, including farmland and open-space preservation and keeping Gracedale county owned and county operated. "We have invested over $23,000,000 in open space, farmland preservation, and parks," he said, and noted a separate milestone: the preservation of 20,000 acres of farmland in 2025.

The budget presentation emphasized growth management amid rapid warehouse development in Northampton County and the Lehigh Valley. McClure said the preservation funding, which voters approved in 2002 to dedicate money for farmland and parks, will enable acquisitions of land and conservation easements intended to help curb further warehouse expansion.

On county operations, McClure said Gracedale, the county-run nursing home, has not required a contribution from the Northampton County General Fund to balance its budget under his administration and that the county expects that to remain the case for 2026. He cited efforts to manage agency nursing costs and a growing census at the home as reasons for confidence in Gracedale's fiscal position.

Health-care costs and benefits for county employees were addressed in the presentation. McClure said changes including stop-loss limits and a partnership with Health Insurance Exchange Solutions Incorporated would reduce prescription drug costs by $1.5 million. He said the county’s health insurance trust fund is well funded and that the administration is pursuing alternative care options, including a potential employee health center, to lower long-term costs.

McClure also outlined infrastructure priorities in the budget. He said major repairs to the courthouse parking deck will begin using bonds secured in 2025 and that upgrades to the county’s P25 radio system are included to enhance 9-1-1 services. He warned that the county is affected by state and federal budget decisions, noting that "nearly 70% of our revenue comes from those sources."

The presentation repeated a pledge McClure said he made to voters: not to raise property taxes, to preserve open space at high levels, and to keep Gracedale county operated. The proposed budget was presented as a framework; the transcript of the presentation records the announcement and described priorities but does not record an adoption vote or subsequent board action on the 2026 budget.