Northampton County Council approves appointments, personnel upgrade and multiple contracts

Northampton County Council on Feb. 20 adopted a set of resolutions including board appointments and reappointments, an upgrade of the chief public defender position from part time to full time, and multiple county contract approvals.

The actions, taken by roll call during the regularly scheduled meeting, included unanimous approvals of most contract items and one contested personnel vote that passed 7–1. Several contracts are funded in whole or in part with grant monies tied to Act 12.

Council approved the county executive’s appointments and reappointments to boards including the Children and Youth and Family Advisory Board, the Conservation District Board, the Industrial Development Authority and the Personnel Appeals Board. That resolution was adopted by roll call (adopted 8–0).

The council also voted on a personnel resolution upgrading the chief public defender position from a part-time role (the resolution read a part-time salary of $78,188) to a full-time classification. The salary amount read into the record for the full-time position was given in the resolution text as $107.04 82 (effective Feb. 21, 2025). The personnel resolution passed by roll call, 7–1 (one member voted no).

County council approved three vendor contracts requiring council concurrence because they are funded outside the general fund or exceed the council approval threshold. The council concurred with the county executive to approve: a one-year contract with Computing Technologies LLC to provide SIEM and managed cybersecurity services for the Lehigh Valley region and local 9‑1‑1 centers for a total cost of $422,522 (funded with an Act 12 grant) (adopted 8–0); a maintenance contract with 2 Way Communications covering internal and external ESI net systems for joint operations between Lehigh County 9‑1‑1 and Northampton County Emergency Management for $167,442.36 for the 2025 term (adopted 9–0); and a renewal of a contract with Tyler Technologies for IAS World appraisal and tax software for the three-year period Jan. 1, 2025 through Dec. 31, 2027 (adopted 9–0).

The council also approved a five-year seasonal commercial-use agreement with Twin Rivers Tubing LLC to permit limited use of county property along the Delaware River for tubing May–September; the agreement sets a weekly fee of $250 and includes indemnification language in the draft agreement as read into the record. That commercial-use agreement was adopted by roll call, 9–0.

Finally, the council adopted a resolution supporting the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania’s (CCAP) 2025 priorities — including reauthorization and potential increase of the 9‑1‑1 surcharge, increased county mental-health funding, and election reforms such as clarified rules on drop boxes and expanded pre-canvassing time — by roll call, 9–0.

Votes at a glance - Appointments & reappointments to boards: adopted 8–0. - Upgrade of chief public defender position (part-time to full-time; salary figures read in the resolution): adopted 7–1 (one no vote). - Computing Technologies LLC (SIEM/managed cybersecurity, 1 year, $422,522; Act 12 grant): adopted 8–0. - 2 Way Communications (maintenance for ESI net systems, 2025 term, $167,442.36; Act 12 grant): adopted 9–0. - Tyler Technologies (IAS World appraisals & tax software renewal, 2025–2027): adopted 9–0. - Twin Rivers Tubing LLC commercial-use agreement (seasonal, weekly fee $250): adopted 9–0. - CCAP 2025 priorities resolution (9‑1‑1 surcharge reauthorization, mental-health funding, vote-by-mail reforms): adopted 9–0.

What the record shows and what it does not The meeting record contains the motions and roll-call tallies for each resolution. The resolution language for the chief public defender included salary figures read into the record that appear as "$78,188" (part-time figure) and a full-time salary figure read as "$107.04 82"; the transcript capture is unclear on the exact numeric formatting for the full-time salary and the council minutes or the adopted resolution text should be consulted for the precise salary figure and pay-grade code. Several contracts were identified as funded by an Act 12 grant; the resolution language submitted to council was the basis for council concurrence but contract documents and grant award details were referenced as attached to the county executive’s requests.

Next steps The contracts and personnel actions take effect as specified in the adopted resolutions; implementation steps (such as executing contract documents and processing payroll changes) will proceed through the responsible county departments. Council did not direct additional study on these items at the meeting.