Lehigh Valley Planning Commission urges Northampton County to increase planning funding, seeks watershed-plan match

Becky Bradley, executive director of the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission, asked Northampton County Council to increase its by-county planning contribution to $969,500 and to provide a separate 12.5% match—about $116,000—to finish a coordinated update of 15 watershed (Act 167) plans for the Lehigh Valley.

Bradley told the council LVPC has seen a sharp rise in development reviews and stormwater work, with about 284 subdivision and land-development reviews in 2024 and roughly 250 already this year. She said the commission responds to reviews on a 30-day timeframe and performs stormwater regulatory reviews required by Pennsylvania law. “Volume has gone way, way up,” she said, citing both advisory land-development reviews and regulatory stormwater reviews.

Bradley and LVPC finance staff said the watershed update would be done as a single regional project to realize economies of scale. LVPC reported it has raised roughly $831,000 toward a total estimated project cost of about $1.1 million and that Lehigh County has committed $138,000. Northampton County has contributed $25,000 so far, and LVPC asked Northampton to commit the remaining 12.5% share—about $116,000—to meet a state-required match. The commission said updating the watersheds is necessary because some county watershed plans have not been updated in decades; LVPC reported an average plan age of 27.8 years and cited the Bushkill Creek plan (completed 2018) as the most recent.

Councilors pressed LVPC on staffing and recent office relocation. Bradley said LVPC currently has four vacant positions and maintains a fund balance it manages to cover timing gaps in state and federal grant payments. She told the council the commission targets a fund balance of 100% to 150% of annual revenue to manage delayed state payments and cyclical grant timing. “We were able to plan more judiciously in accordance with that policy,” she said, describing third-party analysis and a board-adopted fund-balance policy.

LVPC treasurer Armando Marich said the commission's workload is required by state law and cannot be deferred: “If we do not receive the funding to be able to continue to do this work at the quality that we've been able to do it, people are not going to be able to keep their jobs,” he told the council. Several council members expressed support for matching Lehigh County's budget but also concern about countywide fiscal pressures in other budget areas.

If the council approves the request, council members asked LVPC to provide a detailed breakdown of the $969,500 ask by personnel, operating, and cyclical project buckets and to supply a list of county-specific projects and a multi-year staffing forecast.

Clarifying details: LVPC said the requested $969,500 is the total by-county planning ask; the watershed update is a separate estimated $1.1 million project for 15 watersheds, of which LVPC has raised roughly $831,000 and seeks Northampton County's 12.5% match (about $116,000); Lehigh County has committed $138,000; LVPC reports four current vacancies and a target fund balance of 100% to 150% of annual revenue.

Where this goes next: Councilors asked LVPC for a more detailed budget breakdown and county-specific project list to inform deliberations during later budget work sessions.