Northampton County moves $7 million to close 2025, approves appointments and vendor contracts
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Summary
Council approved budget amendments that reallocate roughly $7 million to cover Gracedale Nursing Home’s 2025 expenditures, confirmed multiple board appointments, upgraded county positions and approved contracts for benefits brokerage and parking-deck work; most measures passed unanimously.
Northampton County Council on Feb. 19 approved a package of budget amendments, personnel actions and procurement resolutions aimed at closing the county’s 2025 books and advancing several capital and personnel priorities.
Mark Aron, the county’s director of administration, reading a statement on behalf of County Executive Tara Zaretsky, told the council that department-by-department reviews identified unspent funds and savings that allow the administration to “reallocate approximately $7,000,000 to fully cover Gracedale’s 2025 expenditures.” Aron said approving the amendments “will allow us to balance the 2025 budget as required by law.” The ordinance to amend the 2025 budget was adopted by council on a 9–0 roll call vote.
The council also approved a slate of appointments and reappointments to county authorities and advisory boards (Conservation District, Election Commission, General Purpose Authority, Housing Authority, Jail Advisory Board, Lehigh Northampton Airport Authority, Lehigh Valley Planning Commission and others). The list of names and terms was read into the record and approved unanimously.
Separately, a personnel resolution in the Department of Human Services’ aging division eliminated one older aging care manager position and created upgraded positions with new pay grades and salaries. The resolution lists the new positions, pay grades and total salary-and-benefit figures as presented to the council. That personnel package was approved 9–0 after the council noted it had been vetted in the personnel committee.
Councilmembers also approved two procurement actions described in the county executive’s report. A three-year contract with BSI Corporate Benefits to provide brokerage services for health and ancillary employee plans was adopted 9–0; the county said the brokerage services will help secure competitive plans and assist employees in benefit and claims questions. The county also approved a contract with High Concrete Group as the precast concrete prime contractor for the government center parking-deck replacement; the administration told the council that the bid came in nearly $1,000,000 under budget and the contract was adopted 9–0.
Council President Warren also introduced and won unanimous approval of a resolution to codify county ordinances for the period ending Dec. 31, 2025, citing the county’s Home Rule Charter provision that requires periodic codification.
The council’s actions on Tuesday closed out multiple administrative items the administration said were necessary to finalize 2025 accounts and to maintain operations heading into 2026. Several items had been discussed in committee the previous evening, the council said, and officials noted that the appointments had been vetted with resumes attached.
