Lehigh Township supervisors split over newsletter wording and timetable for possible farmland preservation referendum

At its June 24 meeting, the Lehigh Township Board of Supervisors debated how to present a possible farmland preservation referendum to residents, with supervisors and local residents arguing over whether the fall newsletter should include pros and cons, specific tax impacts and meeting dates.

Chairman Mike Jones and several supervisors said they wanted factual material in the newsletter and a public meeting at the fire hall; Supervisor Cindy Miller said the newsletter should include “all sides” and explain that starting a program carries up-front costs. “If you are doing an FYI, it should include all sides; not just one side,” Miller said. Several residents urged concise facts and opportunities for public outreach. Resident and engineer Zach Szoke said he supported distributing information and offered to post a presentation online for residents to review in advance.

Local residents pressed for clear numbers. Supervisor Janet Sheats asked that the newsletter note a potential tax increase “of up to .25 percent of individual income tax,” and residents requested counts of acres already preserved and clarification about which lands could be eligible. Chris Amato, who identified himself as a member of the Northampton County Farmland Preservation Board and as chair of the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission, urged reliance on subject-matter experts for technical content.

Solicitor David Backenstoe warned the board that placing a referendum on the November ballot would be difficult under the current schedule. He said the board needs to adopt a resolution authorizing him to draft an ordinance, then advertise and adopt the ordinance, and finally file the referendum text with the elections office ‘‘13 Tuesdays’’ before the election — a sequence that makes a November placement unlikely in the current timeframe. Backenstoe also noted that initial ordinance drafting and advertisement costs generally cannot be paid from preservation funds; once a program is in place, up to 25 percent of preservation funds may be used for park maintenance.

Supervisors agreed to provide edits and factual content to the newsletter vendor by July 2 and to have internal newsletter content ready by June 30. Several supervisors said they would schedule a public meeting at the fire hall after the newsletter goes out to give residents a chance to ask questions. The board did not adopt any ordinance or formally authorize a referendum at the meeting.

Next steps: the board asked staff to produce newsletter text and meeting information, the solicitor to review timetable constraints, and residents to attend the planned public session; no formal ballot action was taken at the June 24 meeting.