# October 15, 2026 County Council Meeting


**Body:** Northampton County (Live Meetings)
**Date:** October 14, 2026
**Jurisdiction:** SLED

**Tags:** Public Safety, Information Technology, Grants & Funding


Northampton County Council meeting, October 15, 2026: The proposed 2027 budget and a potential 43.5% property-tax increase—from 10.88 to 15.5 mills—were the main public-comment and executive-report topics. Residents raised affordability concerns and asked the county to reduce costs; the administration said the budget addresses deferred facility maintenance, Gracedale’s operating needs, jail staffing and facilities, and pension commitments, including a proposed $12.2 million county pension contribution. No vote on the budget was reported. Council tabled the sheriff’s deputies’ contract term sheet, 9–0, pending further review of the hospital-detail and prisoner-transport provisions and related questions.

Council approved several spending- and procurement-related items, each by a 9–0 vote: a 2027–2029 memorandum of understanding with the Northampton County Conservation District for up to $150,000 per year; $2,100 in donations for a room divider at Park Plaza Senior Center; and a $13,579.81 disaster-recovery refresh contract with Vision Technologies, Inc. Council also authorized local-share grant applications on behalf of Blue Valley Rescue Squad for emergency rescue equipment, including requests of $196,922 through the Monroe County program, $196,922 through the Northampton–Lehigh program, and approximately $465,133 through the statewide program. The squad described planned purchases of rescue tools, self-contained breathing apparatuses, and a rescue truck; quotes were identified from All American Fire Equipment and Whitmer Public Safety, with no truck vendor named in the transcript.

**Source:** Northampton County (Live Meetings)