County Executive Thomas Muller believes Lehigh County is in good shape.

In his first state of the county address Feb. 27 at Coca-Cola Park, Allentown, Muller told the audience the average Lehigh County residential tax bill for 2014 is $676, which he said is lower than it has been the past 10 years.

Muller conceded, however, the county must strive to keep tax rates as low as feasible for residents in the county.

"The challenge is to get to a consensus with our citizens on the proper balance of taxes and services," he said.

Muller stressed the state of the county remains in a promising position economically.

"Fortunately, our Lehigh County is recovering steadily from the recession, our county government is financially sound and all we need to come to grips with collectively is determining the balance our citizens want between taxes and services," he said.

Muller specifically cited a recovering housing market, improvements in employment prospects, companies granting more pay increases and the transformation of downtown Allentown due to the Neighborhood Improvement Zone.

He also said while the federal government's financial health has been downgraded by S&P, Lehigh County's bond ratings have increased to Aa1.

"That enabled us to realize a debt service reduction of $5 million, which was returned to the taxpayers via a one-time tax credit," Muller said. "Bond rating improvements are not accomplished easily and you may be surprised to know the administration's willingness to raise taxes that year contributed significantly to the deliberations of both Moody's and S&P."

The county's infrastructure, as a whole, is strong, Muller added.

"Our only pending needs are to address the old courthouse and replace our legacy IT system, which will be unsupported by 2020," he said.

During his speech, Muller addressed the future of Cedarbrook Nursing Home, which runs two nursing homes in the county.

"We are in conversations with other healthcare providers to determine if collaboration on services can help the situation or if there is a demand from the private sector for some complementary use of available space," he said.

Muller also expressed his support for the TIF to assist with the possible construction of the Hamilton Crossing shopping complex.

"I happen to support that project personally because it generates over $20 million in wages every year and only requires the taxing bodies to forego taxes they don't even collect now," he said.

Muller said he is honored to be representing Lehigh County as the executive.

"I am extremely humbled at having been chosen to run this outstanding county of ours and pledge not to lose focus on those who are most importantthe citizens of Lehigh County," he said in closing.

Muller said he will continue to seek feedback from county residents in an effort to make the county a stronger place to live.