Lehigh County residents in 2016 will see a $14 to $15 reduction in their taxes.

The board of commissioners passed the 2016 budget totaling $380 million by a vote of 8-1 Oct. 28.

Voting against the budget was Commissioner Geoff Brace.

In total, roughly $2 million will be returned to county residents through the tax plan.

The reduction in taxes is the third tax cut in four years the board has approved..

Commissioner Vic Mazziotti praised next year’s tax plan, calling it a “good” and “prudent” budget.

Items in the 2016 budget include a $500,000 grant for farmland preservation; $140,000 for the national program My Brother’s Keeper; $100,000 investment in the Lehigh Valley Regional Intelligent and Investigation Center; an additional four county sheriff deputies; two additional coroner office staff members and one additional assistant district attorney.

Brace said he could not vote for the budget because it requires a stabilization fund transfer of $4.1 million. The board indicated it plans to reduce the fund from $25 million to $20.87 million to balance the budget.

“This is a better budget than what was presented to us from a spending perspective,” Commissioner Michael Schware countered.

According to Lehigh County Home Rule Charter rules, county Executive Tom Muller has 10 days to veto the budget. The board will then have 15 days to act.

According to an Oct. 29 press release from the county, Muller vetoed five of the 31 amendments in the budget.

“The Happy Meal tax cut, which amounts to $12.80 per household on average, was a move designed to confuse voters into believing that campaign promises of the past have been met,” Muller said in the release.