Lehigh County Executive Tom Muller laid out his 2017 proposed budget amounting to $399 million, which does not include a tax increase for county homeowners, Aug. 31 at Limeport Stadium, Limeport.

“Proposing a budget with no tax increase has been made possible by the efforts of our employees every day to serve our citizens effectively and efficiently,” Muller said.

The millage rate will remain at 3.68 mills with the average homeowner paying $668 in taxes in 2017.

According to Muller, the county budget deficit of $7.7 million was balanced by a 2016 surplus and $2.4 million in reserves.

“For our third consecutive year, we not only have wiped out a budget deficit but will end with a surplus,” he noted. “We expect to end 2016 with a $5.3 million surplus, thanks to their efforts. A focus on employee wellness has also helped keep health care costs under control.”

County reserves are $22.6 million, which Muller touted as being 20 percent above the Government Finance Officers Association guidelines.

The county, he stressed, is still in “very sound shape with reserves.”

However, Muller said county health care costs will increase 4 percent. Such costs, he said, are “still about a $25 million line item in our budget.”

Also, the proposed 2017 budget sees no change in personnel headcount, with county personnel totals remaining at 1,962. Muller said the personnel total of 1,962 remains below the 1988 county level.

The proposed budget seeks to add nine positions, with seven in the law and order areas. Added positions include one assistant district attorney, three deputies, one clerical assistant each for the sheriff, adult probation and forensic detective in the crime center, one auditor for the controller and one information technology manager for the ERP project.

The general wage increase for non-union employees of 2.25 percent, Muller said, is offset partially by an increase in health care payroll deductions.

Muller also said in 2017 the county will put zero percent into Cedarbrook Nursing Home.

Additionally, the proposed budget includes $2 million for farmland preservation, with $1.5 million coming from the bond fund and $500,000 from the county gaming fund.

Special funding in 2017 includes $10,000 toward new lights at Limeport Stadium, $100,000 reinstated for Northern Lehigh Community Center and $125,000 for quality-of-life grants.

The proposed budget also includes $10,000 in funding for the 75th anniversary of the naming of MacArthur Road, Whitehall.

Under the proposed budget, the county will not subsidize Lehigh Valley Zoo in 2017, Muller said. He noted the county will continue to provide $115,000 in funding for buffalo currently owned by the county.

Lehigh County Board of Commissioners will now begin a number of hearings in September, culminating in a final budget vote by the end of October.

“Preliminarily, a no-tax-increase budget is a good start to the process,” Brad Osborne, chairman of the board of commissioners said. “The commissioners’ job now is to thoroughly review the details and make sure the taxpayers’ money is spent wisely and with an eye to the future.”

The 2017 proposed budget can be viewed on the county’s website at lehighcounty.org.