Lehigh County Authority’s effort to have its charter extended 50 years collapsed April 11 when Lehigh County commissioners voted 6–3 to reject a proposed amendment to LCA’s articles of incorporation.

The decision seemed to catch LCA CEO Liesel M. Gross by surprise.

Gross had spoken to commissioners in support of the resolution.

“I want to know the path forward,” Gross said to commissioners following the vote to deny the amendment extending the water and sewer authority’s charter.

Commissioner Marc Grammes had earlier spoken in support of the amendment, focusing on his recent visits to 13 facilities of the LCA and speaking with some of the workers for the authority, whom he referred to as “162 awesome employees.”

He also added his name as co-sponsor of the resolution, which came to the floor sponsored by Commissioner Nathan Brown.

Gross said a goal of the LCA was to improve transparency and forge a stronger relationship with the public and “with you, the Board of Commissioners.”

Gross had, at last month’s meeting, pitched the charter extension as being needed to improve the authority’s ability to finance future capital improvements in the system’s infrastructure.

Fundamental to the concerns of the commissioners was the analysis presented by Joe Hilliard, who had criticized nearly all aspects of the LCA’s administration and finances.

However, he stopped short of being critical of the employees.

“This has nothing to do with employees,” Hilliard said. “This issue is about financial status.

“There’s no sense of urgency here. They [the LCA] want to turn to a rich uncle for help. They have a financial sinkhole opening up under them.”

Commission President Marty Nothstein responded.

“It sure looks like it to me,” he said.

“They’re going to have to skyrocket rates, which will crush Allentown,” Hilliard continued.

“These are real numbers and they are not good numbers,” Nothstein said. “This is not a decision we have to rush into.”

Commissioner Brad Osborne offered his ideas.

“LCA is working hard to improve,” Osborne said. “We have to get this right. Our board does not have the authority to make any changes.”

He was referring to changes to the resolution to extend the LCA’s charter.

Commissioner Amy Zanelli said she was not satisfied with LCA’s answers to previous questions.

“My vote tonight will be ‘no,’” Zanelli said.

The vote opposing the resolution which would have extended the LCA’s charter to 50 years included: Commissioners Nathan Brown, Dr. Percy Dougherty, Marty Nothstein, Amanda Holt, Brad Osborne, Amy Zanelli.

Those voting for the extension included Commissioners Geoff Brace, Marc Grammes and Dan Hartzell.

Hartzell said in an interview that he saw the testimony against the extension as a “rehash” of the 2013 contract, which leased the Allentown water works to LCA, which he said was then seen as a bail-out of Allentown’s failing fiscal situation at the time.

“We will have to extend the LCA’s charter at some point,” Hartzell said, adding commissioners had extended the Lehigh–Northampton Airport Authority’s charter for many of the same reasons.

The next day, when asked for a statement about the impact of the decision, Gross released the following statement:

“While last night’s decision was not the outcome we had hoped for, it is an indication that the Lehigh County Board of Commissioners and Lehigh County Authority have a great opportunity to work together to develop a stronger relationship as we work through what the next steps will be. For LCA, the immediate concern is that we must complete project financing and debt refinancing without the benefit of the flexibility that a charter extension would have offered. The impact is expected to be manageable, however, since we still have 30 years available in our term to work within.

“The greater concern is how to address significant challenges that lie ahead related to investing in the replacement and renewal of aging infrastructure, when we already face a high debt burden. LCA is not alone. This is a national issue, and the American Water Works Association currently anticipates water and sewer rate increases will outpace inflation for many years into the future while utilities address the nearly $1 trillion of infrastructure work that needs to be completed. For LCA, this work requires careful management of financial resources, and we look forward to working with the Lehigh County Board of Commissioners as a partner in developing solutions that allow us to move forward.”

LCA is the water and sewer authority that distributes potable water to the public and operates the sewerage system used by many communities in the Lehigh Valley, including Allentown. The system collects sewage from homes and businesses.