A proposed 2023 budget amendment on job classification and pay plans led to a discussion amongst Lehigh County Commissioners on how to best address the homelessness issue during their Nov. 9 meeting.

Homelessness has become key issue in the last few weeks across the region, with a task force proposed in the City of Bethlehem last month.

Commissioner Jeffrey Dutt, who sponsored the budget amendment resolution, said, “We can make at least a dent in the issues we see with homelessness, and I think if we address at least some of those, at least we can see improvement in the lives that we have here in the county.”

Dutt went over the Maslow Hierarchy of Needs, focusing on key points such shelter. He explained to his colleagues that the model reflects what he feels should be priority in shaping policies. Commissioner Dave Harrington supported Dutt’s argument, making the point that “housing is an issue.”

Expressing his frustration with the lack of proper data from vendors, Commissioner Bob Elbich said, “We must have a mechanism in place to get the data back in terms of performance of our vendors in terms of issues, and make sure that taxpayer dollars are well spent.”

The resolution passed by a vote of 7-2.

The other big issue of night dealt the reapportionment of Lehigh County Commissioners’ districts. Commissioner Geoff Brace said this process takes place after each census. Lehigh County is currently comprised of 374,000 residents. Going over the new redistricting map, Brace noted the biggest population growth since the last census was in District 2. The purpose of this process is to make the various districts uniform in terms of population.

The bill passed unanimously.

All commissioners later lauded Brace for his work related to the midterm elections. Commissioner Ron Beitler said he and volunteers had done an outstanding job.