Real estate taxes were increased one mill, or about $117 a year for the average homeowner, by Northampton County Council Thursday night at a contentious meeting that included a call for the resignation of county controller Steven Barron.
A councli member called Barron a "political hack" and blasted him for sending emails that repeatedly cried "wolf" and mocked the administration of John Brown, the county executive.
The additional tax revenue will be placed in a special fund intended to stabilize the county's financial picture by building up the reserve fund which has nose-dived from $62 million to about $20 million this year.
That $20 million, though, will shrink to only a few million dollars because the money is needed to balance the 2015 budget.
As a practical matter, council's haggling over the two-mill or one-mill tax hike boiled down to whether property owners would pay an extra $9.87 a month or $4.90 a month, said council member Ken Kraft.
Council opted for the $4.90 a month hike, which council president Peg Ferraro said was "just not enough."
She said the county needs a larger fund balance.
The county has seen its reserve fund dwindle from more than $60 million in 2010, to precariously low levels with only a few million expected to remain on hand after the county takes another $20 million out of the reserve to balance next year's budget.
Council member Glenn Geissinger said the county's anemic finances are the result of taxpayer money being misused and misguidedly spent for years.
In a series of budget amendments, council cut $750,000 from the budget after a lengthy discussion on Brown's use of outside consultants for county business.
Council member Robert Werner questioned what he called a duplication of services because the county employs people who should be able to do those jobs.
He noted the county newsletter which is now compiled by a public relations firm hired by Brown.
Brown told council he found it ironic that it was questioning him on how he has been spending money to run the county, including recent questions about his mileage expenses, while the county has been blowing through its reserve fund for years.
Council member Lamont McClure claimed Brown has been hiring "folks who have very little experience" in government, creating what he called a "culture of consultant cronyism."
Council also spent considerable time discussing the contract for inmates at the county prison with drug and alcohol and mental health issues.
Brown said the county is working with the district attorney's office, among others, for a new way of dealing with those problems, possibly through the establishment of new courthouse programs.
Council repeatedly pressed Brown on a deadline when that may happen but Brown said creating such a system is time consuming if it is to be done "right."
Barron was called on the carpet by council member Seth Vaughn, who referred to the emails and the writings that referred to "needless beatings" by higher ups by people Barron called "ignorant."
"You're politicking now," Vaughn told Barron.
Barron was not shaken, though. "Call me a political hack if you like," he said.
Council member Hayden Phillips introduced a resolution asking Barron to resign but the matter was tabled.
Asked if he intended to resign after the meeting, Barron said, "no" and laughed at the thought.
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