Facing a tax hike, Northampton County Councilman Ron Angle raised the issue in a recent budget meeting to sell off Gracedale and auction off the county parks (read the story in the Morning Call).
It is reported that there is not enough support on Council now to take these significant steps, but there will be consideration to evaluate privatization of Gracedale and offering to sell county parks to municipalities.
Traditionally, the problem with the County budget is that the court system is untouchable by Council. They are also limited in the extent to which the Prison budget can be cut. As a result, the amount of ‘discretionary’ spending is limited, leaving items like Gracedale or the Parks.
It seems we have more homes available today than we did thirty years ago (look at Nazareth alone with Moravian Hall Square, Alexandria Manor, and the home on Center across from Holy Family whose name escapes me), there are many more located throughout Northampton County. It may be that Gracedale served a critical role in its time, but now due to options that are available today that were not in the past, it could be privatized without negatively impacting those most in need.
The new Council will have its work cut out for them as these budget challenges will likely increase next year.
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