Allentown – Lehigh County Executive Josh Siegel on Friday unveiled a wide-ranging report outlining his administration’s strategies for tackling the most critical issues facing residents.
The transition report was compiled by a committee of 34 volunteers who examined the county’s approaches to human services, housing, economic development, labor relations and public safety.
The report envisions the county as a leader in uniting disparate agencies and municipal governments and leaving behind piecemeal approaches to problem-solving. Shared planning, cost-sharing and pooled resources are the best approach to regional, interconnected issues, the report notes.
“The era of city and county looking past each other is done,” said Siegel, who campaigned on the idea that county government – traditionally seen as a caretaker of state and federal funding – can exercise far greater influence on the common good.
The committee – chaired by Jim Irwin of the Lehigh Valley Labor Council and Samantha Pearson, Lehigh County’s director of community and economic development – included representatives from businesses, nonprofits, development, labor, law enforcement and other fields.
“This report reflects the fact that this administration is not a caretaker administration,” Siegel said. “This is an aspirational administration with ambition, energy and vision.”
Among the goals outlined in the report:
- Ensure that every resident of Lehigh County has access to safe, stable, and afordable housing, while ending unsheltered homelessness, stabilizing households, and aligning housing production with economic growth.
- Position Lehigh County for inclusive, resilient, and regionally coordinated economic growth that strengthens the tax base, supports employers, expands opportunity for
residents, and aligns development with infrastructure, housing, workforce, and quality-of-life needs.
- Build a stable, high-performing, and future-ready county workforce that delivers essential services efectively, adapts to changing demands, and reflects the values of accountability, equity, and professionalism.
- Strengthen Lehigh County’s capacity to anticipate, withstand, respond to, and recover from emergencies and long-term stressors—including public health threats, climate impacts, economic shocks, infrastructure failures, and rapid shifts in federal policy—while ensuring equitable outcomes, civil rights protections, and municipal sovereignty across all communities.
Siegel said the new, county-led approach is critical as turmoil at the federal and state levels, exemplified by the massive funding cuts from the Trump administration and a months-long state budget impasse that held up critical funding for county programs.
“To maintain the status quo is a disservice,” Siegel said. “To do nothing more than the bare minimum is a disservice.”
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