County Commissioners propose $113.8 million budget with .20-mill tax increase

This article was funded by LebTown donors as part of our Civic Impact Reporting Project.

Lebanon County Commissioners on Thursday, Dec. 4, approved by a 2-1 vote a tentative $113.8 million county fiscal budget for 2026 that includes a .20-mill tax increase.

Another nearly $2.3 million in cash carryover is being included on the revenue side, and is supplemental to the millage increase to balance a budget deficit of $4.5 million. The budget increases by about $9.7 million over 2025’s $104.1 million budget. 

Commissioner Jo Ellen Litz was the lone “no” vote, citing several issues she has with the proposed budget. The budget is available for public review for 20 days as required by law.

The county’s millage will increase from 4.3925 mills to 4.5925 if the budget is approved at a special meeting on Dec. 24, which is the first day after the 20-day review period. 

County administrator Jamie Wolgemuth provided estimated financial impact to taxpayer’s wallets, noting the estimates were expressed based on the market value of homes and not the assessed value. Millage rates are used against the assessed values of homes to calculate tax liability. The county’s last reassessment of property values concluded in 2012.

Wolgemuth said a homeowner next year with a home market valued at $200,000 will pay an additional $21.66 in taxes, based on assessed value of $108,000.

An owner whose property has a home market valued at $350,000 – which is the current average sales price in Lebanon County – will pay an additional $37.91 in real estate tax, while an owner with a home with a $500,000 market value can expect their tax bill to increase by $54.15.

The last county real estate millage increase occurred in 2024.

Wolgemuth provided a budget overview and cited numerous reasons for the tax increase. 

Those expenditures include implementation of the 2025 salary study that aims to make the county competitive with other employers, double-digit health insurance premium cost increases, contributions to the county employee pension fund, capital improvements and healthcare costs at the Lebanon County Correctional Facility, and increased costs for the county’s support of several social service agencies. 

Wolgemuth said county officials are making some upward adjustments to some salaries and will maintain others in order to have a “scale that weighs appropriately on retaining employees through the first several years,” which is when most employee turnover occurs. 

Non-union employees will see an average salary increase of 3%, non-professional court-related employees and the county detectives union both are at 3.5%, social service workers at 4%, and an average of 3.8% to 6% for the Chocolate Workers Union, which covers telecommunicators in the Department of Emergency Services.

Other departments, including court-appointed professionals, AFSCME union that represents correctional officers, and the recently formed Deputy Sheriff’s Association union are all still in negotiations with county officials concerning their 2026 salaries. 

Wolgemuth noted that there are no newly funded positions for 2026 – although a Domestic Relations Services attorney has been converted to a full-time staff member at a slight cost savings to the county. He stated that the position was approved earlier this year for inclusion in the 2026 budget.

The announcement of no newly funded positions for 2026 means the Lebanon County District Attorney’s office was denied a request to hire a new attorney.

Read More: DA pushes for additional staff and new task force as budget shortfall looms

LebTown previously reported that the request was made by the DA during budget hearings in mid-October despite commissioners issuing an announcement in early October that no new hires would occur in 2026 during implementation of the salary study. 

In other salary news, Wolgemuth said the Actuarially Determined Contribution to the county pension fund is fully budgeted at $3.35 million, an increase of $300,000 over 2025. 

He also noted that the county’s contract with Harrisburg-based PrimeCare Medical for comprehensive healthcare services is being renewed with a 14% increase, for a cost of $4.2 million.

Additional costs attributed to the expansion of the Medication Assisted Treatment program at the county prison. While grants are being provided to offset a portion of the MAT costs, the county will still pay some of those fees.

A non-rebidding for healthcare services at LCCF was cited by Litz as a reason for her opposing the budget proposal, adding 14% is an unacceptable increase.

Wolgemuth said notable capital projects at LCCF will run over $810,000. 

Those projects include continuation of security camera and access controls installation at the prison for $400,000, and replacement of the jail’s water boilers, which LebTown previously reported were past their useful life, at $412,000. 

This is the third year of a planned three-year capital improvement project at the prison, according to previously published LebTown reports.

“Go Live” support and archiving for the new finance, payroll, purchasing and human resources IT system will cost just under $200,000, and was listed as another major capital improvement project in 2026.

Wolgemuth stated that the county expects the county’s support of social service agencies to increase by 28% for 2026, and that health insurance premium costs are increasing by 14.5%, an increase of $1.6 million.

He noted that increase is a trend that’s similar to the healthcare cost increase at the county prison and that this was “one of the largest increases in years” for that employee benefit.  

In other budget news, a request made by the DA, previously reported by LebTown, for the county to provide $50,000 for a Human Trafficking Task Force was added to the DA’s 2026 budget, according to Wolgemuth.

Additionally, $20,000 was included in the Lebanon County solicitor’s department budgeting for the county to provide legal representation to Children and Youth Services workers who may be investigated by the DA’s office.

A week before the 2025 election in November, Lebanon County District Attorney Pier Hess Graf, who was running for reelection, announced that her department was planning to investigate LCCYS employees for what she called instances of inaction and negligence.

Commissioners voted unanimously at their early November meeting to retain Pittsburgh law firm Tucker Arensberg in connection with a press release from Graf’s office “regarding recent events with a Children and Youth case in Lebanon County.”

In that release, the DA’s office alleged that LCCYS  had ongoing instances of inaction and neglect. “Specifically, Detectives are investigating past and ongoing instances of inaction and/or negligence on behalf of LCCYS caseworkers, which resulted in death and serious injuries to multiple children,” the DA’s office stated in the release.

The law firm noted in a letter of special counsel engagement to commissioners at the November meeting that they will be “representing the Agency and potentially staff involved with the case.” The multi-state law firm is based locally in Camp Hill, Cumberland County.

LebTown asked on Thursday if the county has been invoiced for those services, and was told none had been received yet for payment.

Wolgemuth stated during his presentation that the county was seeking a slight tax-millage increase because residents tell officials they’d rather see slight increases as opposed to double-digit millage hikes to balance the budget. 

That sentiment was also echoed by commissioners Bob Phillips and chairman Mike Kuhn, who both voted to approve the tentative budget.

“What you’ve presented is a good compromise. We’re not doing a structurally balanced budget, which is what I would prefer, but it gets us there without eating up all of our cash,” Phillips said. “It is also modest as people have told us over the years (to do).”

Phillips noted residents tell commissioners that they don’t want them to put a double-digit tax increase on them all at once.

“I think it is a good solid compromise, using part cash, part tax increase,” Phillips said.  “No one likes to have a tax increase but you also have to be responsible as an elected official to meet what’s before you.”

Kuhn said he’s given the pending budget proposal “a lot, a lot of thought over the last several weeks” following the budget hearings in mid-October.

“Nobody wants to make a tax increase,” said Kuhn, “but as Bob said, we have obligations, too.”

Other actions

In other business, commissioners voted unanimously to: 

• Approve a change order for electrical work at the county municipal building for Stoner Electric through general contractor Funk Construction totaling $135,590.
• Authorize the submission of an application for intermediate punishment funding for fiscal year 2025-26 through the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency.
• Amend a contract with Pictometry to deduct just under $2,500 from the overall contract cost for funds earmarked for attendance at a FutureView Adv Training conference.
• Seek a Continuing County Adult Probation and Parole Grant for fiscal year 2025-26 totaling $111,049.66, an increase from $97,711 from the previous year. 
• Accept the acting treasurer’s report, including a cash balance of $830,937.09, receipts totaling $2.4 million, expenditures of $2.8 million, and an ending balance of $347,340.54.
• Provide four real estate tax exemptions to disabled veterans or their families.
• Request a $300 grant from the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania and its PCoRP Loss Prevention program for the removal of two trees on the property of Lebanon County Probation Services at 508 Oak St., Lebanon. The grant will be payable to B&G Tree & Landscaping LLC, Richland.
• Hire a dietician for the Renova Center through Nutrition that Works LLC for $75 per hour. It is believed the individual will be needed for 10 to 20 hours per month.
• Reappoint Jason Kratzer and Jon Fitzkee and appoint Tom Brandt to the Lebanon Transit Authority board of directors. Brandt is replacing David Warner, who is not seeking re-appointment to the board.
• Provide a $2,500 hotel tax grant to the Singing Cedar Chorus to cover advertising and other costs expected to run $3,900 for their Singing Cedar Chorus Annual Show at the Church of the Good Shepherd, Lebanon, on Sept. 19.  
• Grant numerous personnel transactions. 
• Approve the minutes of their Nov. 20 meeting and executive session, and their Nov. 26 workshop meeting.

Lebanon County Commissioners meet the first and third Thursday of the month at 9:30 a.m. in Room 207 of the Lebanon County Municipal building, 400 S. 8th St., Lebanon.