Lebanon County Commissioners rename Mike Kuhn as board chairman for 2026

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Lebanon County Commissioners renamed Mike Kuhn as board chairman for 2026 at their reorganization meeting on Thursday, Jan. 8.

Commissioners Bob Phillips will remain vice chairman and Jo Ellen Litz as secretary for the coming year. Jamie Wolgemuth was retained as county administrator and Matt Bugli was appointed as county solicitor by unanimous votes. 

In other actions, Litz was named chairman of the Assessment Board with Phillips as vice chairman and Wolgemuth and Bugli as administrator and solicitor, respectively. Kuhn was selected as chairman of the county’s Salary Board with Robert Mettley, country controller, named board secretary and Bugli as board solicitor. 

Board of Election/Registration Commission officers are Phillips as chairman, Kuhn as vice chairman, and Litz as secretary. Sean Drasher is chief clerk of the commission and Bugli is county solicitor for the elections commission.

Commissioners were also assigned to the following committees or appointments to other boards as county liaisons:

Kuhn – Lebanon Valley Destination Marketing, United Way, Lebanon Valley Economic Development Corporation, Lebanon Transit; Mental Health/Intellectual Disabilities/Early Intervention, Renova Center, Children & Youth Services, Governor Dick Park Board, and Lebanon County Planning Commission.

Phillips – Community Action Partnership, Department of Emergency Services, Area Agency on Aging, Commission for Women, Elections Board, Lebanon Valley Expo Center, Penn State Cooperative Extension, Information Technology Services, and City of Lebanon.

Litz – Lebanon County Assessment Board, Lebanon County Conservation District, Geographical Information Services, Housing & Redevelopment Authority, Lebanon Commission on Drug & Abuse, Veterans Affairs, South Central Workforce Investment Board, Building & Grounds, and Chamber of Commerce.

Pennsylvania law requires municipal and school boards to hold annual (or biennial for boroughs) reorganization meetings in early December/January, with specific procedures for temporary officers, swearing-in new members (following RULONA rules), electing permanent officers, and adhering to Sunshine Laws for public notice.

Commissioners also agreed to appoint all employees to their respective positions on the county payroll, effective Jan. 4, and adopt salaries for various county department employees.

They also formalized the meeting schedule, which is typically the first and third Thursday of each month. A special meeting of the commissioners will be held on Dec. 23 to adopt the 2027 general fund budget.

In other reorganization actions, the following were approved as depository banks for year 2026 along with the number of accounts at each financial institution: First Citizen’s Bank (57), First National Bank (16), Fulton (12), PA Local Government Investment Trust (PLGIT) (6), Lebanon Federal Credit Union (5), Jonestown Bank & Trust (3), Northwest Bank (1), and Santander Bank (1). 

Other board actions

In other business, commissioners unanimously voted to: 

• Sign the state’s Department of Drug and Alcohol Program five-year agreement for funding the Lebanon County Commission on Drug and Alcohol Abuse. The agreement runs Jan. 1, 2026, through June 30, 2030, and will provide yearly federal funds totaling $853,433.50 and yearly state funds of $201,570. The agreement contains a provision to name Lebanon County as the single county authority for the grant funding.
• Sign the 2026 PA SAVIN maintenance and service agreement between the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Institute and Lebanon County for the victim notification system. The agreement runs through 2026.  
• Renew the medical transport service agreement with Community Action Partnership from July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2026, at rates depending on the destination for each trip. The contract also contains a provision for an additional $35 charge for wheelchair transports and $25 per hour after the first hour for employee wait time.
• Name Coverall to provide cleaning services at the county municipal building for $20,000 per month for 2026. Other bids were Service Master Clean at $21,269 and Sovereign Commercial Services at $22,314.49 (not to include floor scrubbing). The new contract is lower than the previous monthly rate, according to county officials.
• Provide two hotel tax grant funding requests both in the amount of $5,000 each to the Community Health Council of Lebanon County for the annual Tour de Lebanon and the Mount Gretna Outdoor Art Show.
• Set the 2026 Lebanon County Assessment Board hearing schedule.
• Grant a variety of personnel transactions.
• Provide a real estate tax exemption to one fully disabled veteran or their family.
• Approve the minutes of their Dec. 24 special meeting to adopt the 2026 fiscal year general fund budget.

Following the reorganization meeting, which was held on the second Thursday since the regularly scheduled meeting fell on New Year’s Day, commissioners convened a meeting of the Lebanon County Assessment Board to vote on one item before them.

The Assessment Board, which consists of the commissioners, voted unanimously to lower an assessment of $288,400 to an agreed upon amount by both parties to $269,900 for a property located at 1381 Mountain Drive, Fredericksburg. It was stated during the meeting that the lower amount is in line with the assessed value of neighboring properties. 

Next 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. The next meeting of the commissioners is Thursday, Jan. 15.