Politics & Government

County Council Wants Executive to Negotiate on Gracedale

Panel votes 5-3 to ask Stoffa to sit down with unions, get back $6 million.

Northampton County Council wants county Executive John Stoffa to sit down with union workers at the  in an effort to avoid a sale.

The hope is that employees represented by two unions--the United Steelworkers and AFSCME--at the Upper Nazareth Township home would give back $6 million in an effort to keep Gracedale from being sold. Council voted 5-3--with one member absent--Thursday evening to request that Stoffa negotiate.

The resolution was introduced by County Councilman Ron Angle, who said that while he doesn't want to see Gracedale close, the alternative is a 15 to 18 percent tax hike.

Find out what's happening in Hellertown-Lower Sauconwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"It’s just asking the executive to open up a dialogue," said Councilman Thomas Dietrich, who voted for the resolution.

But it's not clear whether Stoffa will follow through on council's request.

Find out what's happening in Hellertown-Lower Sauconwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"I'm going to think about it," he told council members. After the meeting, Stoffa said he was still thinking. He told reporters it's not clear how they'd break down the $6 million.

"You have two unions. How much do you ask from one, how much do you ask from another," he said.

Paul Verret, a Gracedale employee who's represented by the Steelworkers, had told council earlier in the evening that workers in his division are already making sacrifices. They're working under an expired contract, with staffing levels at 75 percent of what they should be, he said. Ten to 12 hour days are the norm, with overtime nonexistent.

Councilman Bruce Gilbert was one of the people voting against the request, saying it was "a band-aid," and that costs at Gracedale would eventually rise beyond $6 million.

Also Thursday, council voted 7-1 against an ordinance introduced by Councilman Lamont McClure that would have prohibited the sale of Gracedale for five years. That means that if the legal challenges to the  on the sale are resolved, the question of whether to sell Gracedale could go before voters in May.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here