Upper Saucon Sues State Over Allentown's NIZ

Less than two weeks after agreeing to step into the legal fray against Allentown’s , Upper Saucon has raised the stakes.

The township, along with Catasauqua, has filed a class-action suit against the state on behalf of every municipality affected by Allentown’s project, according to The Morning Call.

People who work in Allentown’s NIZ, no matter where they live, could have their earned income taxes used to pay for the city’s new hockey arena instead of being forwarded to their home municipality and school district.

Anyone working within the 130-acre area in center city Allentown or along the waterfront, are the employees being targeted. Eleven other municipalities have already filed a suit challenging in court Allentown’s right to do that.

On May 7, Upper Saucon Supervisors authorizing the solicitors Tom Dinkelacker and Jeff Dimmich to commence similar litigation.

Now, Upper Saucon and Catasauqua have sued Gov. Tom Corbett over it. The suit was filed Thursday and challenges a 2009 state law allowing the NIZ.

State Sen. Pat Browne, R-Lehigh, who wrote the law, told The Morning Call that all the law suits essentially challenge the same thing, but the new class-action suit might bring about a uniform settlement.

At this point, no hard numbers have been given about how much money would or could be taken from area municipalities. But in February, Allentown’s director of finance, Garret Strathearn, estimated that about $550,000 of earned income taxes could be diverted to the city.

The cost of Allentown’s hockey arena project tops out at $158 million.