Lehigh County, Pennsylvania: Government Structure and Services

Lehigh County is one of Pennsylvania's 67 counties, located in the Lehigh Valley region of the state's eastern corridor, with Allentown serving as its county seat. The county operates under a home rule charter adopted in 1978, distinguishing its administrative structure from counties that follow Pennsylvania's default second-class county framework. This page covers Lehigh County's governmental organization, service delivery mechanisms, jurisdictional scope, and the decision points that determine which level of government — county, municipal, or state — handles specific public functions.

Definition and scope

Lehigh County encompasses approximately 347 square miles and, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, had a population of approximately 376,000 as of the 2020 decennial census. The county government administers services across 24 municipalities, including 3 cities, 9 boroughs, and 12 townships.

The Lehigh County Home Rule Charter replaced the traditional Board of Commissioners structure with an elected County Executive and a seven-member Board of Commissioners. This separation of executive and legislative authority at the county level mirrors the structure of state government as described in the Pennsylvania Constitution, though the county's powers derive from its charter and from the Pennsylvania Home Rule Law (53 Pa.C.S. §§ 2901–2984) rather than from the state constitution directly.

Scope of coverage: This page addresses the governmental structure, services, and jurisdiction of Lehigh County as a political subdivision of Pennsylvania. It does not address the internal governance of Lehigh County's 24 municipalities, which operate independently under their own charters or second-class township codes. Federal programs administered within Lehigh County — including those managed by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development or the Social Security Administration — fall outside this county-level scope. State-administered programs delivered through county offices are noted where relevant but are governed by Pennsylvania statutory authority, not by Lehigh County ordinance.

How it works

Lehigh County's government operates through the following functional branches and administrative units:

  1. County Executive — Elected to a four-year term; responsible for budget submission, administrative appointments, and executive oversight of county departments.
  2. Board of Commissioners — Seven members elected at-large to four-year terms; enacts ordinances, approves the budget, and confirms certain executive appointments.
  3. Row Offices — Independently elected constitutional officers including the Controller, Coroner, District Attorney, Prothonotary, Clerk of Courts, Register of Wills, Recorder of Deeds, Sheriff, and Treasurer. These officers are established under Pennsylvania law and are not subordinate to the County Executive.
  4. Court of Common Pleas — The county's principal trial court, part of Pennsylvania's Unified Judicial System administered at the state level by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. Lehigh County is within the 31st Judicial District.
  5. Lehigh County Authority — A separate municipal authority that operates water and wastewater systems for portions of the county under the Pennsylvania Municipality Authorities Act (53 Pa.C.S. § 5601 et seq.).

County departments handle services ranging from human services and behavioral health to elections administration, public records, and emergency management. The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services contracts with county human services offices to deliver programs including Medical Assistance, SNAP administration, and child welfare services — a model consistent across Pennsylvania's county system.

Common scenarios

The following situations illustrate how Lehigh County's governmental structure handles specific public needs:

For broader context on how county governments fit within Pennsylvania's overall administrative framework, the Pennsylvania Government Authority index provides reference-level coverage of the state's governmental organization.

Decision boundaries

A key operational distinction within Lehigh County's structure is the boundary between county authority and municipal authority. Zoning, land use, and building code enforcement are functions of individual municipalities — not the county — under the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code (53 P.S. § 10101 et seq.). Lehigh County does not operate a countywide zoning ordinance.

Contrast this with neighboring Northampton County, which shares Lehigh Valley geography and participates in joint planning through the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission but maintains its own independent charter and row office structure. Both counties contribute to the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission, a regional body that coordinates land use planning across the two-county area under agreements authorized by the Pennsylvania Intergovernmental Cooperation Law (53 Pa.C.S. § 2303).

At the state interface, services administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation — including state highway maintenance within Lehigh County — fall under PennDOT's Engineering District 5-0, not under county jurisdiction. Municipal roads remain the responsibility of individual municipalities, and county-owned roads represent a third, separate category maintained by Lehigh County's Department of Public Works.

References