Upper Milford Supervisors put NIZ Angst on Record

The Upper Milford Board of Supervisors last night passed unanimously a resolution putting on the record the board’s displeasure with the Allentown Neighborhood Improvement Zone (NIZ) -- a Harrisburg invention designed to help fund the Allentown hockey arena.

The 130-acre Allentown NIZ was actually created by a bill passed in 2009, written by State Sen. Pat Browne. That measure mandates that the earned income taxes paid by residents who work in the zone will be diverted for one year to the $158 million arena project.

“We figured it was time to make a statement that we are opposed to what they are doing,” said Upper Milford Supervisors Chair Dan Mohr.

In the resolution passed Thursday night, the Supervisors also reserved the right to join anti-NIZ litigation in the future, should it be deemed beneficial to to do so.