As it stands right now, Schuylkill County government is staring down at least a $13 million deficit for 2025.
That’s what we learned Wednesday during the Schuylkill County Commissioners meeting.
Next week, when the preliminary budget is formally presented, we should find out how much spending will be cut or how much property taxes will go up – or both, more than likely – will need to be raised to make up that shortfall.
At Wednesday’s meeting, Padora admitted the deficit right now is either $13.3 million or $13.5 million.
If the County follows patterns of the past when it comes to presenting the budget for the next year, we’ll likely hear how the financial gurus at the Courthouse got together and trimmed some of the deficit.
But when that happens, the chances of property owners bearing the burden of an eight-figure deficit are very real.
During and after today’s meeting, Chairman Larry Padora spoke openly about the budget crunch the County is currently facing. He said of potential spending cuts to lower the deficit, “Everything is on the table.”
Everything ranged from the County divesting itself of property it owns, namely the former STS headquarters at the Saint Clair Industrial Park, to possibly employee layoffs.
The 37 jobs Padora said were already getting cut grew in a week to 38 or 39, he said. Those jobs, though, have been unfilled for an extended period of time but were always figured into budgets of the past and the money was spent on things other than employees.
“We’re cutting everything we possibly can,” Padora said.
Driving the deficit skyward, Padora said, is healthcare costs. He said the County is in negotiations with its provider to lower that cost. But as it stands now, the government expects to spend $3 million more in 2025 than it did this year. That’s a 14% increase.
Padora also said he was unwilling to cut the 3% pay raise for non-union County employees.
While it definitely appears that property taxes will go up for 2025 – and next week, we’ll learn just how much they’ll go up – Padora said he won’t vote for a tax increase in 2026, when the property tax reassessment values go into effect.
He said the County is budgeting this year for the next two years.
“There’s no way I’m putting a tax increase on anyone because of the reassessment,” he said.
While property tax reassessments are mandated to be revenue neutral – meaning the government can not bring in a penny more in property tax revenue than it did the year prior to the new millage rate – Commissioners are able to raise property taxes by a maximum of 10% immediately after the reassessment is certified.
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