Faced with a potentially huge budget deficit this year, Schuylkill County Commissioners Chairman Larry Padora said last week that the area needs to start opening its welcoming arms to new business.
Property owners in Schuylkill County are likely facing a significant tax increase for 2025. That’s due to a massive budget shortfall that’s been largely ignored for a number of years, thanks in part to the use of COVID relief money to make up that deficit.
Well, the COVID money is nearly all gone – Padora said he doesn’t want to use the remaining money to plug the 2025 budget shortfall – and Schuylkill County government keeps spending a lot more money than it brings in. In recent weeks, Padora has given hints at why expenses keep going up: healthcare costs for employees and a change in how 9-1-1 services are funded.
What Schuylkill County needs to do, he said, is start brining in more revenue, or broaden its tax base. Otherwise, the County is going to keep banging on the doors of property owners to make up for rising costs to run the government.
“Schuylkill County has to be open for business,” he said following last week’s Commissioners meeting. He added that the economy has been “stagnant” here and that needs to change.
In part, Padora was indirectly referencing business and housing development projects that are often met with some resistance at the hyper-local level.
The Commissioner offered some advice to municipal officials and their constituents. “Instead of saying no to everything, sit down with these developers and work something out,” Padora said. “The knee jerk reaction can’t always be ‘no’. That’s a missed opportunity to expand your tax base.”
The Commissioners are expected to roll out their 2025 Preliminary Budget on Wednesday morning. There will be a 30-day period for the public to view the budget and make comments.
At last week’s meeting, the County said its pre-preliminary figure for the budget deficit was about $13.3-13.5 million. During budget seasons of the recent past, we’ve heard the County tell a story that sounded similar but when the Preliminary Budget was announced, the number was often reduced by a few million after the spending plans were trimmed.
We’ll soon learn how much trimming happened in the past week, what got trimmed or cut, and by how many mills property taxes will be raised.
READ MORE:
- 37 Jobs Getting Cut at Schuylkill County Courthouse
- Schuylkill County Deficit Currently at $13+ Million
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Dragonsi
November 21, 2024 at 11:34 pm
That most certainly is an interesting use for the verb “brine”. So the entire Schuylkill County must not only soak and take in water and salt, but also revenue as well.
Brining – “to treat with or steep in a salty solution.”
Dragonsi
November 22, 2024 at 1:27 am
That most certainly is an interesting use for the verb “brine”. So the entire Schuylkill County must not only soak and take in water and salt but also revenue, as well.
Brining – “to treat in or steep in a salty solution.”