Schuylkill County Commissioners approved a rate hike for a company providing financial management services for the County’s Office of Senior Services.
They voted unanimously Wednesday to approve a contract extension for Service Access Management (SAM), of Pottsville. The contract extension is for $186,000. It increases the monthly cost from $12,900 to $15,500, equal to a slightly more than 20% boost.
Schuylkill County’s Office of Senior Services has a $6.1 million budget for 2025.
According to Office of Senior Services administrator Deanna Orlowsky, SAM did not seek a rate hike last year and probably should have. She said the company explained the increased cost is necessary due to the costs it’s incurring for employee salaries and health insurance.
When asked why the County continues to outsource financial management services to a provider like SAM, Orlowsky said several factors come into play, such as continuity of services and the specialization the company offers in accounting for this specific County office.
She said that if the County were to hire its own employees to handle financial management services for Senior Services, first it might be difficult to find that help and second, if that person or persons were to leave their position, the County might be forced to start from scratch with training for specialized accounting software.
With SAM, Orlowsky says the County can count on an employee being ready to fill in if the need arises within that company. And further, SAM has people on staff that are adept at using two accounting software apps necessary for Senior Services and the Dept. of Aging, Abila Accounting and Accufund.
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Johnny K
October 5, 2025 at 9:56 pm
So outsource at a ridiculous rate rather than hire someone from the county to do the job and keep a salary in schuylkill county. These commissioners are idiots.