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Lycoming unveils 2021 budget with no tax increase

WILLIAMSPORT –A little more than a week before the ghosts and goblins of Halloween appear, Lycoming County commissioners unveiled a no-tax-hike spending plan for next year.

The budget includes a $23 million deficit that may send chills through the public thanks to a number of projects that have been pushed back to 2021.

But county officials indicated that the deficit is not the house of horrors it may appear to be.

“We are working on projects we have to show expenses for,” Beth Johnston, county fiscal services director, said.

Commissioners said they did not want to push a tax increase on property owners.

Johnston noted that increasing the county millage rate of 6.50 by one mill would bring an additional $5.5 million.

But Commissioner Scott Metzger noted this is not the time, when so many businesses are closing and people are out of work due to COVID-19, to ask property owners to reach deeper into their pocketbooks.

“It doesn’t increase taxes,” Metzger said. “We are looking at this budget as cautiously optimistic.”

The expenses showing up in the overall budget include $9 million in bonds and $5 million in gas impact fees, or Act 13 funds, for funding projects.

Johnston noted that the county has been very frugal through the years in its expenditure of Act 13 money.

In addition, the county will draw $5 million from its fund balance.

“Most of the deficit is funded by cash and bond proceeds we already received,” Johnston said.

Commissioners said the budget is being put together earlier in the year than usual to give the public more of a chance to consider it.

Johnston said it’s certainly possible that the budget can be whittled down from the proposed plan.

“I still think there are going to be things taken out of the budget,” Commissioner Tony Mussare said.

Still, they conceded that the county faces some pressing needs.

Among the plans for the coming year is a $3.37 million project to replace the heating and ventilation system at the county’s Third Street Plaza. Other projects include courthouse upgrades and the relocation of District Judge William Soloman’s office.

Resource Management Services, which includes the county landfill, is increasing expenses by $5.7 million. Those expenses are funded by department income and reserves.

Commissioner Rick Mirabito noted that county officials have done their best in recent years to be fiscally responsible.

Measures to rein in spending have included cutting the number of county employees from 552 in 2015 to the present figure of 530.

“That saves $1.323 million a year,” he said.

The goal, he said, is not to fire employees, but to look carefully at replacing people who retire or leave their jobs.

Commissioners said some hard decisions need to be made about county real estate.

“We have some leases we need to get out of,” Metzger said.

Efforts are ongoing to sell Executive Plaza where commissioners hold their meetings and some county offices are housed.

A possible plan calls for those offices to be moved to the Third Street Plaza.

Commissioners will hold a town hall meeting at 6 p.m. Monday at Executive Plaza to further consider the budget.

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