SCRANTON — Lackawanna County officials anticipate state approval for its continued participation in a program that would deliver additional dollars as the county prepares to implement recommendations in a forthcoming, forward-looking report on its finances and operations.
Commissioners Bill Gaughan, Matt McGloin and Chris Chermak approved Wednesday an application for the county to proceed to the second phase of Pennsylvania’s Strategic Management Planning Program. The county secured entry into that program early last year and used the grant funding it delivered to defray the cost of engaging PFM Group Consulting LLC, the firm finalizing the long-term financial report and recommendations commissioners will move to implement.
PFM’s phase one report is expected in the coming weeks and will be the subject of a yet-unscheduled public meeting.
The county hopes to use potential STMP grant funding delivered for phase two to retain PFM as the firm’s recommendations are put into effect. Officials will also request the state waive or reduce the matching funds the county would otherwise be required to commit.
“The report is pointless unless its recommendations are evaluated and, as determined appropriate, implemented accordingly,” county Chief Financial Officer David Bulzoni told commissioners shortly before Wednesday’s vote.
It marked the latest in a long series of actions taken in the interest of the county’s financial future since Gaughan and McGloin assumed office as the Democratic majority commissioners last year. They inherited what Gaughan said Wednesday was a county “in an absolute tailspin financially” — a formidable fiscal mess marked by a massive structural budget deficit, more than $18 million in unpaid bills carried over from 2023 and the dispiriting specter of running out of cash before year’s end.
Those and other challenges haven’t proved insurmountable to this point, but have prompted difficult decisions. Chief among them was the nearly 33% property tax hike for 2025 that Gaughan and McGloin approved over Chermak’s objections. Despite provoking considerable ire from the taxpaying public, the hike will help eliminate a structural deficit that was otherwise projected to reach about $29 million this year.
It complemented other moves, some recommended by PFM, taken last year to improve the county’s financial position. The majority commissioners, for example, shuttered the county’s fledgling health department, instituted a hiring freeze, imposed purchasing restrictions and eliminated 90 vacant positions across 19 departments.
Pursuing the second phase of the STMP program project and ultimately implementing PFM’s recommendations where appropriate are part of the broader, ongoing effort to achieve lasting financial stability.
“So our goal from the beginning was to set Lackawanna County on a path to financial stability, but a goal without a plan is just a wish,” Gaughan said. “This is where the rubber meets the road and this is where we continue to implement structural reforms that will set Lackawanna County on sound financial footing for years to come.”