CLARION, Pa. (EYT) — Clarion County Commissioners provided taxpayers with an early Christmas present as they passed a tentative budget for 2022 on the day before Thanksgiving that includes a reduction of one half mill of debt service tax.
The nearly $23 million tentative budget maintains 20.5 Mills in real estate tax, coupled with the reduced one mill debt service tax for a total 21.5 Mills.
“This means we’re going on ten years without a tax increase,” said Clarion County Commissioner Ted Tharan.
Budget Director Rose Logue reported that the major change in expenses for the $22,997,347.00 tentative budget includes 2.5 percent raises for contract employees at $150,000.00, and health insurance increases of $94,278.00. The budget will still have a contingency reserve of $100,000.00 for unexpected costs.
General Fund reserves will remain at approximately $6 million.
The budget also includes grant pass-throughs of $7,426,729.00, for such projects as a Multi-Modal on Grand Avenue in Clarion for $1,562,786.00, Clarion Healthcare for a renovated emergency room at $1 million, the East Brady tunnel at $2,863,934.00, and the Greystar bathroom manufacturer in Knox at $2 million.
“I’m happy to be able to pass along a property tax decrease in these very trying financial times,” said Commissioner Wayne Brosius. “What’s the cost of everything going up, I’m just happy we can give a small cut.”
Commissioner Ed Heasley also offered comments on the tentative budget.
“It is a very responsible budget for the citizens of Clarion County. We need to thank all the departments for the cuts they made, special thanks to Rose for all the work she put into it with the accounting office.”
Tharan echoed the two other commissioners.
“I would like to echo all of those comments, especially (regarding) Rose because she’s the wizard of the budget. We’ve (Tharan, Heasley, and Brosius) been able to rebuild our facilities and improve things and still put money in the bank pretty much. We have a nice savings account, and that just doesn’t happen in many other counties in the state of Pennsylvania.”
Real estate tax receipts have increased a little over the years, but the total value of property assessments has remained level, as presented in an earlier commissioner meeting.
The tentative budget will be on display at the Main Street Administrative Building and on the county website.
Click here to view the tentative budget.
The final passage of a budget is planned for December 28.
Inherited Debt
Much of the work session held before the business meeting dealt with the county debt.
Tharan described it as inherited debt, purchases before the current commissioners took office in 2016. Brosius also served a four-year term but was not serving before the major purchase of the 330 Main Street Administrative Building.
All property purchases during the last six years by the current set of commissioners, such as the former Goodwill building on sixth avenue and the former Sorce building in Shippenville for an emergency service building were paid from general funds, and no debt was incurred.
“It was our inherited debt, since we didn’t borrow anything,” said Tharan. “So, in 2016, the board refinanced to save a boatload of money. The county’s inherited debt was $6 million.
“The inherited debt was a plethora of different things that they borrowed money for this Administrative Building, the Clarion Human Service building on Seventh Avenue, the Clarion County Jail, the roof in the courthouse. Sometime in the past, it was all rolled into one.”
To pay for that debt, a debt tax was enacted.
As of 2016, the additional money that was collected over the annual debt service payment of $478,726.80 was saved in a separate account earmarked for debt reduction.
“At the end of this year, we anticipate adding another $117,789.00 to that account, and that will bring our total up to $620,420.00.
“Now, we have figured it out that we can cut one half a mill of taxes out of the debt service tax. We will withdraw some money out of $620,000.00 to help make annual debt payments and continue that for the next nine years.
“There will be enough money sitting there to do that because each year there’s a tendency to increase that money a little bit with the increased revenue for new properties that are found.
“We will be in good shape to make our debt payment at one mill of debt service tax through the remainder of the next nine years. If we would pay that debt off earlier, then we would sunset the debt tax.”
Commissioners also officially approved Clarion County Municipal Lending Programs where local municipalities could receive a maximum $10,000.00 loan for emergency purposes. Funded by one of three Clarion County Marcellus Funds, the loan would have to be repaid.
