Lawrence budget proposal keeps taxes from increasing

The commissioners said they didn’t want to raise taxes in the bad economy.

STAFF REPORT

NEW CASTLE, Pa. — As commissioners have promised for months, the 2009 Lawrence County proposed budget doesn’t increase property taxes.

“Most counties are raising taxes and laying off employees,” said county Commissioner Dan Vogler at the commissioners’ Tuesday meeting, where they introduced the budget. “We’re fortunate.”

The $97,129,688 total budget is an increase of 5.57 percent over 2008’s spending blueprint. But the 5.313 millage will stay the same, with 4.541 mills for general operations, .662 for debt and .110 for the county’s three libraries in Ellwood City, Bessemer and New Castle.

The general fund is proposed at $25,729,512, a 6.4 percent increase from 2008.

The budget also includes a 3 percent raise for nonunion, union and management employees.

The county’s taxpayer contribution to its retirement fund, which has taken a hit in the financial markets, has nearly doubled from 2008, when it was $600,000.

The budget proposal moves the county’s operating reserve fund of $1.5 million to the general fund, leaving the reserve fund empty.

The reserve-fund money is a big reason why commissioners were able to forgo a tax increase this year, which they said they would do after the country’s economic crisis became evident in September with the plunging of the Dow and the failures or mergers of several large financial firms.

Commissioners said they didn’t want to burden people with higher taxes in such a time of financial uncertainty.

But they also have looked at ways to tighten spending and have imposed a rolling hiring freeze — meaning that if someone leaves, they don’t fill the position for six months. That freeze, said Commissioner Steve Craig, could become permanent.

Craig said that because $72 million of the budget comes from state and federal sources, the county’s financial team will meet every month to see where revenues stand.

He said that the state and federal governments’ own financial woes could affect the county.

“If adjustments need to be made to budgets, we need to know sooner rather than later,” he said. “It’s a solid budget, but it’s built on projections. We have to keep close tabs on it.”

The commissioners still have a contingency fund of $344,000 to deal with budget shortfalls, an amount Craig called “razor thin.”

The budget is available for public inspection at the commissioners’ office in the county government center on East Washington Street in New Castle. It is also available online at www.co.lawrence.pa.us. Click on the “Budget Reports” link.

The budget is allowed to be adjusted up to 10 percent up or down before its adoption. It must be adopted by Dec. 30, and the commissioners will likely do so at their regular meeting that day. They meet at 10 a.m. in the government center downstairs.