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Let's Talk About the County Budget
Posted 4-11-08
Every year there are discussions concerning the
county’s budget, particularly its size and its growth. Analyzing
it is difficult because, frankly, county government is one of
the least understood levels of government. There are a lot of
misunderstandings and misconceptions because there is very
little taught in schools about county government. For the most
part, the Commonwealth establishes our mission and regulates our
programs, and the overwhelming majority of the money we spend
comes from sources other than property taxes.
This year’s overall county budget is $341
million. Yet only $77 million comes from county property taxes,
or roughly 22.6 percent of our budget. I know no one likes to
pay taxes, and many people do not differentiate between their
county, municipal and school taxes, but I am confidant we
leverage that $77 million to provide a variety of quality
services in Westmoreland County.
But as I wrote earlier, analyzing the county’s
budget by itself may provide few answers. Comparisons are
necessary to get a clearer picture. Fortunately, the County
Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania publishes a county
budget survey. The 11 Third Class Counties range in population
from 213,295 (Lackawanna County) to 433,501 (Chester County).
The budgets range from a high of $549 million in Chester to a
low of $179 million in Lackawanna. To offer some perspective,
among Pennsylvania’s 11 Third Class counties, Westmoreland’s
population of 370,000 ranks fifth and our $341 million budget
ranks seventh. The 2.2 percent growth of our budget from 2007 to
2008 ranks eighth among the Third Class Counties.
While each county may spend varying amounts of
money on outside organizations, such as sponsoring a community
college or funding conservation districts and public libraries,
the mission of each Third Class County is identical. We must
provide the mandated services required by the Commonwealth, fund
the growing burden of the court system, match human service
funding by the required amounts, operate county jails, operate a
911 system, and ensure health care is available for the indigent
by either operating a nursing home or contracting out that
service. All counties must also ensure their employee pension
funds are fully funded.
So looking at our peer counties – those with
similar populations – I believe Westmoreland stacks up
favorably. Does that mean we are perfect and the job is done? Of
course not. We are always seeking ways to improve the county’s
financial position. Most of those actions are not glamorous and
don’t make for juicy headlines in the daily newspapers. I’ve
learned in my years as a county commissioner that change is not
often sweeping, but incremental.
We have introduced competition in the ways we
acquire goods and services that have saved millions of dollars
throughout my years as commissioner. We’ve reduced our energy
consumption, and saved money, through investment in the
Guaranteed Energy Savings Act. By having multiple health
insurers on board, we’ve kept them competing for business. We
diversified a pension fund to maximize returns, whereas before I
took office only one firm managed it. Our bond issues have been
awarded competitively, rather than having one firm manage the
entire process. We’ve made changes such as the gradual
elimination of the archaic practice of longevity bonuses. We’ve
also utilized technology to reduce our reliance on paper,
improve public access and to work more efficiently.
And we will continue to work to become more
efficient. But we should all be proud that Westmoreland County
stacks up well when compared to our peer counties throughout the
Commonwealth.
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