(Matt Drzik/Beaver County Radio)
While amusement parks are operating their rides for the summertime, the Beaver County Commissioners rode a bit of a roller-coaster of their own at Wednesday’s work session.
The high point of the meeting was a disclosure by controller Maria Longo in regards to the financial audit review of Beaver County in 2021. Among the positives:
- Treasurer’s office collected an increase of $2 million in taxes for 2021 compared to 2020
- Overall debt lowered by $8.8 million
- Pension 100% funded
- $3.8 million General Fund revenues over expenses
The full list of numbers can be found in a document located at the Beaver County website, along with past reports.
On the downward slope, however, was the encouraging news regarding the staffing of essential services in Beaver County. Commissioner Jack Manning had attended a safety meeting earlier in the day, and came away concerned about the current state of affairs.
“We have police departments down to minimum staffing numbers…we have some fire departments that can’t respond,” Manning lamented. “One police chief called me and said that he was waiting 45 minutes for an ambulance to show up in his township. I talked to the Medic Rescue people, and they’re 30 drivers short.” Manning cited a lack of competitive wages and general lack of interest in those positions.
“I don’t know what we do,” Manning added. “It’s a municipal-by-municipal issue, but again we have an overall responsibility for the health and safety of Beaver County residents.”
The next work session is scheduled for July 20 at 10:00 AM at the Beaver County Courthouse.