(Matt Drzik/Beaver County Radio)

With 2021 closing and 2022 on the horizon, one of the biggest moves forward for the County Commissioners is to put a new budget in place. At the November 17 work session, Solicitor Garen Fedeles announced the resolution introducing the proposed budget for the upcoming year, with financial advisor Corey Troutman breaking down the numbers.

“The total general fund will be $82,032,165”, Troutman stated at the work session. “No increase in the tax rates; it’s gonna remain at $25 million for general purpose and $1 million for debt service.”

The commissioners will vote on the resolution tomorrow.

Meanwhile, Fedeles provided an update on the Ambridge-Aliquippa bridge: “I spoke with Tammy Frank this morning…there are 11 spans that need to have work done on them and six of those 11 have been completed. At this point it seems they’re still on time…nothing at this point has happened to delay the anticipated opening of December 3.”

The majority of the meeting however, was dedicated to a conversation held mostly between Commissioner Chairman Dan Camp and RiverWise executive director Dan Rossi-Keen, addressing face-to-face recent allegations.

The 22-minute and 10-second dialogue was at times icy and tense, but never loud or abrasive, as Camp and Rossi-Keen debated over the Blacks Run Bridge project. Rossi-Keen felt that the County Commissioners are unsupportive of the project in its entirety, while Camp felt that RiverWise painting that picture was a falsehood, and that the Commissioners support a trail being built–just not under the current financial and geographic parameters currently in place.

The public meeting will be set for Thursday, November 18 at 10:00 AM.