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Luzerne County is “on the cusp of greatness,” county Acting Manager Romilda Crocamo said during her annual “state of the county” report required by home rule.
Crocamo pointed to Webster Bank’s recent willingness to reduce the interest rate on $33 million of the county’s outstanding debt, saving the county a net $331,500.
“This is quite the accomplishment,” she told council in the public address during its meeting last week.
This year’s annual short-term tax revenue anticipation loan was reduced to $14 million due to years of spending less than the county brings in, she said. The county had required higher loans of $16 million in 2021 and $18 million several years ago to cover expenses until real estate tax payments arrived.
The administration also worked with council to make “hard financial decisions” and “smart choices” in the no-tax-hike 2022 budget, she said.
Crocamo said she is hoping to “negate any need for a tax increase” in 2023 by reviewing and streamlining the way goods and services are procured and maximizing opportunities to use federal infrastructure and rescue funding to pay for county government projects, including road and bridge repairs.
The administration also will continue seeking grants and other funding to help pay for roads and bridges and push municipalities to take over maintenance of this infrastructure once it is repaired, she said.
“Upgrading our infrastructure is vital for our economic growth,” Crocamo said.
A growing number of developers have been investing private funds on projects in the county, some on land that had been “ravaged by the coal industry,” she said.
Crocamo highlighted a recently released annual report by the state Governor’s Action Team ranking Northeastern Pennsylvania as the state leader in job creation, with more than 2,300 new jobs added in the 2020-2021 fiscal year.
“Luzerne County is open and ready for business,” Crocamo said.
Looking forward
Top 2022 administration goals include creation of a prioritized road/bridge infrastructure plan that spells out cost estimates for repairs and upgrades, possible funding streams and a schedule for future maintenance, Crocamo said.
A strategic plan also will be developed for the county information technology department with assistance from the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania, which recently performed an assessment of the department at the county’s request, she said.
“We will no longer have an IT department that is responding to fires,” she said.
Amid several department vacancies, Crocamo has said she is confident staff and outside contractors are in place to ensure essential services and cyber security needs are met.
In her address, she credited the IT department with “many achievements” despite obstacles, including its addition of measures to verify the identity of county technology users and work with the court to implement a pilot system for judges to electronically file their court orders and for the county to provide electronic service notification of documents.
Other main goals include blight reduction and enhanced security at county buildings, including an active shooter notification process, she said.
Opioids
Crocamo also cited the continuing battle against opioids in her address, saying the county coroner’s office “feels the consequences.”
There were 208 drug overdose deaths in 2021, including five pending the results of toxicology tests, according to the coroner’s office.
This surpasses the previous record high of 179 record overdose deaths in 2020.
Approximately 75% of the overdose deaths involve the powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl. County Coroner Francis Hacken had issued a public warning about the high number of fentanyl-related deaths last year.
Hacken also noted the drug Xylazine, an animal tranquilizer, was present in toxicology results for 29 of last year’s confirmed overdose deaths.
Crocamo said the county’s Drug and Alcohol Program has welcomed two new inpatient residential treatment programs in the county and a new methadone clinic in Hazleton.
The county also launched a state-funded housing grant program last April in cooperation with the Commission on Economic Opportunity that has provided housing-related assistance, mental health services and other support to approximately 163 county residents suffering from substance use disorder, Crocamo said.
More initiatives will be announced when the county receives an estimated more than $20 million in compensation from litigation against opioid manufacturers and wholesale distributors, Crocamo said.
“We know that opioids are ravaging our communities, and Luzerne County is committed to stop that,” Crocamo said.
The coroner’s office also had 509 deaths attributed to COVID-19 last year in addition to 15 homicides, 57 suicides and 47 motor vehicle deaths, it said.
Reach Jennifer Learn-Andes at 570-991-6388 or on Twitter @TLJenLearnAndes.