PFM says Lackawanna County’s finances are improving but ‘better, not fixed’

At a public caucus, county leaders and outside consultants from Public Financial Management (PFM) told residents that Lackawanna County’s finances have improved since a near-crisis last year but remain fragile.

PFM consultant Gordon Mann said the county’s position is “better but not fixed” on cash flow, the budget and structural balance after a 2024 package of measures that included a large real-estate tax increase and spending controls. Mann and colleague Rachel Tesler presented cash-flow scenarios showing the county would end the year with materially different results depending largely on the timing of state reimbursements tied to health and human services.

The presentation reviewed how the county moved from what the consultant called a severe position last year — a structural deficit roughly $37,000,000 and about $19,000,000 in unpaid bills — toward a smaller, more manageable shortfall. Mann said the county’s earlier cash shortfall peaked around $13,000,000 and noted that the county now expects to avoid large emergency borrowing this year, though cash balances remain thin compared with a recommended target.

PFM highlighted three fiscal drivers: reliance on real-estate tax revenue, rising net costs for…