Scranton holds public hearing on proposed 2026 capital budget; resident raises questions on homeless services, training and project timing

The City of Scranton held a public hearing to receive testimony on Council File No. 912025, the proposed 2026 capital budget and capital reserve fund spending plan submitted pursuant to Section 904 of the city's home rule charter and Council File No. 11 of 02/2024.

At the hearing, Scranton resident Norman Jeffries said he had reviewed the capital budget and asked several questions about where certain programs and projects appear in city spending documents. "I did get a copy of the budget for 2026 ... it's a lot of reading," Jeffries said. He said a word search for terms including "unhoused," "homeless" and "code blue" returned no results in the capital budget.

City staff explained the difference between the capital budget and the operating (standard) budget, saying the capital document…