Lackawanna County officials present tentative 2026 budget with no tax increase
November 10, 2025 | Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania
This article was created by AI summarizing key points discussed. AI makes mistakes, so for full details and context, please refer to the video of the full meeting. Please report any errors so we can fix them. Report an error »
The meeting's presiding official opened a public hearing on the tentative 2026 Lackawanna County budget and limited comments to matters related to revenues, expenditures and financial priorities. "This hearing, our final public hearing, and it specifically focused on the presentation of the tentative 2026 county budget," the presiding official said.
Joan Hodowana of Scranton, addressing commissioners during the public-comment period, said she looks forward to the county's digital budget book and cautioned that the county may need to reopen the budget as federal and state budgets evolve. "Maybe you better be doing this budget in pencil," Hodowana said, adding that she viewed the current draft as "a very good faith effort".
Commissioner Gunn summarized the county s recent fiscal troubles and the work done to stabilize finances. He said the county faced a roughly $37 million structural deficit and about $19 million in unpaid bills last year, but has "stopped the free fall" and received a stable outlook from a credit rating agency. Gunn said the preliminary 2026 budget includes no tax increase and currently shows "over half a million dollar surplus".
Commissioner Schirmacher described the draft as a work in progress and said final adjustments could still be made, but expressed general approval and said the county will continue budget work into next year.
The presiding official noted the county chief financial officer was not present at the hearing, pointed attendees to past budget hearings on ECTV and YouTube, and said the tentative budget presentation is available online in the budget book; staff will take unanswered questions back to the budget team. The hearing ended with the presiding official thanking attendees and adjourning the meeting.
No formal vote or adoption occurred at this hearing; it was a public-comment and information session on the tentative budget. The county did not provide additional program-by-program appropriation detail during the hearing; the digital budget book was referenced as the source for line-item information.
Joan Hodowana of Scranton, addressing commissioners during the public-comment period, said she looks forward to the county's digital budget book and cautioned that the county may need to reopen the budget as federal and state budgets evolve. "Maybe you better be doing this budget in pencil," Hodowana said, adding that she viewed the current draft as "a very good faith effort".
Commissioner Gunn summarized the county s recent fiscal troubles and the work done to stabilize finances. He said the county faced a roughly $37 million structural deficit and about $19 million in unpaid bills last year, but has "stopped the free fall" and received a stable outlook from a credit rating agency. Gunn said the preliminary 2026 budget includes no tax increase and currently shows "over half a million dollar surplus".
Commissioner Schirmacher described the draft as a work in progress and said final adjustments could still be made, but expressed general approval and said the county will continue budget work into next year.
The presiding official noted the county chief financial officer was not present at the hearing, pointed attendees to past budget hearings on ECTV and YouTube, and said the tentative budget presentation is available online in the budget book; staff will take unanswered questions back to the budget team. The hearing ended with the presiding official thanking attendees and adjourning the meeting.
No formal vote or adoption occurred at this hearing; it was a public-comment and information session on the tentative budget. The county did not provide additional program-by-program appropriation detail during the hearing; the digital budget book was referenced as the source for line-item information.
View full meeting
This article is based on a recent meeting—watch the full video and explore the complete transcript for deeper insights into the discussion.
View full meeting