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Commissioners delay 2026 budget vote to quantify rising electricity costs
Summary
The board voted to table final approval of the 2026 budget for two weeks after the CFO said electricity proposals could raise county energy costs by about 42%; staff will quantify the impact and the expected energy-savings project before the next work session.
Lackawanna County commissioners on Dec. 3 deferred final approval of the 2026 budget to allow staff to confirm electricity-cost estimates affecting 18 county buildings.
Chief of staff and CFO Dave Bozzoni told the board the county is evaluating proposals from energy suppliers after the current contract with Constellation Energy began to expire in November and December. Bozzoni said the lowest-cost proposal the county received would represent a roughly 42% increase in electricity costs compared with prior pricing. He said staff are also factoring in projected savings from a pending energy-savings (escrow) project and expect to present a more exact number at the next work session.
"With the proposals that we received ... your electricity costs are going up," Bozzoni said, recommending a short deferral so the county can plug a firmer number into the budget. Commissioners agreed there was time under the county charter to adopt a budget through Jan. 1 and moved to table the second reading to the Dec. 17 meeting so newly seated members could review departmental budgets.
Chairman Sherman and other commissioners said the delay is not expected to change millage rates and described the extra weeks as an opportunity to avoid reopening the budget later in the year. The motion to table carried with an affirmative vote; the board scheduled further budget discussion for its Dec. 17 meeting.
