Berks County commissioners approve Oct. 10 omnibus agenda including $449,733 in budget transfers and $1 million RACP guarantee

The Berks County Board of Commissioners voted to approve an omnibus agenda at its Oct. 10 meeting that included 2024 budget transfers of $449,733 and 2024 appropriations of $88,749, delegation changes for county operations, several grant authorizations and contracts.

Commissioner Christian Leinbach, chair, laid out the agenda’s major items, which also included a resolution authorizing the county to guarantee repayment to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania of any ineligible expenditures tied to a $1,000,000 Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP) award to a subgrantee (transcribed as “Birkside EA” and/or the “Olivet's Boys and Girls Club of Redding”) for renovations to properties in Reading, and a resolution to exonerate county property taxes totaling $10,026.45 for 2011–2050 on a parcel at 301 Washington Street owned by the redevelopment authority of the City of Reading.

Leinbach said the county has ‘‘never, had to make good on these guarantees’’ and described the RACP process as tightly managed by local authorities. The motion to approve the agenda was made by Commissioner Dante Santoni and seconded by Commissioner Michael Rivera; Leinbach called for the ayes and the motion carried by voice vote with no opposition recorded.

Other items included:

- Authorization for the chair to execute PCCD eGrants electronic signature forms and to grant Chief Operations Officer Kevin S. Barnhart authority to sign PCCD grant contracts and related documents.

- An amendment to a prior resolution to add the deputy chief operations officer to the delegation that can authorize payments, electronic transfers and payroll when the board cannot meet.

- Authorization for the chair to execute the 2024 Help America Vote Act grant agreement between the Commonwealth (Department of State) and Berks County to improve administration of federal elections.

- Designation of Barbara Jakubic as co-acting administrator for Berks County Children and Youth Services to execute approvals for subsidized adoptions and permanent custodianships beginning Oct. 11, until a permanent administrator is hired.

- Authorization to execute nine contract agreements and amendments listed on the Oct. 7 contract agenda across agencies including aging services, CareerLink, Children and Youth Services, the county library system, mental health/developmental disabilities and parks and recreation; and routine authorization for weekly payments, electronic transfers and tax collector payroll.

Deputy Treasurer Linda Weaver reported an opening balance of $250,011,979.46 and a working balance of $243,165,488.22 after a balance to clear. County Controller Joe Ruttero reported weekly accounts payable and payroll totals. Chief Operations Officer Kevin Barnhart said his office had no additional items to present.

There were no substantive public comments on agenda items during the meeting. After reports and brief commissioner remarks, the board adjourned.

The commissioners did not vote separately on each resolution during the recorded meeting; the agenda was approved as presented in a single voice vote. Specific implementation steps, reporting requirements or effective dates for individual resolutions were not specified during the meeting transcript.