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Centre County Finance Committee flags high overtime, slower property-tax collections while approving minutes
Summary
At its April 30 meeting the Centre County Finance Committee approved March meeting minutes and reviewed the March financial report, which showed steady interest earnings, positive revenue, elevated overtime—notably in Emergency Communications—and a lag in real-estate tax collections compared with prior years.
The Centre County Finance Committee on April 30 unanimously approved minutes from its March 26 meeting and reviewed March financial results that showed solid revenue overall but continued pressure from overtime and a slower pace of real-estate tax collections.
Controller Jason Moser moved to approve the minutes from March 26, 2026; Commissioner Amber Concepcion seconded the motion, which the committee recorded as unanimously approved. Treasurer Colleen Kennedy reported that interest earnings for March are "steady" and attributed part of the positive result to the county's sweeps program. "We continue to benefit from the sweeps program," Kennedy said.
Committee members reviewed a county-wide expenditures cover page showing $22.8 million in expenditures to date, about 19% of the annual budget. The General Fund's expenditures were $11.6 million, or roughly 20% of its budget; other funds totaled $11.2 million, or about 18%. Commissioner Mark Higgins observed that 2026 figures are lower compared with 2025; Richard Killian said that some of the difference is attributable to American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds in the prior-year comparison.
The revenue summary on page three showed positive receipts, with the General Fund at $5.2 million (about 10% of the budget) and other funds totaling $5.8 million (10%), both higher than the prior year.
The report flagged overtime as an area of concern: total overtime to date is $324,000, or about 30% of the overtime budget and 6.2% of total salaries. The report called out Corrections and Emergency Communications as higher than typical, with those functions at about 30% and 62% of their overtime budgets respectively—both above a 10%-of-salary threshold noted in the report. Administrator John Franek Jr. said the Emergency Communications unit is operating with lower staffing and is training multiple new dispatchers; he said an efficiency study is underway to address staffing and operations.
On real-estate tax collections, the committee was told General Fund receipts total $3.6 million to date, about 14% of the budget, a slower pace than the prior period and the historical average. The report noted a roughly two-week lag in collections that began in 2024; year-to-date as of April 15 was cited at $5.5 million. Debt-service real-estate tax receipts were reported at $651,000 and follow the same pattern.
There were no public comments or additions to the agenda. The committee scheduled its next Finance Committee meeting for Thursday, May 28, 2026, at 9:00 AM in Room 146 of the Willowbank Office Building. On a motion by Controller Jason Moser, seconded by Commissioner Amber Concepcion, the meeting was adjourned at 9:19 AM.
