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Pottsville mayor outlines three‑year roadmap, sales‑tax ballot plan and infrastructure fixes in six‑month address
Summary
At a Jan. 28 Pottsville City Council meeting the mayor presented a six‑month state of the city focusing on infrastructure backlogs, a three‑year roadmap, a new welcome program for new residents and plans for a sales‑tax ballot measure to broaden permitted uses of existing revenue.
Pottsville’s mayor delivered a six‑month state of the city on Jan. 28, laying out priorities to address underfunded streets, stormwater drainage and utility expansion, and to professionalize city operations.
The mayor said Pottsville “wasn’t being held back by people, but it was being held back by outdated systems,” and described work completed in the past six months on infrastructure and operations. He announced a Pottsville welcome program that will send personalized letters to new residents and connect them with city services.
The presentation outlined a three‑year road map the mayor described as prioritizing existing infrastructure first, promoting smart growth and building “a professional city government built on transparency and most importantly accountability.” He said the administration will pursue grants at the state and federal level and seek to use existing sales‑tax dollars more flexibly; a related measure broadening permitted uses of existing sales‑tax revenue is planned for the ballot and will be the subject of an upcoming town hall.
The mayor noted the city has added three committed businesses and a fourth near completion in the six months since he took office, saying that private investment is creating jobs locally. He also pledged to improve monthly budgeting and forecasting so planned projects — for example a sewer expansion — are adequately funded rather than addressed by ad‑hoc decisions at year end.
Council members addressed operational details during the address, including ADA work at City Hall and the police department and the need for clearer public explanations of budget items such as the sales‑tax proposal. The mayor acknowledged communication could improve and invited residents to “come ask questions, come to meetings, challenge us, get involved.”
The meeting approved the Dec. 22, 2025 meeting minutes by voice vote before the presentation. The mayor closed by emphasizing staff and council contributions and saying the city is focused on steady, accountable progress.
Next steps: the administration said it will hold a town hall to discuss the sales‑tax ballot proposal and will post the full slide deck and materials online for public review.
