CLEARFIELD – The Clearfield County Commissioners on Tuesday unanimously approved the 2025 tentative budget with a one-mill tax increase.
The proposed budget plan has overall revenues and expenditures both totaling $43,895,785.50. The general fund tentatively totals $26,575,812.
“It’s a worst-case scenario,” said Commissioner Chairman Dave Glass, noting it’s the best way to prepare a budget plan. “You plan for the worst, then hope for better.”
And, while he doesn’t believe the upcoming budget year will turn out as badly as initial figures show, Glass said the county must still prepare and that’s what made the tax increase necessary.
“We are not in the black on paper for sure,” said Glass, as the county projects it could possibly have a $1.9 million shortfall.
But, because the tax increase should generate roughly $1.1 million in revenue, the county figures it—at most—would have to draw a few hundred thousand from its operating reserves to plug the remaining funding gap.
It could be an even more nominal amount between contingency planning and the possibility of some things turning out for the better, said Glass, noting that the county would have been drawing over a million dollars from its reserves without the tax increase, which is just too much.
One of the most significant contributors to the county’s grim budget situation is the rising operating and medical expenses at the Clearfield County Jail.
Inmate medical costs have risen by 400 percent since 2020, said Glass, and there’s no indicator that will change anytime soon. Then, there’s the state mandate on counties to offer Medication Assisted Treatment to inmates already on MAT when they become incarcerated—a program that in the future may include any inmate struggling with addiction.
It was noted that there’s very little financial assistance to counties for MAT programs.
“Our jail is pretty full and that population isn’t a very healthy population, which costs money,” said Glass.
Currently the jail costs in total roughly $6 million, of which $1.2 million is spent on inmate medical care and this excludes MAT costs.
The county also has built in extra funds for the prosecution of four major criminal trials in 2025, and there’s been a need for more specialized services in Children, Youth & Family Services.
Plus it keeps any unfilled positions in the budget with funds for the maximum employee health coverage since that remains an unknown until the time of hiring.
“That’s money that may or may not be spent,” said Glass, noting that while there’s not a whole lot of “fat” in the proposed budget plan, he believes the county can and will make it through the upcoming year.
Prior to the board’s vote, Commissioner John Sobel did indicate that he wasn’t in favor of a tax increase in any amount but would still vote to place the tentative budget on display, knowing there was still some time to talk.
Sobel felt the county needed to find a way to significantly lower the jail’s medical expenses, which he finds outrageous, and still provide basic healthcare to inmates.
As it currently stands, he said county taxpayers are paying for inmate medical coverage that is better than what they receive from their employers.
Sobel also felt that some employee salary increases were too high this past year, namely those in the realm of 12 to 14 percent. He said he doubts that many other employers give out those kinds of raises and certainly not in Clearfield County.
“County government has to be reflective of the society it serves.”
Both Glass and Commissioner Tim Winters said other counties have the exact same struggles as Clearfield County, and while no one likes increasing taxes, Glass said the county can’t afford to go any further in the hole.
The tentative 2025 budget will be made available on the county’s Web site and remain on public display for 20 days before its final adoption Dec. 10.
