Budget approved with no tax increase
Pandemic will determine how well budget holds up, official says
The Berks County commissioners unanimously passed a 2021 county budget that holds the line on taxes.
The $566.7 million spending plan was outlined by county budget chief Robert Patrizio during the weekly board meeting and was approved by a 3-0 vote.
The current millage rate of 7.657 will remain in place, meaning the owner of a property assessed at $200,000 will continue to pay $1,531.
Patrizio said the budget avoids a tax increase while balancing continued support for core ser
vices and long-term financial stability.
How realistic the budget is, though, will depend on the duration and depth of the COVID-19 pandemic, he said.
When the plan was put together, it assumed a vaccine would be available for public health and safety employees by early 2021 followed by distribution to the general public by early next summer.
He said that would enable the county to return to more normal revenue levels and tax base growth, and allow the county-owned nursing home, Berks Heim, to increase its population and generate more income.
Reading Hospi tal and Penn State Health St. Joseph hospital officials were expecting the first batch of Pfizer vaccines to arrive at their hospitals Thursday for distribution to some of their employees working closest with the virus.
The timetable on future shipments of the vaccine is unclear, but they’ll eventually be available to other health care professionals and then the public, officials said.
With the pandemic continuing to wreak havoc on the community, including financially for many families, the county chose not to add to that burden with a tax increase, Patrizio said.
The proposed budget represents a 2.3% cut from the almost $580 million 2020 spending plan.
The budget also includes a $12.1 million deficit that will be covered with reserve funds. Patrizio pointed out that the gap in the 2021 budget is about $22 million lower than the 2020 deficit of $34 million primarily due to a reduction in outstanding debt.
Patrizio said there will be almost no reduction in services as a result of the deficit, and that using reserve funds made better financial sense than borrowing money or raising the millage rate.
The plan limits the growth of new discretionary spending, limits the number of new county workers, does not add any new debt, prioritizes infrastructure and technology upgrades, and funds one-time capital expenditures with the reserves, he said.
He pointed out that the county spends most of its money on public safety and the court system. The county spends nearly $62 million on public safety and $49 million on the court system, a combined total that represents more than 60% of all county department spending.
The county- owned nursing home has been hit the hardest by the pandemic, he said. State quarantine requirements, combined with shrinking community referrals, resulted in a steep decline in average monthly occupancy from 404 before the health crisis arrived to a low of 299 in September, which reduced revenue sharply.
In the meantime, Patrizio said the county has temporarily cut 20 full-time positions at the facility as a result of the smaller population. But, he added, those positions will be restored as the population continues to rise.