A Pennsylvania county went from bust to boom times with natural gas; now, it s nearly broke | Spotlight Pa gettysburgtimes.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from gettysburgtimes.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
WAYNESBURG Greene County is going broke. Despite receiving millions in payouts from the natural gas industry to compensate such counties as Greene that host natural gas wells, it is struggling to balance its more than $40 million budget. This year, amid a pandemic, commissioners raised property taxes for the first time since 2010. Without major changes, county budget office projections show that Greene may not have the revenue or reserves to cover its costs by 2023. It’s a financial predicament that seemed all but guaranteed as the coal mining industry here has nearly disappeared, hollowing out the backbone of the local economy. That was, until the natural gas boom and a massive influx of money that came with it offered a different path.
Spotlight PA is an independent, non-partisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with PennLive/The Patriot-News, TribLIVE/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and WITF Public Media. Sign up for our free newsletters. WAYNESBURG — Greene County is going broke. Despite receiving millions in payouts from the natural gas industry to compensate counties like
THE ISSUE
âLocal officials in Pennsylvania are facing another election without extra time to process mail ballots, likely leading to delayed results and putting increased pressure on counties reeling from the most expensive contest ever,â Spotlight PAâs Marie Albiges reported last week. The stateâs primary election will be held May 18. Many county elections officials want to be able to precanvass mailed ballots â inspect, open and count them, but not record or publish the results. Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with other state media organizations, including LNP Media Group.
Chalk this up as another disappointing missed opportunity by state lawmakers.