SUNBURY - A news conference has been scheduled for Thursday at which Northumberland County Commissioner Chairman Vinny Clausi will unveil a long-range financial plan for the county that he says is necessary to avoid bankruptcy.
He said a tax increase will be included.
"Yes, there has to be tax increase, but not much," he said Tuesday. "We can't help it. We didn't create this mess; the state and federal government created this mess."
Clausi, since taking over the board chairmanship earlier this month, said he was working on a long-term plan necessary for fiscal security as the county fights growing costs for labor, health care and pensions.
The office of the commissioners announced Tuesday that the plan has been developed and will be unveiled at the news conference, set for 10 a.m. at the administration building.
Clausi declined to reveal any specifics. He said he presented the information to fellow commissioners Stephen Bridy and Rick Shoch, as well as budget director Jeff McClintock, Controller Tony Phillips and Human Resources Director Joseph Picarelli, at a meeting Tuesday.
Clausi said he consulted with McClintock on the plan, but also went outside the county to consult with three people in private business who employ large numbers of people.
Clausi said he'll go over his proposals piece by piece on Thursday. He said the plan looks at county finances over the next four, eight and 10 years.
Despite the tax increase, Clausi said he thinks taxpayers will be happy with what he has laid out.
Previously, Clausi said that while 106 positions have been cut in county government, trimming payroll by $4.7 million over the past four-plus years, those savings have been wiped out by increases in union contracts and pension and health care costs.
He said the county budget could have been $20 million in the red by this time if it wasn't for the cuts that have been made.
The county in April asked its unions to renegotiate contracts, but has received no positive responses.
The county took out a $3 million tax revenue anticipation note for 2012 to carry it into the peak of tax collection season, but there's a chance there won't be money generated to pay it back.
"If we don't come out with this plan, the county could be shut down by November," Clausi repeated Tuesday.
The county also faces a multimillion-dollar project to meet government mandates on 911 communication improvements.
Clausi was appointed chairman on May 8 after he and Bridy voted to remove Shoch from the position. Shoch, who was the top vote-getter among the three commissioners in November's election, was appointed chairman upon his inauguration.
The change, believed to be the first in county history in which a sitting chairman was replaced, was made after Clausi, a Democrat, and Bridy, an Independent, accused their Republican colleague of failing to lead amid several contentious weeks in which the three-man board debated controversial budget cuts, including staff furloughs. Shoch has defended himself against the accusations, but latter wrote in a letter to the editor that the change was part of the process and that he wouldn't challenge it.
The chairman typically sets the agenda for and presides at meetings and signs paperwork. But Clausi said his appointment has opened the opportunity for the fiscal overhaul.
"I wanted to create a plan last year and the year before, but no one would listen to me," he said. As chairman, Clausi said, he has "more power to call the shots."