EBENSBURG — The Cambria County commissioners approved the county’s 2026 budget, which includes a 6.75-mill property tax increase, by a 2-1 vote at a special meeting Tuesday, with Commissioner Tom Chernisky opposing the budget.

According to Chief Clerk Alex Ashcom, the average homeowner in Cambria County will see a $71.58 increase in their property tax bills for next year.

As of Tuesday, the county’s general purpose millage was 24.5 mills, Ashcom said, noting the commissioners are legally permitted to raise the county’s millage rate to 25 mills. A hearing is scheduled for Monday, Dec. 29, in the Cambria County Court of Common Pleas, where the county will make its case for the higher tax increase.

Of the 6.75-mill tax increase, Ashcom said half a mill is within the commissioner’s ability to grant, 1.25 mills will go directly to the county’s debt service fund, and the remaining five mills will be requested during the hearing.

Several residents spoke during public comment, opposing the tax increase, including Cambria County Farm Bureau President Marty Yahner, Johnstown resident John DeBartola and former county commissioner Doug Lengenfelder, who served in the commissioner’s office from 2012-16.

Yahner urged the commissioners to cut expenses rather than implement the tax increase.

“I know you’re trying, but please do a better job of cutting expenses,” Yahner said, noting that’s what business owners and people on fixed incomes have to do whenever their revenue is less than what they would like it to be.

“Please do what’s right for the county,” he said.

DeBartola said he feels “like a broken record,” adding he’s attended the commissioners’ meetings for the past two years asking them to make cuts and avoid property reassessments.

DeBartola called Commissioner Keith Rager “the most important person in the room” as he implored Rager to vote against the budget.

“Mr. Rager, I am begging you this morning to do the right thing and vote no with Mr. Chernisky and stop this madness,” DeBartola said. “Because if you vote ‘yes’ for this, you’re going to be the singlehanded reason that puts many people out of business and out of their homes.”

Rager said voting to approve the budget was the hardest decision he’s had to make since he joined the board of commissioners two years ago.

“Cambria County must reflect the conservative values of the people,” Rager said, adding the commissioners examined the budget line by line and funded only what directly protects and serves the county’s taxpayers.

Over the last 10 years, Cambria County has experienced nearly 30% inflation in operating costs, Rager said, noting taxes were reduced by 12% in the same period while property values have remained flat.

“That’s a huge problem,” Rager said. “Past commissioners have kicked this can continually down the road. The imbalance has placed a real strain on our county finances.”

President Commissioner Scott Hunt said the financial realities the county is facing did not begin in the last year and will not be fixed overnight.

According to Hunt, American Rescue funds helped cover the gap during the COVID-19 pandemic. But those funds have reached the end of their lifespan, he said.

Hunt said the commissioners identified and cut $3.5 million in allocation requests and vacant positions, which will not be filled in 2026.

“Even with all the reductions we’ve proposed, the gap remained,” Hunt said. “At the same time, our tax revenues have fallen below 2016 levels while inflation has increased over 30 percent over the same time. That reality is what led to the proposed tax increase.”

While Hunt voted for the budget, he doesn’t believe it’s perfect, noting the commissioners asked every department to cut costs yet allocated an additional $100,000 to the Johnstown-Cambria County Airport Authority.

Hunt said the airport authority is “doing a tremendous job for our region.” But giving the airport additional revenue while other departments are being cut is “counterintuitive,” he said.

Hunt said the decision to raise taxes wasn’t made lightly.

“But I do believe it is the right decision to get the county’s finances on track,” Hunt said.

Chernisky did not speak publicly during the meeting. However, in a statement sent to the Mirror, Chernisky said the Hunt administration has “chosen a path of spending more than it receives.”

“This is bad business for the taxpayers and residents of Cambria County,” Chernisky said, adding families and businesses were already struggling without the increase, which Chernisky called “excessive” and “unduly burdensome.”

“At one time, Commissioner B.J. Smith and I worked hard to get Cambria County out of the verge of bankruptcy. We proved there was a better way of leadership and doing business,” Chernisky said, noting his administration worked hard to improve the county’s first Standard & Poor’s general obligation bond rating.

The Chernisky-Smith administration got the county its first “A” rating in more than 30 years, Chernisky said.

Standard & Poor’s downgraded the county’s general obligation bond rating from a stable “A” to a positive triple-B rating earlier this month, Chernisky said.

Chernisky said the commissioners “must work toward responsible solutions that control spending, protect essential services and respect the taxpayers of Cambria County.”

During public comment, Lengenfelder said he has a hard time believing the cause for a nearly 7 mill tax increase is “anything but an ineptitude and gross inability to understand budgeting and finance.”

“An increase of this size does not just pop up,” Lengenfelder said, adding the commissioners should have been addressing the county’s deficit years ago.

Tax note approved

During Tuesday’s meeting, the commissioners unanimously approved First National Bank’s proposal for a $9 million tax and revenue anticipation note at a taxable fixed rate of 5.02% per annum.

The note allows the commissioners to borrow money until the county receives its anticipated tax revenue, which will be sometime between mid-March and May, according to Ashcom.

Chernisky said he voted in favor of the tax anticipation note to keep the county government open.

Chernisky said the county didn’t need to rely on a tax anticipation note during the last two years of the Chernisky-Smith administration.

“We took a disciplined approach — we crawled, walked and then ran,” Chernisky said. “Unfortunately, Cambria County is now reverting to the bad business practices of the past.”

Mirror Staff Writer Matt Churella is at 814-946-7520.