Blair County facing $10 million budget deficit for 2027
Commissioners work to find spending cuts
Trending
HOLLIDAYSBURG -- Blair County is facing an estimated deficit of about $10.4 million for 2027 as commissioners continued making cuts at Friday morning's budget meeting.
Commissioners began making cuts on Oct. 20 after attending weekslong presentations from department heads regarding their wants and needs.
The projected 2026 year-end unassigned general fund balance will be an estimated $17,307,444, according to a spreadsheet put together by finance director Lindsay Dempsie. With 2027's estimated revenues of $53,739,987 and expense requests totaling about $65,340,329, Dempsie projected the county would have a deficit of $11,600,341.
Using funds from the unassigned general fund balance would leave the 2027 year-end unassigned general fund balance at about $5,707,103.
The commissioners cut about $1,192,412 from the expense requests for a new total of $64,147,917 over three intervening budget sessions, bringing the deficit down to about $10,407,929. That would leave the 2027 year-end unassigned general fund balance at about $6,899,515. Commissioners would need to cut an additional $9,215,518 from the county's expense requests if it were to balance the budget and not pull from the unassigned general fund.
During Friday's meeting, Dempsie presented commissioners Laura Burke and Amy Webster with the county's salary/wages vacancy rate. Commissioners Chair David Kessling was absent.
"So, currently in the '27 budget, we have a 15% vacancy rate," Dempsie said. "And this is the rate we have had the past three years."
The wages subjected to a 15% vacancy rate stood at $15,139,072 and included elected officials and department heads, Dempsie said.
The projected wages for 2026 are about $19,179,051, with the actual amounts for 2025 and 2024 standing at $18,035,848 and $16,098,184, respectively.
Burke and Webster agreed to keep the county's vacancy rate at 15% for 2027.
Dempsie also presented the county's medical vacancy rate, which is projected to be $5,137,620 for 2026 at a 10% vacancy rate. She said single health insurance coverage is budgeted for every vacancy "but not every person takes that."
"Some people take a family plan instead, and it's doubled, then we have employees who leave and those who replace them don't take that plan or take a different plan," Dempsie said.
In 2025, the medical vacancy rate was set at 8%, while it was 7.5% in 2024, Dempsie said.
"We do expect the medical (cost) will go down," Dempsie said. "This does exclude our retirees and Samaritan Fund because they're a large up-front cost."
Dempsie told the commissioners she believed the county could go as high as 10% for the medical vacancy rate in 2027, which would total $5,150,577. If the commissioners wanted to "be a bit more conservative" they could go with 7% at $5,322,263.
"I was thinking to be a little more conservative," Webster said.
Burke and Webster then agreed to set the medical vacancy rate at 7% for 2027.
The commissioners' next budget session is scheduled for 9 a.m. Nov. 10 in the commissioners' public meeting room in the Blair County Courthouse basement.
Mirror Staff Writer Rachel Foor-Musselman is at 814-946-7458.