Dec 12, 2023 By Mike Jones 2 min read

Washington County officials are expected to vote Thursday on their 2024 budget, which does not include a tax increase.

The proposed $168.516 million budget would represent a 3% increase over last year’s spending plan, with much of it still buoyed by federal stimulus money the county received in 2022.

The anticipated revenue for next year is set at $108.516 million, so the discrepancy between that and estimated expenditures hinges largely on the amount of federal American Rescue Plan Act money still available to the county for upcoming projects.

The county received nearly $100 million in ARPA money with nearly half of it spent over the last two years and more earmarked for various projects in 2024 and beyond. The money must be spent by 2026, although it has to be designated for various projects by next year.

“We still have a considerable amount of the ARPA money,” commission Chairwoman Diana Irey Vaughan said.

The county’s tax rate will remain at 2.43 mills, as it has since 2017 after the commissioners recalibrated it following the countywide property reassessment.

Irey Vaughan touted the success during her tenure in which the commissioners have not voted to raise taxes in 14 years.

“One of the greatest accomplishments, I believe I’ve enjoyed during my terms in office is keeping Washington County taxes very low,” she said.

The budget was prepared by Susquehanna Accounting & Consulting Solutions, which is the contractor hired by the commissioners over the summer following the resignations of former finance director Joshua Hatfield and several others in the finance department.

The commissioners will meet at 10 a.m. Wednesday to set the agenda for Thursday’s monthly meeting at 2 p.m., when they are expected to vote on the 2024 budget. It will be Irey Vaughan’s last meeting as commissioner after she announced earlier this year she would be retiring from office after serving on the board for 28 years.