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HAZLETON — Faced with possibilities of taking out a loan and raising taxes in a city that is losing residents, the Hazleton council on Tuesday heard from a representative of Gov. Tom Wolf’s office about a long-term financial plan as a possible solution.

Jim Rose, a local government policy specialist for the governor, talked Tuesday night about the potential for the city to go into the state’s Early Intervention Program — a pathway to Act 47 or officially distressed status.

Council President Jack Mundie confirmed he met last week with Rose, Mayor Jeff Cusat, Solicitor Sean Logsdon and Joe Zeller to discuss going into the EIP.

Rose said a study of all city finances would have to be completed. It would be the second time the city had a plan done in the past five years.

The study, Rose said, would lay out current cash flow for Hazleton, a five-year outlook if the council decides to do nothing and an outlook that could help the city change to healthy financial status.

Councilman David Sosar, who was visibly frustrated, stressed he hoped going into EIP would help with some leeway in the budget. It doesn’t, Rose said.

“It’s a blemish like bankruptcy,” Sosar said about going into Act 47.

For Councilwoman Jean Mope said being next to Hazle Township, which has extensive commercial development, means the city can’t expand its business base. The Hazleton campus of the Lehigh Valley Hospital is also up in the air. If it move some of its beds out of Hazleton, the city could be losing over $300,000 in revenue, Councilwoman Grace Cuzzo said.

Mope asked for reassurance that if the city decided to go into the EIP, it wasn’t a green light for Cusat to raise taxes.

“I can’t raise taxes,” Cusat countered. “That’s council’s job. All I can do is suggest.”

Within the next few weeks, Rose will have other plans laid out for the council in case it doesn’t want to entertain going into the state’s early intervention program.

Rose stressed that everything has to come back to the council because “legislation has to be enacted” to go into EIP.

Not all communities who enter into the EIP go into distressed status, Rose said. The timeline from EIP to Act 47 is also up to the municipalities.

“It’s a pretty streamlined process,” Rose said, noting other local municipalities who have gone through the process.

Recently, West Hazleton, Nanticoke and Plymouth Township have come out of distressed status. West Hazleton came out of Act 47 in 2014, with a $5,423 budget surplus. In late 2015, Nanticoke, who entered the program in 2006, was the first city and 10th municipality of the state to exit the program.

In other business, the council:

• Appointed the 20 students as junior council members. Their terms begin Nov. 1.

• Appointed Zoeller and Joyce Chunko as members of the Redevelopment Authority to the Blighted Property Review Committee. Council has to appoint one more person to the committee.

Rose
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/web1_rose.jpg.optimal.jpgRose

By Melanie Mizenko

[email protected]

Reach Melanie Mizenko at 570-991-6116 or on Twitter @TL_MMizenko