Dec 22, 2018 4 min read

The Washington County 2019 budget, adopted by the board of commissioners Thursday, may be more notable for what it doesn’t contain rather than what it does.

Taxpayers can rest assured that in the general fund budget of $95,337,601 there’s no increase in the levy, which remains at 2.43 mills.

This means that on real estate with an assessed value of $100,000, the tax bill would be $243.

The absence of the Washington County Health Center from county government continues to have an effect.

The sale of the health center to Premier, which was finalized in December 2017, has placed the county on firmer future financial footing because, under government stewardship, the health center had been running at a $9 million loss for five years, said Joshua Hatfield, Washington County finance director.

Tax dollars put toward operation of the health center were nearly $3 million in 2017, but they were offset by the proceeds of the $22 million purchase price for the building on Old Hickory Ridge Road in Arden, Chartiers Township.

At the beginning of 2019, the county’s estimated surplus, or “fund balance” in fiscal lingo, is expected to be about $31.5 million, which Hatfield called “a rough estimate. That figure can change in either direction depending on where revenues and expenditures eventually fall when we close out the 2018 financials in early spring.”

But a significant line item that’s missing from budget is money for the purchase of new voting machines that provide a verifiable paper trail.

Estimates that Washington County has received came in at between $2.2 million and $4.7 million after the Department of State directed all Pennsylvania counties to select new voting systems with a paper record by the end of 2019.

Commission Chairman Larry Maggi added a new wrinkle when discussing the 2019 budget after Thursday’s meeting.

Across the state, the office of county commissioner is on the ballot in 2019. By law, the commissioners can’t serve as a three-member election board while they are candidates.

Although they haven’t formally announced, all three sitting commissioners have indicated they plan to run next year.

In Washington County, a judge appoints members of a substitute board. Then-commissioner Bracken Burns remained an election board member in 2011 when he chose not to seek another four-year term.

Maggi questioned how election board members not elected by Washington Countians can spend taxpayers’ money.

He referred the matter to the Harrisburg-based County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania.

“That is a question that we are certainly wrestling with,” said Lisa Schaefer, director of government relations for CCAP, by phone Thursday afternoon.

“The board of elections, whether it be sitting commissioners or a substitute board, is to decide on all relevant election equipment, including voting systems.

“We’ve raised this concern with the Department of State to see if there is guidance in that respect, as far as when a person becomes a candidate.”

The 2019 election calendar set by the state shows Feb. 19 as the opening day to legally circulate nominating petitions. The last day on which to circulate petitions and file them is March 12, so there may be a window of opportunity before Feb. 19.

All election systems used in Pennsylvania must attain state certification. Fifty of the state’s 67 counties, including Washington and Greene, have used direct-recording electronic devices. Thirteen have used optical scanners, and four counties used machines that combined both of those features, according to the Department of State.

Melanie Ostrander, Washington County assistant director of elections, said, “The state is shooting for the end of January to have everything certified.”

A handful of Pennsylvania counties have already purchased new voting systems, so they aren’t constrained by the 2019 calendar.

This type of timing was not a factor when Washington, along with most counties, purchased their current equipment. The federal Help America Vote Act provided counties with taxpayer funds for an expenditure in 2006; commissioners ran in 2003 and 2007.