State comes through with matching grant for county comprehensive plan
In a year when the novel coronavirus pandemic has resulted in many a tight budget, the Washington County Planning Commission had a $110,000 line item for 2021 that prompted the county finance director to seek more information at a public hearing this week.
Finance Director Joshua Hatfield noted Tuesday that the expenditure for the development of a Washington County comprehensive plan was “a variance from prior years,” meaning it hadn’t been included in previous general fund budgets.
“It’s going to be partially funded,” planning commission Director Lisa Cessna assured him, emphasizing that “$55,000 in revenue is going to be coming from that. We have a 50% match, so I’ll make sure I keep that at no more than $110,000.”
“I’m just waiting for the paperwork.”
On Thursday, the administration of Gov. Tom Wolf announced the approval of six projects to assist local governments with municipal planning and shared services, and Washington County’s comprehensive plan was one of them.
And the $55,000 was reflected in the announcement.
According to a news release from the Department of Community and Economic Development, the goal of updating the 2005 plan is to provide a large-scale blueprint for the growth and development of Washington County.
The county will look at land use globally and establish targeted areas of investment for economic development; parks, open space and green ways; farmland preservation; public infrastructure, and transportation networks.
The plan will establish priorities for county and local officials to implement as well as identify opportunities, obstacles and funding options for each section of the plan.