Venango County commissioners said Monday the county is good financial shape right now and that nothing has been decided as far as possible layoffs.
“This is a fluid situation. Every option is on the table but so far we haven’t needed to take drastic measures like some other counties have,” commissioners chairman Sam Breene said.
Breene said furloughing county employees has been discussed but as of now there are no plans to lay anyone off.
Fines, land transfers and other fees are still being paid to the county, commissioner Albert Abramovic said. He added that the revenue generated by fees is “not a huge part of the budget.”
Abramovic also noted that out of the county budget of $60 million, county taxes amount to $11 million and the rest comes from the state and federal governments.
Breene said the county is trying to limit spending and be frugal, just like many families and businesses are now doing.
Payments, applications and other business have been moved online, Dulaney said.
“Revenue has been similar to years past,” Breene said.
Breene stressed that the services the county provides haven’t changed much, but what has changed significantly is how county business is being conducted.
The county now has work from home policies in place as well as other polices to limit the number of people in the county offices at once, Breene said.
Commissioners said Monday they are also planning to extend the county tax deadlines by two months.
“We wanted to do something even if it was just a drop in the bucket,” Breene said. “It felt morally right to extend the tax deadlines.”
Breene said the extension, which will be finalized at the next commissioners meeting, would only apply to county taxes and not municipal or school taxes.
The discount period will be extended to the end of June, and the face value payment period will be extended to the end of August, Dulaney said last month.
Meanwhile, commissioners said they have been in constant contact with county residents answering questions about the coronavirus pandemic.
Dulaney said the Department of Agriculture recently said COVID-19 isn’t transmittable through food or packaging on food.
Dulaney also encouraged people with questions about the virus to check out the Federal Emergency Management Agency website, which now has a section on rumors about COVID-19.
Breene encouraged everyone to follow the guidelines put out by the Centers for Disease Control.
“There has been concern with people coming into the area from outside for trout season. If everyone follows the guidelines and doesn’t gather in crowds this will not be a problem,” Breene said.
