SCRANTON — Lackawanna County unveiled Wednesday a new “digital budget book” designed to make the county’s annual operating budget more accessible, transparent and coherent to residents and taxpayers.
Complete with budget highlights, department-by-department summaries, organizational charts, an overview of funding sources and more, the budget book available on the county’s website is the product of a multiyear contract with the firm ClearGov that commissioners approved in May and extensive internal work by county personnel and interns who helped prepare the web-based resource.
Describing the digital budget as “a tool that will transform how we share and manage public information,” Commissioner Bill Gaughan cast it as a far more digestible alternative to the county’s traditional budget, “a static and often overwhelming document” that’s been “difficult to navigate, hard to interpret and, in many cases, inaccessible to the average taxpayer.”
Lackawanna County Commissioner Bill Gaughan speaks during the commissioners’ meeting held at the county Government Center in Scranton Wednesday, April 16, 2025. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
“Well that changes today,” Gaughan said. “With this new platform … residents and officials alike can now easily explore the county’s budget in a clear, user-friendly digital format. Whether you’re a concerned citizen or consider yourself a policy expert, this tool will allow you to search specific topics, compare figures over time and understand how your tax dollars are being spent all with just a few clicks.”
The ClearGov contract commissioners approved last year for the digital budget book software costs $14,000 annually through 2027, and is renewable. A link to the digital resource, which Commissioner Chris Chermak also endorsed, is available at lackawannacounty.org.
“The digital budget book gives us a real opportunity to improve everyone’s understanding of how county government works and ensure that every dollar is tracked with integrity,” Gaughan said. “This is about more than technology. It’s about giving all of you the tools that you deserve to stay informed.”
Also Wednesday, commissioners adopted an ordinance authorizing a debt refinancing and borrowing package to fund about $29.1 million in capital projects, including repairs to deteriorated county-owned roads and bridges. The county maintains 35 miles of roads and 154 bridges, many of which are classified in poor or critical condition, officials said.
Dave Bulzoni, chief financial officer for Lackawanna County, speaks during the Lackawanna County Commissioners’ meeting at the county Government Center in Scranton Wednesday, April 16, 2025. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
The financing plan that Gaughan and Chermak approved has three components: the refinancing of a nearly $12 million short-term note issued in late 2023 to fund the first phase of a number of roads and bridges projects; a rate modification reducing the interest rate on a separate $14.2 million note, also taken in late 2023, from about 5.4% to 4.75%; and the borrowing of about $17.1 million of new money, also in the form of a short-term note, to fund the second phase of various roads and bridges improvements across the county.
The move is expected to increase county debt service obligations in 2026 by $1 million compared to 2025, but will not require a tax increase to pay for the added debt service. The county will use an accrued debt service fund balance to offset the increase next year, county Chief Financial Officer Dave Bulzoni confirmed.
“I appreciate all the work that’s been put into this plan,” Gaughan said, noting careful financial planning and the use of long-term capital financing enable the county to make crucial infrastructure investments “without placing any additional burden on the taxpayers of Lackawanna County.”