Latest news with #Tokar-Ickes
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Somerset County commissioners announce disaster recovery fund plan, make $10K donation
SOMERSET, Pa. (WTAJ) — The Somerset County commissioners will rely on an advisory board and eight flood-damaged communities when deciding how to spend money from a new disaster recovery fund, they said Tuesday. The commissioners voted 3-0 Tuesday to formally create the fund, which was announced Friday and will be overseen by the Community Foundation for the Alleghenies (CFA), according to WTAJ media partners at The Tribune Democrat. The board also pledged $10,000 towards the cause, matching an identical donation made by the CFA. The CFA will oversee the fund as it grows and gather grant applications from municipalities and local nonprofits within the eight Somerset County communities that have issued disaster declarations in the week since the May 13 floods. The counties include Garrett, Meyersdale, Rockwood and Salisbury boroughs as well as Elk Lick, Greenville, Larimer and Summit townships. Much of the damage was reported to occur in the area surrounding the Casselman River and several tributaries, including the bridges and low-lying neighborhoods along the corridor. Commissioners Brian Fochtman, Irv Kimmel Jr. and Tokar-Ickes noted that there are ongoing reviews already in place to see what state aid might also be available to help residents and businesses recover from the storm. The county's disaster relief fund is meant to help cover any 'gaps' that might exist after state aid is approved, Tokar-Ickes added. As time goes on, the county's funding needs will likely become clearer. A disaster recovery fund committee of six Somerset County residents will review the funding requests submitted by municipal leaders and issue grant awards accordingly. Kimmel noted that the board lacks any elected officials as they are looking to take 'the politics out of it.' Somerset County officials said their $10,000 pledge is being drawn from the county's hotel tax and Act 13 natural gas revenues, more importantly, not from county tax dollars. Commissioners defended the move after one resident raised questions about the donation while listening to the meeting. Commissioners added that Tuesday's approval will lay the groundwork for a long-term fund that won't only support southern Somerset County's long-term recovery, but will also help address future, unforeseen disasters in the county. Additionally, the county's contracted grant writer, Aspire Grant Solutions, noted it will support the eight communities that issued disaster declarations by donating 30 hours each to help them apply for funds to help solve their unique issues. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Board: Somerset County monitoring federal funding review; no impact on county government yet
SOMERSET, Pa. – Like fellow counties statewide, a large percentage of Somerset County's $64 million budget relies on federal allocations. It adds up to approximately $7 million in 2025, Somerset's commissioners said. But with the nation now one month into a series of federal funding review orders by President Donald Trump's administration, Somerset's board said the county agencies that rely on federal funds have not yet noticed any changes. Somerset County Commissioner Pamela Tokar-Ickes said much of the federal funds are tied to human services – such as Children & Youth Services programs to protect children, Head Start and Area Agency on Aging programs – that counties must provide by government mandate. 'We're keeping our finger on the pulse of ... what's happening right now. And as of now, we're not aware of any (routine) drawdowns (in regards to those services) that have been put on hold,' she said. In simpler terms, federally supported programs were continuing to operate and cover their costs as usual this week, the board said. 'Business as usual is a good thing right now,' President Commissioner Brian Fochtman said. County officials across all 50 states have also been monitoring how $42 billion in Broadband, Equity, Access and Deployment funds could be impacted. The initiative was largely dedicated to improving high speed reliability in rural areas. Tokar-Ickes said county partner Tableland Services, which oversees weatherization programs and certain housing assistance programs for Somerset County residents, is also supported by federal funds – and counties are also aware the Trump administration is also taking a national-level look at those funds. 'We're not aware of any changes (as of Tuesday),' she said. For now, those agencies are using federal dollars that were already contractually approved, she said. 'We don't know what the future will bring,' Tokar-Ickes added, speaking generally about the potential for nationwide cuts to various federal initiatives in the future. 'The question marks are still there.' Cambria County commissioners were out of the office Wednesday and did not return messages for comment. But staff forwarded a previous late January statement indicating Cambria officials were taking steps necessary to ensure any county-obligated federal funds were pulled down to the county level to prior to the Jan. 28 freeze date to 'ensure services continue.' Another question mark remains with the 2025 federal budget. The most recent stopgap expires March 14 and lawmakers in Congress and the Senate are still working on a budget that would authorize a new round of federal spending. U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson was able to win enough Republican support to pass a budget blueprint through the U.S. House late Tuesday that could now see Senate review. As described, the bill would extend tax breaks that are otherwise on pace to expire and raise the U.S. debt limit by $4 trillion. Democrats say it could also mean cuts to the Medicaid program designed to support low-income Americans and those on disability. Evening meeting plannedThe Somerset County commissioners' first evening meeting of 2025 will be held March 11. Somerset County's board will meet in the Commissioners Office meeting room, which is part of the county office building on 300 N. Center Ave. The commissioners board has scheduled several evening meetings throughout the spring and summer across the county to encourage public participation and awareness of government operations.
Yahoo
05-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Somerset County approves smaller wage hikes for future elected officials
SOMERSET, Pa. – Somerset County elected officials' salaries will rise after the next election cycle – but at a slower rate. In a move that would partially tie future increases to the U.S. goods-driven Consumer Price Index, commissioners' salaries remained on pace to top $90,000 by 2031. County commissioners, the county's elected executives, are tasked with setting salaries for future commissioners and row officers every four years. A special meeting Monday night was the first held to consider elected officials' salaries since a 2023 election year when the Somerset County commissioners' pay, the highest among their regional peers, become a contentious topic. A 3-0 vote by Commissioners Brian Fochtman, Irv Kimmel Jr. and Pamela Tokar-Ickes set salary changes that will take effect over two different cycles – but both include an initial two-year period in which wages would grow by a fraction of 1%, compared to 2.7% this year. The adjustment will go into effect in 2026 for some county row officers and in 2028 for the county commissioners and other row officers, depending on when each seat has an election. But the raises are calculated the same way – with 0.5% raises in each of the first two years, followed by two years of raises tied to the Consumer Price Index. As approved, the CPI-linked increase cannot exceed 2.5% in each of those years, the commissioners said. That's down from a 3% cap approved by the previous commissioners' board. Whoever is elected to the prothonotary, treasurer and coroner positions in this November's election will see the first 0.5% raise go into effect in 2026. With current salaries set at $74,600, that would add increases of approximately $373 in the first two years. There's no way to project the CPI two years down the road. The current CPI rate was 2.7%. Somerset County elected officials received a 3% hike in 2023, while other recent years' raises have been as low as 1.1%, figures show. Commissioners' pay The current salary for a Somerset County commissioner is set at $83,405, with up to 3% increases possible for the next two years through a decision made by a previous board of commissioners that could increase pay above $88,000 during that time. The commissioners who take office in 2028 will receive the raises approved in Monday's vote. Five row officers on the same election cycle – auditor, recorder of deeds, clerk of courts, register of wills and sheriff – will see the same salary adjustments, the board's resolution shows. Following the board's vote, Tokar-Ickes and Kimmel said they hadn't forgotten that commissioners' pay has been scrutinized in recent years. 'These adjustments ... will slow the growth of elected officials' salaries in Somerset County,' Tokar-Ickes said. Kimmel, who alongside Fochtman froze their wages this year as part of a campaign promise when they ran for the job, said it's a balancing act. 'This is about all elected officials, not just the commissioners. We need to have something that's even-keel for everybody,' Kimmel said, describing the model the board settled on as 'fair.' 'It's one thing to freeze my own salary,' he said. 'I wouldn't feel comfortable freezing someone else's.' No matter who the commissioners are in 2028, they'll be overseeing a budget of more than $61 million and a county government that employs more than 400 people, the commissioners said. The county's budget ranks among the largest among Pennsylvania's sixth-class counties, Tokar-Ickes added. Tokar-Ickes, who has said this will be her final term in office, said while campaigning in 2023 that she'd be willing to freeze commissioners' wages for 2028. But she said her research comparing the county of 72,000 people to its sixth-class peers in recent weeks convinced her that smaller incremental raises made sense. The county must control its costs for the taxpayers' sake while also setting a wage that will encourage people to run for public office, she and Kimmel said. 'It's a balancing act because you don't want to close yourself out to a lot of qualified people in the private sector' by freezing pay to the point that the job is no longer attractive, Tokar-Ickes said. 'A lot of people have to take a pay cut to run for public office. ... I know that's not what constituents may want to hear. But it's the reality of it.' Lester Younkin, a Somerset County resident who has been among the most vocal critics recently of county elected officials' pay, said Monday that he still isn't comfortable with the fact that the Somerset County commissioners' pay ranks at the top among sixth-class counties. But he credited all three commissioners for setting salaries at a level that begins to address that. 'I think this moves things in the right direction,' he said in a telephone interview after the meeting. 'I commend all three of them for that.' County Treasurer Anthony DeLuca, who froze his own salary for 2024 and 2025, was the only attendee at Monday's meeting who spoke about the topic during the public comment section, which was offered minutes before the vote. DeLuca agreed that county officials' salaries needed to be reined in a bit from previous years. But he also reminded the board that wage increases were recently awarded to all of the county's workers and said that fellow row officers deserve to be 'treated the same.' The Cambria County commissioners also voted to raise pay for the next election cycle. Through a flat 2% annual increase, the president commissioner's salary would be $81,612.92 in 2028. Other commissioners would earn $78,212 before rising to nearly $83,000 by 2031.
