The 2022 Schuylkill County budget was approved Wednesday and taxes will remain level in the $70,148,920 general fund plan.

Revenues are $65,450,758. The shortfall is offset by $4,698,162 from the general fund unassigned fund balance. The millage will remain at 15.98. Per capita tax is $5.

Palo Alto resident Jeff Dunkel asked the commissioners to table the budget because it wasn’t available until 3 p.m. Dec. 7.

“The full budget was not viewable. There was multiple media sources that requested it Dec. 1. They were only given the 60-page budget,” he said.

Dunkel said if the commissioners vote on the budget it is illegal.

“There will be legal action taken,” he said.

Later Wednesday Dunkel said he is contacting an attorney for a possible injunction. All three commissioners voted for the budget, but prior to doing so, Commissioner Gary Hess asked solicitor Chris Hobbs if the county was “good to move forward.”

Hobbs said the county code requires the budget be on display for 20 days prior to adoption.

County Administrator Gary Bender said it was, as did chief clerk Linda Deatrich.

However, Dunkel said that was not true as the 130-page budget wasn’t available.

“She had no idea where it was on Dec. 7,” he said, adding she had to leave the commissioners office and retrieve it.

A summarized version was available upon request and was split into revenue and expense sections when viewed Dec. 1

Dunkel had filed a Right-to-Know request for the budget after initially being given a three-page summary last month. He received a response from the county with a summarized version.

Melissa Melewsky, an attorney with the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association, said not providing the full budget isn’t right.

“There simply is no reasonable justification to support delayed or denied access to the full preliminary budget; it is required by law to be available to anyone interested.”