Schuylkill County residents are staring down the barrel of a 3.5-mill property tax increase, unless the county commissioners can find more to cut from a $13.5-million deficit.

At their weekly meeting Wednesday, the commissioners approved a tentative $87,041,048 2025 budget that contains the county’s first tax increase in six years.

The 3.5-mill tax hike takes the county tax millage rate from 15.98 to 19.48 mills, 18.88 for the general fund, plus 0.60 mills for debt service.

Commissioner Chairman Larry Padora said based on $100,000 of assessed property tax valuation, taxes will rise $350.

“Health care and unfunded mandates from the state for 9-1-1 are the biggest drivers of the deficit,” Padora said. “We negotiated the health care increase down from 14.1% to 11.8%. The change in the state formula funding made the county responsible for all of 9-1-1’s cost, another $2 million for the county. We are going to continue to look for ways to cut.”

The budget will now be advertised, and is set for final adoption on Dec. 18. Part of that advertising is placing it on the county website, which will be done Friday.

Padora added that the impending countywide tax reassessment will have an impact on tax rates in 2026, when the new property tax system developed by the reassessment goes into effect. So any potential tax increase has to be done now.

“The reassessment will limit what we can do in 2026, because the reassessment has to be revenue neutral,” Padora said.

Commissioner Barron “Boots” Hetherington explained the 9-1-1 funding formula.

“I looked into other fourth-class counties (in Pennsylvania),” Hetherington said. “The state changed the funding formula from population to population density. The metropolitan counties benefited.”

Commissioner Gary Hess discounted that the county is in bad financial shape.

“There have been rumors the county is in a poor financial condition.” Hess said. “This is the 12th budget cycle I’ve gone through as a commissioner, and this is the third tax increase.”

County Administrator Gary Bender said the deficit was originally estimated at $22.1 million, but was reduced to $13.5 million.

The biggest reasons for the deficit, Bender said, include:

• An 11.8% increase in health care that amounts to $2,133,722; increased contribution to the county’s 9-1-1 communications center due to a 50.6% state change in the formula for providing funding, $1,378,295; estimated arbitration award, $696,038; a 6.73% increase in funding to Children & Youth Services, $317,275; increased expenditures for reassessment appeals, $451,200; and no more COVID-19 funding.

Calling the budget “a fluid document,” Bender recommended the following corrective measures the commissioners can take: Initiate a hiring freeze; freeze all travel except mandatory certification and training; furloughs in noncore areas; eliminate and consolidate positions; use more part-time employees; consider outsourcing some operations; and initiate new fees for service.