(1/2020) As we enter 2020 there will be two important new additions to county operations. Steve Nevada has been appointed as Adams County Manager beginning January 13th. Mr. Nevada was the Assistant Administrator of Franklin County and is an Adams County resident and native. John Phillips becomes our new Controller overseeing county financial activity and brings strong legal and financial background. We welcome both Mr. Nevada and Mr. Phillips on board and look forward to working with them.

Our first ever elected Controller, Steve Renner, did not seek reelection. Steve leaves behind a well-developed and professional staff to audit and analyze the county’s financial activity and financial position. Under Steve’s direction and the dedicated work of his staff, the county entered a new era of financial reporting known as the CAFR (Comprehensive Annual Financial Report). This report is a very in depth and transparent professional financial report of county financial condition, which is often referred to by financial institutions and investors. A healthy CAFR does much to promote the strengths of Adams County’s financial position and makes us all more conscious of how relevant our actions are to the county’s financial condition. To the credit of the Controller’s Office, the 2018 CAFR was not only well prepared but presented in much detail, showcasing the healthy financial condition of Adams County.

Even though Adams County’s financial and credit position is solid with no tax increase in 2020, its Aa2 rating matches the median rating of Aa2 for U.S. counties. Key factors include – an exceptionally low pension liability, small debt burden, an ample tax base and a healthy reserve and income profile. We are hopeful that economic conditions and tax base outperforms the current trend. As a result of this prediction, prudent budget awareness is essential on a day to day basis to ensure every tax dollar is properly spent and documented. With the aid of new computer accounting software and training, our Finance Department can summarize these financial statistics for up-to-date budget trends and accurate projections. This allows for timelier budget decisions that keep us on course with our approved budget. Based upon Finance Department projections, we expect to end 2019 substantially under budget. This contingency will provide funds that can be available for producing a balanced budget for 2020.

Outside of financial priorities, the county faces the challenge of preventing drug overdose deaths. To that end, the Adams County Commissioners are in the process of opening a recovery center in the county. Our goal is to be accomplished by converting the Mercy House at the former St. Francis Xavier property into a recovery center. The center will serve as the home for a residential recovery program and will be a walk-in center to assist individuals seeking help for their addictions. This accomplishment will resurrect an abandoned community property to valuable use and will be named the "Mercy House Recovery Center".

The completion of the center is estimated to be early summer of 2020. The majority of the funding for the project will come from drug and alcohol reinvestment funds and various grants. It is projected that these sources of funding will be approximately 10% short of construction costs. The county plans to provide the additional funds for completion. The RASE Project will be administering the recovery program as it is now doing in other locations outside of Adams County.

Another goal of the county is to contain the cost of operating the county prison – Adams County Adult Correctional Complex (ACACC). As more and more individuals with mental illness are incarcerated the greater the cost of operation, and the greater the challenge is to rehabilitate those with mental health issues. Several years ago, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania made the decision to close many of the state mental treatment facilities and release the patients to alternative programs. Many of these individuals, due to behavioral problems, have committed crimes that resulted in prison sentences. The Commonwealth may have saved money on their side of the equation, but county prisons are now tasked with greater mental health and incarceration responsibilities. Thus, the county is now absorbing costs that previously would have been assumed by the Commonwealth. As a result of this situation the County Commissioner’s Association of PA is lobbying legislators to provide "forensic beds" (dedicated mental health care) as an alternative to prison. This would be a win for the mentally ills’ rehabilitation and a win for the county in reducing operational costs and responsibilities.

In the last quarter of 2019, the ACACC’s bottom line received some financial help from the US Marshall’s Service. Understanding there could be additional reimbursement revenue available, a year ago the Commissioners authorized an accounting firm to provide the US Marshall’s Service with a thorough certified analysis of current real costs of housing US Marshall prisoners. As a result of this analysis, the US Marshall’s Service has begun reimbursing the county a higher per diem for housing their prisoners. We estimate this will improve the prison’s bottom line by approximately $200,000 per year.

In November, new state mandated voting machines were utilized for the first time in the Municipal Election. The transition went smoothly with only minor issues. After a great deal of discussion, the state has agreed to reimburse counties 60% of the machines $500,000 cost, as opposed to the originally proposed 10%. The federal government is providing 10%. Poll workers are elated the new machine tabulates write-in votes and resulted in more expedient returns Election Day evening.

As we move through 2020, the Adams County Commissioners will continue to advocate initiatives to increase economic development. Without construction and growth, our tax base will only see anemic growth. Efforts to bring high speed internet throughout the county will have our support as this one of the missing pieces for economic development. Our perspective is that broad band will be attractive to business development and business retention. This was confirmed by our most recent county bond rating which cited the need for broad band service for significant commercial growth.

Even though Adams County anxiously welcomes commercial growth, the Board is cautiously optimistic. We expect that with good fiscal management and vision combined with reasonable economic conditions, Adams County government will continue on a very steady and positive path.