Cumberland County approves 2019 budget

The Cumberland County Board of Commissioners recently approved a $284.2 million county budget for next year.

The county remains in stable financial standing and maintains its AAA bond rating.

There were no tax increases for the fifth consecutive year. The real estate rate remains 2.195 mills, and the county library tax remains at 0.166 mills.

Cumberland County residents pay less of their income on county services than residents in the surrounding counties.

The general fund will be $87.7 million of the county’s total budget.

The 2019 budget provides for essential services including those courts and criminal justice, community and environmental planning, human services, and related to public health and safety.

Funding continues at its 2018 level for the Cumberland Area Economic Development Corp. military preservation effort and workforce initiative and Farmland Preservation.

Commissioners also commented on Gov. Tom Wolf’s plan to have the state pay for 50 percent of the cost of replacing voting machines statewide. Wolf’s move comes after the Center for American Progress gave Pennsylvania a “D” rating, saying the state’s machines are vulnerable to hacking.

“The machines we have now cannot be hacked,” Cumberland County Commissioner Vince DiFilippo said, with commissioners from other counties echoing the same sentiment.

Purchasing new voting system would cost the county approximately $5 million, which DiFilippo said can and should be used for better things for Cumberland County taxpayers.