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Nanticoke armed robbery case headed to higher court, 1 suspect still at large

Effectiveness of Luzerne County’s attempt to sell unused vehicles questioned

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; On paper the city is heading toward year&#8217;s end with enough money to pay its bills and balance the $51.5 million general fund budget.</p><p>It ended September 30 with a balance of $7.4 million, according to a draft of financial report for the month. That&#8217;s the difference between the $25.2 million in pending expenses and the $17.8 million in revenues collected through nine months of the year.</p><p>But how things shake out over the next couple of months remains to be seen, and the uncertainty has left Mayor Tony George anxious.</p><p>On Wednesday, George said the city still has to pay more than $4.6 million toward the five pension plans for past and present city employees, a $3 million Tax Anticipation Note taken out in January to carry the city through the first few months of the year until tax revenues started to come in and approximately $6 million for long-term debt.</p><p>&#8220;I want to keep our bond rating,&#8221; he said of the necessity to stay current on the bond payments that make up the debt.</p><p><a href="https://www.timesleader.com/news/500862/wilkes-barre-credit-rating-revised-mayor-stresses-no-downgrade" target="_blank">Standard &amp; Poor&#8217;s Rating Services </a>issued an A minus with a stable outlook at the end of last year. Former Mayor Tom Leighton repeatedly touted the rating as one of the highlights of his 12 years in office and said the city and taxpayers benefited from favorable rates on loans and bonds.</p><p>George has been critical of Leighton for leaving him an unrealistic budget when he took office in January. The 2016 budget contains &#8220;phantom numbers&#8221; for $1.7 million revenues that will not be met, George said.</p><p>The most recent draft report showed the revenues for the sale of city-owned property and the collection of delinquent taxes and fines have lagged:</p><p>&#8226; $17,213 in delinquent recycling fees, budgeted at $100,000.</p><p>&#8226; $33,885 in delinquent business privilege tax, budgeted at $350,000.</p><p>&#8226; $225,497 for the sale of city property, budgeted at $1 million.</p><p>&#8226; $0 in delinquent magistrate fees, budgeted at $250,000.</p><p>Last week <a href="https://www.timesleader.com/news/local/596831/wilkes-barre-mayor-george-proposes-30-mill-increase-in-2017-budget" target="_blank">George proposed a $47.9 million balanced budget for 2017</a> that includes a 30-mill property tax increase to 151.6 mills. A mill is a $1 tax for every $1,000 of assessed value. The taxes for a house valued at $80,000, the average price in the city, would increase by approximately $18 a month or $216 annually, George said. He also reduced the line item revenues for the &#8220;phantom numbers.&#8221;</p><p>City council has to approve the mayor&#8217;s budget before it can go into effect. A public hearing will be scheduled for it.</p><style>
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<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Jerry Lynott</p><p>jlynott@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Jerry Lynott at 570-991-6120 or on Twitter @TLJerryLynott</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Wilkes-Barre budget has $7.4 million balance at three quarter mark of year