COUDERSPORT — Potter County Commissioners approved the 2019 county budget with a slight tax increase to support a nearly $4 million 911 infrastructure improvement project during the last regular meeting of the year held this Thursday.

The one-mill increase brings the county tax rate to 18.5 mills, or $18.50 on every one-thousand dollars of assessed property value, and is directly related to the payments on the loan for the 911 improvement project.

“The millage increase covers about two-thirds of the cost of the loan to cover this 911 system upgrade project, with the remaining funds coming from 911 funds which typically are used in other ways,” said Commissioner Doug Morley. “We had an outage last week due to circuit board issues. They had to scramble to find replacement parts. It’s not good to have a situation like we have now and not do anything about it.”

The budget had been open for public review for several weeks prior to its passage, with no public comment submitted, formally or informally, according to all three commissioners.

“You just have to ask yourself if you value your 911 system enough to pay the approximately-$20-per-year this is going to cost each resident to ensure that when you dial 911 that someone picks up,” said Commissioner Paul Heimel.

Commissioner Susan Kefover noted an investment of state funds to aid in expansion efforts at Morgan Advanced Materials & Technologies Inc., to support expansion of jobs at facilities in Coudersport and St. Marys. Along with nearly $200,000 in state funding through the Governor’s Action Team and the Department of Community and Economic Development, Morgan has pledged upwards of $1.5 million for upgrades and equipment purchases resulting in the creation of 41 additional jobs. The facilities currently employ nearly 450 people.

The salary board approved creation of a new position to support senior judge and specialty court activities during a meeting held just prior to the commissioners’ meeting. The position would result in approximately five hours of work per week and pay $5,000 annually to a stenographer working with the senior judge and specialty courts. The workload for those assignments has been growing, reflecting the need for an individual to handle the work and be compensated for completing it. A current employee will pick up the five hours and add it to the standard 35-hour week, eliminating the need to call in additional individuals or pay overtime, which would cost the county more than the position’s salary.

The board also set the wage increase for non-union employees for the coming year at 3 percent. Treasurer Krista Miller voted against the measure after requesting that the non-union employees be given increases equal to those of elected officials as a way to keep the two groups’ salaries increasing at an even pace. Commissioners voted to approve the 3 percent increase, stating that the amount matches that granted to union employees for the same time period.

Commissioners approved the 2019 bridge grant be awarded to Pike Township for repair of the Genesee Forks Bridge. The Genesee Fork is a tributary of Pine Creek. Funds in the county’s bridge grant program are specially-designated funds that come from Act 13 Shale Gas Impact fund collections by the state on unconventional gas well-drilling operations. The money can only be used to repair county- or municipality-owned bridges. Potter County does not own any bridges, so officials developed the bridge grant program to ensure proper disbursement of the funds.

The next meeting of the Potter County Commissioners will be held at 11 a.m. Jan. 3 at the Gunzburger Building in Coudersport.