SCRANTON, LACKAWANNA COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — In 2012, Scranton was on the verge of bankruptcy, but today, the city has an A- credit rating and has managed to significantly cut down its debt from just a few years ago.

“We’ve been able to cut our debt nearly in half, which has been remarkable. That is saving taxpayers money,” Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti said.

On Wednesday, a five-year forecast was released by Pennsylvania Economy League (PEL) in partnership with The Electric City. That report shows there’s a lot more work to be done.

For this year, the city’s general fund budget is balanced; with a little more than $115,000,000 in expenses and revenue respectively. But starting next year, the gap between those numbers begins to grow.

A roughly $1,300,000 deficit is projected in 2027, growing to more than $4,000,000 by 2029 before shrinking slightly in 2030.

Scranton Five-Year Report FINALDownload

The reasoning is simple; the money coming in is expected to grow, but the money being spent is expected to grow even faster.

“The projections give the city a baseline idea of where their challenges are coming from. We actually call those the ‘Ghost of Christmas Future.’ If you take steps, they won’t happen,” Lynne Shedlock, Director of Operations for the Pennsylvania Economy League, said.

City employees are expected to make up almost 73% of all general fund spending by 2030. More than half of that is spent on essential services like police and fire.

Overall employee costs are projected to rise by more than $11,000,000 over the next five years.

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The city does have money in reserve, but the report states that using those savings to make up for shortfalls in the budget could shrink Scranton’s financial cushion to about $15,000,000 by 2030; below what the report considers best practice.

The numbers detailed in those projections are not definite. PEL says it’s still too early to say what city officials will have to do, but they recommend looking to expand sources of income and look for inefficiencies before resorting to tax increases.

Ultimately, the report aims to put the city ahead of the curve, and to hopefully prevent a crisis before it begins.

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