Bucks County transition team recommends “sweeping” reforms

From budget cuts to affordable housing, Bucks County officials are planning “sweeping” reforms in the months and years ahead.

The 153-page report, released Thursday by the county commissioners, was compiled by a group of over 60 volunteers and identified a lengthy list of cost-cutting initiatives and many other recommendations for county operations and services.

Some changes, like using locally sourced food in county facilities, will be long-term initiatives, but county departments are working to implement a 2% budget cut immediately.

While the across-the-board budget cut might seem small, the estimated $8 million that cut represents would be the equivalent of a recent county tax increase.

The county’s $452.6 million 2020 budget passed in December came with a 1-mill tax increase, expected to raise about $8 million, a previous county news release shows.

Commissioner Vice Chairman Bob Harvie said Thursday more detailed suggestions for the 2% cut should be coming from department heads and row officers by the end of the month.

The transition team was formed following a major win for Democrats in county offices, where Democratic candidates swept county offices in November and took control of the county government for the first time in 30 years.

Commissioner Chairwoman Diane Ellis Marseglia, one of the candidates re-elected in the blue wave, said the report will act as a “strategic” plan for revamping areas of county government.

“I think that we’ll pull it out, like a report card, and look at each issue and see how we’re doing,” Marseglia said.

Commissioner Gene DiGirolamo, the sole Republican commissioner and former state House member for Bensalem, praised the work of the transition team and a number of human services improvements included in their report.

Creating “year-round, temporary drop-in shelters” for the homeless and pilot-testing a rent subsidy program were included in the numerous human services recommendations in the report.

Clean energy initiatives are also included in the report, like a recommendation to purchase electricity from large solar energy providers and using 100% renewable sources by 2030.

The report cited a nationwide effort by the Sierra Club, and environmental policy advocacy group, called the Ready for 100 project.

The report noted that no municipality in Bucks County had adopted resolutions for complete clean energy like the ones created by the Sierra Club.

Charging stations for electric cars could be another amenity popping up throughout the county if officials move forward with another item proposed in the report.

Regular cybersecurity testing and revamping online access to meetings, documents and county services could also be coming as a result of the report.

Bucks County Republican Committee Chair Pat Poprik panned the report in a news release Thursday afternoon as a “wishlist” that doesn’t reflect the needs of the county.

“In this document, county Democrats have presented a vision for Bucks County that seeks to turn our beloved community into another Philadelphia. The report ignores the geographic, economic, environmental, and cultural diversity (that) makes Bucks County a great place to live, work, and raise a family,” Poprik said.

“It is disappointing to see the new Democratic Commissioners, and the report assembled by their appointees, are so focused on bringing Philadelphia-style policies to our county,” she added.

At this point, the report remains a broad list of changes that county officials can ultimately implement fully or not at all.

A full copy of the report is available online through www.buckscounty.org.