A Pennsylvania county went from bust to boom times with natural gas. Now, it's nearly broke.
WAYNESBURG — Greene County is going broke.
Despite receiving millions in payouts from the natural gas industry to compensate such counties as Greene that host natural gas wells, it is struggling to balance its more than $40 million budget. This year, amid a pandemic, commissioners raised property taxes for the first time since 2010.
Without major changes, county budget office projections show that Greene may not have the revenue or reserves to cover its costs by 2023.
It’s a financial predicament that seemed all but guaranteed as the coal mining industry here has nearly disappeared, hollowing out the backbone of the local economy. That was, until the natural gas boom — and a massive influx of money that came with it — offered a different path.
The windfall seemed to buy Greene County, which is in the southwest corner of the state, time to figure out how it would survive without coal.
Read more: https://www.spotlightpa.org/news/2021/03/pa-greene-county-broke-tax-increase-gas-payouts-businesses/
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... and it seems to be more about the financial mismanagement of one county. Other Pennsylvania counties have received similar (or lower) payouts and they've done a better job of investing. All the counties were aware that the payouts would only continue for about 10 years or so. But it seems only Greene County failed to plan for the future when the gravy train ends.
