SCRANTON -- The city of Scranton is set to get a major and much-needed cash infusion from the sale of the Scranton Sewer Authority.
The Scranton Sewer Authority serves both Scranton and Dunmore. Both municipalities are set to benefit when the authority is sold to Pennsylvania American Water for $195 million.
Scranton's mayor says its share of the cash could be a factor in removing the city's "financially distressed" status with the state, and that could have long-term benefits for the city.
We asked him if taxpayers would see any benefits from the sale in the short term.
His city is set to get its largest single cash infusion in recent memory and Scranton Mayor Bill Courtright says there's still a lot to figure out.
The sewer authority is expected to be sold to Pennsylvania American Water for $195 million.
Subtract $70 million in sewer authority debt, then take away the roughly 20 percent that will go to the borough of Dunmore.
There's an estimated $96 million left for Scranton.
Mayor Courtright says the money will be used in various ways.
"I know the perception is, out there, that all the money is going to go into the pensions. We haven't decided that. We have financial people looking at what is going to be best for the city. And it could be a combination of all three," said Courtright.
Courtright says those three areas include:
- existing city debt with high interest rates
- the pension funds for city employees
- city projects - such as paving roads and fixing buildings
There's already a city-wide paving project in the works that could be expanded. The mayor would also like to see improvements at firehouses and city hall.
An already scheduled tax increase for 2017 would not immediately change.
"I believe the plan right now calls for approximately a four percent tax increase. It was always our goal for it to be less than that. I don't want to go out on a limb and say it is going to be less than that, but that's our goal, to drive that down even lower than what it is."
That's a point many city residents disagree with. Taxpayers feel they should be the first to see a benefit.
Taxpayers who spoke with Newswatch 16 say they wouldn't want all of the sewer authority money to be spent paying off debts.
"It should really go for paving, that's number one," said city resident Donald Novack.
"Our firefighters, police officers, if it could reduce our taxes, even better," added Philip Longo.
Mayor Courtright also told us that he does not plan to use the money from the sewer authority to pay one of the city's largest outstanding bills: more than $30 million in back pay owed to the police and fire unions.
The deal to sell the Scranton Sewer Authority should be finalized this fall.
