PLYMOUTH TOWNSHIP -- Just 12 years ago, Plymouth Township could barely make payroll or fix roads because it was swimming in debt, but the state signed a declaration Tuesday, ending the Luzerne County community's distressed status.
"It's a dreary day outside. It's gray and rainy, but it's not for Plymouth Township," said township supervisor Gale Conrad. "For us, it's a sunny, bright day because it's been a long haul."
That long haul was 12 years that included four different floods that caused devastation in the township, all while the state was trying to help clean up the township's financial mess.
But now, bridge repair is just one sign of the financial recovery. Township leaders found a way to pay for flood repair and so much more.
"I still believe it's because people all wanted to do the right thing. I don't think there was a day we fought. We may have disagreed about a couple things, but it was intellectual disagreement where we problem solved," said Conrad.
The people living in Plymouth Township approved changes, including an income tax hike to 1.5 percent, a big part of the recovery from big debts.
"I was afraid to answer the phone," said township secretary Steve Grzymski. "You knew it wasn't anything good. It was most likely a vendor asking to get paid."
When Plymouth Township first entered distressed status, it barely had enough working equipment to plow and treat the roads. Now it has all new equipment and a whole new energy moving forward.
Longtime township resident Richard Myers Is happy the state no longer has to babysit the finances.
"In the last five or six years, you could see it, gradually, turning around."
The state says Plymouth Township should give hope to other distressed communities.
