WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — Williamsport Mayor Derek Slaughter is ready for his third year as the man in charge of the city. Most of his time as mayor has been plagued by the ongoing Pennsylvania Attorney General investigation into the city's finances.
"Not knowing the accurate picture of the money and what we are dealing with in each of the accounts makes it very, very difficult to run a city from an accounting standpoint," said Mayor Slaughter.
A 2019 audit of River Valley Transit, the city's public transportation system, shows a debt of more than $10 million. RVT is funded by state and federal grants, meaning it should never encounter debt. Now the city may have to pay some of that money back.
"One of the options that has been discussed is that they will lower our allocation each year to the Williamsport Bureau of Transportation until we have paid back the state and federal government," said Slaughter.
The city is also operating out of the Trade and Transit buildings located on Third Street. The City Hall building still stands condemned, empty, and with poor air quality after storm damage last year.
"So council and administration will have to meet to determine the future of City Hall. Obviously, we had another major leak there in December," said Slaughter.
With all this going on, the city was still able to make improvements. Slaughter is working with the Williamsport Police to jump-start a new program in the department.
"We also went from 47 to 48 officers on the force. We are looking to do a mental health/behavioral health/critical intervention team here in Williamsport."
Last year, the city sent out a survey to the citizens of Williamsport, asking them what they would like to see improved in 2022. The number one answer was parks and recreation. The city will work with the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources over the next year to make additions and improvements to all of its parks across Williamsport.
"We want to give them that TLC that is needed, the facelift, so to speak, to get them back in useable condition, so the parks are looking good," said Slaughter.
Improvements include repairing Memorial Pool, revitalizing the baseball fields in Brandon Park, and the addition of a splash and bike park in Shaw Park.
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