2027–2031 | A countywide financial plan focused on competitive purchasing, employee pay, essential services,
public safety, outside funding, debt discipline and measurable results.
Fayette County’s adopted 2026 General Fund budget totals $54,433,827. This plan uses that adopted budget as the starting point, then separates verified county figures from planning assumptions, market benchmarks and proposals.
Adopted revenue and expenditures are both $54,433,827.
2026 appropriation for IT Contract Services Consulting. It is a budget figure, not proof of actual spending or overpricing.
2026 adopted department total. Any restructuring must preserve lawful jury-selection functions and follow Pennsylvania law.
The first step is not a promise that every line can be cut. It is a disciplined review of recurring costs before reducing employees or essential services.
Review major contracts, consultants, outside services and agreements that may no longer be necessary or competitively priced.
Compare qualified vendors, use competitive procurement where lawful and appropriate, and evaluate total cost instead of automatically extending historical agreements.
Identify duplicate licenses, obsolete recurring subscriptions, unused services and software that can be consolidated.
Review obsolete procedures, duplicative administrative work and opportunities for technology or automation to reduce recurring cost.
Require measurable results from programs and outside organizations receiving county funds before automatically continuing expenditures.
Before new borrowing, document why it is needed, the alternatives considered, total repayment cost and the long-term public benefit.
Online prices are benchmarks only. Actual savings require verified usage, equal service requirements, contract terms, transition costs and competitive bids.
Compare managed IT on an apples-to-apples basis including help desk, onsite support, cybersecurity, backups, servers, licensing, after-hours coverage and project work.
Inventory every extension, desk phone, mobile line, fax, circuit, E911 fee, carrier charge and equipment obligation before requesting equivalent bids.
Create one countywide inventory of machines, payments, service, toner, page volume, overages, lease expirations and buyouts. Compare five-year ownership and lease alternatives on the same workload.
The 2026 adopted budget lists $200,470 for the Jury Commissioners department. The plan is to review whether the elected office can be abolished under Pennsylvania law while preserving all required jury-selection and administration functions through the courts, existing personnel, technology or a combination of those options.
The five-year planning approach freezes County Commissioner salaries for five years while modeling 3% annual salary increases for county employees. Commissioner compensation is treated separately from employee compensation so that, if Fayette County’s finances require sacrifice, the Commissioners are not giving themselves raises while asking employees and taxpayers to do more with less.
The plan includes an independent forensic and operational review focused on financial risk rather than an open-ended investigation. The review would be competitively bid, capped, and expanded only when evidence justifies additional work.
Identify departments, contracts, vendors, payments and practices with the greatest financial exposure.
Examine major contracts, procurement, vendor payments, change orders, outside organizations and internal controls.
Authorize additional forensic work only where earlier findings show a clear need.
Outside funding first: seek state, federal and other lawful funding opportunities before placing the full cost of eligible studies, infrastructure, technology, public safety or recovery initiatives on local taxpayers.
The budget philosophy is to review wasteful spending, contracts, nonessential expenditures,
operational inefficiencies and purchasing decisions.
Modeled annual employee salary growth
2027–2031
Layoffs in the plan
Savings are pursued elsewhere
Savings are not counted twice. New commitments should be made only after the recurring savings, outside funding and annual revenues needed to support them are verified.
Fund sustainable employee pay growth and invest in our employees future.
Evaluate additional lawful Sheriff support, warrant service and cooperation with municipal police while protecting the Sheriff’s existing responsibilities.
Evaluate a 25% credit against the Fayette County portion of property tax for qualifying certified active volunteer firefighters and nonprofit EMS personnel. Actual cost must be calculated from verified eligibility and tax records.
Use existing providers, nonprofits and community organizations; leverage outside funding and county matching dollars; and require measurable outcomes.
Prioritize roads, bridges, water/sewer, broadband and maintenance needs while pursuing grants and outside funding where available.
Use verified recurring savings and responsible revenue growth to reduce future borrowing pressure and improve long-term taxpayer impact.
The economic-development side of the plan focuses on the conditions county government can affect: predictable processes, job-ready sites, infrastructure, workforce partnerships, access to financing and grants, small-business information, and responsible use of county-owned resources.
Inventory contracts, phones, copiers, software, consultants and recurring services; begin competitive bidding; launch the audit/operational review process; model the first 3% employee salary increase.
Put verified bid savings into effect, remove duplication and obsolete subscriptions, modernize purchasing and processes, and continue modeled employee salary growth.
Compare projected savings with actual invoices and payroll, review vendor performance and service outcomes, and publish a budgeted-versus-actual report.
Rebid expiring major agreements where competition is appropriate, review programs for measurable outcomes, and redirect verified recurring savings toward priority needs or debt reduction.
Publish the complete five-year scorecard: contract savings, employee raises, program investments, debt decisions, outside funding secured and net taxpayer impact.
Every year the public should be able to compare the plan with the results: adopted budget, actual spending, contracts rebid, old cost, winning cost, verified savings, employee raises, new investments, outside funding, debt decisions and net taxpayer impact.
Disclosure: This is a planning framework. Adopted county figures are identified as such. Market comparisons and hypothetical user counts are illustrative unless and until Fayette County publishes actual inventory, contract terms and competitive bids. Proposed tax credits, organizational changes and new spending remain subject to applicable law, budgeting, verified costs and required approvals.