County Commissioner’s Meeting Recap: No Tax Hike in 2025, Personnel Reorganization, Bridge Loan for BMC, and More

By Emily Wright

LOCK HAVEN— The Clinton County Commissioners held their bi-weekly voting session on Thursday, December 5, 2024, where they approved a millage rate of 6.7 mills for 2025, which is expected to generate $14.4 million in tax revenue, with no tax increase to the public. Key approvals included an unsecured loan for Bucktail Medical Center as well as county staff promotions, resignations, and new hires, including in the county sheriff’s office. 

At the start of the meeting, Commissioner Angela Harding introduced Resolution No. 20 of 2024, which established the real estate milage rate for 2025 at a rate of 0.0067 (6.7 mills). The resolution stated that the budgeted tax income from this millage rate would be $14,407,134.00. The resolution was adopted during the meeting. 

The Commissioners also approved the 2025 budget, which includes no tax increase. Commissioner Jeff Snyder remarked, “I guess the main thing that everyone in the public wants to know is, there is no tax increase.” Chief Clerk Desiree Myers confirmed that there have been no changes since the tentative budget was initially presented.

The board approved an unsecured loan to Bucktail Medical Center (BMC) in the amount of $300,000.00, with a maturity date of January 31, 2025, with interest to accrue at 18% after that date. Commissioner Angela Harding stated that BMC had been awarded a very generous grant that they will be receiving in the next month or so, and the loan is intended to help BMC as a bridge loan until the grant is received. 

During the meeting, the board approved several personnel changes for the county. Susanne Shaffer was promoted to Supervisor of the Clinton County Domestic Relations Department, starting in January 2025, moving up from her role as Training Coordinator/Lead Conference Officer. Effective December 2, 2024, Lorie Greib was hired as a part-time custodian, and Hannah Worden as a Clerk Typist II in the prothonotary’s office.

Regarding emergency response personnel, the board accepted the resignation of Jeremiah Manning, a deputy sheriff at the Clinton County Sheriff’s office, effective December 30, 2024. Curtis Dershem also resigned as a deputy sheriff, with his resignation effective December 6, 2024. Nathan Rossey and Gunnar Vuocolo were hired as full-time Clinton County Deputy Sheriffs, both starting in early December 2024. Additionally, Bradley Harkinson was promoted to a full-time 911 dispatcher, effective November 22, 2024.

Clinton County Sheriff Kerry Stover attended the meeting and shared that Dershem and Manning’s resignations were due to offers for higher-paying positions elsewhere. “Both are moving on for higher paying jobs. That’s a loss of experience and loss of training dollars and the commitment that they made and wanted to fulfill with us,” Sheriff Stover said. “They had to take the money and I can’t blame them for that,” he added. 

Mark Long, a Clinton County native and representative for Senator Cris Dush, attended Thursday’s meeting to introduce himself as the newest member of the senator’s office. Previously, Long spent 12 years working in the state legislature for State Representative Kerry Benninghoff in Centre and Mifflin County. 

Born in Lock Haven, Long has strong personal connections to Clinton County. His wife, Monica, runs Flowers by Monica on Main Street in Mill Hall, and his family has a history in dairy farming at Cedar Springs. Monica’s family has a history of working in the Piper Aircraft business. 

Long also shared that his youngest son is pursuing both a private pilot’s license and a degree in aviation, having completed his senior project at the Piper Aviation Museum. Long’s oldest son is a full-time student at CU-Lock Haven University who also works as an emergency medical technician (EMT) with the Goodwill Hose Company Ambulance Association in Flemington.

Long emphasized that his commitment to Clinton County is both personal and professional. “I tell you all of that to let you know I’m a Clinton County resident, and [I have] more than just a professional interest in seeing Clinton County succeed and progress,” Long said. “It’s not just professional for me, it’s personal.”  

Long stated that both he and Brandy Reiter from Senator Dush’s office plan to be more visibly active in Clinton County and maintain an open-door policy to assist the county in any way they can. Long encouraged the commissioners to reach out to the senator’s office for support anytime it’s necessary.

At the end of the meeting, Sheriff Kerry Stover briefly spoke about an incident that occurred early Thursday morning before the meeting when his office received a call about a person experiencing cardiac arrest near the Clinton County Courthouse. Stover recounted that he rushed to the scene with his deputies close behind. “Deputies were doing CPR from the time we heard the call— within about a minute and a half,” he said. Two Lock Haven Police Department officers also arrived and continued CPR until EMTs and the Fire Department arrived at the scene.

Sheriff Stover took a moment to commend his deputies, the city police officers, and the fire department for their swift and effective response to the medical emergency. “That just goes to [show] what we do, and those guys in my office, in the city, and everybody in the fire service too,” he said. “They did their best, and I can’t get into any names, but just recognize that they did a good job this morning, including the city and the fire department.”

He pointed out that the public might not always realize the full scope of duties handled by the sheriff’s department, and he used this incident to emphasize the crucial work performed by his office and other local first responders. Sheriff Stover commended the efforts of his team and the other agencies in managing Thursday morning’s emergency.

The Clinton County Commissioners’ next meeting is scheduled for Monday, December 16, 2024, at 9:00 a.m. Meetings take place in person in the second-floor conference room at the Piper Building, located at 2 Piper Way in Lock Haven. Additionally, the meetings can be viewed via livestream on the “Clinton County Government” Facebook page.