Presiding at her final work session meeting at the courthouse in Pottsville on Wednesday, Commissioner Mantura Gallagher, the first woman to chair the Schuylkill County Board of Commissioners, reflected on her four year tenure as leader of the board which comes to an end December 31. She had not sought re-election.

"On behalf of my fellow commissioners, Frank McAndrew and Frank Staudenmeier, I would like to extend my gratitude to our financial team not only for their fine work on this particular budget (the board adopted the 2012 county budget with no increase in taxes) but also for the excellent work that they have done over the last four years of this administration."During these difficult economic times, we commissioners made it clear to our staff that it was imperative to cut costs and safeguard taxpayers' money at every opportunity. Row offices and department heads stepped up to the plate to conserve resources whenever and wherever possible. As a result of their conscientious efforts to work together, we are delighted to announce for the eighth consecutive year, there will be no tax increase for the resident's of Schuylkill County. (Gallagher served for years as a minority commissioners and the last four years as the majority commissioner)."In addition to that, we have the following information to share:"When the board of commissioners took office in 2008, the December 31, 2007 audited unreserved county fund balance was $6,098,936. On January 1, 2011, the fund balance totaled a historical $11,138,290, a figure never eached in the history of Schuylkill County."In September of this year, Standard and Poors upgraded the county's bond rating from 'A' to 'A+.' As of October 31 of this year, the county's total principal on bonded debt outstanding is $10,375,000. This is the lowest the county's debt outstanding has been in 20 years."In both 2008 and 2009 budget years, we anticipated a budget shorfall, and in both years, our county managers controlled the county purse strings in such a way that we not only did not have to dip into the reserve but instead we completed each of those years with a surplus."Therefore, it is with great deal of pride that we recognize this administrative staff, our row officers and department heads and our dedicated employees for their excellent work in providing services to the citizens of Schuylkill County, while at the same time protecting their financial investment."