A motion to reopen the 2020 Carbon County budget failed after two of the three commissioners felt it was better to look ahead, rather than look behind.

Newly elected Commissioner Chris Lukasevich made the motion to reopen the budget to allow the new board to review and reconsider the figures. Commissioners Wayne Nothstein, who voted for the budget during his last term, and Rocky Ahner voted against the motion.

Ahner said he feels that the board should look ahead and see where the county can go.

“Our job is to work on the current adopted budget,” Ahner said. “Looking back, I don’t think you’re going to move to the future and there are really no numbers here on what we’re going to save. We should be working on administrating the current budget. If we go backward, it’s going to cost more money for us and are we actually going to save any money?

“My opinion is if we look at this budget and administrate it all the way through and work on the 2021 budget, we can have programs for people and we already do have rebates for them so maybe can enhance them. ... I think it would be better to work with what we got.”

Nothstein echoed Ahner’s thoughts, calling the 2020 budget, which includes a 2-mill increase, a “bare minimum budget.”

“I appreciate this board looking at the budget getting used to looking into all the offices and see what’s going on, but I feel we have a bare minimum budget,” he said. “No one wants to raise taxes but we are mandated by law to provide all kinds of services.

“I agree with what you said this morning,” Nothstein said to Lukasevich. “We need to give the employees and people the tools and training to do their job but it comes at a cost. We have to be cautious. ... I just feel it’s not a good time to do it. We can certainly address it at the end of the year.”

The motion was one of 27 Lukasevich made on the first day of his new job.

Many of the motions he made died for lack of a second, four were defeated 2-1 and six passed 3-0.

Motions that passed:

• Looking into a grant writer.

• The director of Veterans Affairs completing an assessment of veteran services to increase effectiveness.

• Beginning in 2021, all individual salary increase requests will include the most recent annual performance report.

• Beginning in 2021, all noncounty entities receiving funds from the county will provide an overview on the methods of the supported programs.

• Upload all approved minutes from various county public meetings to the county website no later than 48 hours after approval.

• The commissioners reassess the county’s liabilities associated with its position as the guarantor for liabilities associated with the former Gnaden Huetten and Palmerton Hospital, which are now owned by St. Luke’s University Health Network.