The Coaldale Borough Council will take advantage of a state program that provides matching grants to municipalities experiencing fiscal difficulties.

The Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development’s Strategic Management Planning Program will allow the borough to develop comprehensive multi-year financial plans and establish financial objectives.

Council has been discussing the program for the last few months, and on Tuesday, James Rose, a local government policy specialist with DCED, explained more.

“It is a grant program where we provide grants to municipal governments and they are able to hire from a list of consultants we have who will come in and take a look at the (municipality’s) operations, finances - everything,” he said.

From there, the consultant - who is not a DCED employee - makes recommendations to the borough.

Coaldale has been discussing computer upgrades, ordinance and code updates and having specialists visit to discuss emergency protection.

The consultant can help with those issues, Rose said.

The consultant will be provided at a reduced cost. Typically, the fees are split evenly between a municipality and the state.

Coaldale will likely see a 90/10 split, with the borough paying $6,000 of the $60,000 cost for consulting services.

The program can also help with money for needed equipment.

“We could fund new computer equipment at the same 90/10 split,” he explained. If it costs $10,000 for equipment, software and training, the borough would pay 10%, or $1,000.

Rose said he knows “there are a bunch of things we can fund to help you function as well as you can function.”

He estimated that the consultant will likely come up with about 60 recommendations.

“Some of them will be minor, very small things,” he said. “We will help with those recommendations

Council voted unanimously to join the program. Council members Angela Krapf and Ken Hankey Jr. were absent.

Just recently, the borough began taking advantage of a free peer consulting program through the DCED.

The peer, who is a trained and experienced manager, is assisting in the borough office on a temporary basis.