FRANKLIN TWP — The Butler County Commissioners struck a measured but urgent tone Thursday, March 19, as they outlined the region’s economic trajectory.

From potential data centers and business expansions to housing developments and infrastructure projects, there’s ample opportunities for growth, the commissioners said at the Butler County Chamber of Commerce’s annual State of the County event.

But the potential brings challenges like a “not too distant” need to reassess property taxes, expenses that outpace revenue and a heightened demand for already strained ambulance services.

The county is preparing to face these challenges, the commissioners assured those who attended the early morning event held at the Atrium.

“We don’t want to do this in a poorly planned environment,” Commissioner Leslie Osche said about the potential of reassessing property taxes. “We don’t want to be caught off guard.”

She and the other commissioners, Kim Geyer and Kevin Boozel, fielded questions during a panel discussion that touched on economic development priorities, infrastructure demands tied to emerging industries and a deepening EMS staffing crisis.

Osche started the event by going over the county’s finances, saying the county, from a budget standpoint, is “relatively steady.”

“We have had some growth because the county is growing,” Osche said. “We are very fortunate that our tax revenue continues to grow at a slow, but steady pace. Our tax revenue has come to just shy of 2% (growth) year over year for the past 10 years.”

In addition to taxes, the county has other revenue streams, such as from government entities and the interest made by county investments through county Treasurer Diane Marburger.

“That revenue growth between taxes and other revenues, in total, it comes to about 6% and the expense is growing at 7%,” Osche said. “We were managing for a while, but in the last budget cycle, it caught up.”

Act 13 funds from Marcellus Shale natural gas drilling has given the county “flexibility” in recent years.

But after introducing the 2026 budget in November, county commissioners had to tighten belts to eliminate what would have been an $11.76 million deficit.

The commissioners would go on to unanimously adopt the $249.8 million budget, which included $84.60 million from the general fund and $8.09 million from the county’s fund balance.

The fund balance, Osche said, has proved important, helping the county navigate a state budget impasse just last year. While other counties have laid off staff or took on debt to continue services, Butler County was able to pay for continued services until the state paid the county back.

“Our goal now is to look at our projections for the next five to 10 years and say, ‘How can we manage this budget and growth, but also project where revenue is going to be, so we can do this balancing act (and) so we can continue to provide services and not put a tax burden on our community?’” Osche said.

Many counties across Pennsylvania, including Butler County, use outdated property data for tax purposes. Butler County’s last reassessment was in 1969. To move forward with reassessment in the “not too distant” future, the county needs to be prepared, Osche said.

It’s expensive, Mark Gordon, county economic development and planning chief, commented, noting the price tags in the millions associated with such initiatives in Mercer and Beaver counties.

Because of this, there’s no timeline yet determined for reassessment, Osche said.

While Osche applauded the county’s ability to keep its departments staffed, Boozel explained how ambulance services in Butler County have been cited as among the most “at risk services.”

While it is not an issue unique to Butler County, the situation is not getting better. He said he anticipates the county to lose another EMS provider by the end of the year. VA Butler Fire and Emergency Services had already discontinued its ambulance service in late February.

“Fire and EMS falls on the municipality,” Boozel said. “The municipalities are in a position where they can only charge half a mill for that service. They are not able to fund them at an appropriate level when they are only receiving about 60% of the revenue back of what they are paying for that service. I don’t think many places can run on 60 cents on the dollar.”

Reimbursements don’t cover the bills ambulance services rack up while responding to calls for help, and while many Butler County municipalities have opted to put a tax on residents and send it to EMS, others have not.

Boozel said first responders and volunteers who operate those response systems are critical, but we cannot put the full burden on them as they are just average people trying to raise their families.

He credited the EMS programs at Butler County Community College, which are funded by the county, for helping provide more workers for the industry, but more will be needed to keep the systems running.

“At the end of 2026, those funds run out,” Boozel said. “This is not a county-level issue. We put a Band-Aid on a boo-boo.”

Supporting EMS is not directly tied to county government, he explained. Municipalities — townships, boroughs and cities — are responsible for providing the services to residents.

“It may be our monkeys, but it’s not our circus,” he said.

The county’s efforts put an estimated extra 25 EMTs in the backs of ambulances in Butler County.

“We’re better than most, but the concern I have is for how long,” he said.

Another potential opportunity being explored by Butler County officials is attracting data centers to the region as artificial intelligence infrastructure transforms how we live.

New developments have yet to reach Butler County, but there has been some new project announcements, such as in Beaver County, where Shippingport Borough Council approved zoning modifications in early February to accommodate a $10 billion data center campus planned for the site of the former Bruce Mansfield coal-fired power plant.

“Data centers put a lot of fear into communities,” Boozel said. “One is noise, they are energy hogs and heat displacement. There is rational fear.”

Meanwhile, Osche and Geyer spoke to the potential benefits of the data centers, such as potential tax revenue and job opportunities.

“It’s not if, it’s when,” Osche said about the potential of data centers, which must “bring their own energy source,” according to the commissioners.

Still, Osche expressed caution.

“I want to see what is happening out in the world first, so we make sure we get it right,” Osche said. “But my emphasis is we need to support the people we have here.

“We have Iron Mountain so how do we help them expand. We have a manufacturer in the county who I won’t name who needs an energy supply. If there is a discussion to be had, I want to protect what we have here.”

Thanks to initiatives such as Power Northwest, which aims to bring municipalities and government officials to the table to discuss the future of AI infrastructure in Western Pennsylvania, discussions on how to expand Iron Mountain can take place, Osche said.

“(Power Northwest) is saying we have incredible assets in the northwest part of the state,” Osche said. “How do we take advantage of some of the economic drivers that are now coming down the pipeline and some of the new technology stuff with AI and how do we get in that game.”

Gordon was able to provide some updates on capital projects in Butler County — such as the Route 228 expansion project, which so far has racked up a $116 million bill that will continue to grow as the project moves along.

Gordon said the final stretch of the project — a 3.2 mile section from Franklin Road to Pittsburgh Street — is underway, but the final portion is likely to be the project’s most expensive portion yet.

“We have done a very effective job in conjunction with PennDOT and with our partners,” Gordon said. “The last six years have been inflationary with regards to construction costs.

The work that has been completed so far has come in under budget and on time. That is incredible when you look at the investment so far.”

That last section will cost north of $110 million Gordon said and according to PennDOT, design work for the last leg of the Route 228 improvement project is slated to wrap up in late 2027.

“For those of you that live around there, you see the development,” Gordon said. “One of the strategies behind (the) project was, let’s find out what the economic impact was prior to the investment.

“It was already sitting at $28 billion of GDP along that 10.4 mile stretch. Now, that is north of $30 billion.”

That is because Cranberry Township is home to corporate hubs, such as MSA Safety, Giant Eagle and Westinghouse Electric Company, but Gordon also noted two major grocery chains are coming to Butler County and the Route 228 corridor will be a key infrastructure piece to helping those stores be a success.

Wegmans will be opening a location in Cranberry Township in coming years near the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex, while Meijer announced plans to build a location at the intersection of Route 228 and Franklin Road and another in Jackson Township.

“Competition brings better prices, brings more variety and brings a lot to the quality of life in the county,” Gordon said. “Quality of life is why people come to Butler County to live.”

The commissioners and Gordon also took a moment to recognize growth coming at Coherent and Cleveland-Cliffs.

Coherent and Nvidia recently made a joint announcement Nvidia plans to invest $2 billion toward Clinton Township-based Coherent’s manufacturing facilities, with a focus on AI technology. Additionally, Coherent announced last summer it was extending its partnership with Apple.

Cleveland-Cliffs is currently working with Butler Township to move toward approval of a planned $195 million upgrade and expansion of the steel processing line at the company’s Butler Works facility.

During the event, Geyer touted BC3, which is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year.

She went over some of the college’s efforts she thinks will enhance Butler County’s workforce and way of life.

“BC3 has launched a discrete campaign,” Geyer said. “With the new BC3 Foundation director Mikayla Moretti leading the effort, the goal is to raise funds that will benefit students, strengthen the community and foster a new spirit of workforce innovation.

“They hosted an event called A Toast To What’s Next. They want to implement a scholarship program to support students in need. They want to encourage student-led initiatives.”

BC3 has invested in the campus with updates to the walking trail and student union. The latter now has Butler-based Vintage Coffeehouse inside providing food and coffee, she highlighted.

Geyer also noted the Butler Township-based nonprofit Lifesteps will be taking over the preschool in the college’s creative learning center this August and recognized new X-ray labs provided by Independence Health System in the Victor K. Phillips Nursing and Allied Health Building.

“This is the community’s college,” Geyer said. “Anyone from the community is encouraged to visit the campus, whether you are a student or not. We all contribute toward the taxes that support the college. In addition, you can also visit the library that was recently built.”