FRANKLIN TWP — The county’s finances are solid, and manufacturing businesses have created a foundation for the economy, said Leslie Osche, chairman of the county commissioners at a Thursday, March 20, event intended to provide a snapshot of Butler County’s health.

She and other county officials, including fellow Commissioners Kim Geyer and Kevin Boozel and chief of economic development and planning Mark Gordon, updated business leaders on economic growth and an array of other topics at the Butler County Chamber of Commerce’s 2025 State of the County event at The Atrium.

Osche attributed much of the county’s growth to low tax rates, yet the county’s tax revenue is equal to or higher than expenses.

The commissioners closely work with department heads over several months to develop the annual budget, she said.

“We’re going to end with another good year, but that is because of what our department heads and folks do,” Osche said.

The county fund balance has grown from $8 million to $26 million, and $17 million of that is available for use, Osche said. Money the commissioners have been transferring into a capital project fund will cover costs for the next five years, she said.

Solid finances have allowed the county to use money from Act 13 impact fees on natural gas wells to create the infrastructure bank, which borrows money and distributes it as infrastructure grants to municipalities, Osche said.

Previous Butler Eagle reports have indicated the county has provided about $60 million in loans at low interest rates, playing a role in about $200 million worth of projects across the county over the past four years.

According to Osche, the county’s $13 billion gross domestic product ranks 18th among Pennsylvania’s 67 counties, and its growth rate is ranked ninth.

There are more manufacturers in the county than any other county, and the county helped support them by using federal funds to provide $140,000 in grants to cover soft costs, such as financing costs, for expansion projects, she said.

“I think we’re one of the only counties that really tried to assist our manufacturing community with our ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) funds as well,” Boozel said. “We’ve invested back into the community, while we invested in the county system itself.”

He said the stability of the county government has led to economic growth during the last 10 years.

The ongoing Route 228 corridor improvement project will have an economic impact of $38 billion, according to Gordon. The $49 million first phase was completed earlier than expected and under budget, and the $65 million second phase will be finished by November. Weekly meetings with contractors help keep the project on schedule and on budget, Gordon said.

A 3.2-mile section of the road is all that remains to be built, and county officials are meeting Monday in Washington, D.C., with legislators representing the county to obtain funding to complete that section, he said.

Cranberry, Middlesex and Adams townships assisted with project funding, Osche added.

Boozel said some of the $11 million generated by the $5 fee the county assesses on vehicle registrations has gone toward the Route 228 project, as well as road and bridge projects throughout the county.

Additionally, Gordon commended 11 municipalities in the county’s southern tier for joining together to help finance $39 million in stormwater improvements. He said other funding came from federal American Rescue Plan funds, and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection worked with the municipalities.

He also applauded the new $5 million sewage system in Marion Township and the $5.5 million to $6 million water and sewer replacement project at the Allegheny Clarion Valley Business Park, where 600 employees account for $30 million in total annual payroll. The business park project is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

Several officials said the county is working with Armstrong to expand broadband services to unserved and underserved areas, including service gaps in the Slippery Rock Area and Moniteau school districts.

Gordon said the expansion in the school districts will be done by the end of 2026 and will involve installing 390 miles of fiber computer line.

Geyer said the Pittsburgh-Butler Regional Airport is the fifth busiest airport in the state, and will be the site of a federally operated control tower.

The airport is home to 85,000 to 89,000 operations a year, two flight schools, charter flights, emergency medical flights, and aircraft rental and sales.

She said the tower will improve safety of the airport and community.

“There’s not many towers in Western Pennsylvania at airports. So we have an opportunity to have a regional impact other than Pittsburgh International Airport,” Geyer said.

She said the airport authority will be responsible for the design, construction and maintenance of the tower, and the tower must be completed in five years.

The Federal Aviation Administration is making $100 million out of the $600 million allocated for airports available for tower projects, she said. Federally hired employees will operate the tower.

Officials are hoping to capitalize on some of the federal funds to be able to see this project to fruition, Geyer said.

She said the Federal Aviation Administration used a cost-benefit analysis to select the airport for the tower.

A ramp at the airport was rehabilitated last year with federal funding secured by U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly, R-16th, and more than 40 acres of airport property is in a Airport Land Development Zone, which provides $2,100 in tax credits for 10 years to employers that locate and create jobs there, Geyer said.

The county is a prime location for data centers due to available electric power, natural gas and land, Osche said. She said the commissioners have met with First Energy to learn about the energy requirements of a data center and plan to meet with data center builders to learn about site requirements.

She said she would like to see an old industrial or retail site used for a data center if enough power is available. Data centers require 1.5 to 7 gigahertz of electric power, she said. For a comparison, she said, it takes 5 gigahertz to power New York City.

President and CEO of the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry, Luke Bernstein, who moderated the panel, also took time to speak about the region’s potential as an energy hub.

He said Western Pennsylvania has the potential to be the energy capital of the world.

Turning to parks, Osche said significant upgrades have been made to facilities at Alameda Park, and a forestry management plan has been developed to help control invasive species.

The county is working with Butler on renovating Diamond Park on Main Street. Plans include removing the fountain and building a pavilion for events, Osche said.

Improvement projects are also ongoing at county buildings and Alameda Park; and the next project will be building a garage for the county’s emergency response vehicles, which are currently stored at scattered sties, according to Osche.

“We are looking good into the future,” Osche said.

Boozel said building improvements include $6 million spent on renovations to the courthouse, the Butler city and Butler Township district court offices have been relocated, the election bureau was relocated to its own building and the county’s computer system has been updated.

This story was updated at March 21 to reflect that the county used American Rescue Plan Act funds to assist the manufacturing community. A previous version of this story incorrectly quoted Commissioner Kevin Boozel.