Cambria County commissioners apply for $7M loan to cover end-of-year finances

Joshua Byers, The Tribune-Democrat, Johnstown, Pa.
·2 min read

Dec. 8—EBENSBURG — The Cambria County commissioners on Thursday approved an application for a $7 million bridge loan from First National Bank to help cover end-of-the-year expenses and start the new year.

The credit will be taken out at a fixed rate of 5.99% for a 90-day term to help cover finances that need to be paid now due to a change in accounting software that will improve operations, county officials said.

"It's good business," county Controller Ed Cernic Jr. said. "It's smart business."

The county is in the midst of implementing new accounting software, and all bills for the end of the year need to be paid prior to the switch so that there are no outstanding balances during the transition.

Cernic said the county's old accounting software has been in place for more than 20 years and the company that made it doesn't make or support it anymore.

Another complication is the lack of a complete state budget, which has hampered some of Cambria County's allocations, such as Children and Youth Services, Cernic said.

He added that another option was to take out money invested in two CDs — one that expires Dec. 31 and another that will be due in June — but accessing those funds would incur a penalty, which is why he recommended the 90-day loan instead.

In other business, the commissioners approved a three-year rental of 238 square feet of space on the third floor of the Cambria County Central Park Complex in downtown Johnstown to Breaking the Barriers at a monthly rate of $462.00 to start and $298.00 by the end of the contract.

The organization is a new nonprofit formed to help navigate lives complicated by behavioral health challenges and other social determinants of health that create barriers to maintaining positive and fulfilling lives, according to its website.

President Commissioner Thomas Chernisky thanked Cernic for navigating that lease. Cernic said that the new tenant is in line with others who rent in the building.

Also passed by the board was a memorandum of understanding between Franklin County and the Cambria County Prison to house juvenile inmates at a rate of $150 per day.