Apr. 27—JOHNSTOWN, Pa. — Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. Austin Davis and Rick Siger, acting secretary of the Department of Community and Economic Development, plan to attend a ceremony Friday to mark Johnstown's exit from Act 47.

Local elected officials and dignitaries will also attend the event, which is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. at the Frank J. Pasquerilla Conference Center.

Johnstown will be the third municipality to leave the commonwealth's program for financially distressed municipalities since Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro took office in January.

"The Shapiro administration is focused on reigniting the economy by strengthening our communities, and (Friday's) announcement is another solid step forward in that plan," DCED said in a press release.

Johnstown entered Act 47 in 1992.

"The community has been working towards this moment for a very long time," Johnstown Mayor Frank Janakovic said in an emailed statement. "I'd like to thank all of the current and former Council members, staff and elected officials who helped the City achieve this milestone. Of course, the Act 47 team deserves a tremendous amount of credit too. The City has a lot of momentum.

"Getting out of Act 47 only serves to reinforce that the City is a great place to live, work and invest."