New Castle Exits Distressed Status    

After 16 years, the City of New Castle in Lawrence County is no longer considered distressed under Act 47. The state Department of Community and Economic Development announced yesterday that it has terminated New Castle’s distressed status due to its effective use of the tools offered through the Act 47 program to significantly improve its financial position and management infrastructure since entering Act 47 in 2007.    

 New Castle is the 28th municipality to recover from distressed status under Act 47 and the tenth to exit this year. After the infusion of American Rescue Plan funding and internal process improvements, there are only three remaining distressed cities and one newly distressed borough (Newville Borough in Cumberland County) in Pennsylvania, down from a high of nearly three dozen. Click here to read more.