The city of Altoona is waiting for a decision on whether it can exit Act 47, a financially distressed status for Pennsylvania cities. It has been five years since the city adopted a recovery plan.
Altoona entered Act 47 in 2012. It’s now up to Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development Secretary Dennis Davin to approve the city’s exit from the program. Davin has until early November to decide.
Altoona Mayor Matt Pacifico said leaving Act 47 would mean everything to the city. He said the city has diligently followed the recovery plan and the exit would be a great opportunity to attract new businesses and development.
“In the same sense, we also realize that moving forward we have to continue to stay vigilant with how we run the city, how we do things here," Pacifico said. "The last thing we want to do is end up back in Act 47 again.”
Earlier this month, the mayor of Hazelton announced that he would be filing for Act 47 status for his city.