An arbitrator ruled last week that FreightCar America must pay a year's worth of back pay and benefits to more than 200 furloughed workers -- a decision that also will benefit Franklin.
The borough can levy its "commuter tax" on those wages, and officials expect to reap an estimated $21,000.
"That will get us through 2008," said Richard McNulty, Borough Council president.
FreightCar administrators laid off the majority of their local work force last year and announced in December that the plant would close.
That was a big blow for Franklin, which has been financially distressed since 1988. Officials had relied on commuter-tax revenues to balance their bare-bones budget.
In preparing their 2008 spending plan, officials projected a $40,000 drop in revenue and tried to cut expenses accordingly. That included elimination of the borough's full-time road crew, leaving only part-timers available to plow snow.
While a one-time infusion of $21,000 is no windfall, it is a big help for a borough with a $146,873 budget this year.
"I never thought that we would get that money," McNulty said. "I thought it was just lost."
The longtime councilman said the borough's finances are relatively stable this year, though he expressed concern about 2009.
With expenses slashed to a minimum -- even police services are outsourced to neighboring East Conemaugh Borough -- there are no big sources of revenue on the horizon for Franklin.
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