Greenville Pennsylvania has been in financial distress for more than 21 years, but now they’re back in the green.

With the turn around, lifelong residents felt a weight was lifted off their shoulders and are hoping for things in the borough to pick up.

“A lot should be more done with the buildings that we have. They should be trying to fix those up,” Martha Calenda, a Greenville resident said. 

“It just put a little bit of a black cloud over businesses trying to succeed in the town,” Leslie Hite, a Greenville resident and manager of Joe & Company, a downtown business, said about the financial distress. 

At one point, Greenville was $7,000,000 in debt, with past administrators to blame. 

“It was poor management practices. It was not understanding everything that's going on,” Rick Vilello, Pennsylvania Deputy Secretary for Community Affairs & Development said. 

To recover, they had to add a water and sewer tax and make cuts - shortening staff in almost all departments including at the police and fire stations. Even though the borough is now out of financial distress, the mayor said they don’t plan to reverse those cuts. 

Looking to the future, some downtown businesses are already planning investments to bring downtown back to the old days. 

“We have a little pastry shop in the front here that we're going to expand on a little bit then we’re going to open the bakery,” Hite said. “Joe’s (& Company) we like to say ‘it’s a place where people come to stay.’”

Administrators are turning their focus to economic development and adapting to current times. 

“Eliminate blight and keep the ball going the right direction,” Vilello said, 

“We’re on the track right now of being about 120 to 200 thousand dollars in the good to put towards the capital improvements and infrastructure moving forward,” Paul Hamill, the mayor of Greenville said. “People are starting to see changes, they're starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.”