After a 101-day stalemate -- the longest in the nation -- Pennsylvania lawmakers enacted a state budget. The $27.8 billion spending plan relies on taxes, fees and federal stimulus money and surpluses. The proposals and fallen-through deals, handshake agreements and failed accords have been chronicled in the pages of The Indiana Gazette. They include reaction from local legislators, elected officials, state employees and all those affected by the impasse. In addition, the Gazette's periodic series "Running on Empty" details the effects the budget impasse has on Indiana County-area service agencies and other groups that rely on state funding. Below is a timeline of the major events of the state budget process, in addition to letters to the editor, photographs and articles that detail the state's spending plan, and lack thereof, on Indiana County.
Created by IndianaGazette on Oct 3, 2009
Last updated: 03/11/10 at 02:21 AM
Tags: Pennsylvania budget impasse Indiana Gazette
By MARK SCOLFORO, Associated Press Writer
HARRISBURG - Pennsylvania lawmakers and Gov. Ed Rendell warned repeatedly about shared pain in recent months as their epic battle over a new state budget dragged on and on.
The fine print of the $27.8 billion spending plan for 2009-10 that Rendell finally signed Friday shows they weren't just crying wolf.
With the budget enacted, and plans under way to get money flowing again, government officials now must determine how their new funding levels will affect the programs they run.
A spreadsheet released by the Rendell administration Saturday puts the total general fund reduction across state government at 1.8 percent, or $524 million less than last year's $28.3 billion figure.
``In some agencies they'll have to take a good look at how they're allocating their funds and how they're allocating their personnel,'' Rendell spokesman Gary Tuma said Saturday. ``They might have to look at their cuts and see if, perhaps, they can do things differently.''
Tuma said state government layoffs are probable but a precise number has not been determined.
The Department of Community and Economic Development, home to grant programs that fuel business growth, lure out-of-state employers and help towns and cities rebuild, took the biggest percentage cut, down 53 percent to $265 million.
Department spokesman Mark Shade said it could have been worse.
``It does hurt from a program standpoint,'' Shade said. ``But the money is spread, I think, pretty evenly. Early on in the budget process it looked like a lot of those programs weren't going to float at all. So we do feel somewhat relieved that we'll be able to continue doing what we've been doing, although at a drastically reduced level.''
Similar reductions were made in other areas. Rendell pointed out during a news conference held to announce he had signed the main budget bills that 142 of 657 line items were zeroed out, and another 360 were lower than last year.
Funding was completely eliminated in many corners of state government, from programs that educate children about drugs or advertise the state's tuition account program to efforts to promote a ``transition to organic farming'' or attract filmmakers to Pennsylvania.
Labor and Industry was cut by $29 million, nearly a quarter of its budget, and entirely lost vocational rehabilitation, entrepreneurial assistance and self-employment assistance line items.
Conservation and Natural Resources took a 19 percent hit, including more than half of what it spent on forest pest management and $9.3 million from its state parks operations.
Historical and Museum Commission support for each of eight museums was down more than 50 percent, and the Public Television Network's total state subsidy, $11.3 million, was eliminated.
The Scotland School for Veterans' Children in Franklin County will be closed for good, and there is transition money to shut down the Scranton State School for the Deaf.
In the Department of Environmental Protection alone, which was reduced by $58 million, or 27 percent, line items that got no funding included climate change initiatives, the consumer energy program and an $11 million safe water effort.
The state Senate's budget fell 9.6 percent to $92 million, while the House of Representatives took a 3.8 percent cut, to $185 million. The Legislature lost its $48,000 to buy flags and $454,000 to conserve flags and rare books.
The state's judicial branch sustained a nearly 10 percent reduction, to $277 million.
Although the Department of Public Welfare's budget fell only 1.7 percent, a relatively modest cut, it soaked up $1.7 billion in federal stimulus money, creating the potential for a massive shortfall once that money goes away in less than two years.
``I still have great qualms about what's going to occur'' in fiscal year 2011-12, without the federal stimulus money, Rendell said Friday night. ``Those are challenges we have to consider, but this budget is a good one, it's a realistic one.''
Long-delayed state checks will soon be moving again. Treasury Department employees were working through the holiday weekend to start paying about $3 billion in overdue expenditures.
Treasury spokesman Carrie Fischer Lepore said Saturday that about 9,000 are being given priority treatment, including payments for public welfare, child care, homeless shelters, public libraries, special education and veterans services.
The money will arrive not a moment too soon for some organizations, said Tony Ross, president of the United Way of Pennsylvania.
``If the checks are not there in the next week, they're going to have to shut down,'' Ross said.
Rendell was noncommittal about having the state pay the cost of borrowing for agencies that have taken out loans to make ends meet.
http://www.indianagazette.com/articles/2009/10/12/news/region_and_state/10025582.txt
By PETER JACKSON, Associated Press Writer
HARRISBURG - Pennsylvania's latest budget crisis may have provided 101 reasons to revolutionize the way business is done at the Capitol, but a shortage of reasons has never been what's holding up reforms.
That stems from a lack of will, or at least the same lack of consensus that has annually stalled the budget in recent years.
Four years ago, a legislative pay raise in the middle of the night so angered voters that they cleaned house - the House of Representatives, that is, and the Senate - in the next election and demanded action to stop such schemes in the future.
In 2007, a partisan logjam made the budget 17 days late and caused a one-day layoff of nearly 24,000 state employees that shut down state parks, museums and driver licensing centers.
The just-concluded 101-day impasse - the nation's longest in 2009 - bruised the morale of tens of thousands of state employees, who had to temporarily forgo at least part of their July paychecks, and forced many social service providers to either borrow money to stay in operation, lay off employees or shut down altogether.
``The culture in Harrisburg doesn't work,'' Dan Onorato, Allegheny County's highest-ranking elected official and a candidate for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in 2010, said last week.
So far, reforms have been modest.
Late-night voting sessions have been banned, and the lawmaking process is generally more open, thanks to rule changes in both houses. Legislators overhauled the state Right-to-Know Law, but only after carving out significant loopholes for the previously exempt legislative and judicial branches. More far-reaching reform proposals, such as limits on campaign contributions and term limits for legislators, have gone nowhere.
Making laws, like making sausage, isn't pretty. Dissension and discord are natural in an institution that exists to bring together conflicting viewpoints about what the role of government should be. The challenge is knowing where to draw the line between what's acceptable and what's not - and how to avoid crossing it.
Just as natural are promises of reform from politicians seeking to set themselves apart from the crowd.
`Every candidate that takes to the stump is going to, at some level, call themselves a reformer,'' said Christopher Borick, a professor and pollster at Muhlenberg College in Allentown.
Onorato, who faces as many as four opponents in the Democratic primary next spring, has not spelled out specific proposals. But he calls reform a cornerstone of his campaign and promises to lay out his plan in one of a half-dozen policy papers that he says he'll release later this year or early next year.
``As governor, I will spend the first part of my administration looking at real reform and how we reduce the costs of government, how we streamline government,'' he said.
Tom Corbett, the state attorney general and candidate for the Republican nomination for governor, has criticized the secretive program that allows legislative leaders to annually dole out tens of millions of dollars in grants for lawmakers' pet projects without the scrutiny that other state grants receive.
Corbett also oversees a nearly three-year-old investigation into alleged legislative corruption that so far has resulted in charges against a dozen people associated with the House Democratic caucus. In response to criticism that the probe is politically motivated, he has implied that Republicans also will be charged.
``You would expect that Corbett (has) a long reform list at this point,'' said Timothy Potts, a co-founder of the reform advocacy group Democracy Rising PA, which plans to press the Legislature next year to authorize a statewide referendum on whether to hold a constitutional convention.
Potts and Borick are skeptical of candidates' promises of reform and said many voters are hungry for meaningful change in the aftermath of the latest budget battle.
``I think the public is going to want to see something that engenders confidence'' in a candidate's determination to fight for reform, Borick said.
``The job of the Legislature and the governor is to make government work,'' said Potts, ``and they failed to do that job.''
Peter Jackson is the Capitol correspondent for The Associated Press in Harrisburg. He can be reached at pjackson(at)ap.org.
http://www.indianagazette.com/articles/2009/10/12/news/region_and_state/10025583.txt
By The Associated Press THE BIG PICTURE: n $27.8 billion in overall spending (includes $700 million in discretionary funds held up in House) n Relies on taxes, fees, federal stimulus money and surpluses n Cuts overall spending by 1.8 percent from last year’s expected final spending of $28.32 billion n Maintains current state tax rates on personal income and sales n Relies on an estimated $200 million in fees and taxes from legalizing table games at slot-machine casinos n Relies on an estimated $60 million from anticipated leasing of state forest land for natural gas exploration SPENDING: n Boosts spending on public school operations and instruction by nearly $299 million, or 5.7 percent n Cuts Department of Community and Economic Development by 11 percent to $707.9 million n Cuts Department of Environmental Protection by nearly 27 percent to $159 million n Boosts Department of Corrections by 11 percent to $1.8 billion n Cuts Department of Public Welfare by nearly 1 percent to $10.5 billion TAXES: n Increases the state tax on cigarette sales by 25 cents a pack, to $1.60, to raise $97 million n Imposes a new sales tax on “little cigars” at the same rate as cigarettes to raise $16 million n Raises the capital stock and franchise tax that some businesses pay from 1.89 mills to 2.89 mills to raise $374 million n Imposes a new 5.9 percent gross receipts tax on some managed care organizations to raise $316 million, replacing an expiring assessment n Redirects 2 percent of slot-machine gambling revenues into the state’s general fund for four years; the money currently benefits Pennsylvania’s race horse industry n Transfers revenue generated by an existing 25-cent portion of the state cigarette tax from a special fund that helps doctors and hospitals buy medical malpractice insurance coverage to raise $171 million SURPLUSES: n Transfers $755 million from the “rainy day” contingency fund n Transfers $808 million from medical malpractice insurance coverage funds n Transfers $143 million from the Oil & Gas Lease Fund n Transfers $150 million from the Tobacco Endowment account n Transfers $44 million from an automobile insurance fund ONE-TIME REVENUE ITEMS: n Accelerates the deadline for sales tax collections to raise $217 million in 2009-10 n Accelerates the deadline for income tax collections to raise $159 million in 2010-11 n Generates an estimated $190 million from a program that allows the repayment of back taxes without the penalty fees or half of the interest payments that normally apply CONSIDERED, BUT DISCARDED: n Imposing a new severance tax on natural gas extraction based on both the value and volume of the gas n Legalizing and taxing video poker terminals in restaurants and bars n Imposing a new sales tax on the price of admission to live stage performances, museums, zoos and parks n Raising the state personal income tax by 16.3 percent for three years n Imposing a new excise tax on sales of loose tobacco and chewing tobacco n Raising the weekly limits on small games of chance fundraisers and imposing a 20 percent tax on ticket sales Sources: Rendell administration, Senate Republicans.
By MARC LEVY, Associated Press Wrier HARRISBURG - Gov. Ed Rendell and the politically divided Legislature finally signed off on a state budget Friday night, resolving a multibillion-dollar, recession-driven shortfall and ending Pennsylvania's 101-day budget stalemate, the nation's longest this year. Rendell and top legislators acknowledged that the inexcusable delays in negotiating the state's $27.8 billion spending plan would overshadow what they otherwise defended as a strong budget that protects crucial services amid the state's worst shortfall since the Great Depression. Just before 9 p.m., Rendell signed the key pieces of the spending plan - the primary appropriations bill and a companion bill tapping more than $1.5 billion from the state's reserves - after a flurry of votes in the House and Senate. In a somber news conference, he also promised quick action to move money to school districts and social services providers that were left to fend for themselves and their wards without the billions of dollars in state subsidies on which they normally rely. ``I believe there is no reason to celebrate the signing of the budget,'' Rendell told reporters. ``That's not because it isn't a good budget, and it is, it's a responsible budget and it does good things for the state of Pennsylvania. But it took entirely too long. There's no excuse for us having put the people of Pennsylvania, many of whom depend desperately upon the services we provide, to put them through over three months of waiting.'' Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi, R-Delaware, sounded many of the same notes, but pointed to some inevitable factors, including the recession, as well as Rendell's ambitious goals and an inexperienced House leadership. ``I think there's a sense of fatigue and disappointment that the process took so long,'' Pileggi said. ``I think that overshadows that fact that the budget is one that is a sound budget, from fiscal standpoint, and I think a well-crafted budget that positions us well for the recovery in the state's economy and the nation's economy.'' Many advocates for the poor were disgusted by the delay in money for services. However, given the state's huge shortfall, advocates for children, hospitals, the environment and others were cheered by a budget that they say could have brought far worse consequences. Overall, the appropriations bill cuts spending by more than 1 percent, while boosting spending on operations and instruction in public schools by $300 million, or 5.7 percent, a level Rendell insisted upon. It does not raise the state tax rates on sales or income, Pennsylvania's two biggest sources of revenue. Some strings are still hanging loose. Negotiations on one puzzle piece of the budget - the legalization of table games at slot-machine casinos - were expected to drag into next week because of lingering disagreements between the House and Senate. Poker, blackjack and other games are expected to produce $200 million in taxes and fees for the state treasury, forcing the hold up of $700 million in discretionary funding for universities, museums and others to ensure a balanced budget, officials said. The money could be authorized once a table games bill passes. On the way to this agreement, Democrats fought off efforts by Republicans to make deeper cuts in spending, while Republicans resisted calls by Democrats to increase the income tax. Two previous handshake deals among budget negotiators fell apart, leaving raw feelings in the Capitol. The hard-fought budget relies on a blend of federal budget aid, transfers from reserve funds, spending cuts and nearly $500 million in new taxes on businesses that pay the capital stock and franchise tax and sales of cigarettes and little cigars. The plan also relies on leasing more state forestland to natural gas exploration companies - a provision that drew heated criticism from environmental advocates. House Republicans were the only caucus to oppose the agreement, protesting unwise tax increases that they say push spending to unsustainable levels. Groups that represent hospitals, doctors and horse breeders also protested plans to divert money from reserves that benefit their members. ``Businesses across Pennsylvania are closing or downsizing, people are being affected. Taxes are not the answer for these folks as they are already paying more for food, insurance, energy and almost everything else,'' said Republican leader Rep. Sam Smith, R-Jefferson, in a prepared statement. ``With more than a billion dollars in new or increased taxes, billions in federal stimulus dollars, and now, by draining the Rainy Day Fund and the Health Care Provider Retention Account and raiding the Tobacco Endowment Fund, we are positioned on a giant funding cliff if the economy doesn't swing back strongly in a year.'' Smith said he and the House Republicans believe a compromise budget could have been passed in June. ``However, others wanted people to suffer and wanted to create a crisis, leading to real suffering and hardship.'' State Rep. Dave Reed, R-Indiana, said the budget allows the state to live outside of its means. And he said it exemplifies the need for reforms and meaningful budget deadlines. ``We must bring an end to the era where just a few individuals can hold the budget for the entire state hostage,'' he said. Staff members in the governor's budget office and the Treasury Department were prepared to work through the weekend to speed payments as quickly as possible to schools, local governments and services providers that rely on the billions of dollars in state subsidies that have been delayed. Without the money, counties, school districts and the private organizations and businesses that deliver many of Pennsylvania's social services to the poor are borrowing money, putting off bills, laying off workers and cutting services. Many day-care agencies closed, many preschools did not reopen in the fall and people waited longer for services, such as mental health counseling. On Aug. 5, Rendell signed a $12.8 billion partial budget to ensure that paychecks flowed to tens of thousands of state employees, government offices and state prisons remained open and health care for the poor, disabled and elderly stayed intact. But, unhappy with GOP refusals to agree to allow more spending, he vetoed nearly $13 billion that had been endorsed by Republicans for social services, school subsidies and more in an attempt to pressure them to authorize more money for those programs.
By The Associated Press A timeline of events in Pennsylvania’s state budget stalemate: n Feb. 4: Despite a growing deficit, Gov. Ed Rendell proposes to increase spending in fiscal 2009-10 by 2.6 percent to $29 billion. n May 4: Senate votes along party lines to pass a $27.3 billion, no-tax-increase, GOP budget that would represent a 3.3 percent reduction in spending. n June 16: Rendell calls for a three-year, 16.3 percent increase in the state income tax to balance his $29 billion plan. n June 30: State Supreme Court agrees to review a lower court’s ruling that state employees cannot be paid without an enacted budget. n July 1: Fiscal 2009-10 begins with no budget, leaving the state unable to pay most bills or meet payroll. n July 3: About 1,000 employees of the state court system receive partial paychecks in the first of wave of what state government unions call “payless paydays.” n July 17: House passes Democrats’ $29.1 billion plan with no income-tax increase and no money for $1.3 billion in higher education subsidies. n July 18: The state goes deeper into the fiscal year without an enacted budget than in any other year since 1991. n July 20: Senate passes a revised, $27.1 billion GOP no-tax-increase budget. n July 28: Hundreds of state employees facing disappearing paychecks hold a raucous demonstration at the Capitol. n July 31: More than 33,000 executive-branch employees miss entire paychecks. n Aug. 5: Rendell signs a $12.8 billion partial budget bill designed to pay state workers and provide health care for the poor and disabled. n Aug. 17: Social-service providers demonstrate at Capitol over loss of subsidies, warning of layoffs and closures. n Sept. 11: Three-caucus budget agreement is announced, but Rendell threatens a veto, prompting new negotiations. n Sept. 18: Rendell joins leaders of House Democrats and both parties in the Senate in announcing a second agreement. n Oct. 2: Opposition by rank-and-file House Democrats forces changes to the Sept. 18 deal that in turn are rejected by Senate Republicans. n Oct. 7: House passes key appropriations bill in state’s $27.8 billion spending package, 107-93. n Oct. 9: Senate passes the bill, 42-7, and Rendell signs it.
By MARC LEVY Associated Press Writer HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The state Senate is returning to the Capitol on the 100th day of Pennsylvania's budget stalemate, and action on two major bills is possible. The Senate's voting session Thursday could include a vote on the $27.8 billion appropriations bill that came over from the House 12 hours ago. However, Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi says the chamber must first look at the changes made by the House before taking action. In addition, the Senate may advance a bill to legalize and tax table games at the state's slot-machine casinos. Legalizing table games is a key element of lawmakers' efforts to find new tax revenue to offset the state government's huge, recession-driven revenue shortfall. Significant differences remain with the House over details of that bill.
By MARK SCOLFORO
Associated Press Writer
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Two critical budget bills passed the Pennsylvania House Wednesday, but on the eve of the budget impasse's 100th day disputes remained over proposals to drill for gas on state land and tax table games at casinos.
The House approved a tax package, 102-96 with a single Republican vote, sending it to Gov. Ed Rendell. Hours later the House also sent over to the Senate the budget's primary spending bill, on a 107-93 vote.
Even supporters found a good deal to criticize in the $27.8 billion appropriations bill that made deep cuts to a broad range of state government services and eliminated more than a few popular programs.
``There are a thousand things that I don't like in this budget, but there's one thing we all like, and that's those people we represent that we need to help,'' said Rep. Bud George, D-Clearfield. ``So let's help them by passing a budget and getting the stalemate off our heads.''
House Republicans argued that taxes were being increased too much and the spending cuts were insufficient.
``This bill is one of the largest tax increases ever on the citizens of Pennsylvania, and the fact of the matter is that we do not need a tax increase to have a responsible budget,'' said Minority Whip Mike Turzai, R-Allegheny.
The tax package, which had previously passed the Senate, increases cigarettes by a quarter a pack and subjects some businesses to a higher capital stock and franchise tax, although some other business taxes were lowered.
It did not include several tax increase proposals that had generated heated debate over the past months, including on retail sales, personal income, gas drilling, arts tickets, small games of chance and smokeless tobacco. The economic downturn has left Pennsylvania with a massive revenue hole to fill — its collections were nearly $3.3 billion below projections for the fiscal year that ended June 30.
Also included in the revenue measure were a tax amnesty program and the withdrawal of hundreds of millions from the state's rainy day fund and an account that helps doctors pay malpractice premiums. Rendell's staff said he planned to sign it.
Rep. Greg Vitali, D-Delaware, said the spending bill reduced environmental programs too dramatically.
``The viciousness of the cuts to the Department of Environmental Protection reflects more an attitude, a contempt for environmental protection, than it does a need to marshal scarce resources,'' Vitali said.
Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi, R-Delaware, signaled the appropriations bill faced good odds of passage in his chamber but stopped short of endorsing it.
``While I would very much like to say we have an agreement, given the 100-day history of this budget saga, the Senate will review the document in detail after it passes the House,'' Pileggi said. That review could take all day Thursday, he said.
Earlier in the day, the House approved a bill consolidating statutes that govern state constables and providing funding for full-time district attorneys. An Associated Press series last year recounted examples of criminal misconduct by constables, who serve warrants and perform other duties for the state's low-level district courts.
The quick progress of budget legislation in recent days came after months of partisan debate over taxes and cuts. In recent weeks negotiators have announced two budget deals, only to have them fall apart amid recriminations and finger-pointing.
The tax rate and amount of license fees for table games such as poker and blackjack at the state's slots casinos remain sticking points.
House Majority Leader Todd Eachus, D-Luzerne, said a tax rate of at least 17 percent is needed to balance the budget. Those issues must still be worked out, along with the precise nature of much discussed changes to the existing slots gambling law.
How to lease state forest land for Marcellus shale natural gas extraction also has not been fully settled. House Democrats want to limit the exploration to 30,000 acres and collect at least $3,000 per acre. A Senate-passed bill put a $2,500-per-acre floor on the leases but did not set a limit on the amount of land.
Eachus said the gas leasing legislation would probably be taken up Thursday. A welfare bill also may require further negotiations.
Pennsylvania has been without a full budget in place since July 1, although a stopgap measure was passed to pay state workers and fund billions in other state spending.
http://www.indianagazette.com/articles/2009/10/10/news/region_and_state/doc4acd5109d3ec1220216356.txt
By CHAUNCEY ROSS
chauncey@indianagazette.net
It’s Day No. 100 of the Pennsylvania state budget crisis.
And it quite possibly is the first day in two months that the people at Indiana County Community Action Program won’t leave the office convinced that that agency will close.
A windfall of cash delivered Monday to ICCAP will allow the agency to operate through November and avert a scheduled Oct. 26, shutdown, Executive Director Lorna Vite said.
A deep-pocketed local benefactor isn’t behind the bonanza.
The check for $97,000 of community service block grant money came from Harrisburg. Vite said it’s a reimbursement for services ICCAP performed for the state in the 2008-09 fiscal year, money that ICCAP had invoiced the state for on June 30.
V
ite delivered the news Wednesday at a human-services summit called by the Indiana County board of commissioners, the second meeting hosted at the courthouse during the ongoing budget stalemate.
Agency leaders delivered status reports explaining how they’re surviving the state funding drought. Some have curtailed services or laid off workers. Some have spent their savings, borrowed money or gone without paying their bills to stay in business.
Many said they were worried about domino effects in the county’s human-services network, particularly what would happen if ICCAP — arguably the agency that administers the widest variety of programs — had to shut down.
“The big concern at our meeting the other day was, ‘What if ICCAP shuts down?’” said Wendy Pardee of the Community Guidance Center in White Township.
Calls for mental health counseling have doubled since ICCAP reduced some of its services, Pardee said.
“We have had record calls for service,” Pardee said. Typically we get 50 requests a week for services, and we have broken records the last month. We’re averaging about 100 phone calls a week from people reaching out, asking for services.
“Our concerns have been about transportation, but we’ve managed to work through those early issues. It’s mostly consumer level. Seventy-five percent of our consumers are on medical assistance and they utilize a majority of the services represented in this room.
“That’s where the concern is, at the individual consumer level, because they’re the most vulnerable population and they’re taking the biggest beating.”
Other agency leaders said they’re close to reaching bottom and see darkness at the end of their tunnels. And some are concerned, too, that some of their programs will be cut anyway when a new budget is approved.
“We have received word that our tobacco funds are being cut in half, so we have stopped all tobacco programs effective over the last couple of days,” said Vincent Mercuri, executive director of The Open Door Alcohol and Other Drug Treatment Center in Indiana. “We project that we could lose in the neighborhood of $17,000. … On the state level, I think they’re cutting from $32 million to $16 million.”
Elizabeth Duncan, of the Armstrong-Indiana Intermediate Unit’s Center for Education, said her program moved to the CareerLink center along Indian Springs Road because of a 17 percent cut in state funding ordered in May.
The latest from education leaders in Harrisburg is no better.
ARIN learned Tuesday night that “we’re looking at another 25 percent cut potentially, as it went into the Senate, which will be devastating,” Duncan said. A casualty, she said, could be New Choices New Options, a program that helps displaced workers and those who have not been in the work force, such as homemakers, to prepare for and find jobs.
Reed Booth, executive director of Indiana County Head Start, said the Early Head Start program has been idled because of the budget crisis. Her agency has diverted some of its money to Child Care Information Services, the agency that qualifies needy families for state-subsidized child daycare.
Paralyzed by the state budget impasse, CCIS has been unable to pay subsidies to local child care providers since exhausting a line of credit at the end of July.
“CCIS has been strangled by the state situation,” Booth said.
County Commissioner Rodney Ruddock said the county was considering a loan to prevent ICCAP from closing.
“We would try to do what we can,” Ruddock said. “We could do a small bridge loan specific to some of the areas that are critical, the need for food and housing. Let’s face it, those are the two critical pieces we are facing right now in our county. And we had some homeless who were in a very awkward kind of position for a while.
“We’re going to make sure that ICCAP operates. Somehow it has to function. So much is depending on it.”
The late payment from the state will enable ICCAP only to continue providing its most basic services, Vite said. The Pathway homeless shelter in Black Lick and the countywide food bank program are still running.
So is the representative payee program. ICCAP manages the financial affairs for about 160 mental-health clients, enabling them to live independently. But Vite said ICCAP had to eliminate a counseling component to the program, accounting for some of the increase in calls to Community Guidance Center.
Down to skeletal services, ICCAP is far from fleshing out its programs and recalling 30 laid-off workers. The staff has been cut from 45 to about 15, including nine who are still full time.
If there’s any ramping up, Vite said, it would be in weatherization. ICCAP faces an Oct. 31 deadline for sending weatherization workers to mandatory training that would make the agency eligible for a federal stimulus grant.
“We are looking at bringing our crew members back, but we have some funds now that will sustain us for a few more weeks,” Vite said. “We’re feeling a little bit better about that.”
http://www.indianagazette.com/articles/2009/10/08/news/10025396.txt
By MARK SCOLOFORO, Associated Press Writer
HARRISBURG - Fresh efforts to resolve Pennsylvania's budget impasse generated a flurry of activity in the state Capitol Monday but a deal continued to elude the state's policy makers, nearly 100 days into the current fiscal year.
Whether a true agreement is in the works remains anybody's guess. Gov. Ed Rendell said a deal was ``close,'' but previous signs of progress have not produced a comprehensive spending plan for the 2009-10 year that began July 1.
Republicans who control the state Senate announced they had developed a full set of budget bills and began voting on tax and spending bills, a process that could be finished by today.
House Democrats convened a meeting of the bipartisan conference committee, but senators of both parties were no-shows and Democratic leaders took the occasion to lobby for a compromise Rendell had helped craft, even while acknowledging that differences remained.
``We are pennies away on the spending document,'' said Speaker Keith McCall, D-Carbon. ``We feel that the revenue equation that was presented to us is a fair revenue equation.''
Meanwhile, the Democratic governor said a budget deal appeared near and urged top lawmakers to ``take a deep breath'' and meet with him today to try to close the deal.
``We're close, and I emphasize close, to a general agreement,'' Rendell told reporters. ``It's the process on how now we get there that's the biggest stumbling block and that's what we now have to resolve. And I think if we act in good faith, we can resolve that.''
Senate Republicans said they had decided to strike out on their own following a House vote on Friday for a Democratic tax plan, a vote that effectively voided a budget deal struck between the House Democrats, both parties in the Senate and Rendell two weeks earlier.
``We have tried repeatedly, over a period now of weeks, to work with the House leadership in both caucuses to try and predict and coordinate with the House and that simply hasn't worked,'' said Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi, R-Delaware. ``So we need to regroup and reset the process and start to move bills here in the Senate.''
The Senate GOP said its $27.84 billion proposal would share many common elements with the ``three-caucus'' deal with Rendell that had been announced Sept. 18.
It would increase cigarette taxes by a quarter a pack, raise the capital stock and franchise tax some businesses pay, legalize and tax table games such as poker at slots casinos, draw heavily from the rainy day fund and an account that pays malpractice premiums for doctors and expand natural-gas drilling on state-owned land. It also would use a gross-revenue tax approach to managed care organizations, a change designed to draw hundreds of millions in additional federal Medicaid money.
House Democrats said the gross-revenue tax also was a key component of the plan Rendell helped devise, and that their caucus would support it. Rendell declined to outline details but acknowledged there was not complete agreement on all of its fine points.
``In my seven years I've never seen a budget agreement that's fully articulated until it actually hits my desk,'' Rendell said.
McCall said behind-the-scenes staff work has left most bills ``ready for closure,'' but there was still no agreement on the tax rate for table games and the size of the one-time licensing fee for casinos that want them.
``The real heavy lifting has been going on behind the scenes for at least three weeks to a month,'' McCall said. He said there was no funding for lawmakers' pet projects in the compromise they supported.
A spokeswoman for the Senate Democrats said they backed the Republicans' approach and were taking an active role in crafting its details. In a vote late Monday on an amendment to the Fiscal Code, senators of both parties cast ``no'' votes but it was approved, 32-17.
A House-Senate rift was created on Friday, when nearly all House Democrats, joined by a single Republican, approved a tax bill that departed in several respects from the Sept. 18 agreement, which leaders said lacked support. It eliminated proposed taxes on arts events and small games of chance, and instead imposed levies on natural gas drilling and certain tobacco products. None of those taxes are in the Senate Republicans' new plan. Pennsylvania has been without a full budget in place since June 30, although a partial budget pays state workers and funds billions in state programs.
http://www.indianagazette.com/articles/2009/10/07/news/region_and_state/10025207.txt
In the Oct. 2 article of The Indiana Gazette headlined "ICCAP Set to Close Without Agreement," the executive director of the Indiana County Community Action Program shared, "‘My idea is that we will close the main office at that time (Oct. 26). We'll keep one person in fiscal so PATHWAY (the county's only family homeless shelter) can stay open and the food bank can operate another month.' … But for PATHWAY and the neediest of ICCAP's clients, the endgame is not something Lorna Vite has been eager to design."
For nearly 45 years, ICCAP has served Indiana County through many difficult financial crises, whether they were personal hardships or widespread economic afflictions affecting many, by providing services aimed at helping people reach self-sufficiency. Despite its successes, ICCAP faces something far greater than it has in the past -- a budget impasse in Harrisburg that threatens to shut ICCAP's doors.
It's hard to imagine being homeless. But think about being homeless as a child, living in a shelter -- sharing a room, eating space and play area. You are well fed, warm and safe -- but it's still no place for a child.
Imagine what it is like being homeless as a child in Indiana County during Pennsylvania's budget impasse. Your family stops at the shelter and it is full; there is no place to go. You find yourself living out of a car, in a tent, in a camper or under a bridge. There is no warm food, no heat or bed, no place for a child to do homework, or no toys to play with.
To those who are in Harrisburg working on the budget (which at this writing is day 97 of the budget impasse), please realize that people's lives depend on a state budget. I can't fathom why there is not a way to protect the most vulnerable among us -- our children and the underserved populations -- who are at risk. Where is their bridge-budget?
To those in Indiana County, such as churches, organizations, human service providers, "the bridge core" and citizens of this great county, who are stepping up to help keep the doors at ICCAP open, we owe special blessings to all of you. I encourage the relentless and caring residents of Indiana County to please do what they can to help keep ICCAP open. Community Action is just that: Mobilizing the community into action to help solve the social ills that afflict many -- unemployment, underemployment, hunger, and homelessness.
I hope that some generous, gracious Indiana County resident will step up and provide the Indiana County Community Action Program a "bridge loan" to keep services operating until the Pennsylvania "budget impasse" is resolved. Our communities are only as strong as its members. Through our collective action, we can invariably help ICCAP and those underserved residents who rely on the agency's services.
Sandra K. Dill
Buffington Township
Former executive director, ICCAP
http://www.indianagazette.com/articles/2009/10/10/opinions/letters_to_the_editor/10025250.txt
Dear Gov. Rendell:
It is with a heavy heart that I write this letter to you. Obviously, you have a challenging position with many responsibilities to many constituents.
However, Pennsylvania is the last of 50 states in the U.S.A. to adopt a state budget. We are now into the fourth month of the current fiscal year without a budget.
I am not aware of any well-run businesses, agencies or organizations that do not approve a budget before the fiscal year commences. It is one thing to read about these challenges in the paper or hear about them on the news, but now it affects people that I know and care about in my community.
I know a Pennsylvania state trooper who was unpaid for quite a while and had to borrow money from relatives to live. I think he was unable or ineligible to strike so he had to report to work every day, strapping on his weapon and putting his life on the line without pay. That is unacceptable. Ultimately, the state troopers began receiving pay again.
Have you stopped taking a paycheck during this time with the other state workers?
Another travesty is the lack of funding to our local food bank. They provide food to 3,250 people in a county of 89,000. The agency will close in just a few weeks without funds. This is unacceptable. I ask you to reinstate the human services funding immediately. We need you to approve the budget now. People who live in Pennsylvania who need food will be hungrier because Pennsylvania does not have an approved budget. Please make this happen - now.
Dominic Paccapaniccia
Board member, Indiana County Community Action Program
http://www.indianagazette.com/articles/2009/10/10/opinions/letters_to_the_editor/10025042.txt
By MARK SCOLFORO, Associated Press Writer
HARRISBURG - Pennsylvania's long trek toward a state budget took another sharp turn Friday, as House Democrats passed their own tax package just two weeks after their leaders made a different deal with the state Senate and Gov. Ed Rendell.
The largely party-line vote doomed a Sunday deadline for full budget passage that Rendell had asked for earlier in the week, and it irritated Senate Republicans who thought they had already negotiated an end to the months-old stalemate.
Democrats replaced proposals to tax small games of chance that veterans' clubs, fire companies and similar groups conduct as fundraisers and tickets to staged arts events, museums and other cultural institutions with a natural gas severance tax and expanded tobacco-products taxes.
Their leaders said the taxes on small games and the arts did not have enough support among their members to pass.
The natural gas levy is projected to bring in only about $60 million in the current fiscal year, but hundreds of millions in the years to come.
``This is a potentially $1 trillion operation in this state,'' said Majority Whip Bill DeWeese, D-Greene. ``When's the last time that your townships and your boroughs in these rural settings has a guaranteed financial resource coming into this commonwealth?''
But House Republicans insisted during the five-hour debate that the budget could be balanced by cutting spending, warned the higher taxes would exacerbate the economic downturn and tried to shield the natural gas boom from taxes they predicted could stifle it.
``The bill that is in front of each of us today is a $1 billion-plus tax increase on the citizens of Pennsylvania,'' said Minority Whip Mike Turzai, R-Allegheny. ``And here we are ... trying to justify a tax increase on our citizens, money that will come out of their pockets in a time of recession.''
Rep. Daryl Metcalfe, R-Butler, called the taxes ``a violation of the economic liberty'' of Pennsylvanians that would ``force individuals to subsidize their neighbor's health care, welfare and bus fare.''
One Republican voted for the tax bill, Rep. Dennis O'Brien of Philadelphia. Two Westmoreland County Democrats broke ranks with ``no'' votes - Reps. John Pallone and Joe Petrarca.
The Democrats' decision to abandon the Sept. 18 deal will delay the budget process, said Senate Republican spokesman Erik Arneson.
``It is extremely disappointing that House leaders were unable to live up to the bipartisan agreement ... and chose instead to push legislation which does not have sufficient support to pass in the Senate,'' Arneson said late Friday. He said the Senate GOP was reviewing the tax bill and considering its options, possibly to include weekend voting sessions.
Speaker Keith McCall, D-Carbon, said the previous deal assumed Republicans would contribute 10 to 20 votes in the House, and when they did not materialize, the leaders felt compelled to work up a package that could pass without them.
Rendell press secretary Gary Tuma declined comment on the House vote.
Some House Democrats said they did not relish voting for higher taxes but the circumstances demanded it. They spoke of the need to fund various governmental programs and their desire to avoid trickle-down pressure that could lead to higher local school property taxes.
``We shouldn't be worried about the next election,'' said Rep. Tony DeLuca, D-Allegheny. ``We should be worried about what's best for the 12 million Pennsylvanians out there.''
Both the Sept. 18 agreement and the Democrats' new plan would legalize and tax table games such as poker at casinos, expand natural gas drilling on state-owned land and offer a period of tax amnesty. They also would both increase cigarette taxes by a quarter a pack and the capital stock and franchise tax that some businesses pay, and drain hundreds of millions from the rainy day fund and an account that helps doctors pay malpractice premiums.
They are also the same size, nearly $28 billion, slightly lower than last year.
That the budget debate continues may surprise state residents who have twice recently heard lawmakers announce breakthrough deals to end the budget impasse. Pennsylvania is more than three months into its fiscal year without a full budget in place.
http://www.indianagazette.com/articles/2009/08/14/news/10021598.txt
By CHAUNCEY ROSS,
chauncey@indianagazette.net
Today is Day No. 94 of the Pennsylvania state budget stalemate.
It's the longest delay in enacting a budget in state history, and it seems every component of the impasse is magnified.
Even the time lapse for the legislature to vote on compromise with the governor, ordinarily just a few days, has now reached two weeks since "the handshake" with no vote in sight.
What is now coming into sight is the closing of Indiana County Community Action Program, the county's major one-stop human-service program agency.
ICCAP now is down to its most basic services, only operating the food bank, Pathway homeless shelter and financial management for people with mental illness.
The main office at 827 Water St. is open, but the people who ordinarily man the front desk and answer the phone are furloughed. A handful of program supervisors greet the public, but they can do little more than advise people where else to find help.
ICCAP is set to close its headquarters Oct. 26. That's lights out, doors locked, not-a-soul-in-sight closed.
Executive Director Lorna Vite finally will furlough herself and the remaining staff, save for someone with a checkbook to compensate the staff overseeing the food program and Pathway, in Black Lick.
Today is a virtual drop-dead date for Gov. Ed Rendell and the Legislature to enact a budget with enough lead time to prevent ICCAP from shutting down.
Vite said it could take two to four weeks after a budget is signed for Harrisburg to deliver grant and contract funding to ICCAP. Odds are that the payments still would be slow, allowing ICCAP to recall workers a few at a time.
The agency would depend most on a community service block grant, a flexible chunk of cash that ICCAP can choose how to spend. But payments for contracted services such as rental assistance, emergency car repair and weatherization could not be spent any other way.
When the state budget went unsettled past the July 1 deadline, ICCAP planned for an indefinite drought of state money. Officials laid out a detailed schedule of layoffs and program closings, giving priority to providing the most service for the longest time with the fewest workers.
By this week, ICCAP's staff of 45 was supposed to be pared down to five. But Vite said the community has rallied to ICCAP's aid with fundraisers and other donations, enabling the agency to keep 10 full-time and about five part-time workers on the job -- for now.
Vite said agency managers have worked beyond their scheduled hours to help people with emergency needs.
"We have called on churches -- they have stepped up to the plate," sending cash and recruiting volunteers to transport clients in need. "We've had churches who donated funds to sponsor a homeless family."
And a swell of grass-roots support, from groups such as women who called themselves "the bridge core," who sponsored a spaghetti dinner in partnership with the Indiana University of Pennsylvania department of food and nutrition.
Then there are the raffles of baskets of Steelers and Penn State game tickets, on behalf of the Pathway shelter and Alice Paul House. When contributions reached $3,000, an anonymous benefactor gave a matching donation. That's what has staved off some staff layoffs.
http://www.indianagazette.com/articles/2009/10/02/news/10024953.txt
By MARK SCOLFORO and MARC LEVY, Associated Press Writers
HARRISBURG - House Democrats in the Pennsylvania Legislature came up with a new tax proposal Thursday, backpedaling from the handshake state budget agreement their leaders made nearly two weeks ago.
The measure that passed the Rules Committee on a party-line vote would eliminate key features of that previous deal - taxes on small games of chance and certain stage performances - because of stiff resistance from rank-and-file Democrats.
Instead, the bill contains new levies on natural gas extraction and cigar and smokeless tobacco sales. It is expected to be debated and voted in the House today.
Like the budget deal that Gov. Ed Rendell and leaders of the House Democrats and both parties in the Senate announced Sept. 18, it would legalize table games such as poker in casinos, but tax them at 34 percent, a higher rate than in competing proposals. The one-time license fee for larger casinos would be $20 million.
``We have stood firm against big tobacco, firm against big casinos,'' said Rep. Bob Belfanti, D-Northumberland, adding that the change in direction came at the insistence of the caucus. ``We're not going to allow the Senate to send us anything and tell us to accept 100 percent of it.''
The abrupt change of course is likely to cause further delays in approval of a state spending plan, more than three months after Pennsylvania's new fiscal year began. The economic downturn has left a multibillion-dollar hole in state revenues, and the politically divided Legislature has struggled for months to find a budget that can pass both chambers and get Rendell's signature.
With hundreds of millions of dollars in state subsidies held up, the private organizations and businesses that deliver many of Pennsylvania's social services to the poor are closing or laying off workers, putting off bills and borrowing money to survive.
Among the hardest hit are shelters for the homeless and victims of domestic violence, food pantries and nutrition programs, mental health counseling, and child care, said Tony Ross, the president and CEO of the United Way of Pennsylvania.
``We're basically three months into the fiscal year with no end in sight,'' Ross said. ``Unbelievable.''
Republicans, who control the Senate, said that if the House Democrats' new bill passes, concessions they have previously made would no longer be in force and negotiations would have to begin anew.
``I guess my only reaction is that is contrary to what the speaker of the House told us what he was going to do today,'' said Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Jake Corman, R-Centre. ``It's unfortunate that they're breaking away from the agreement.''
Democratic leaders said their new proposal would, like the Sept. 18 deal, allow expanded drilling on state-owned land, but language to that effect would be included in a separate bill, not the tax code measure that received the favorable committee vote Thursday. The total amount of the budget was unchanged at just under $28 billion.
House Republicans were against the previous budget deal, and Minority Leader Sam Smith, R-Jefferson, said they also were dead-set against the Democrats' new approach.
Rendell spokesman Gary Tuma said the Democratic governor remained committed to the earlier deal, but hoped that whatever the House approves would be sent quickly to the Senate.
Earlier Thursday, Rendell sent a letter to caucus leaders in which he asked for ``focus, perseverance and a sense of urgency'' in wrapping up budget talks. He said the recession had forced ``very difficult decisions. There simply cannot be a pain-free budget, given that reality. I believe these difficult decisions cannot be avoided and must be made now.''
http://www.indianagazette.com/articles/2009/10/02/news/10024952.txt
by Lauren Daley, ldaley@indianagazette.net
A push to co-locate job resources and budget cuts at the state level have taken the ARIN Center for Education to a new home.
The center that offers many free adult education programs recently moved from its office along Clymer Avenue in Indiana to share offices with PA CareerLink along Indian Springs Road in White Township. And program officials said the move has been beneficial for their customers because it essentially makes the building a "one-stop shop" for services.
"It's nice to share the same population with everyone here. We're in a larger population that deals with our students exactly and it really is an advantage. Now we get to say I have a student I'm very concerned about. I can go to the office next door, the person down the hall, and help them," said Elizabeth Duncan, ARIN Adult/ESL coordinator. "Now the people we care so much for can be better supported and they don't have to leave the building."
ARIN educators and their students now work under the same roof as PA CareerLink, Career T.R.A.C.K., Office of Vocational Rehabilitation, the Tri-County Workforce Investment Board, the Bureau of Workforce Development Partnerships and the Commonwealth Workforce Development System. That means the center's students have access to various programs like Attire to Aspire or the Disabled Veterans Outreach program and, in turn, CareerLink customers have access to ARIN programs like family literacy, work force education, distance education and Adult Basic Education/General Education Development (GED) programs. Save for less office space, Duncan said the move has not been a compromise in any way.
The first and most significant reason for the move, Duncan said, came as an effort from the state to combine resources of the Department of Labor and Industry and the Adult Basic and Literacy Education (ABLE) Bureau, which is under the Pennsylvania Department of Education.
"There's an effort for all work force-related entities to co-locate," she said. "So if you need a job, you may also need some educational services. … But we have everybody here that we need."
The other reason is due to a 17 percent statewide cut for adult education programs. To the Center for Education, that translates into about a $32,000 loss in overall operating funds, Duncan said.
"Every program everywhere in the state received the same cut. It was not a performance cut. … So each entity decided, do you cut a staff member? We'd never do that. We'd take it out of rent and supplies first," Duncan said.
The Center for Education is funded solely by private, state and federal grants with an operating budget separate from the ARIN Intermediate Unit, which receives the funds and distributes them. And Duncan said the Department of Labor and Industry is allowing state money to be drawn on behalf of the education center to help with some expenses.
But the ARIN center pays for everything else through its grant money -- staff, supplies and other resources. Its tentative ABLE funding for the year is $594,864, pending state budget approval. Of that, Duncan said, $351,585 is federal education funds and $243,279 is from the state. But, she said, those amounts will change when the state budget is approved.
"These numbers are what would be best-case scenario but there will be additional cuts. We are just waiting to see what these cuts will be," she said. So the move, she said, made perfect business sense.
In the past 30 years, the ARIN center has always received its grant money and it has received level funding for the last five, Duncan said.
"That doesn't mean level funding always. When health care costs go up 35 percent, you get the same amount of money but you're getting a decrease. But we've been able to keep our programs without eliminating any and now we're at the point where we've got to eliminate some of the sites and it's terrible," she said.
Because of budgetary concerns, Duncan said the center has been directed to only start work force- and GED-related programs, and two other classes have not opened up.
But the decrease in dollars doesn't mean a decrease in demand for such services. Duncan said the lagging economy has led to more people seeking the center's education services, many to obtain their GED, evident by the constant calls she said she received on her cell phone while the center was setting up its phone lines after the move.
"The consistent phrase I was hearing was ‘I keep applying for jobs and no one will take me without my GED.' Bottom line -- everybody needs their GED. And monies are frozen everywhere. … Just everyone is affected. We don't know anyone personally or professionally who has not felt some affect, who has lost a co-worker, or who has had someone in the family lose a job," Duncan said. "The situation is truly dire."
At least 60 percent of those who come to the center have a GED as their final goal, Duncan said. And if they're not going after their GED, they are working toward an improved work situation or acquiring an initial work situation.
ARIN recently graduated 48 students from its GED class and has sites set up for evening and day classes and adult education in Armstrong and Indiana counties.
http://www.indianagazette.com/articles/2009/10/02/news/indiana_county/10024890.txt
By MARK SCOLFORO, Associated Press Writer
HARRISBURG - A deal to end Pennsylvania's state budget impasse ran into resistance from Democrats in the state House Tuesday, raising fresh doubts about whether it can attract enough votes to pass.
Majority Leader Todd Eachus, D-Luzerne, said after a four-hour closed-door caucus meeting in the state Capitol that he would bring up a bill to tax the extraction of natural gas, an unusual move given that such a tax was not a part of the deal he announced more than a week ago with Gov. Ed Rendell and the state Senate.
Rank-and-file House Democrats told leaders they opposed critical pieces of that 11-day-old deal, including subjecting certain arts events to the state sales tax, expanding gas drilling on state land and taxing small games of chance.
``There are concerns about the revenue concepts that have been put on the table in our negotiations, and I think what we're doing is we're working through those issues with our members,'' Eachus said. ``These issues that relate to the concerns of Democratic members in the majority have to be addressed.''
It was unclear how many members might vote against the overall budget based on their objections to specific elements of the multipart deal, but any defections are a problem for House Democrats. They hold 104 seats and need 102 votes to pass the budget, while their Republican counterparts are nearly uniform in their opposition.
``I think the small games of chance is in trouble, that's for sure,'' said Rep. Nick Kotik, D-Allegheny, who earlier this year helped kill a proposal to increase the personal income tax that Rendell supported. He said considering a natural gas extraction tax was ``foolhardy'' in the face of Senate Republican opposition.
House Finance Committee chairman Dave Levdansky, D-Allegheny, said there was ``significant across-the-board concern amongst the rank-and-file.'' He said there was a consensus in his caucus that a gas extraction tax and additional levies on other tobacco products were preferable.
Rendell, a Democrat, said Monday he wanted a budget on his desk by the end of this weekend. But details remain to be sorted out, and Eachus said the governor's timetable did not consider legislative rules and procedures.
``I understand what the governor said, but we're hoping that we can try and move forward into the weekend and make real progress,'' Eachus said.
House Republicans also held a private caucus on the budget. Afterward, Minority Whip Mike Turzai, R-Allegheny, predicted the budget deal would implode.
``We are now at the beginning of October here, this week, and the House Democrats still have not put up a real vote on a budget,'' Turzai said. ``And why is that? Because they don't have the votes for a tax increase.'' Pennsylvania has been without a comprehensive budget in place since its fiscal year ended June 30, although a partial budget has been passed to pay state workers and fund some government programs.
http://www.indianagazette.com/articles/2009/10/01/news/region_and_state/10024776.txt
By MARK SCOLFORO, Associated Press Writer
HARRISBURG - Negotiators continued to haggle over the details holding up Pennsylvania's state budget Monday, 10 days after Gov. Ed Rendell and top-ranking lawmakers trumpeted a breakthrough agreement they said would soon end a three-month-old impasse.
Remaining sticking points included how to implement proposals to add table games such as blackjack and poker to the state's slots casinos and a new tax on some small games of chance - two sources of new revenue crucial to filling the state's recession-driven multibillion-dollar shortfall.
Rendell said after meeting with leaders of three of the Legislature's four caucuses that they would attempt to send him the bills that make up the annual spending plan by Sunday, ``Tuesday at the very, very latest.''
``I'm not satisfied with the pace of where we are, and neither are they,'' Rendell said.
The Democratic governor also urged the General Assembly to convene and stay in session until the plan is passed and signed into law. The Senate planned to do so, but House Democratic caucus spokesman Brett Marcy said details regarding that chamber's schedule after Wednesday's voting session were not available.
``We've had time,'' Rendell said. ``We should be able to get this done, no ifs, ands or buts about it. And there are a lot of people out there who are depending on us to get this done.''
Rendell said he was not worried that the handshake budget deal was falling apart in the face of some opposition to particular elements, including drilling for gas on state land and the small games of chance tax.
``There's always opposition to certain parts of the budget,'' he said.
Wrapping things up by Sunday would require legislative leaders to resolve all elements still in dispute and then get the budget bills through the politically divided Legislature.
``They agreed that they would work towards that goal, and they thought that goal was achievable,'' Rendell said.
House Republicans, who oppose the size of the budget and its new taxes, said they were not invited to the meeting. They hold 99 seats in the 203-member House, not a majority but enough to doom the budget if only a few Democrats defect.
Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi, R-Delaware, said he was encouraged by the House Democratic leaders' projections of their members' support for the plan.
``As each day passes, the number of open issues gets smaller and shorter,'' he said. ``The most unresolved issue, if you'll call it that, is the table games issue.''
He said talks centered on how to handle casinos at resorts, the fee to charge for table-games licenses and the rate at which they will be taxed.
Rendell urged leaders to set the tax level for table games high enough to balance the budget. If not, he said, he would exercise his line-item veto power, but did not think that would be necessary.
Pileggi said negotiations regarding spending levels, including which programs will be cut, and how deeply, were ``largely resolved. There's a couple of questions that need to be worked through,'' but he expected them to be sorted out by Wednesday.
Rendell said once a budget is signed some overdue payments will be put on the fast track, and all payments should be made within 10 days.
http://www.indianagazette.com/articles/2009/09/29/news/10024690.txt
By MARC SCOLFORO, Associated Press Writer
HARRISBURG - Negotiators continued to haggle over the details holding up Pennsylvania's state budget Monday, 10 days after Gov. Ed Rendell and top-ranking lawmakers trumpeted a breakthrough agreement they said would soon end a three-month-old impasse.
Remaining sticking points included how to implement proposals to add table games such as blackjack and poker to the state's slots casinos and a new tax on some small games of chance - two sources of new revenue crucial to filling the state's recession-driven multibillion-dollar shortfall.
Rendell said after meeting with leaders of three of the Legislature's four caucuses that they would attempt to send him the bills that make up the annual spending plan by Sunday, ``Tuesday at the very, very latest.''
``I'm not satisfied with the pace of where we are, and neither are they,'' Rendell said.
The Democratic governor also urged the General Assembly to convene and stay in session until the plan is passed and signed into law. The Senate planned to do so, but House Democratic caucus spokesman Brett Marcy said details regarding that chamber's schedule after Wednesday's voting session were not available.
``We've had time,'' Rendell said. ``We should be able to get this done, no ifs, ands or buts about it. And there are a lot of people out there who are depending on us to get this done.''
Rendell said he was not worried that the handshake budget deal was falling apart in the face of some opposition to particular elements, including drilling for gas on state land and the small games of chance tax.
``There's always opposition to certain parts of the budget,'' he said.
Wrapping things up by Sunday would require legislative leaders to resolve all elements still in dispute and then get the budget bills through the politically divided Legislature.
``They agreed that they would work towards that goal, and they thought that goal was achievable,'' Rendell said.
House Republicans, who oppose the size of the budget and its new taxes, said they were not invited to the meeting. They hold 99 seats in the 203-member House, not a majority but enough to doom the budget if only a few Democrats defect.
Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi, R-Delaware, said he was encouraged by the House Democratic leaders' projections of their members' support for the plan.
``As each day passes, the number of open issues gets smaller and shorter,'' he said. ``The most unresolved issue, if you'll call it that, is the table games issue.''
He said talks centered on how to handle casinos at resorts, the fee to charge for table-games licenses and the rate at which they will be taxed.
Rendell urged leaders to set the tax level for table games high enough to balance the budget. If not, he said, he would exercise his line-item veto power, but did not think that would be necessary.
Pileggi said negotiations regarding spending levels, including which programs will be cut, and how deeply, were ``largely resolved. There's a couple of questions that need to be worked through,'' but he expected them to be sorted out by Wednesday.
Rendell said once a budget is signed some overdue payments will be put on the fast track, and all payments should be made within 10 days.
http://www.indianagazette.com/articles/2009/09/29/news/10024690.txt
By CHAUNCEY ROSS,
chauncey@indianagazette.net
State Sen. Don White, R-Indiana, has good news for volunteer firefighters. The new state budget won't require them to pay a tax on their gains from small games of chance.
State Rep. Dave Reed, R-Indiana, is worried for the fire companies, churches and other nonprofits. It looks like they could be taxed on their money from small games of chance in the new state budget.
To the best of their knowledge.
On the 90th day of the state budget impasse, the legislators proved -- without trying -- the shortage and inconsistency of information trickling down from party leaders to the rank-and-file lawmakers.
Past practice is magnified, according to White.
"Every other year, when they reach a handshake agreement, a deal among the conference committee and the governor, we're called back in the next day -- right or wrong -- to vote on something," White said. "The reasoning is, to be blunt, they don't want you to know too much about the deal."
Today marks 11 days since the handshake, and it's been an 11-day window of opportunity for debate and a certain amount of conjecture about what's in the deal.
"We have yet to see the package," Reed said Monday. "If I had to guess, there will be at least some changes made before it comes up for a vote. I don't anticipate major changes, but they will have to change it at least some."
Both are eager to learn the status of Reed's proposal to allow natural gas well drilling in state forests and to collect a tax on it.
"Democrats have put up a red flag in regard to the Marcellus shale drilling … I think they are dramatically overblowing the effect on the environment," White said. "That's an important part of the package, and I'm 100 percent behind it."
The tax would be divided among local municipalities and conservation district offices where the wells are drilled, under Reed's proposal.
"I fear the governor and other budget negotiators see dollar signs, and they're willing to push others out of the picture to get their hands on all of the money," Reed wrote in a news release late last week. "But this is Harrisburg we're talking about. … I just hope that the budget negotiators don't cut them out of this. That could potentially be a deal breaker."
While they're equally uninformed about what Reed calls the Energize PA proposal, time will tell who will end up being correct about the small games of chance tax.
"There's a lot of misinformation out there," White said. "I'm reluctant to say anything because I don't know what's going to change."
White said he lobbied the author of the small games of chance tax proposal to give fire companies an exemption, but he has learned in news reports that the tax in some form is in the budget.
"That's not right -- as far as I know," White said. "Our volunteer fire companies are not going to have to pay into any kind of small games of chance tax on bingo or strip tickets or anything. As it stands right now. That is how it was negotiated last Friday morning, and that's what I was told explicitly by my leadership. So I want to allay those fears."Reed said he has been told otherwise.
"That's what we hear," Reed said. "One of the most concerning areas that I've seen is the tax on small games of chance. That's going to hit our local fire departments, our churches, our non-profit groups in a way that I don't think they were anticipating or can afford."It's been over a week now and we have yet to see the package," Reed said. "We go back to Harrisburg (through Wednesday). They haven't told us about the rest of the week yet. I would think that if they have a budget agreement, they would show it to us."
"It's very discouraging," White said. "For me, in my nine years (in the Senate), I can't say I've been more disappointed. Democratic leadership in the House obviously doesn't have their act together -- they don't speak for their members.
"I think he (Gov. Ed Rendell) is enjoying this, watching us beat each other up."
http://www.indianagazette.com/articles/2009/09/30/news/indiana_county/10024691.txt
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS HARRISBURG (AP) - A plan to extend Pennsylvania's sales tax to the performing arts, museums, historical sites, zoos and parks is partly designed to shift the taxpayers' share of financing those activities onto their patrons, an architect of the proposal said Tuesday. ``The idea was to try to make it a user fee as much as possible,'' said Sen. Jake Corman, R-Centre, chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee. The plan, a late addition in the negotiations that yielded a deal that would end Pennsylvania's status as the only state without a complete budget, has provoked strong opposition but advocates for the arts likely face an uphill climb in their effort to derail it. The proposed elimination of the current exemptions for artistic and cultural events is expected to generate roughly $120 million a year - about twice as much as those activities receive now through various state appropriations, Corman said. A portion of the revenue would be funneled into a special fund reserved for supporting the arts and cultural institutions. The rest would help pay for other items in the nearly $28 billion state budget deal struck by Gov. Ed Rendell and leaders of three of the four legislative caucuses. The percentage that would be earmarked for the special fund was still being firmed up - like many details of the budget deal - and could generate more or less than previous appropriations for artistic and cultural events, Corman said. ``It's up in the air because it hasn't been written,'' Corman said in a telephone interview from his district office in Bellefonte. The idea surfaced for the first time Friday night, shortly before the governor, Corman and other top lawmakers announced the budget deal may end an impasse nearly three months into the new fiscal year. The partisan deadlock forced tens of thousands of state employees to temporarily work without pay until Rendell signed a partial budget in August providing limited funds to keep state government operating. But some daycare centers have closed, some preschools have not yet opened and mentally ill people have to wait longer for counseling because hundreds of nonprofit agencies have not received state reimbursements they rely on. The money to be generated from extending the 6-percent tax to artistic and cultural events was a final component to seal an agreement between Senate Republicans and Rendell, who had demanded more reliable sources of revenue before he would sign on. Advocates for arts groups said they were stunned by news of the proposal and said it would discourage people from attending performances or visiting cultural institutions. ``What were you thinking?'' asked Peggy Amsterdam, head of the Philadelphia Cultural Alliance at a Monday night meeting where hundreds of arts leaders criticized the budget negotiators and vowed to try to block the proposal. ``It will price everyday people out of arts experiences and it will push key cultural institutions to the brink,'' Amsterdam told the gathering at the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts. On the other side of the state, the executive director of the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre expressed a similar sentiment. ``It's a bad idea to tax the nonprofit arts sector,'' said Harris Ferris. ``Many of us have adjusted our ticket prices and packaged them to be accessible to the greater community. We want people to be able to come to the performing arts, which is a $2 billion annual sector of the economy.'' A spokesman for Hershey Entertainment and Resorts Co., which books major concerts at Hersheypark Stadium and the Giant Center near Harrisburg, said the state should be promoting cultural activities for families, not making them more expensive to attend. ``We are most disappointed that there weren't any advanced discussions regarding the impact that this new tax would have on individuals and families who want to attend these cultural or live entertainment events,'' said the spokesman, Garrett Gallia. Philip Horn, executive director of the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, which dispensed $14.5 million in state grants to nonprofit arts and cultural organizations last year, said he did not learn about the proposal until Saturday.
By MARC LEVY, Associated Press Writer
HARRISBURG - Defending a handshake agreement to end Pennsylvania's long state government budget standoff might be as complicated as it was to reach the deal.
More than a week after the deal was reached by Gov. Ed Rendell and top Republican and Democratic lawmakers, proponents are gamely defending it while lobbyists seek changes and rank-and-file lawmakers brim with questions.
Legislators have major wrinkles to iron out and another week or more while aides write the fine print of the sprawling, puzzle-like agreement into legislation before it reaches a vote. All sides say they plan to stick to the deal and, for the most part, have kept their skirmishes behind the scenes while they work to sew votes together.
Legislative leaders are ``steeling themselves for the inevitable criticism that will come from within their caucuses and from the public, but they understand the responsible thing that needs to happen and I think they'll do the right thing,'' said Rendell's chief of staff, Steven Crawford. ``All of Pennsylvania is waiting for them to do the right thing.''
Senate President Joe Scarnati said criticism is to be expected since no solution to an economic disaster, such as the state's multibillion-dollar revenue shortfall, is going to be painless. However, he acknowledged the downside to announcing a controversial deal at least two weeks before the entire package emerges for a final vote.
``That's why we have seen, in years past (under) previous leaders the deal was cut late in the day, and the bill was run late in the evening,'' Scarnati said. ``This is an open process ... and people are seeing what it is.''
At stake is ending Pennsylvania's status as the only state in the union still fighting over its budget, which was due July 1. The nearly $28 billion deal announced Sept. 18 avoids an increase in the state income or sales tax rates and cuts overall spending by about 1 percent, but leaders are still trying to settle how all of the money will be spent.
With a massive shortfall to fill, the budget-makers' search for revenue plumbed the far corners of the state's dedicated funds, natural resources, tax exemptions and more. The deal would:
Divert about $50 million a year in slot-machine gambling revenue from the state's horse breeders.
Count on $115 million over two years from leasing more state forest land for gas drilling.
Slap a sales tax worth about $120 million onto the price of admission to music concerts and other performing arts, museums, historical sites, zoos and parks.
Raise the capital stock and franchise tax paid by some businesses, a move valued at about $300 million this year.
Legalize table games at casinos, a move valued at $200 million this fiscal year.
Tap more than $800 million in reserves previously meant to help doctors and hospitals pay their medical malpractice insurance premiums.
Saddle fire companies, veterans groups and various other clubs and nonprofits that hold liquor licenses with a 20 percent tax on small games of chance to raise about $20 million.
An outcry has resulted.
Environmentalists and sportsmen's groups accused budget-makers of selling out the state's public forests to multinational gas-drilling companies, while letting the drillers escape without being taxed.
Public health advocates and leaders of the state's arts and culture community were aghast that sales of cigars, loose tobacco and smokeless tobacco maintained an exemption, but tickets to the opera, ballet and small theater groups did not.
The Pennsylvania Medical Society accused the state of taking surplus money in a medical malpractice fund that resulted from excess premiums paid by physicians, hospitals, nurse midwives, podiatrists and nursing homes.
Horse breeders warned of job losses in the agricultural sector if racing days and track purses suffer from a loss of slots money.
Antigambling activists questioned the wisdom of underwriting state services by expanding gambling, thus adding to the social ills that state-funded services must address.
The agreement still requires legislative approval, and rank-and-file lawmakers are waiting for more information, sometimes impatiently, while fielding angry phone calls in their district offices.
Sen. Edwin Erickson, R-Delaware, said he agrees with the callers to some extent, but doesn't see that the state has much choice. Still, he continues to watch closely because he is concerned about how legislative leaders will decide to spend money on schools, social services and health care for the poor.
http://www.indianagazette.com/articles/2009/09/29/news/region_and_state/10024550.txt
It has always been my understanding that when we elect someone to represent us in the U.S. Congress or Pennsylvania Legislature that he/she is expected to put the country or state first, party second and selves third. It seems to me that for a long time now first, second and third have gotten twisted to party first, me second and country/ state third.
What happened to a bipartisan approach to doing what is best for the country or state? Is it because our leaders are so much more interested in making a lifelong career of politics and need party support for their re-election campaign; or is it because of the many gifts and other benefits that are extended by the lobbyists and special-interest groups?
What do I see as a starting point solution? Term limits of no more than eight years. Not eight years in the house and another eight years in the senate, just eight years total.
Pennsylvania has now been without a constitutionally required budget for many days past the required June 30 date. How many years has it been since a state budget has been enacted by that required June 30 date?
If you or I chose to violate our constitution, as our General Assembly has obviously chosen to do, we would most likely end up in jail. This behavior on the part of our elected leadership is unacceptable to me. Many of the hardships experienced locally and throughout the state have been expressed in this newspaper. What kind of message is this lack of responsibility sending? They can do it without any repercussions, so why can't I?
Since we obviously will not put them in jail, I offer the following as a penalty for their violation of our state constitution: For each full day beyond the June 30 date that a proposed balanced budget is not sent to the governor for signature, each senator and each representative would be docked a day's pay. Also docked would be mileage reimbursement and each daily subsistence allowance. These docked amounts could not be recovered at a later date, ever.
Don't hold your breath that either of these suggested solutions might happen. It is the very people who will be negatively impacted who have to start the wheels rolling for a constitutional convention in order for it to occur.
Sidney N. Blair
Indiana
http://www.indianagazette.com/articles/2009/09/28/opinions/letters_to_the_editor/10024502.txt
By SAM KUSIC,
skusic@indianagazette.net
Indiana University of Pennsylvania has set a tentative $178.6 million budget for this fiscal year, calling for cuts in its payroll and operating expenses. But whether the university sticks to the plan depends upon the size of its annual state appropriation, which has yet to be determined.
President Dr. Tony Atwater and his administration presented the budget to the university's trustees during a quarterly meeting Thursday and Friday. The trustees, however, were forced to postpone a vote on the budget's adoption until after the General Assembly and Gov. Ed Rendell agree upon a state budget, which will set the appropriation.
The appropriation is a critical chunk of the university's revenue, accounting for roughly 35 percent of what it has to work with.
The lack of a state budget has left IUP and the 13 other universities in the State System of Higher Education to guess what they might receive from the state. State system officials have advised the universities to build their budgets assuming the appropriation will be equal to what they received in fiscal 2008-09.
With that in mind, IUP administrators drafted a budget calling for an overall spending increase of slightly more than 2 percent, largely on the rising cost of employee benefits. Most of its employees are represented by labor unions, and the university is contractually obligated to the benefits plans.
However, the budget, which for the present is balanced, also calls for a 7.5 percent, across-the-board expense cut in its divisions and departments. And in addition, it reduces its base payroll for faculty, administrators, staff and student employees by at least $730,000, which the university hopes to achieve through attrition, said Dr. Cornelius Wooten, vice president for administration and finance.
Wooten said there are no faculty layoffs planned at the moment, though it is a possibility.
The university payroll accounts for nearly three-quarters of the overall budget.
IUP faculty union president Robert Mutchnick expressed frustration over the tentative budget, saying that the bread and butter of the university is delivery of classes to the students. Yet, as in the past, the faculty is bearing the brunt of the payroll reductions.
The cuts, he said, should come from elsewhere.
The budget, as it is, would reduce the faculty's base payroll by slightly more than 1 percent, or about $566,000.
The state system has said the best it can hope for in the state budget is an appropriation equal to last year's, which was around $520 million, which was even less than what was originally intended. In October, Rendell asked for a 4.25 percent giveback.
Wooten said that if this year's appropriation winds up being less than planned for, they will have to revise the budget accordingly. In the meantime, IUP continues to work off of its 2008-09 budget. The fiscal year runs July 1 to June 30.
Without a state budget, the university has been operating on its savings. It has enough to carry it through the end of the year, Wooten said.
The tentative budget was based on a tuition increase and an enrollment of 14,450, in addition to an unchanged subsidy. IUP reported a record enrollment of 14,638 this fall, and Wooten said the university will realize some tuition gains from that going forward.
But still, times are tight now, and they are going to get even tighter if something doesn't change, administrators said.
Assuming the appropriation stays flat this fiscal year and into the next two years, the university is looking at a cumulative $5.3 million deficit in 2011-12, according to Wooten.
In an effort to stretch every dollar, Atwater said the administration plans to conduct a university-wide efficiency study that should start in mid-October.
Atwater said that study, to be performed by Philadelphia-based accounting and consulting firm Parente Randolph, is to be carried out in two phases. The first phase, expected to cost $125,000, will look at university operations. The second phase, which would cost $75,000, will look at its human resources and enrollment management.
He said the second phase is optional, and whether the university goes through with it depends on whether there is enough money in the budget for it.
Atwater also said administrators had been considering having such a study done well before the financial storm hit.
Atwater told trustees this week that the point of the study is not to plan for layoffs but to look for ways the university can generate cost savings and reductions.
He said the money problems IUP is facing are no different than those faced by the other state system universities and by public universities throughout the country. In fact, he said Pennsylvania universities are faring better than those in other places, such as California.
"I would not say ours is a rosy picture, but I would not say it is a catastrophic picture, either," Atwater said.
http://www.indianagazette.com/articles/2009/09/26/news/10024443.txt
HARRISBURG (AP) - Pennsylvania Senate President Joe Scarnati says not to expect the state's budget to be done by the end of next week. Scarnati said Wednesday that legislative staff members continue to work to write bills that would implement the nearly $28 billion budget deal announced late last week. But he says he does not expect legislative action to be completed by Oct. 2. Pennsylvania remains the only state without a comprehensive budget. Gov. Ed Rendell signed a $12.8 billion partial budget in August that pays state employees, provides health care to the poor and disabled and keeps government offices open. The deal announced Friday set the stage to spend billions more on schools, social services and other programs, while filling a multibillion-dollar deficit left over from last year.
By LAUREN DALEY ldaley@indianagazette.net Local lawmakers are awaiting the details of a state budget plan reached Friday, but said they were glad a conclusion to the lengthy impasse is near. State Reps. Dave Reed, R-Indiana, and Jeff Pyle, R-Ford City, said Saturday they expected to see the plan this week. It still requires legislative approval. "I'm glad there is a budget deal. I can't tell whether it's a good or bad budget because we haven't seen it yet," Reed said. "Details aren't out to the average legislator. We should be seeing those details this week, Monday or Tuesday." Pyle said it's "too soon to tell" on the plan and that he has only received broad details. He said legislators are on "six-hour call," which means they have six hours to get to Harrisburg when called by the speaker. "I just hope to end the impasse. I will not tolerate an increase in taxes," he said. "I do what my people tell me to do. I've gotten thousands of e-mails from the district that they do not want taxes going up, period." Gov. Ed Rendell and legislative leaders reached an accord for a $27.95 billion budget that would raise taxes on some businesses, raise the tax on cigarettes by 25 cents per pack and draw $1.5 billion from state reserves. It legalizes table games at the state's slot machine casinos and expands leasing of state forest land for natural gas exploration, a concept introduced by Reed to counter Rendell's proposed severance tax on natural gas. Rendell ultimately opted to drop the tax. How much of Reed's plan was used in the deal is still unknown. "I haven't seen any details, I just know the concept is included in the budget," he said. Reed's plan permits the state to lease acres of state forest land to natural gas drilling companies. In total, 390,000 acres of state forestlands would be made available over the next three years, or 130,000 acres a year. The state would enter into a lease agreement with those companies and establish a minimum bid payment of $2,000 per acre. Reed estimated the plan would generate about $260 million per year, and his bill called for the funds to be split among the state, municipal governments and conservation districts. How much land would be opened or how the money would be distributed has not been made known. "I think it's a good thing to include. It's certainly better than the severance tax proposal that would have added an additional tax to one of the few industries looking to expand in Pennsylvania right now," Reed said of his plan. "So I think it's the better of two alternatives." Pyle commended Reed's plan, a proposal he called "flawless." From what he knows of the rest of the budget deal, he said he has issues with legalizing table games and taxing smokers. He said state officials need to come up with a better way of coming to terms on an agreement. Pennsylvania was the last state to determine a spending plan. "We've had this constitutional deadline of June 30, and Democratic majority rule -- my party is not majority, we didn't even see a budget bill until after the constitutional deadline. That's the responsibility of the majority party. It's like lead or get out of the way, guys," Pyle said. "With that in mind we came up with a pretty cool plan ourselves. (Rep. Mario Civera, R-Delaware) did. We tried at least a month and a half to get them to consider it and they'd have nothing to do with it. Meanwhile, day care providers are calling more and more everyday. I'm like, we're supposed to better lives. I thought that was the cardinal rule." The Associated Press contributed to this report.
By MARK SCOLFORO and MARC LEVY, Associated Press Writers HARRISBURG - Gov. Ed Rendell and legislative leaders reached a budget deal Friday to end Pennsylvania's distinction as the last state still fighting over its annual spending plan. The $27.95 billion budget would raise tax rates on some businesses, raise the cigarette tax to 25 cents per pack and draw more than $1.5 billion from state reserves. The agreement, which still requires legislative approval, also would raise money from legalizing table games at the state's slot-machine casinos and allowing more natural gas exploration in state forests. Overall spending would be slashed by about 1 percent, and the state income tax and sales tax rates would remain the same. ``There are no winners and losers in this,'' said Rendell, flanked by leaders of the House Democrats and Senate Republicans. ``I know it's hard for the people of Pennsylvania to accept the fact that they are the winner, but they are.'' At Rendell's insistence, the deal would boost funding for public schools' operations and instruction by $300 million, or more than 5 percent. It also would cut $39 million in tax credits, generate an estimated $190 million from a tax amnesty program and tax ``little cigars'' at the same rate as cigarettes, according to a memo sent to Republican senators and obtained by The Associated Press. The deal also would, for the first time, apply the state sales tax to tickets for theater, dance and performing arts events, concerts, museums, historical sites, zoos and parks, according to the GOP memo. An additional 2 percent of slot-machine gambling revenue, money which currently benefits Pennsylvania's race horse industry, would be diverted into the state's general fund for four years. Senate President Joe Scarnati, R-Jefferson, said the deal met the negotiators' priorities and goals, and responded to the public's demand for compromise. ``They wanted to see it done and they didn't want to see any more bickering. Tonight, although there are compromises made, none of us compromised our principles,'' Scarnati said. It remained unclear Friday exactly which programs would be cut, and by how much, and whether more state employees will be laid off. Rendell declined to go into any specifics, saying he did not want rank-and-file lawmakers to first learn the details from media accounts. The breakthrough followed months of negotiations over whether to fill a multibillion-dollar budget deficit through cuts, higher taxes or a combination of the two. Pennsylvania has been without a comprehensive budget since its fiscal year began July 1, although Rendell signed a partial budget to pay state workers and fund billions in spending. More than 300 of the state's employees have been laid off since July 1. While negotiators struggled for common ground, checks were cut off to the hundreds of private organizations and businesses that make up Pennsylvania's social safety net, forcing them to take out loans, lay off workers and shut down services to stay open. ``It is my hope that we can as quickly as possible get a signed budget so we can begin to have money flow to the many groups and organizations that are in desperate need of an infusion of cash to keep doing the things that they do so well for us,'' Rendell said. A week ago, leaders of the House Democrats and of both parties in the Senate announced a deal that included $1.2 billion in recurring revenues - mostly new taxes. However, Rendell threatened to veto it unless it had a more reliable revenue foundation and spent more on health care, education and financial incentives to encourage businesses to expand in Pennsylvania. At Friday night's news conference, Rendell said the new deal met those criteria, while adding revenue to that previous agreement. Substantial work remains before the budget can pass, including settling how money will be spent on hundreds of programs and moving a package of bills through both chambers. Assuming the agreement passes, that work may take about two weeks before it can be signed by Rendell. ``We have a lot of legislative traffic to run,'' said House Majority Leader Todd Eachus, D-Luzerne. House Republican leaders do not support the agreement, saying it allows too much spending and tax increases that they oppose. ``As unemployment goes up and revenues go down, it is the wrong time to take more money out of people's pockets,'' said Steve Miskin, a spokesman for House Minority Leader Sam Smith, R-Jefferson. j HARRISBURG - Gov. Ed Rendell and legislative leaders reached a budget deal Friday to end Pennsylvania's distinction as the last state still fighting over its annual spending plan. The $27.95 billion budget would raise tax rates on some businesses, raise the cigarette tax to 25 cents per pack and draw more than $1.5 billion from state reserves. The agreement, which still requires legislative approval, also would raise money from legalizing table games at the state's slot-machine casinos and allowing more natural gas exploration in state forests. Overall spending would be slashed by about 1 percent, and the state income tax and sales tax rates would remain the same. ``There are no winners and losers in this,'' said Rendell, flanked by leaders of the House Democrats and Senate Republicans. ``I know it's hard for the people of Pennsylvania to accept the fact that they are the winner, but they are.'' * At Rendell's insistence, the deal would boost funding for public schools' operations and instruction by $300 million, or more than 5 percent. It also would cut $39 million in tax credits, generate an estimated $190 million from a tax amnesty program and tax ``little cigars'' at the same rate as cigarettes, according to a memo sent to Republican senators and obtained by The Associated Press. The deal also would, for the first time, apply the state sales tax to tickets for theater, dance and performing arts events, concerts, museums, historical sites, zoos and parks, according to the GOP memo. An additional 2 percent of slot-machine gambling revenue, money which currently benefits Pennsylvania's race horse industry, would be diverted into the state's general fund for four years. Senate President Joe Scarnati, R-Jefferson, said the deal met the negotiators' priorities and goals, and responded to the public's demand for compromise. ``They wanted to see it done and they didn't want to see any more bickering. Tonight, although there are compromises made, none of us compromised our principles,'' Scarnati said. It remained unclear Friday exactly which programs would be cut, and by how much, and whether more state employees will be laid off. Rendell declined to go into any specifics, saying he did not want rank-and-file lawmakers to first learn the details from media accounts. The breakthrough followed months of negotiations over whether to fill a multibillion-dollar budget deficit through cuts, higher taxes or a combination of the two. Pennsylvania has been without a comprehensive budget since its fiscal year began July 1, although Rendell signed a partial budget to pay state workers and fund billions in spending. More than 300 of the state's employees have been laid off since July 1. While negotiators struggled for common ground, checks were cut off to the hundreds of private organizations and businesses that make up Pennsylvania's social safety net, forcing them to take out loans, lay off workers and shut down services to stay open. ``It is my hope that we can as quickly as possible get a signed budget so we can begin to have money flow to the many groups and organizations that are in desperate need of an infusion of cash to keep doing the things that they do so well for us,'' Rendell said. A week ago, leaders of the House Democrats and of both parties in the Senate announced a deal that included $1.2 billion in recurring revenues - mostly new taxes. However, Rendell threatened to veto it unless it had a more reliable revenue foundation and spent more on health care, education and financial incentives to encourage businesses to expand in Pennsylvania. At Friday night's news conference, Rendell said the new deal met those criteria, while adding revenue to that previous agreement. Substantial work remains before the budget can pass, including settling how money will be spent on hundreds of programs and moving a package of bills through both chambers. Assuming the agreement passes, that work may take about two weeks before it can be signed by Rendell. ``We have a lot of legislative traffic to run,'' said House Majority Leader Todd Eachus, D-Luzerne. House Republican leaders do not support the agreement, saying it allows too much spending and tax increases that they oppose. ``As unemployment goes up and revenues go down, it is the wrong time to take more money out of people's pockets,'' said Steve Miskin, a spokesman for House Minority Leader Sam Smith, R-Jefferson. j
By CHAUNCEY ROSS, chauncey@indianagazette.net This is Day No. 79 of the Pennsylvania state budget stalemate. A bridge budget enacted early in August allowed the state to pay its employees and to continue providing limited essential services. But state money has been cut off from human service agencies and from state-mandated programs run in Pennsylvania's counties and communities. That has forced agencies to reduce services, close up shop or find other ways to stay in operation. For the Indiana County Sewage Enforcement Agency, that means the prospect of sharply raising the fees charged for sewage system permits issued to county developers. To understand ICSEA, think UCC for sewage. The agency operates under agreements with 23 of Indiana County's 24 townships to permit, inspect and certify the sewage disposal systems on new construction projects, similar to the Uniform Construction Code permit process for buildings. Now, ICSEA is rallying for support from local officials. Township supervisors across the county are being asked to sign a letter to legislators, urging a fast resolution to the budget impasse. The Burrell Township board of supervisors signed on at their meeting Wednesday. Without the state money, property owners -- not just those with construction projects -- would have to pay higher taxes, as supervisor Chairman John Shields sees it. The state reimburses ICSEA for 85 percent of its qualifying expenses, and ICSEA collects local fees to cover the remaining 15 percent of its budget, according to a letter to local officials from Mike Duffalo, the administrator of ICSEA. The agency charges $200 for a site permit application and collects $480 a year from each township to stand as the local authority for enforcing state sewage facilities laws. Duffalo said ICSEA borrowed $100,000 to cover this year's expenses and is eligible for a check for $103,000 from the Department of Environmental Protection. But without the reimbursement, the agency would have to charge $4,500 to each township to be able to repay the loan, he said. And if the reimbursements are permanently slashed from the state budget, Duffalo said ICSEA would have to raise the local fees in one of two ways in order to stay in operation: Increase the permit fee to $400 and the municipal membership to $3,600. Raise the permit fee to $800 and charge the municipalities $1,800 per year. In either case, the township membership charge would be passed along to local taxpayers. The budget needs to be passed, Shields said, "so that the sewage costs don't go up and cause a burden on taxpayers and on sewage servers. "It's going to cause taxes to increase, probably tremendously, and other costs for permits for new construction or additions to sewage systems. And down the road, it could possibly mean higher taxes in other areas to cover maintenance for the township."
By LAUREN DALEY, ldaley@indianagazette.net BLAIRSVILLE -- While Blairsville's new development authority is waiting on funds tied up in the state budget impasse, the group is heading to the bank for a small loan. And at the request of the Blairsville Community Development Authority, borough council agreed Tuesday to act as guarantor. "The problem is we're caught in the state budget squeeze. We owe money and we aren't getting any checks," said Joseph Serwinski, chairman of the BCDA. "We're moving on with programs and incurring debt." The BCDA was formed in June to administer the borough's state grant monies, primarily from the Main Street and Elm Street programs, in place of the Blairsville Improvement Group. BIG had been waiting for state funds since at least April. The BCDA is waiting on approximately $95,000 from the Department of Community and Economic Development for Blairsville's fifth and final year of the Main Street program. Approximately $30,000 will go to operational dollars and the remainder for facade improvement, Serwinski said. The state has withheld the money, but borough manager Tim Evans said funds should be coming down in a matter of weeks. "Right now, if we paid our bills, we'd be in the negative. We have $3,500 in our checking account about $5,000 in receivables," Serwinski said. "We always thought, ‘It will come. It will come in tomorrow's mail' to get this resolved." In light of that, the BCDA is applying for a $50,000 bridge loan until state funds are released. The group asked the borough to act as the guarantor. The BCDA already approved applying for the loan and will borrow against its current state contracts.The loan will cover $35,000 in operational costs and $15,000 for appraising properties at the west end of Market Street to be redeveloped by independent contractors as part of an infill housing plan. That project ties into a $3.1 million state-funded project through the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation for improvements to Market Street, restoration to the Diamond and enhancements to a proposed bike trail. The appraisal money, Serwinski said, will eventually be reimbursed when the properties are sold. And when state money is released, the BCDA will pay back the remainder. The chairman said the loan will be enough to help out, and the group is close to receiving its state funds. "The staff is still getting paid. We'll be all right," he said. Borough solicitor Patrick Dougherty said it's not uncommon for newly formed municipal authorities to make such a request or for the borough to honor it because it would already be obliged to what is in the coffers or debt if the organization ever folded. "Because this is a municipal authority created by this borough, you're on the hook anyway to be the guarantor," he said. Council members Mary Ugoletti, Chuck Lydic, Jeff Marshall, Ron Evanko and Andy Baker agreed to back the loan. Joe Caugherty was absent. In related business, borough manager Evans also noted that the DCED formally approved the creation of the BCDA and the transfer of the cooperation agreement between the group and the borough. Council also authorized cooperative agreements to turn over any Main Street and Elm Street funds that may come from the state the BCDA. The borough is awaiting word on its Elm Street application and has not received funds yet, but officials said authorizing an agreement is an important procedural step. "All council is trying to do is put foundation in place in the event Elm Street money is approved and released so you don't have to wait for another council meeting or BCDA meeting," Dougherty said. "The DCED needs to see this in place. … It's just another piece of the puzzle to get them up and running." The agreements run concurrent to the length of the grant programs.
By SAM KUSIC, skusic@indianagazette.net To fill the multibillion-dollar glass that is the state budget, legislators are planning to uncork a variety of bottles from the wine cellar. They're all valuable, and one of them contains -- they think -- $100 million worth of demand for access to state forestland. Of the budget's revenue-side proposals, that one calls for opening more forestland to natural gas well drilling, an idea that has been floating around since spring. But what isn't clear is how the budget negotiators responsible for the plan now on the table arrived at that figure. Details such as how many acres they propose to open for leasing and how much money they expect to bring in on a per-acre basis have yet to be determined, said Erik Arneson, Sen. Dominic Pileggi's communications and policy director. Pileggi, R-Delaware, is the senate majority leader. Those numbers are being hashed out this weekend, Arneson said. The state has conducted lease auctions before, but as a budget-balancing maneuver, it takes projections from legislation Rep. Dave Reed, R-Indiana, unveiled in March. His bill never made it out of committee, though it was later incorporated into a budget proposal from House Republicans. Reed's bill allowed for a lease auction of 130,000 acres of forestland a year over the next three -- 390,000 acres in total. It set a minimum per-acre bid of $2,000, and it directed 80 percent of the proceeds into the state's general fund. The remaining 20 percent was to have gone to conservation districts and to counties and municipalities that host natural gas wells. Reed's bill figured the state stood to gain about $208 million in lease proceeds alone in the first year. The state also would be collecting a 16 percent royalty on the gas pumped from the earth. The bill was meant to counter Gov. Ed Rendell's proposed severance tax on natural gas. Rendell ultimately scuttled the tax, saying that from a practical standpoint it wouldn't have been worthwhile to implement this year. Natural gas prices, which already were on the way down, have fallen even more since Rendell introduced the idea in February. By the time the state implemented it, they would receive about six months worth of taxes on it, not enough to put a dent in the budget problems. Considering the forestland already under lease, Reed's proposal would open more than half of the state's 2.1 million acres of forest to drilling. The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources has said it has doubts about the feasibility of additional drilling, saying that much of the suitable land has already been spoken for. In July, John Quigley, DCNR's acting secretary, said that, at best, the state could offer up to 225,000 acres. "However, leasing all of that acreage will irrevocably change the character of state forest land with the necessary roads, wells and other infrastructure," he said. "We also know that lessees will consider accessibility to roads and gas line infrastructure before they lease. Not all remaining land has sufficient access." There also were doubts then about whether the $2,000 per-acre minimum was reasonable. And there are questions now of whether it makes sense to conduct a lease auction when gas prices are so low. When the last lease auction took place, gas was selling at all-time highs. On Friday, it was down to $2.96 per 1,000 cubic feet. But Reed said the minimum is a fair market price, one that he set after close consultation with industry representatives. Industry representatives have said there is added value in state forestland because they are able to lease large tracts from a single owner -- the state -- in a single transaction. In the alternative, they must cobble together tracts from multiple parcels and multiple landowners. However, Jan Jarrett, president and CEO of the environmental group PennFuture, said that to do an auction now is nothing more than a giveaway to the natural gas industry. "Now is not the time to allow wholesale leasing of our state forests when drillers could pick up leases at bargain basement prices," she said. She said that at the moment, gas companies are paying $250 to $500 per acre on land leases. "This is no way to balance Pennsylvania's budget. Thoughtful legislators should vigorously oppose this deal solely on the grounds that it cheats Pennsylvania taxpayers out of reasonable payment for the exploitation of a public resource, and it's a sweetheart giveaway to giant energy corporations." Others are skeptical, too. Rendell, who said Friday he wouldn't sign the budget as is, said the estimate on the amount a lease auction would bring in, as well as from some of the other revenue estimates, seemed overly optimistic. "It's a problem we find throughout (the) proposal," said Gary Tuma, Rendell's spokesman. Another question that has yet to be answered is what the budget would do to the state's Oil and Gas Lease Fund. Under state law, money earned through oil and gas well leases on public land is supposed to be put into the fund, which has been in existence since 1955 and is used to pay for land acquisitions for state parks and forests and to help pay for the infrastructure to support them. But it wasn't clear whether budget negotiators plan to put any proceeds from an auction back into the fund. They are, however, proposing to make two withdrawals from it. Under the proposal, they would prop up the budget with a $143 million transfer this fiscal year, plus a second $125 million transfer in 2010-2011.
By CHAUNCEY ROSS, chauncey@indianagazette.net This is day No. 73 of the state budget stalemate. "Due to the lack of a Pennsylvania state budget and funding for our program, New Choices will be closed until further notice." That's the message on the telephone answering machine at New Choices, New Options, a career-development program that helps people find jobs in Indiana County. Most clients are single parents, those making transitions between careers or people rejoining the work force. A program secretary has been reassigned to other duties at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, but ironically the program director, Lisa Brochetti, is out of work while the budget remains unresolved. "This should have been the first week of our classes," Brochetti told the Gazette. "We are patiently waiting for the state budget to be finalized and hopefully we can be up and running." The Pennsylvania Department of Labor awarded $137,000 to the Indiana program last year. The grant was meant to provide service to about 70 people, but Brochetti said New Choices assisted 96 job seekers, "a sign of the times." Brochetti said Indiana's New Options program is one of 27 similar offices set up across the state. In all, they served 2,699 people, according to a fact sheet prepared for state legislators. "How could they not fund this program?" Brochetti said. "Whatever they gave us, we saved them more than that across the state. It's a no-brainer." The state awarded $2.5 million for the New Options programs, which in turn placed 2,267 people in jobs or training. That saved the state from paying $3.3 million in welfare, food stamps, unemployment compensation and medical assistance, the fact sheet shows. And the workers paid $2.4 million in taxes to federal, state and local governments. Even though she's on hiatus, Brochetti visits the New Choices office once a week to check the mail and phone messages. "I have actually updated a few résumés for people just because they have a job interview and asked if I could do this," Brochetti said. "I do what they need, print them out and leave them outside the office for them to pick up." For many other human-service agencies in Indiana County, the clock continues to tick. When it reaches midnight -- when the money runs out -- is different from office to office. The Community Guidance Center in Indiana expects to operate until December without a state budget. So can the Indiana County Child Day Care Program and Alice Paul House, the domestic assault and crime victim counseling center. The Open Door Alcohol and Other Drug Treatment Center "can scrimp by" through mid-November, thanks to a $250,000 line of credit. And the news hasn't changed for Indiana County Community Action Program (ICCAP), where another round of layoffs is scheduled next week. Normally 45 workers serve the agency and its clients. That's down to 21. On Monday, eight more will take leave. The Indiana County board of commissioners called a summit of local human service agency leaders Thursday for a status report. They weren't offering the kind of help provided in July: a $350,000 line of credit to keep the Medical Assistance Transportation Program in operation for another month. But they learned about the trickle-down, trickle-up and trickle-over effects that will come as services dwindle. For example, the police, 911 and hospitals could expect calls for help if The Open Door has to idle its crisis hotline, according to center director Vince Mercuri. And if child day care gets scarce, some parents may have to quit working and collect unemployment and welfare benefits, said Sue Snyder, director of Head Start. Already, she said, some pre-kindergarten programs have been unable to resume because of the budget deadlock. And without state subsidy money to defray their child care costs, parents would need to pay up to $160 a week to place an infant in a day care center. "The child care arena is coming down and it's scaring people," Snyder said. "These families want to go to work, but if they can't find child care they have to give up their jobs. We're all here to help people get new jobs, and now it's kind of falling apart." "When services are cut through (the other agencies), they come to me," said Paula McClure, the director of Indiana County Children and Youth Services. "So my numbers will be increasing. "For MATP … we are now transporting them to the Guidance Center because they need to go there in order to keep their children in their home. "We have people who need day care in order to keep the kids in the home," McClure said. "I'll be paying it, or we'll be placing the children (in foster homes)." Like other agencies, CYS has received no state money since the fiscal year began July 1. But McClure said the state also still owes $132,826 to CYS for foster care and adoption assistance services as far back as October. "They are the safety net," McClure said, referring to the other agencies represented at the summit Thursday. "That helps prevent people from becoming involved with us. It keeps our numbers, our open cases and our placements down. If we don't have the safety net, our numbers will increase." With the exception of ICCAP, New Choices and pre-kindergarten, no agencies have had to reduce or stop providing services. Clients that depend on the Medical Assistance Transportation Program for critical care have been sent to the Indiana County Assistance Office to qualify for service that the welfare system continues to provide without interruption. "That money is flowing," said Bonni Dunlap, the director of the Indiana County Department of Human Services. "Food stamps, cash assistance, medical assistance provision -- those things are still flowing. And because they have access to that, that money is flowing for medical transportation." In addition, the county expects to get $362,000 that was provided for medical transportation in the so-called bridge budget -- the stopgap spending plan that Gov. Ed Rendell signed in August, allowing state employees to get their paychecks. Dunlap said the money is to be used for critical care only -- with priority given to patients who need rides for dialysis, scheduled surgery, cancer treatment and critical mental-health services. "What we want to do is to circle the wagons for Indiana County," Commissioner Chairman Rodney Ruddock said at the summit. "All you hear is ‘have patience' right now. But that's always difficult when you're looking someone in the eye and saying ‘I'd like to be patient but I am going to have to lay you off.' That's not always an easy task to do. "And I was hopeful we would not need to have this meeting today, frankly. We thought the state budget would be passed but at this point it has not been. "We don't have the resources here, financially, that we can really dive into. We're restricted as you are; our budget is pretty tight. But we don't want to see any programs go unsupported financially if individuals … have to deal with life."
The Senate Wednesday unanimously approved a bill introduced by Sen. Don White, R-Indiana, to ensure the state honors leases allowing groups to use state park facilities during the impasse over the state budget. Senate Bill 974 preserves the rights of any group with a valid lease to use a state park regardless of any decision by the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) to close, restrict access to, or modify services at the facility. "Fortunately, this wasn't an issue during this past summer despite concerns that the administration would follow up on its threats to close state parks in the event of a stalemate over the state budget," White said. "Even so, I sincerely hope the House will quickly approve Senate Bill 974 and ensure the commonwealth upholds its end of the bargain when it enters into agreements with groups to use Pennsylvania's state parks." Earlier this year, DCNR Acting Secretary John Quigley unveiled a list of 50 state parks that could be closed in the event of a budget impasse. The parks have remained open during the current budget impasse, despite concerns the lack of a budget could result in closures and/or limitations of services and hours of operation. "A number of youth organizations such as the Scouts and the State Police Camp Cadet program hold leases with the DCNR to use state park facilities for special programs. Those groups were extremely concerned that the administration would follow through on its threats, which would have jeopardized those programs," White said. Moreover, they are concerned such fears of closure will occur on an annual basis and therefore discourage parents from enrolling their children in the various activities. My legislation will provide stability and surety for those groups and families. They will be assured that arrangements to use the state park system will not be impacted now or in the future by a budget impasse, allowing parents to confidently enroll their children in these programs," White said. "Our state parks are owned by and intended for the use of all citizens. Neither they nor the individuals and groups that enjoy them should be used as pawns to promote a political agenda."
By CHAUNCEY ROSS, chauncey@indianagazette.net Today is Day No. 71 of the state budget deadlock. The Indiana County board of commissioners has called a summit of local human-service providers Thursday in the County Court House. The board probably isn't in a position to put up $350,000 of county funds, as they did in July, to keep the medical assistance transportation program operating. That program helps pay transportation costs to medical appointments for about 2,500 county residents annually. But Chairman Rodney Ruddock said the commissioners have an obligation to know where the agencies stand as the cash drought wears on. At I&A Residential Services, the state funding shutoff has a lot of people on edge: Executive Director Heather Geddes, the 47 agency workers and as many as 51 people with mental health problems who depend on I&A to keep a roof over their heads. I&A operates in Indiana and Armstrong counties. Only a few beds are empty in Armstrong County. "Our residents are already nervous about the budget and I don't want to give the impression that they're not going to have a place to live," Geddes said. "But in residential (services) it's not that simple to downscale because you've got people living in beds and they would obviously have to have some place to go." Displacing a population in need wouldn't be easy. Moving people with mental illness would be difficult. Finding new places for all of them would be impossible. Geddes said personal care homes might take on residents who depend on Social Security. "However, since we're non-profit and take everyone, we do have some people who are indigent who truly would have no place to go," she said. The options have been disappearing: Eastern Orthodox Foundation has closed its homeless shelter. Pathways, operated by Indiana County Community Action Program, is full and also will go dark without state funding. And Armstrong County has no homeless shelter to speak of. "It's tough and we're on a shoestring," Geddes said. "So we've downgraded the cable … we're in survival mode here. We're keeping our head above water." I&A shelters its clients in 14 homes in the two counties and has a staff of three case workers who visit 60 more mental-health service consumers -- 40 in Indiana County, the others in Armstrong. Each caseworker makes 20 visits a week. If I&A had to cut the service, the consequences might be more costly, Geddes said. "If people are not receiving the support in the community, they're liable to use the (hospital emergency department) more, they're liable to get possibly tangled with the law," Geddes said. "We don't want to have our people flooding the ER. We want to keep our people stable in the community. "The whole point of what we're doing is trying to divert people from the state hospitals or from short inpatient stays. And that's a lot better for everyone financially." The Indiana Community Guidance Center and the Family Counseling Center in Kittanning refer people to I&A Residential Services. Residents pay an income-based rent if they are able, recently totaling $18,000 a month -- a small share of the agency's $1.8 million annual budget. I&A gets the rest of its money from county and state sources including the state's Community Hospital Integration Program. Without state funds, I&A will max out its line of credit by the end of September and have to start looking for other help. "We know we can't move these people," Geddes said. "We need to make it work."
It appears that the commonwealth's budget impasse is now affecting those least likely to be able to care for their basic needs. The lack of state funding is now seriously affecting the operations of the Indiana County Community Action Program. Staff layoffs began in mid-August, and by late September, the homeless shelter will be forced to close. The Pathway shelter provides emergency shelter and support services for homeless individuals and families. If this program is suspended, entire families will be left without shelter and without the assistance necessary to meet even their most basic needs. By October, ICCAP may be required to terminate all services to Indiana County residents. I am hopeful that the residents of Indiana County appreciate the extent and the magnitude of services provided by the Indiana County Community Action Program. It is essential that housing, utility, food and shelter programs be continued to avoid devastating consequences to those least likely to be able to shift their limited resources to meet even their most basic needs. I would like to urge all county residents to support the projects and the mission of the Indiana County Community Action Program. Please contact your state legislators and the governor's office to urge passage of a state budget that will continue to fund these invaluable services. We are being asked to help individuals and families at a time when economic circumstances severely impact those with limited resources. I know that Indiana County residents will step forward, as they have in the past, to assist those in need. Again, please contact your legislators and urge passage of a state budget to fund the programs necessary to continue the programs that help those in need. David J. Flowers, Esq. Indiana
By CHAUNCEY ROSS, chauncey@indianagazette.net This is Day No. 66 of the Pennsylvania state budget impasse. At I&A Residential Services, the usual flow of funding has stopped. The agency, which arranges for housing and care for 51 people with mental illness at 14 facilities in Indiana and Armstrong counties, now is operating "month to month" on money being borrowed from a bank. Indiana University of Pennsylvania generally is running status quo, but only because of reserve funds that remained at the end of the last fiscal year on June 30. At Indiana County Community Action Program, the frustration over the state funding freeze is compounded. Already, the budget breakdown has forced the agency to lay off more than half of its employees. Its programs serving the hungry and homeless are the only ones still running. And ICCAP has an end-game plan showing how it will go out of business if the budget isn't settled soon: Operations will wind down, step by step, until the doors are locked, the building goes cold and no one gets any help. That day is less than eight weeks away. And there's more: As part of the federal economic stimulus program, ICCAP has been approved to receive $3.2 million for weatherization, a program that helps patch up drafty homes and make them more energy efficient. The elderly and the poor benefit from this. But to qualify for the $3.2 million, ICCAP first has to perform $1.6 million worth of weatherization projects by Sept. 30, 2010. Finding homes that need that much work won't be difficult because the income eligibility limit will be lifted and the amount of work that can be done also will be increased, ICCAP leaders said. The amount that the state has contributed toward that $1.6 million so far? $0. Executive Director Lorna Vite said ICCAP has run the weatherization program in Indiana County for many years, but it is not as high profile as the food banks or the Pathway homeless shelter. Still, the program performed $350,000 worth of work on 200 homes in the 2008-09 fiscal year. "This was a program that was growing and now it's dead in the water," said Cathy Reed, president of the ICCAP board of directors. "We were hiring people. And we have a certain date to get things done to receive this funding. But because of the budget issue, we have had to lay off these people, we can't hire anybody and we're not going to do what is required of us in order to get the funding because we have no money. It's a Catch-22." Reed is the advertising/marketing director for The Indiana Gazette. Vite said state officials have held back weatherization funds without explanation. "We still don't have it even though it was released in the bridge budget, and we have been required to be ramping our program up to accommodate the big money," Vite said. "A couple of months ago we believed this was going to work. The crews that we have are on layoff and not working." Vite said some ICCAP workers might not have been furloughed already if the state had been punctual about paying money owed on contracts for services performed in the last fiscal year. Until a week ago, the state owed ICCAP more than $300,000 for services completed before June 30, when the budget stalled. With intervention from state Sen. Don White, R-Indiana, the state is sending about $100,000 ICCAP's way. Vite said that money probably would be used to bring the weatherization crew back for necessary training. "Otherwise we wouldn't have a qualified crew to do that," Vite said. "Weatherization was once like a hidden program; it's been around for a long time. And now it's front and center because of the president's plan, which is wonderful, but here's a huge amount of money and we're required to spend half of it in one year to show that we can do what we say we can do. But every step along the way has been barrier after barrier, and we're still not there yet," she said. The best news, if the money comes through: ICCAP will have job openings to fill.
By CHAUNCEY ROSS,
chaunce@indianagazette.net
This is day No. 65 of the Pennsylvania budget stalemate.
The Alice Paul House, a domestic abuse and crime victim assistance center serving Indiana County, which received 38 percent of its funding from state sources, is "probably" able to maintain services at normal levels through October.
Aging Services of Indiana County, with a dedicated source of funding through the state lottery, has to run on reserves and "the tank is getting pretty empty" because the state has been slow to send out checks.
And if you count on borrowing hard-to-get books through the library-lending network, Indiana Free Library has been shackled on what it can get for you.
"Cambria County is the district center and some of the services they offer through interlibrary loan are funded by state money," said Kate Geiger, the director at Indiana Free Library.
"And because people have not been paid, they have been paying them with local funds and can no longer afford to do that, they are going to remove themselves from the rotation for interlibrary loans. We won't be able to borrow from them."
The network connection ended Tuesday. It cuts off Indiana from readily obtaining books from libraries in Cambria and Somerset counties.
It's not the only resource for book exchange, but it's a major one: "We rely heavily on them for our interlibrary loan materials," Geiger said.
What makes the book sharing service possible is funding for postage to ship the books back and forth. For Indiana Free Library, the amount is capped at 700 books a year, regardless of where the books are shared.
"We'll continue to borrow from other libraries and will offer that as long as we can afford to," Geiger said.
For months, Republicans and Democrats in Harrisburg have tried to hash out a budget plan. Democrats say more tax revenue is needed to fund programs and balance the budget and account for future deficits; Republicans say they will hold on the line on taxes and want to see expenses cut to eliminate deficits.
For the library, the next shoe may drop in January. That's when a large one-time state grant comes through.
"This year we had $124,826, and it was down 1 percent from 2008," Geiger said. If the grant is cut again in 2010, "that will affect a lot of things. We may get to the point at the end of this year where we are not able to buy new books.
"We hope we don't have to get to that, but it's possible. That pretty much depends on what we hear from the state and how much the cuts will be. We've heard everything from 13 percent to 55 percent, and that's significant for us.
"If it were 55 percent, we would have to re-evaluate next year and the end of this year based on that amount," Geiger said. "But we're not there yet."
http://www.indianagazette.com/articles/2009/09/04/news/indiana_county/10022870.txt
The state Capitol feels like it is a long way away. But students served by ARIN Intermediate Unit 28 could soon feel the impact of the state budget impasse in Harrisburg. Just last year the General Assembly passed a school funding formula designed to move the state toward a fair and adequate funding system for all districts. The formula was based on a comprehensive, statewide costing-out study that found Pennsylvania's system of public education was under-funded by $4.61 billion. Now, Republican state legislators want to renege on that promise to students, and flat-fund K-12 funding using temporary federal stimulus funds that disappear in two years. Our intermediate unit offers services to 25,800 students from 11 school districts and nine non-public schools in Armstrong and Indiana counties. My colleagues and I are proud to work in public education and believe we make a difference in our students' lives. Today, the state budget is more than two months overdue. Without a budget in place, the commonwealth has no authority to pay school districts and intermediate units the education subsidies that support their operations. So far, the commonwealth has failed to make nearly $1 billion in these state payments. As a result, 142 ARIN IU teachers and staff members may receive partial paychecks or no paycheck at all, beginning Sept. 15. That will cause us pain, but more lasting pain will be inflicted on the students. We can't allow this to happen. We must encourage our legislators to bring the budget to closure, negotiate in good faith and make adequate investments in public education. Gov. Ed Rendell initially proposed a $418 million increase to keep the promise of the funding formula enacted last year, but has reduced that to $300 million. The General Assembly should keep the commitment to kids by increasing basic education funding by at least $300 million. As a teacher, I have an obligation to set an example for my students that starts with keeping my word. I believe our elected officials in Harrisburg have the same obligation. We need to tell our legislators that this is a crisis they can and should avoid. If we don't, the crisis in Harrisburg will land right here in Indiana. Nancy Jones President, ARIN IU Education Association
By CHAUNCEY ROSS, chauncey@indianagazette.net It is Day No. 64 of the Pennsylvania budget impasse. The Indiana County Community Action Program laid off nine additional employees on Monday due to a lack of contracts to provide state funded services to the needy. A mental-retardation services monitoring program run by The Arc of Indiana County ordinarily would have been running by now, but state funds to cover the expenses have been curtailed. And today is the day local day care centers and homes have to total up the hours that the kids spent under their care in August and send in requests for subsidy payments for care provided for low-income families. Payments usually get to the providers between the 15th and 20th of each month but without a state budget, the care centers will go unpaid. Linda Berryman, executive director of Child Care Information Services of Indiana County, said the bills should amount to $200,000 for August. As a clearinghouse for child care services, CCIS verifies income eligibility of families requesting state aid and keeps lists of all available day care facilities in the area. At Ark Kids, a day care center along Route 553 in Penn Run, with about 30 children enrolled on average, director Sue Good said the state reimbursement accounts for one-fourth to one-third of her total revenue. Someone has to carry the loss if there's no money. "Who can lose a quarter of their income and not have some impact?" Good said. Ark Kids has three full-time workers including Good and three part-time workers. With the prospect of one job being eliminated, Good said, all the workers agreed to take a cut in their hours and pay. "Our staff has been very gracious in sharing in the burden of decreased hours. These are adults who are truly committed to kids. Rather than have somebody leave, since we're a team, let's everybody suffer a little." Good said some families who pay the full cost of child care have voluntarily been paying a little extra, rounding up their weekly bills. And she said the families who qualify for state aid have kept up their co-payments. "It's a three-way partnership," Good said. "The point is, the parents are holding up their part of the deal, I'm holding up my part of the deal. And CCIS did their very best, and extended themselves tremendously, using a line of credit … so they could make the July payments. But there is no more credit available to them so there will be no August payment." Good said Ark Kids takes in some children from Cambria County and was owed $1,000 for their care, but the corresponding agency in Ebensburg sent her $90. "I can't say to the state, ‘you're only paying me 10 percent so I'll only pay you 10 percent of my employee withholding, my workmen's comp and unemployment comp,'" Good said. "That's not going to fly. That's just wrong." As Good sees it, the state is sending a bad message by its example. "How do we hold individuals accountable if the state is not accountable? The state needs to hold up their end of the bargain now." Republicans and Democrats in Harrisburg remained far apart Tuesday on any compromise for a budget plan. Democrats say more tax revenue is needed to fund programs and balance the budget and account for future deficits; Republicans say they will hold on the line on taxes and want to see expenses cut to eliminate deficits.. Meanwhile, there's a fear among child-care providers and officials at CCIS that some small day care homes or centers may close their doors if they're not paid. Good said she will operate as long as she can. "I'm not wise enough to figure out what needs to be fixed. I just know that with no budget, families who need child care subsidy so they can go to work are going to be losing their child care. "I'm hanging on as long as I possibly can, but in truth, I don't have the personal resources to front that for very long."
The lack of a state budget is having a devastating impact on nonprofits and those they serve. Many nonprofits are laying off staff and cutting back services to children, to the elderly and to Pennsylvanians with special needs. Some counties are lending money to their nonprofits so they can continue to provide essential human services. Other counties have no money to lend. Their nonprofits have been operating on the lines of credit since June 30. Time is running out, and so are their lines of credit. We have been told that if Pennsylvania still has no budget by the end of this month, the remainder of the state's 67 counties will no longer be able to cover the lack of state funds. Nonprofits employ one out of every nine full-time workers in Pennsylvania. If a budget is not passed soon, hundreds of nonprofits will be forced to close their doors and thousands could become unemployed. We urge you to pass the state budget now! One that appropriately funds our community assets; one that allows nonprofits to continue their work; one that protects our children, families, elderly and the most needy. Not having a state budget is hurting real people. We urge you to pass a good budget now, a complete budget -- not piecemeal; one that meets the state's responsibilities and contractual obligations; one that allows nonprofits to continue their work in their communities now and next year. I work for the Indiana County Community Action Program and found out this morning that as of Monday I will be laid off. I am a single mother of two who works hard to support my family and now, without a budget, I don't know how I will be able to do this. Thanks for causing me to be laid off with no definite answer to when I will be called back. You are hurting not only me, my family, other co-workers and their families, but everyone in our county that we have had to turn away because there is no money to help them. So as you lay in your warm beds, remember all the families that will lose their jobs, their homes, their cars and their live savings because our government can't come to an agreeable budget for this state. Tischa Richardson Shelocta
By RANDY WELLS, rwells@indianagazette.net In his introductory message in the booklet for the 147th Indiana County Fair starting this weekend, fair board president Ray Martin said "the fair is facing tough times" because of a roughly 50 percent cut in state funds that traditionally has supported the fair. The situation may actually be more dire than that. Fair general manager Ed Nehrig and fair treasurer Luida Shearer said Friday they are not sure if this year's county fair will receive any state money. Pennsylvania's two-month-old budget crisis has forced two other fairs -- the Pike County Fair in Milford and the Mt. Nebo Grange Fair in Allegheny County -- to cancel for this year rather than trying to make a go of it without state financial help. Last year the state provided $3.6 million to assist Pennsylvania fairs, and in February, Gov. Ed Rendell proposed reducing the aid to $2 million. "Without a budget, we're not sure what that reimbursement will be," said Justin Fleming, press secretary for the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture. The Indiana County fair booklet also includes a notice that because of the cut in the state's reimbursement for part of the fairs' premiums, or prize money, the local fair board is reserving the right to adjust premiums and disbursements this year. "To a member, we're determined not to cut premiums," which last year totaled about $28,000, Nehrig said. Nevertheless, the sluggish economy, cuts in the state's allocation and the lack of a state budget are all combining to make financing of this year's Indiana County Fair more of a challenge than usual. Organizers say a good attendance by the paying public and the generosity of sponsors will be especially critical in keeping this year's fair in the black. "For the times, our sponsors have still come through and supported us," Nehrig said. Staging the Indiana County Fair is an expensive proposition. It takes a budget of about $500,000 to pull the nine-day event together, according to Shearer. There are major expenses involved: $9,000 for security, $17,000 for insurance, $10,000 for cleaning Mack Park during and after the fair, about $20,000 for the sanctioned tractor pulling contests. In a normal year, the Indiana County Fair receives roughly $49,000 in state assistance: About $14,000 for allowable regular expenses, roughly $15,000 as a reimbursement for prize money and about $20,000 from a separate state pot for the purses in the harness races. The harness racing reimbursement is intact, according to Fleming, and the fair's three days of racing on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday are still scheduled. But the other state reimbursements are in limbo -- "Maybe nothing," Shearer and. And even if state reimbursements for fairs are approved when a state budget is passed, the money likely will not arrive until January or later, Nehrig said. That will make planning for next year's fair difficult because the directors will be forced to operate more from a line of credit than from a cash-on-hand approach. "More fairs may not open next year" than the two that have canceled this summer, Shearer said. The Indiana fair's main sources of income are gate receipts (and about one-third of that money goes to pay the midway carnival), fees paid by vendors and sponsorships. And with financial support from the state on the decline, the contributions of sponsors are especially valuable this year. In past years the board raised about $40,000 in sponsorship money from approximately 50 sponsors. "Our partner sponsors have still come through, although some have had to reduce a little," Nehrig said. Among the largest sponsors are the weekday sponsors. This year they'll be Turner Dairy, Tri-Star Motors, Indiana Regional Medical Center and the Indiana County commissioners. Sponsorships range from $100 to $1,000, and can be arranged for almost anything including a particular contest or a heat in a tractor pull. For the first time this year the stage in front of the grandstand will be referred to as the EQT Stage in recognition of natural gas producer EQT Corporation's sponsorship. "We'll put up signs and promote them on the PA system" to show appreciation for the sponsors' help, Nehrig said. This summer, perhaps more so than most, large crowds paying to enter Mack Park will be important for the fair. "We're hoping for a good attendance," Nehrig said.
By LAUREN DALEY, ldaley@indianagazette.net FORD CITY -- The Armstrong School District is asking the state to approve a budget that maintains "adequate and equitable" basic education funding. The board approved a measure to ask the Pennsylvania General Assembly not to roll back state funding for basic education that could "create a fiscal crisis for school districts, and that impact will be felt in the years to come by students and property taxpayers." Superintendent William Kerr told the board last week at its open caucus session that the issue was a "serious matter" due to the potential reduction of federal and state funds over the next two years. "It's a real partisan issue but we as educators understand the importance of getting increased subsidies," he said. The administration said it has taken cost-cutting measures to reduce expenditures by more than $2 million, which included not purchasing $700,000 worth of textbooks and $150,000 worth of computers; not making the district's annual $100,000 annual contribution to the food service department; and closing Elderton Junior-Senior High School. Eric Brandenburg, the district's business manager, said various budget proposals from Gov. Ed Rendell and the state Senate are "very far apart." One proposal, Senate Bill 850, could cause the district to potentially lose $4 million in state subsidies if passed. "We're trying to get this (resolution) passed for the betterment of education so the district doesn't lose a subsidy of $4 million," he said. The measure calls on the General Assembly to pass a budget that increases basic education funding by at least $400 million; maintain the commitment to the state's basic education funding formula; and not roll back state funds in the basic education subsidy.
By LAUREN DALEY, ldaley@indianagazette.net KENWOOD -- The state's budget impasse has the Penns Manor Area School District reaching into its reserve fund to pick up the void left by withheld state subsidy funds. Superintendent T.J. Kakabar said the district's first state subsidy payment would have come Aug. 31. But with Gov. Ed Rendell and the state Senate battling it out in Harrisburg, Kakabar said Penns Manor will have to dip into its fund balance. State subsidies, he said, account for more than 70 percent of the district's revenues. "We're not unlike other school districts. Thankfully we have the money in our fund balance that we'll be able to use to meet payroll obligations," he told the board of education Thursday. Business manager David Kudlawiec said the district is using the fund balance to cover approximately $600,000 a month for payroll. "We're not in any dire straits right now. If it continues for another three or four months, we'll have to be very creative," Kakabar said. And if the impasse isn't solved by the board's September meeting, Kakabar said he will present a resolution to the board to oppose Senate Bill 850, which he said calls for using federal stimulus money to fill in gaps in the state budget.
By CHAUNCEY ROSS,
chauncey@indianagazette.net
Pennsylvania's state budget timeline shows a handful of pressure points, as some view it. They're the points where outside influence could cause one side or the other to give in and agree on a spending plan.
One was the state workers' protest over a payless payday. If the impasse continues a few more months, schools will turn up the heat as they run out of savings and local tax money.
Another is unfolding in relative quiet as human-service agencies are reaching the end of their state contracts.
Indiana County Community Action Program (ICCAP) on Monday will cut back almost 20 percent of its staff, putting nine workers on indefinite layoff and reducing eight others from full time to half time.
And at the Armstrong-Indiana Intermediate Unit, about 200 employees will get their last paychecks Aug. 31.
"You're going to see the misery index continue to go up," said Vince Mercuri, executive director of The Open Door, a drug and alcohol counseling and crisis center.
"The whole system is probably going to start collapsing on itself at the end of the month," said Jim Kuemmerle, administrator of the Armstrong-Indiana Mental Health/Mental Retardation Program.
A sampling of Indiana County social service providers that depend on the state funding pipeline shows many looking at it the same way. It's dark at the end.
Armstrong-Indiana Intermediate Unit 28
The IU is unlike the public school districts that could operate until the end of the year without state money. ARIN doesn't collect a property tax or carry over the kind of bank balance that the local districts can rely on during the impasse.
The districts pay ARIN for its services and programs, but the state withheld the special-education subsidy checks in July.
ARIN has enough money left for the full payroll Aug. 31, but after that, just enough to cover benefits such as health insurance for the staff.
ARIN's executives and union leaders will meet this afternoon and they have invited the unit's 220 employees to decide what to do when students return to classes later this month.
"We have been on a tightrope," said ARIN Executive Director Robert Coad. "We have a state subsidy that we're not receiving as well as grants for projects.
"Do you scare the staff about not having money for payroll or do you warn them so they can prepare, save some money or work with their lenders?"
Coad said the bi-monthly payroll is about $400,000. Pay envelopes Sept. 15 will be empty.
Would the instructors be willing to take a lump sum payment later when the budget is settled?
It's a decision that Nancy Jones, president of the ARIN Education Association, said she would not make on her own.
"We have a very strong union here, we have been through thick and thin," Jones said. "I can confidently say they will work."
Jones said problems would multiply if the instructors refuse to work without pay, particularly at districts such as Homer-Center and Blairsville-Saltsburg, where ARIN provides the full special-education program.
"We have numerous classrooms at those districts and operate a multitude of special education classes. Kids come to the classrooms and stay all day long," Jones said. "They would be sitting in empty rooms and they would have no one to take care of them.
"They would have hundreds of kids out of compliance with mandated Individual Education Plans, the schools' programs would be out of compliance and they would be beside themselves."
Coad said putting the workers on layoff is not an option because ARIN is self-insured and would pay the full cost of unemployment benefits. The employees also would lose their health insurance. Coad said ARIN can cover the $175,000 insurance premium, but not the wages.
"So we anticipate that as the state workers did, they will do a good job and be paid later," Coad said.
"Since state workers have now been through this and they're getting paid, what's happening with the budget impasse is they are trading one set of salary hostages for another as the agencies such as ARIN run out of money."
Jones refused to hold only Gov. Ed Rendell and top legislators responsible for the stalemate.
"(Sen.) Don White and (Rep.) Dave Reed need their names attached to this," Jones said. "They may not be taking ownership, but somebody needs to step up to the plate."
Indiana County Community Action Program (ICCAP)
Today is the last day at work -- for now -- for nine ICCAP workers, and seven others are being reduced from full time to part time starting Monday.
Those are the only cutbacks planned now at ICCAP, where Executive Director Lorna Vite said rumors have circulated that the entire agency would close.
Vite said ICCAP would slow down and reduce some services but stay open and serve as many people as possible.
The problem not only is the lack of a budget and contracts since July 1 but also contracts that have gone unpaid for several months in the 2008-09 fiscal year, she said.
"This has put us in a precarious position," Vite said.
Already the Rental Assistance Program has run dry and cannot help anyone. It's not to say ICCAP is not taking applications.
"There were 20 families that would have been eligible for rental assistance if we would have had the funding," Vite said. "That means 20 families who are either homeless or have been facing homelessness since July 1."
Rental Assistance provides one month of rent or a security deposit for qualifying families who show the ability to pick up the payments after the first month.
The Pathway Homeless Shelter in Black Lick is continuing and so are the community food pantry programs held throughout the county.
But ICCAP has temporarily stopped sending extra staff members to the food distribution sites, where they provided information about all of ICCAP's programs to clients.
"Right now the goal is to keep the agency operating as long as possible without knowing how soon funds will be available again and flowing," Vite said. "This is an effort to keep the programs going.
"It may be at a reduced level, but we're still able to see people and provide as many services as possible by freeing up money to last longer."
The budget proposals and counter-proposals going back and forth in Harrisburg have shown funding being maintained, reduced or eliminated for the various programs run locally through ICCAP, but Vite said she expects all the programs to continue at some level and to recall all the furloughed workers.
Armstrong-Indiana Drug and Alcohol Commission
Executive Director Kami Anderson described the commission's plight this week at a human-services summit called by state Rep. Dave Reed, R-Indiana, to learn more about the impact of the budget stalemate.
Anderson said the legislative proposals would slice $165,000 from her $2 million budget, most of it in the Behavioral Health Services Initiative funded through the Department of Public Welfare. The program would be cut by 24 percent.
"That money serves the working poor and unemployed people," Anderson said. "And our demand has gone up increasingly over the last few years. We're seeing more heroin use than we've ever seen in Indiana County. We're having a lot of people come in for detox, which is one of the most expensive treatments that we have."
The D&A commission also stands to lose $20,000 for the restrictive-intermediate punishment program, which is both a sanction and a treatment ordered for people convicted of driving under the influence. The grant also helps to operate the Drug Treatment Court program.
Anderson told Reed the cuts don't make sense.
"Every dollar we spend on treatment saves $7 in other areas such as health costs, the court system and enforcement."
Already, the state money shortage has prevented the agency from filling two vacancies. Anderson said one will be permanent and the other will depend on the cuts in the final budget.
"We probably have enough cash flow to get us through the end of September, maybe into October, and then we're in trouble," Anderson said.
The trouble would trickle down to other agencies that provide services to the commission, such as The Open Door, in Indiana, according to Anderson.
The Open Door Alcohol and Other Drug Treatment Center
"The AIDAC provides close to 50 percent of the funding that we receive as an agency," said Vince Mercuri, executive director at The Open Door. "And the funding cuts they get are passed on to us."
The lack of a budget has curtailed the Medical Assistance Transportation Program in Indiana County and that has prevented some clients from keeping their appointments at The Open Door, according to Mercuri.
"So there's the financial impact and the human misery impact," he said.
The Open Door's 24-hour crisis hotline could take a hit and possibly be cut back to "banker's hours," Mercuri said.
"In 2003 when we went through a similar thing with Rendell, we cut back the crisis line. Other agencies then were calling us because they were inundated with calls from people dealing with drug abuse.
"Those people end up going to the emergency room and if they have no insurance, the hospital has to treat them and the state has to pay through Medicaid. It's penny wise and pound foolish," Mercuri said.
"What people need to realize is this has moved past a political shell game. This is now impacting daily the lives of the citizens of Indiana County."
The Open Door gets about half of its money from private insurance or clients who pay out of pocket, and the agency can tap a line of credit if necessary, he said, but it cannot run indefinitely without money from the state.
"I'm estimating we'll operate probably not more than three months if we use the line of credit," Mercuri said. "October would be tight."
Asking employees to work without pay is not on the radar.
"I'd have to talk to my board," Mercuri said. "Considering the fact we're helping people with drug problems and in crisis, people might be willing to do that. But I haven't ventured down that path with them."
Aging Services Incorporated
All programs are safe for now, and that should be a relief to a lot of people.
"Some of our home-delivered meal consumers are concerned," said Janine Maust, deputy director at Aging Services. "They've asked whether they're going to get their meals and if the drivers will have jobs."
Aging Services is assured of its money, but it may not be on time, she said. The PennCare program, which is funded by the Pennsylvania Lottery, provides 70 percent of the agency's funding.
The source is so solid that it was approved in the skeletal budget that released money for state workers' paychecks.
"It wasn't bluelined, but we were told we're probably not going to get it until the middle of September," Maust said. "We have until November before we really would have to do something."
Other agency leaders at Reed's summit mentioned that the money has been slow for several months.
"Even in good times, government money takes forever," Reed said. But the budget stalemate is not a reason that money from the 2008-09 has not been paid.
Now in its seventh week, the budget crisis began June 30 when the fiscal year expired, and with Gov. Rendell and state Senate leaders rejecting each other's proposals. A stopgap budget approved earlier this month only ensures that state employees get their paychecks on time, the poor get medical care and government offices, prisons and state parks stay open.
Reed said at his summit that since the state workers' "pressure point" went by, there have been no budget meetings.
"Let's be clear. They were not paying (2008-09 invoices) because the longer they held onto the money, they got the interest earnings and tried to bring in those dollars to make the deficit less," Reed said. "I'm not saying that's the right thing to do, but it definitely was occurring and it was not unique to human-service agencies."
Child Care Information Services
More than 100 day care providers will be on the spot in a few weeks when they miss their checks for watching kids during the month of August.
That might put low-income families on the spot, too, because day care homes and centers may be reluctant to take in state-subsidized children without a promise that they'll get their money, said Linda Berryman, director of CCIS.
"We just don't know what they are going to do," Berryman said. "Will they close their doors?
"Then where will the children go? That's the issue. Some providers say they will take other kids that some providers won't keep. But some families that are working may have to quit their jobs (and take care of their children at home) -- that's a possibility."
Berryman's office, a clearinghouse for matching families with child-care centers and homes, mailed out $210,000 in checks this week to 110 providers for caring for 563 children in July.
And that was bank money, borrowed against a line of credit, Berryman said, because the state money ran out with the June payments.
The CCIS staff will continue screening families to qualify them for subsidized child care.
"It is highly possible our employees will go without pay also," Berryman said. "But there's nobody marching around for us because we are not union.
"I don't think people realize how far-reaching this budget (impasse) goes."
Armstrong-Indiana Mental Health/Mental Retardation Program
At the meeting with Rep. Reed, Executive Director Jim Kuemmerle expressed more concern for money being cut when the budget eventually is approved than for the current cash shortage. The agency can rely somewhat on the commissioners in both Indiana and Armstrong counties to help with funding during the impasse.
One long-term problem could be a shortage of funding for residential services for people who would have no other place available, he said.
For now, Kuemmerle said, the main problems begin in Harrisburg.
"The state is saying we cannot … commit individuals to one of the state MR centers such as Polk or Ebensburg," he said. "I feel bad for those folks because they really are the neediest of the neediest and have to return to the community.
"I think the people at DPW … expect that nothing's happening, and for providers to continue to provide services as if they were getting paid, for transportation to go on as if nothing's happening. It gets really frustrating to deal with folks in Harrisburg who make demands of us," he told Reed.
"We're not magicians who click our heels and a pot of money appears. Eventually the whole system is probably going to start collapsing on itself at the end of the month.
"Our numbers are going up the same as national numbers are going up, in the type of economic times we're in. There's definitely an increase in services," Kuemmerle said. "We're just kind of putting our finger in the dam right now and hoping it doesn't leak too much more."
http://www.indianagazette.com/articles/2009/08/14/news/10021598.txt
By CHAUNCEY ROSS, chauncey@indianagazette.net The Indiana Area School District can operate on its own money until December without subsidy payments from the state, the district's business manager said at a school board meeting Monday. If the commonwealth's budget stalemate continued beyond that, the district would then consider going to a bank for a revenue-anticipation loan, Business Manager Dale Kirsch said. The budget impasse in Harrisburg has left the state without the authority to distribute money to local schools. Money that should have been sent in July would have gone toward special education, and the August check would represent the first installment of the basic-education subsidy. The state sent $246,288 to the district in July 2008 and almost $1.3 million in August 2008, Kirsch said. The district has money left over from the budget year that ended June 30 -- what school officials call a fund balance -- and some property owners already have begun sending payments on the real-estate tax bills that went out in mid-July, Kirsch said. The district can swap money among its accounts, if necessary. The capital reserve fund has $1.9 million that would have to be replaced later, Kirsch said. "We'll be in good shape until December," he said.
Who's to blame for the budget crisis? Where to start? The governor? The Republican officeholders? The Democratic officerholders? I blame them all and the public. Every day you read or hear of another sector that doesn't want its slice of the budget cut -- from public television to mental health agencies to things like the Elm Street Project, just to name a few. What all of the above-named forget is that if you want your program protected -- and they all do (including the public with interests in a program or project) -- you have to pay for it. And to pay for it you need tax money. If you don't have enough money, you have to raise taxes. We can't have it both ways! We either have the programs or more taxes -- or what they all don't seem to know how to do: compromise and think of the greater good instead of their egos. I also think we should thank the state workers who are working for payless paydays until the budget crisis is over. Pat Gazda Clarksburg
The Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee Tuesday unanimously approved a bill introduced by state Sen. Don White, R-Indiana, to ensure the state honors leases allowing groups to use state park facilities during the impasse over the state budget. White's legislation, Senate Bill 974, preserves the rights of any group with a valid lease to use a state park regardless of any decision by the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources to close, restrict access to or modify services at the facility. "This bill sends a clear message that the commonwealth will uphold its end of the bargain when it enters into an agreement with a group to use our state parks," White said. "I am pleased by the Environmental Resources and Energy Committee's support of the bill and I hope we will see it move through the Senate in the very near future." DCNR Acting Secretary John Quigley submitted a letter earlier this spring containing a list of 50 potential state parks to be evaluated for closing as part of the impasse. While the parks have remained open during the current budget impasse, previously there was some speculation that the lack of a budget could result in closures and/or limitations of services and hours of operation. "A number of youth organizations such as the scouts and the state police Camp Cadet program hold leases with the DCNR to use state park facilities," White said. "Those groups have told me that uncertainty about the leases, year in and year out, creates anxiety for their organizations and the families that participate in their programs. My legislation will provide stability and surety for those groups and families."
Frustrated by a lack of or reduced pay, state workers in Indiana County are protesting the absence of a state budget. About 110 people boarded two buses from the parking lot near Trader Horn in White Township to head to Harrisburg to join a protest July 28. The group included employees from the state Department of Transportation District 10, Indiana University of Pennsylvania and Torrance State Hospital. At right, about 15 guards from the State Correctional Institute at Pine Grove gathered at the county courthouse to protest.
By MARC LEVY Associated Press Writer HARRISBURG -- Six years ago, with Christmas just days away and school districts screaming for months-late checks from the state government, 14 Republican state senators voted with Democrats to pave the way for an increase in Pennsylvania's personal income tax. Now, GOP senators are again under intense pressure from Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell to raise the tax, but they say too much has changed -- their outlook, the economy -- for them to split again on a core Republican principle. "This is not the same old routine: The Senate Republicans will hold out for a couple weeks, no tax increase, then they'll negotiate," said Senate President Joe Scarnati, R-Jefferson. "That's not going to happen." The 2003 vote still stirs regret among some members of the caucus, even as they face another high-stakes test of their collective will as the Legislature's primary counterweight to the hard-nosed governor. Rendell, a former two-term Philadelphia mayor who came up through the city's political hurly-burly, says he will fight for as long as it takes to get the Legislature to approve the money he wants for public schools and his other priorities. So far, the budget standoff has dragged nearly three weeks past the July 1 due date, a product of the state's multibillion-dollar, recession-driven deficit and entrenched partisan positions on how to deal with it. Vendors and many state employees are going unpaid until a budget is approved, and universities and school districts are in a quandary over how to plan finances for the next school year without a commitment from the state. Some Republicans say they expect political fallout from the impasse, even though they believe the blame should fall squarely on Rendell's shoulders. They say a personal income tax increase is out of the question since the overwhelming majority of their constituents do not want one. Democrats, however, see the GOP stance as a disingenuous strategy that risks the state's local institutions and safety nets. Senate Minority Leader Robert J. Mellow, D-Lackawanna, said Republicans have focused on attacking an income tax increase to gain a political advantage and have refused to publicly discuss alternative ways to raise money that some Republican senators privately acknowledge are necessary to maintain crucial services. "We're not going to fund only Democrat school districts, you know," Mellow said. "Everybody's going to get funded and it's an obligation that every (senator) has of participating appropriately, not being an antagonist. It's the third week into a fiscal year with no budget. It's unfortunate and its reprehensible." Republicans insist that their spending plan is responsible, requiring only modest spending cuts that would preserve crucial services and leave the state in a sound position to deal with mushrooming pension and health care costs. In 2003, Rendell signed a bare-bones budget while withholding billions of dollars in public school subsidies to keep the heat on Republicans while he sought a tax increase to avert a deficit and boost education funding. Then-Senate GOP leaders Robert C. Jubelirer and David J. Brightbill battled into December before agreeing to a 9 percent increase in the income tax. Fourteen Republicans voted for it and 14 against it, while 16 of 21 Democrats supported it. "We capitulated, and I wanted nothing to do with it," said Sen. Don White, R-Indiana, who voted against the tax increase. Six GOP senators who supported the 2003 tax increase are still in office. One of the them, Sen. Jeffrey Piccola of Dauphin County, said he regrets his vote, which he said he made in the mistaken belief that it would satiate a new governor who had pledged to work with Republicans on improving the economy. Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi, who also voted for the increase, said Rendell made a compelling argument at the time that the state needed to raise its share of public school funding. But Rendell is unable to make a similarly compelling argument today, he said. Under Jubelirer and Brightbill, it was not unusual for the GOP to allow a top Rendell priority to get through the chamber with just a handful of Republican votes after negotiating a compromise. Under that theory, caucus leaders and a few others made the hard votes and let the rest of the caucus vote "no" to protect them against a primary challenger. In 2006, Jubelirer and Brightbill lost their jobs in the primary in what was widely viewed as a backlash by the party's conservatives against the unpopular legislative pay raises that were approved and rescinded in the previous year. All told, more than one-third of members have been elected since the pay raise, shifting the caucus solidly to the right. The new caucus leaders -- Scarnati and Pileggi -- now vet positions with the membership before heading into negotiations or bringing a bill to the floor. "We're in the majority, it makes sense," Scarnati said. "Let us vet the issue. We'll certainly hear the views of the minority, but ... whether it be the budget or major legislation, we should be passing it with 26 votes or more out of this caucus."
By CHAUNCEY ROSS, chauncey@indianagazette.net HARRISBURG -- When a few top legislators and the governor finally close the doors behind them and hash out differences over how to resolve the state's multibillion-dollar deficit, thousands of others will want to be in the room with them. The breadth of potential cutbacks to cherished programs and subsidies is breathtaking in this recession-ravaged budget year, precipitating layoffs, belt-tightening and longer waiting lists at everything from veterans' homes to public television stations. How it gets decided begins this afternoon when legislative leaders name three senators and three representatives to hash out the differences in budget bills crafted by the two houses. And they don't have an official deadline, for what its worth. "Here we are, 27 days past June 30, so I hope there is some immediacy," said Sen. Don White, R-Indiana. White's office last week was targeted by picketers, members of the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees, who have gone unpaid during the budget impasse. "What's frustrating is, and I told them, it's un-American to make people work and not get paid," White said. "The governor is hanging his hat on one commonwealth court decision" to withhold pay that hasn't been budgeted. "What's disturbing to me is we have the money to pay them," White said. "We (Republicans) have never used that kind of leverage, to hold these people hostage when we have the money to pay them. "It's the most embarrassing thing I've been involved with since I've been in office. I can't express how disgusted I am with the process, treating people like a poker chip." "I'm one of those commonwealth workers, too," said Rep. Jeff Pyle, R-Ford City, whose 60th state House district includes part of Indiana County. "I haven't been paid since the first of June," he said. Pyle called it a good sign that a conference committee gets to work on the budget. "It's a smaller group that's sitting there yelling at each other," Pyle said this morning. He vowed that whatever spending plan emerges from the committee won't get his support if it includes a tax increase. "My heels are dug in. The absolute worst thing you can do in a recession is to raise taxes, because it kills the only cure you have, which is to increase consumer spending. If they don't have as much in their pockets, they aren't going to spend as much." Pyle and White said the talk of lost state government jobs is most likely to materialize in the form of unfilled vacancies. Retirees won't be replaced. "If anybody was going to be laid off, it would have been done already," Pyle said. "But the governor chose not to lay people off and that would have qualified them for unemployment. He didn't want to go that way, he likes the heat turned up. "And I'm not buying into that silly nonsense. I'm not raising taxes because of (the governor's) less-than-honorable negotiating tactics." Gov. Ed Rendell's office has been flooded with phone calls, e-mails and personal visits to a far greater degree this year in response to talk of cuts in the state's approximately $28 billion budget, press secretary Chuck Ardo said. Even before the state's budget ax falls, many places are cutting back in anticipation of cuts to come. In Erie, the nonprofit public television station WQLN, which carries shows such as Nova, Sesame Street and Nature, has already laid off five staff members. It also ordered two-week unpaid furloughs for the remaining 25 employees to prepare for a partial loss of its subsidy of about $800,000 a year. Its costs are already higher, as well, since the Rendell administration recently shut down the Pennsylvania Public Television Network, which helped the state's eight public TV stations save time and money by providing a library of shared programming. So far, WQLN, which reaches more than 150,000 households in Pennsylvania, has kept its educational development workshops for teachers and childcare providers in the area. If the state eliminates WQLN's entire subsidy, more layoffs will follow, president and general manager Dwight Miller said. "That's all that's left to cut," he said. Hospitals from Coudersport to Philadelphia are also worrying over the potential loss of money. Some of those dollars support the state's most rural hospitals. Others help pay for services, such as trauma units, that treat a high proportion of the poor and uninsured. Also on the chopping block could be money to entice managed care organizations to use preventive outreach to keep Medicaid enrollees healthier and, in theory, less costly to taxpayers. University student tuition bills could rise substantially to fill in for state funding cuts, while museums, historical societies, zoos and more could lose millions in funding that helps to employ staff, keep doors open longer and bring in special exhibits. Attractions ranging from the Franklin Institute and the late architect Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater to the Tyler Arboretum and Hawk Mountain Sanctuary receive money. Waiting lists may lengthen for mentally retarded adults trying to find an independent place to live and veterans seeking a bed at the state's six veterans' homes. Even in government, counties and quasi-independent offices are issuing warnings. The director of Pennsylvania's fledgling Office of Open Records says budget proposals will gut her office, forcing her to lay off staff members who are already working 12- to 15-hour days to ensure that people have an advocate when they challenge government agencies for public records. "This is not just cutting money -- it's cutting the commitment to ensuring open and honest government," Terry Mutchler wrote in a recent editorial in The Patriot-News of Harrisburg. State Treasurer Robert M. McCord warned that the cuts under consideration to his office would force him to lay off staff, which could lead to payment backlogs. Schuylkill County is banning travel, conferences and some capital purchases in anticipation of sliding state support for the human services that consume two-thirds of the county's budget. Those services include meals for the elderly, court-ordered counseling for mentally disturbed adults and protection for neglected children. "We realize that there are going to be cuts," Schuylkill County Commissioner Mantura Gallagher said. "But even when you hear (about) a cut as little as 2 percent, 2 percent is a significant amount of money in any county's budget." Associated Press writer Marc Levy contributed to this report.
While we appreciate your coverage of the state budget impasse, we feel there are other viewpoints that need to be presented to the general public. We are writing to you from Torrance State Hospital. We are the staff that provides first-rate care for some of Pennsylvania's mentally ill citizens. We are the doctors, nursing, housekeeping, dietary, maintenance, transportation or security staff. We would also like to include the many folks in other state-run agencies such as the state police, PennDOT and the welfare office. While for most of us this job does offer an adequate benefit package, it does not come without its downside. There is always the element of danger when we go to work. Although not as dangerous a situation as the unpaid state troopers may face, we are providing care for those who have been deemed a danger to themselves or others. Nursing is sometimes a thankless job and then, to place icing on the cake, we are not getting paid for doing the jobs that we love to do. It is a real slap in the face. We are supposedly considered "essential" employees of the state. We are trying to provide for our families just like every other Pennsylvanian. One example I would like to provide is that of a husband-and-wife team. Both are employees here at Torrance (as are numerous other couples). This means there is no income coming into the household because both are hostages of this budget crisis. They have four children, some of whom are enrolled in college. They recently modified their home mortgage and according to the new terms, if the payment is not made on time, the home will go directly into foreclosure. These people are not pawns! Gov. Ed Rendell has placed this family two steps from the brink of disaster. With no income coming in, how are they to pay their bills, let alone feed and clothe a family? Yet, the good governor has the audacity to say that state employees should have a statue of him on their living room mantle. Where is the professionalism in that comment? We do not see this as a joking matter. Perhaps the families can sell their Gov. Rendell statues to the scrap yard for money to buy food. State employees received a partial pay Friday for the period of June 27 to June 30, and, depending on work schedules, some folks only got a two-day pay. In addition to the usual taxes being deducted, union dues and everything else was also deducted. Some employees will be lucky enough to have gas money to get to work. So as we the everyday people continue to suffer, we want the public to quit worrying because the fat cats in the Legislature are still able to eat. Why should they not have to worry where their next meal is coming from? We do. Gov. Rendell would like us to be grateful for the deals he worked out with some of the banks -- little or no-interest loans. However, if you don't have the proper credit rating, you are still out of luck because you do not qualify. Personally, we would rather that he had worked out the budget instead of wasting time brokering bank deals. We have also been told to apply for welfare benefits on Aug. 1 if things are not back to normal. Why do welfare recipients and jail inmates continue to receive their money and we get nothing? When we finally get paid, it is to come as one lump sum check. This means a greater amount of taxes will be taken out. If you get a payday loan, the real question is will your paycheck cover what you "borrowed?" We are betting not. Beverly Akins Suzanne Carnevali Janet Letosky Some of the state employees volunteers EDITOR'S NOTE: The letter was accompanied by 62 other signatures of people identified as staff members.
By RANDY WELLS, rwells@indianagazette.net The Armstrong-Indiana Mental Health/Mental Retardation Program has joined the ranks of entities having to resort to "fuzzy math" as it enters a new fiscal year and the state has no budget. The Indiana County commissioners Wednesday approved an operating agreement between Armstrong-Indiana MH/MR and the state Department of Public Welfare for contracting for residential care and day programs for more than 400 mentally retarded residents in the two counties. Jim Kuemmerle, director of Armstrong-Indiana MH/MR, told the commissioners his agency faces a "double whammy" -- the rates for some of the needed services for the mentally retarded have risen as much as 200 percent, and it's rumored that government funds to help pay for those services may be slashed 30 percent in the state budget being considered. Kuemmerle said the costs did not go up 200 percent across the board. Some increased 100 percent or 150 percent. But, he said, "Everything went up significantly." Previously, care provider rates were set at the local level. But starting with the new fiscal year on July 1, the commonwealth assumed that role, and for some reason -- Kuemmerle said he hasn't been able to learn why -- the allowable rates have increased. "That power really needs to reside at the local level," he said. Commissioner David Frick asked Kuemmerle if the state budget is cut, who will pick up the tab to continue providing the care to the two counties' mentally retarded residents? Kuemmerle said he doesn't know, and state legislators he asked could not give an answer either, he said. Commission Chairman Rodney Ruddock said the county does not have latitude in its budget to provide any help if it's needed. "In fairness to our legislative team, they're trying to balance a (state) budget," Ruddock said. And everywhere, groups whose funding is cut will be asking, "Why us?" The commissioners also approved an application from the county's Probation and Parole Department for an annual grant from the Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole. Denise Delancey, the county's chief probation officer, said the grant supports adult probation and parole services in the county, and the application seeks $556,181, but historically her department has received about $120,000 annually. "I could take a big hit on this" if the state budget is reduced dramatically, she said. People on probation and parole are assessed a $30-per-month supervision fee, and all of that money is ultimately returned to her office, she said. The commissioners proclaimed Aug. 2-8 as National Farmers Market Week in the county. Jane Dorr, president of the Indiana County Farmers Market, told the commissioners that the two local farmers markets are among 4,400 in the nation where farmers and consumers interact, selling and buying vegetables, fruits and other food fresh from farms. Farmers markets are held from 4 to 6 p.m. Wednesdays at Eighth and Church streets, in the parking lot behind Grace United Methodist Church, Indiana, and from 9 a.m. to noon Saturdays at Eighth and Church streets in the S&T Bank parking lot, Indiana; and from 4 to 6 p.m. Tuesdays in the Blairsville Presbyterian Church parking lot along North Walnut Street, Blairsville. The commissioners also recognized August as the 16th anniversary of the courthouse information desk. Since 1993, volunteers at the desk on the ground floor of the courthouse have handled more than 255,000 requests for assistance and directions, and have contributed more than 18,000 hours of service. The commissioners' next regular public meeting will be Aug. 12.
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