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Pennsylvania county officials alarmed by GOP budget plan
From 911 calls and child-abuse investigations to environmental programs and drug counseling, Pennsylvania's county governments handle a wide array of services, but most of the funding flows from the state and federal governments.
Now, as Gov. Rendell and Pennsylvania lawmakers wrestle with a $3.3 billion deficit and hash out differences over how to balance the state budget, counties are adding their voices to the heated debate.
At least 48 counties - most Republican-controlled - have approved resolutions in the last three weeks saying the legislature must "prioritize and adequately fund core government services" that counties deliver.
"The resolutions call on the legislature to recognize the interrelationship between the state and the county budgets and tax rates," said Douglas Hill, executive director of the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania. They stop short of espousing a certain tax, he said, "but there is a certain inescapability to that conclusion."
None of the counties in Southeastern Pennsylvania passed a similar resolution, but some commissioners say it's not that they don't agree with the message.
"I'm very alarmed by the Senate Republican budget. It cuts too deeply into the core functions of government," said Joseph M. Hoeffel III, a Democratic commissioner in Montgomery County. "A no-tax-increase at the state government is a property-tax increase for counties."
Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi (R., Delaware) said that if the counties want their current funding preserved without raising local taxes, they need to step up and call for a statewide tax increase.
"If they want a 16 percent increase in the personal income tax, then that would be a more meaningful resolution," Pileggi said. "Everyone wants more state funding; no one is calling for less funding."
Heading into the second week of the fiscal year without a budget, Rendell continues to push for a temporary 16 percent increase in the personal income tax - along with hundreds of millions in budget cuts. The Republican-controlled Senate last month approved a budget with no income tax increase that cuts deeply into funding for many services that counties provide.
House Republicans yesterday offered their own no-tax-increase spending plan. It would significantly expand gas drilling on state land, give amnesty to tax scofflaws, dip into state fund reserves, and make 12 percent across-the-board cuts in agencies' funding.
Counties are caught in the middle, Hill said, because state and federal funds account for a large percentage of county budgets.
Hoeffel said Montgomery County's budget of almost $500 million relies on $300 million in state and federal funds and cannot absorb major reductions without a tax increase.
"We have our own budget problems," Hoeffel said.
Revenue declines resulting from slumping property values have left the county with about 10 percent of its budget in reserve. Any less would harm the county's AAA bond rating, he said.
Bruce L. Castor Jr., one of Montgomery County's two Republican commissioners, said that if the state cut the county's appropriation, "we won't have programs anymore."
"County taxpayers cannot be expected to shoulder the burden," he said. "This commission will not vote for a tax increase."
The counties may not have a choice about increasing revenue, Hill said, because some services are mandated by the state or federal government.
While Hoeffel said counties have a moral obligation to provide services to the vulnerable, Chester County Commissioners Chairman Terence Farrell said the county had a legal and moral obligation to avoid a tax increase. Still, Farrell, a Republican, said human-services programs should be spared if possible. "Citizens don't want tax increases and still want services delivered, but at this point we can't do both," he said.
Pileggi argues that the counties have wide budget discretion over staffing levels and services. "Counties make choices and priorities all the time," he said.
Linda Cartisano, chairwoman of the Delaware County Council, said she opposed an income-tax hike even if it meant cutting certain services. "We want essential services maintained, but a tax increase is a last resort," she said. Cartisano, a Republican, said the board had trimmed travel expenses, purchasing, and nonessential jobs.
Still she said, "you can't lay off 100 people. You have to find another way."
Bucks County Commissioner Diane Ellis-Marseglia, a Democrat, said the income-tax hike would be "more tolerable" to citizens than a property-tax increase - which would affect all property owners regardless of income. Nonetheless, she acknowledged the difficulty of the legislature's task.
"They really are in a hard place," Ellis-Marseglia said. "They are damned if they do and damned if they don't raise taxes."
Contact staff writer Amy Worden at 717-783-2584 or aworden@phillynews.com.
