Wolf and GOP still snipe over budget

As Gov. Wolf and Republican legislative leaders prepared to return to the budget negotiating table for the first time in a week, the governor on Tuesday stopped in Norristown on a mission.

During a news conference, the first-term Democrat again touted his spending plan, and lobbed rhetorical grenades at Republicans, describing their budget proposal - which he vetoed six weeks ago - as an "insult," a "sham," and a "disgrace."

The spokeswoman for one Republican leader described that as "par for the course," and accused Wolf of unleashing "campaign-style rhetoric" whenever the sides start or end negotiations - a charge Wolf dismissed.

But Wolf's comments appeared to reignite tensions, offering little hope that the budget impasse - which began July 1, the deadline for approval - was nearing an end.

"We have got to get to the point where our financial house is in order," Wolf said.

Wolf and Republicans have different visions about how to accomplish that.

Ever since Wolf vetoed the $30.1 billion Republican spending plan the day before the deadline, both sides have dug in to lobby for their priorities.

For Wolf, that means more school spending and natural-gas taxes. Republicans oppose any new levies, and also want pension reform and privatization of wine and liquor sales.

The sides have been unable to bridge any gaps.

"He's still not telling the truth," said Stephen Miskin, spokesman for the House Republicans, who accused Wolf of glossing over tax increases in his plan.

Wolf, who was planning a similar media event in York on Wednesday, said he has not been a politician long enough to be "infected with those games germs."

And he said that if negotiations had slowed over the past week, it was because Republican legislators haven't been in Harrisburg.

"I have been in my office," he said. "They haven't."

The sides also have accused each other of refusing to compromise, and last month, tensions flared so high that House Speaker Mike Turzai (R., Allegheny) raised the prospect of voting to override Wolf's veto.

Jenn Kocher, spokeswoman for Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman (R., Centre), said Tuesday that at this stage, "a lot of the talk is hypothetical," and that it did not appear a budget agreement was imminent.

Worries are multiplying for local nonprofits that rely on state funding, said John Ramirez, chief operations officer for the United Way of Bucks County.

Ramirez said that most of them probably can operate without interruption into September, due to delayed billing cycles. But if the impasse drags beyond that, he said, many nonprofits will have to enact contingency plans - dipping into cash reserves, changing staffing, or asking banks for new credit lines.

"Everybody's pretty much on their own," he said.

Both Wolf and Republicans have declined to predict how long it might take to reach an accord.

And that, Ramirez said, leaves many in his field feeling frustrated and uncertain.

"To feel that the work that we're doing can be leveraged, in a way, for the political dramas that they're struggling through," he said. "You kind of shake your head at it."

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