On the State Budget...

As most Pennsylvanians know, legislative leaders and the Governor’s office reached agreement Friday night on a framework for the 2009-2010 budget. They are working to draft a line-item budget and a number of bills that must be passed before this budget can be enacted. This process is expected to take about two weeks.

PCCY urges legislators to continue to work with a sense of urgency to pass a budget based on this framework, as the halting of state revenue to local agencies has had a devastating impact on essential services for children and families. The longer we wait, the more vulnerable they become.

We are encouraged that despite intense pressure to do otherwise, legislators and the Governor agreed on a framework that demonstrates long-term commitment to education and appears to maintain Pre-K services and protect children’s health care. This is quite a feat in this economy, but one we believe was absolutely necessary.

Nevertheless, some local school districts will not receive all the federal economic stimulus funding anticipated from the state. PCCY remains concerned that this will have a negative impact on local school districts. We are waiting to learn how line-item decisions will affect child care subsidies, youth and family services.

The surprise inclusion of a sales tax on tickets to arts and cultural events and the continued exclusion of taxing smokeless tobacco was short-sighted and bad for children and community health. It is unfortunate that the original proposal of a small increase to the Personal Income Tax was not taken seriously by a majority of our legislators, as it would have provided a more comprehensive and fair approach to raising needed new revenue. Likewise, taxes on smokeless tobacco, candy and similar items should have been considered. We must all be part of the movement to develop long-term and equitable approaches to funding essential services for children and youth instead of picking and choosing taxable items in last-minute, back-room deals.

We hope to report more as firm and reliable information on this year’s budget becomes available. Meanwhile, thank you for all your efforts to secure a budget that supports our kids!

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To sign up for regular e-alerts from PCCY go to http://www.pccy.org/.

Three Things You Can Do to Help Pass A Budget That's Good for Kids!

Under the leadership of Southeast Pennsylvania’s own “Cool Hand Dom” (Sen. Dominic Pileggi of Delaware and Chester counties) the programs listed below will be slashed – some as much as 100 PERCENT! You can help save them.

1). WRITE TO THE INQUIRER. Let the Inquirer’s editors know you’re not as impressed with Pileggi’s cost-cutting efforts (see below) as they are! (‘Cool Hand Dom’ a key player in budget battle) Tell them how your community will be impacted by the service cuts that Pileggi proposes.


2). ATTEND A “THANKS FOR THE CUTS, SENATOR PILEGGI!” RALLY THIS Friday (7/31), 12 noon, outside the Senator’s Chester, PA, office,. 415 Avenue of the States, (Bring SIGNS stating your area to be cut. See below.) For more information, contact sheilas@pccy.org, call 215-563-5848, ext. 12 or link to www.pccy.org/ealerts.htm.


Budget Line Item Cuts Under the Republican Budget Proposal
Drug Education and Law Enforcement 100%
Violence Prevention 100%
Police on Patrol 100%
Safe Neighborhoods 100%
Inmate Education 21%
CHIP Program 10,000 Children Cut
Cancer Programs 57%
HIV/AIDS Programs 25%
Regional Cancer Centers 100%
Tourette Syndrome 100%
Hemophilia 100%
Epilepsy 100%
Children's Hospital in Philadelphia 100%
Children's Hospital in Pittsburgh 100%
Fox Chase Cancer Institute 100%
Burn Foundation 100%
Pre-K Counts 50%
Head Start 50%
Adult Literacy 27%
Charter Schools 12%
High School Reform 75%
Science and Math Education 100%
HEMAP 10%
Customized Job Training 54%
Business Retention and Expansion 100%
Small Business Development Centers 62%
Minority Business Development Agency 100%
Housing & Redevelopment Assistance 100%
Grants To The Arts 100%
Long Term Care 100%
Services to Persons with Disabilities 100%
SOURCE: 2009-10 Senate appropriations State General Fund Budget Chart

3). INFORM YOUR DISTRICT LEGISLATOR . . . he or she needs to stay on the job until the job is done. If you’re in Philadelphia, let them know your city is suspending payments to vendors. No recess until you pass a budget that responds to the education and human service needs of your constituents!

House Approved HB 1416 Last Night

For an update on the House budget vote last night -- one that's especially relevant to Southeastern Pennsylvania residents and what we should do next -- click here:

http://youngphillypolitics.com/pennsylvania_budget_sanity_versus_insanity#comment-32727 .

Senate Leaders Urge Service Cuts

Where Constituents Experience Greatest Need

Senate President Pro Tempore Joseph Scarnati represents four Pennsylvania counties – Cameron, Elk, Potter and Tioga – where constituents are coping with the highest unemployment rates statewide. Senate Appropriations Chair Jake Corman’s Centre County constituents are among those facing the highest poverty rates. Yet both leaders voted for Senate Bill 850 (see post below), which would strip crucial safety net programs from children and families, and are among the bill’s chief defenders.

Passed by the Senate in May, Senate Bill 850 makes deep cuts to early childhood education, children’s health insurance, basic and special education, autism services, mental health and mental retardation services for children, and public libraries.

In Scarnati’s district the unemployment rate ranges from 9.1 percent to 16.1 percent -- well above national and Pennsylvania averages. Over the past year it grew by a robust 6.6 percent. Corman’s district has a 14 percent poverty rate.

07.07.09 Abbreviated Poverty and Unemployment Chart

Although SB 850 failed to win House approval in June, many Senators still insist that it serve as the basis of budget negotiations with the House and Governor’s office.

If you live in Senator Scarnati’s or Corman’s districts – or even if you don’t -- how you suppose residents will cope with these cuts to basic services if the Senate version of the budget prevails?

How do you think residents will cope with the tax increase proposed by the Governor to maintain these services? For more information about the impact of proposed cuts in services and tax increase, see posts from June 25-July 1, below.

To post your remarks, click on ‘Comments’ below.

To send a letter to your legislators urging them to preserve services foir children and families, click here: http://capwiz.com/pccy/issues/alert/?alertid=13665631

Note: Delaware County is at the center of the battle over the Pennsylvania Budget. That's where both Senator Dominic Pileggi, chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, State Representative Mario Civera, Republican Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, live. The leaders in the fight against the Rendell budget aren't out in central Pennsylvania, where the Amish come and go. They're right here in the Delaware Valley--where we're all now supposed to be one big happy region.

Well..in this instance, regionalism ain't doing too well.Below is Senator Pileggi's latest statement on the budget, followed by a release put out today by two Democratic candidates running against Mario Civera--who is now running for Delware County Council. It joins the issue pretty well.

Meanwhile, the William Penn School Board in Delaware County voted on June 29th a 4.375% Property Tax hike to support their schools--about $120.00 more for an average homeowner with a house worth $75,000. That's $2.30 per week more just to support the schools. Wouldn't an .82 increase from Harrisburg that would support families, schools, hospitals, and small businesses make more sense?

Ed Schwartz, Institute for the Study of Civic Values

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Enacting a Responsible State Budget

By Senator Dominic Pileggi (Delaware County)

One fact – a simple, indisputable and painful fact – is at the center of the ongoing debate about Pennsylvania's state budget: the Commonwealth has a revenue shortfall of $3.3 billion.

My view, and the view of the Senate Republican Caucus, is that we should do exactly what hardworking families across Pennsylvania are doing: cut our spending to match the level of available funds.

The view held by the Governor and Democratic leaders in the General Assembly is that the state should increase taxes – including a 16.3 percent, $1.5 billion increase in the personal income tax – to spend more on government programs.

I believe it is wrong to increase taxes at a time when so many people are losing their jobs, losing their homes, and struggling to make ends meet.

Two months ago, the Senate passed a budget that does not increase taxes, relying instead on cuts to state spending. Since that time, the 203 members of the House have yet to debate or vote on a budget.

Instead, the Governor and his public relations apparatus have engaged in a full-time effort to convince you that the Senate's approach will cause the sky to fall in Pennsylvania.

An objective look at the numbers shows that while difficult choices must be made, essential government services can be maintained and improved without increases in taxes and spending.

Under the Senate-approved budget, state and federal funding for public schools would increase by more than $720 million, or 11.7 percent. That is a generous increase in any year. It is an extraordinary increase during these difficult times.

Of the 62 school districts in Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties, 57 will receive an increase of more than 10 percent – and all of them will see increases of at least six percent. Philadelphia School District, for example, will receive $212 million in new funds, a 20 percent increase.

Schools will also receive an additional $500 million in capital funds for renovations and construction.

In addition to those substantial new investments in our public schools, the Senate-approved budget protects public safety by providing increased funding to the Pennsylvania State Police and the Department of Corrections. The social safety net provided by the Department of Public Welfare will remain strong with a funding increase. And funding for many other key programs – such as children's health insurance and autism services – will be maintained or increased.

The sky is not falling.

There is no question that the Senate-approved budget contains many spending cuts. Some of those cuts were very difficult to make, and I hope will be reexamined when the recession ends.

But cuts have to be made, because the only alternative is increasing taxes. And a tax increase will not only hurt individual Pennsylvanians, it will also slow down economic activity and cause the recession to last even longer.

Just last month, the Governor himself said, "This is a bad time to raise taxes because any tax increase hurts the level of spending. So I am philosophically against raising any taxes."

He was right then, and I urge him to return to that position. Tax increases are both unnecessary and counterproductive.

As you think about the state budget, here are the most important numbers to keep in mind:

In the current fiscal year, 2008-09, Pennsylvania is spending $27.7 billion.

The Senate-approved budget for 2009-10 would spend $27.3 billion, reducing total state spending by 1.4 percent.The Governor is seeking a 2009-10 budget of nearly $29 billion, a spending increase of about $1.3 billion.

Now, ask yourself this question: In the worst recession since the Great Depression, does it make more sense for the Commonwealth to hold the line on taxes and reduce spending modestly, or to increase your taxes to pay for a significant increase in government spending?

The answer is clear. We need to live within our means.

I urge the Governor and the House Democratic leaders to support a spending plan that maintains core government services without a tax increase on hardworking Pennsylvanians.

More information about state issues can be found on Senator Pileggi's web site, http://www.senatorpileggi.com/.

Contact:Erik Arneson

Two Candidates for Delaware County Council Respond

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

CONTACT:Endre Jarraux WallsBaulis/Collins for Delaware County Council

267-984-2772 endre.walls@comcast.net

WOULD DELAWARE COUNTY VOTERS PAY .82¢ A DAY TO BEAT THE RECESSION?

$.82 per day–That’s what the income tax increase proposed by Governor Rendell will cost households earning $70,000 per year in Delaware County, which is the median family income here.

Delaware County’s two leading representatives-- State Senator Dominic Pileggi and State Representative Mario Civera say their constituents can’t afford it. Senator Pileggi is the Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee. Representative Civera is the Republican Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee. They are united in saying that the voters of Delaware County can’t afford to take the steps needed to strengthen our County during the recession. Delaware County Council candidates Nancy Baulis and Keith Collins are in awe of our elected official’s lack of concern for our local economy and the well-being of our schools and neighborhoods.

“We’re seeing the same thing we’ve seen for decades in Pennsylvania and beyond; short term gratification over long-term strategy. Let’s face it; it’s easy to understand why some politicians fail to think about the long-term effects of their legislation: In many cases, they won’t have to clean it up later, or even answer for their poor choices. It is clearly up to us, the constituents, the voters, to change their way of thinking and remind them who they work for and why they’re in office – to serve the good of the county both today and tomorrow.” – Keith Collins, Candidate for Delaware County Council.

But the question remains, do these cuts represent what the voters of Delaware County really want?
Here are some of the realities we face if we do not act against the proposed cuts:

Families-Thousands of families will lose access to child care, thousands more will lose social services that they desperately need for their children, and state funding for job training will be all but eliminated. Is this how we help one another in a recession?

Schools- Schools in Delaware County will lose $9.4 million in federal funding. Senator Pileggi and State Representative Civera want to use this federal stimulus money to replace Pennsylvania’s support for schools–not increase it… That’s not what the Obama administration had in mind–and they’ve already said so. But Pileggi and Civera tell us that increases in other federal programs for schools ought to be enough. The schools don’t really need that $9.4 million. Is that what the voters of Delaware County would say, if they understood what was happening here? We need to ask them.

Hospitals-With 75,000 Delaware County residents receiving Medicaid–most of them senior citizens–and thousands of our kids depending upon insurance from SCHIP– Pileggi and Civera refuse to increase Medicaid and SCHIP in Pennsylvania. They’ve even voted to eliminate support for critical access hospitals, trauma centers, obstetrical and neonatal services, and burn centers. While Congress works to increase support for health care, Pileggi and Civera are voting to take it away.

Small Businesses-Small businesses throughout Delaware County have turned to Pennsylvania’s Department of Community and Economic Development for help in financing and in finding new markets for their products. Pileggi and Civera have now voted to terminate these programs. They’ve also voted to cut funding for the Keystone Opportunity Zone, where businesses can locate tax free. The City of Chester–where Senator Pileggi was Mayor–was included in this program. Now he has voted to end it. How is this supposed to help the city which supported him for so many years?So this is the real choice facing the voters of Delaware County: they either pay an average of 82 cents a day–or less--to help their families, their schools, their hospitals, and small businesses during this critical period, or they pay a heavy economic and social price later on. Senator Pileggi and Representative Civera insist that their constituents can’t pay the price.

If the voters of Delaware County don’t agree, they need to speak out now­before it’s too late. As candidates for Delaware County Council, Nancy Baulis and Keith Collins are prepared to speak out for the future of our county. “We’re not politicians, we’re just concerned citizens poised to make a difference and do something progressive for our county. Good representatives of the people reach out to them for their support when major issues like this arise. Here in Delaware County, such collaboration with the community at-large is a rarity at best.

As an educator and a community leader I can see how detrimental to our county’s social health the proposed budget cuts would’ve been to us today and in the future. I’m sure there are tens of thousands of county residents who wish they’d had an opportunity to voice their opinion about how Civera and Pileggi’s budget plans are selling out our county’s future.” – Nancy Baulis, Candidate for Delaware County Council

ABOUT THE BAULIS/COLLINS FOR DELAWARE COUNTY COUNCIL CAMPAIGN – Recent winners of the county primary, Nancy Baulis and Keith Collins are running for Delaware County Council to restore balance and bring fresh new ideas to county leadership. Focused on the development of collaborative partnerships between the county, its municipalities, and its citizens; the team of Baulis/Collins aims to influence lasting progress that makes Delaware County government more effective, efficient, and ethical. While the candidates are running on the democratic ticket, they stand for all of Delaware County, providing a voice for people who simply want good, efficient government regardless of how they’re registered to vote. A voice for the progress of our county…leadership without partisanship.For more information on the individual candidates, you can visit their web pages: Nancy Baulis – URL=http://www.baulisforcountycouncil.com/; Keith Collins – URL=http://www.friendsofkeithcollins.com/. In addition their team website, http://www.abetterdelco.org/ will be launched in late July of this year.
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Ed Schwartz, Institute for the Study of Civic Values, 1218 Chestnut St.,Rm. 702, Philadelphia, Pa. 19107 215-238-1434 edcivic@libertynet.org

Senate Bill 850 vs. Governor Rendell's Budget

The following table compares selected programs for children, youth and families that would be affected by cuts under SB 850 and the Governor’s recent budget proposal.

Please feel free to use this document when speaking to peers, co-workers, friends and legislators about the impact cuts to services would have on Pennsylvania's children, youth and families.

(To view the full-size table, click on the 'Toggle Full Screen' button in the upper right hand corner below.)

06 30 09 PA Senate Bill 850 v Rendell Budget

As most readers of Childwatch! already know, Pennsylvania’s revenue is now $3.2 billion below expectations due to the global economic crisis. Within the last ten days the Governor has taken two steps to close the budget gap: he proposed a temporary increase in the state’s Personal Income Tax (PIT) of half a percentage point and made further cuts to next year’s budget.

The latest round of cuts totals $500 million, with the Departments of Education and Public Welfare slated for the largest reductions. We won’t know which programs will be affected until the details are released to the public any day now. Here’s what we do know about the proposed tax increase:

• Pennsylvanians now pay 3.07 percent in Personal Income Tax (PIT). The Governor’s proposal would raise it to 3.57 percent for the next three years. At 3.57 percent, Pennsylvania would have the third lowest personal income tax rate in the country.

• The average Pennsylvania household earns $48,562 per year. The table below shows the impact on families at various income levels.
  

• More than one third of Pennsylvania households would be unaffected by an increase in the PIT. These are low-income households (earning below $34,400) that already receive a refund on the PIT through Pennsylvania’s Tax Forgiveness program and senior citizens whose primary income is Social Security.
  
• Pennsylvania has a successful track record of enacting temporary increases in the PIT. In 1983 under Governor Thornburgh (R) and 1991 under Governor Casey (D) the legislature increased the tax but included a ‘sunset’ date in the enabling legislation. The sunsets occurred on schedule.

• Pennsylvania’s proposed tax increase is consistent with actions taken by other states to reduce their deficits. At least 16 states have enacted tax increases this year. At least six increased the PIT and the same number increased sales tax. Seventeen states increased tobacco taxes, at least seven raised taxes on alcohol, and at least two have raised corporate taxes.

What You Can Do

Opponents of tax increases are well-organized and making their views known in the press, on the airwaves, via robocalls and on blogs.

State legislators from both sides of the aisle recognize that we cannot cut our way out of this financial crisis. The magnitude of the projected deficit makes a tax increase inevitable if the General Assembly is intent on fulfilling its legal obligation to pass a balanced budget.

Legislators are asking for ‘cover,’ urging constituents who care about preserving services for children to contact them and the news media.

Write to them. Tell them how cuts approved by the Senate – including 50 percent reductions in state-funded Head Start and Pre-K, the denial of child care subsidy to 7,700 families, reducing the number of children enrolled in CHIP by 12,000, and a slowdown in Basic Education funding -- would affect you, your family and community.

Let them know you would be willing to support a nominal tax increase to maintain these vital programs for Pennsylvania’s kids!



Contact information:

Legislators: http://www.pccy.org/ or http://www.legis.state.pa.us/

Letters to the editor:

• Philadelphia Inquirer: Inquirer.Letters@phillynews.com
• Daily News: views@phillynews.com

And don’t forget community newspapers!




Speaking of letters to the editor... here are a few recent ones that give us hope:

Posted on Tue, Jun. 23, 2009 (Philadelphia Inquirer)
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/opinion/20090623_Letters__GOP_plan_would_hurt_Philadelphia_schools.html

Letters: GOP plan would hurt Philadelphia schools

As a proud parent of a student in the Philadelphia school system, I have been pleased with the upward direction of the schools. But the recent gains the district has achieved depend on continued resources.

I am concerned that the Republicans' bare-bones education plan would reverse recent gains. The plan would eliminate summer school programs and limit alternative-education services for at-risk students. It would reduce school police coverage.

And it would increase class size. Superintendent Arlene Ackerman's plan to reduce kindergarten classes to a maximum of 23 would be killed, as the limit would be increased to 33. Instead of reducing class size in grades one to three to 24 or 26 students, it would increase it to 33. And class size in grades four through eight would increase to 35.

In the famous Peanuts comic strip, Charlie Brown tries to kick the football held by Lucy, who pulls it away at the last moment. Just as the Philadelphia schools' Charlie Brown is ready to kick the ball through the uprights of a strong education system and commonwealth, please do not pull away the ball of education funding.

Michael A. Carrier, Philadelphia

Posted on June 20, 2009 (Philadelphia Inquirer)
http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_action=doc&p_docid=129011DD049C30E8&p_docnum=2

Letters: Can't cut services that help the needy

Most thinking people would agree that we need to get the waste out of government, and stop corruption, friendship deals, use of public dollars for political purposes, and hiring of unqualified pols to assess property. No argument there.

But what services exactly do you think the state should cut in this year's budget? Services to autistic children? The Senate's proposal does that already. Services to persons who need mental-health and retardation programs? The Senate proposal does that, too. Slash Head Start? Children's health care? Cut library services in half? Early childhood programs? All cut in the Senate bill.

The Senate's proposal will make our huge waiting lists grow by leaps and bounds. We shouldn't forget that taxes are the price we pay to live in a civilized society.

Gerry Kaufman, Philadelphia

Posted on June 22, 2009 (Philadelphia Inquirer) http://www.philly.com/inquirer/opinion/48757627.html

Letters: Better-funded schools are a crime deterrent
When talk from Harrisburg heats up about rolling back plans to address underfunded public schools, police chiefs like me take notice. We know what happens to a dream deferred, what happens to the undereducated, unemployed, and poor, who have limited options in life. They help fill our jails and state prisons.

Yes, revenues are tight this year - for corporations, municipalities, and individual homeowners. But what's the cost to communities like Upper Darby if we retreat on public education now?

High school dropouts are eight times more likely to be in jail or prison than people who complete high school. A study by economics professor Lance Lochner concluded that "a one-year increase in the average level of schooling in a community is associated with an almost 30 percent decrease in the murder and assault rates."

Imagine the impact of that on Upper Darby, home to one of the most underfunded school districts in the state. Pennsylvania ranked 44th in the nation for its contribution to public education; funding reform should not wait another day. The prison population certainly isn't.

Michael Chitwood, Superintendent of Police, Upper Darby

...Meanwhile, Governor Rendell has made a slew of appearances in suburban Philadelphia to promote the importance of funding children and families and to emphasize the only way this can happen is if the legislature supports a temporary tax increase.

Three weeks ago he appeared in Delaware County to underscore the importance of staying the course with education funding, which the Senate budget would reduce by hundreds of millions of dollars. Over the weekend he spoke in Montgomery County about cuts to autism services if the Senate budget stands. Yesterday he returned to Delaware County to talk about the impact of cuts to CHIP – the children’s health insurance program. You can see a report on KYW’s web site, http://www.kyw1060.com/Rendell---Child-Health-Care-May-Be-Cut-to-Balance-/4669206 or on http://www.philly.com/.

Simultaneously hundreds of people gathered in Philadelphia’s LOVE Park to urge legislators to preserve more than $12 million in the state budget for youth violence prevention programs. Greater Philadelphia Urban Affairs Coalition’s Sharmain Matlock-Turner explained that funding for a variety of programs including mentoring, chess, and summer camp with life-skills coaching are all at stake. Read more about it here: http://www.kyw1060.com/Phila--Protesters-Demand-Money-for-Antiviolence-Pr/4667799 .

What do YOU think?