Down River – July 2, 2015
Hope against Hope:
Through the winter and spring, what with a new governor and new legislative leadership, we all were hoping that Pennsylvania might come up with some kind of a compromise budget, one that might further our educational system and solve such long pressing issues as, among others, an underfunded pension system.
Majority Republicans in the Legislature and new Democrat Tom Wolf in the governor’s mansion (he actually still lives at home in York County) gave some indication they would find some common ground, holding out hope for a reasonable new blueprint for the fiscal year which started as of July 1.
As of this writing, late on Tuesday, the fiscal year deadline fast approaching, it looks like more of the “same old – same old.” Problems not addressed, solutions not found.
The view from a hundred miles or so northwest of Harrisburg is that Wolf asked for too much the first time out and Republicans offered too little. The result: no budget as the new fiscal year begins. Wolf vetoed the Republican spending plan, an action media types called unprecedented in Pennsylvania’s modern history.
In retrospect this is not surprising since we see all too often in Harrisburg and Washington the two major parties unwilling to pursue anything approaching compromise. G. Terry Madonna, director of the Center for Politics and Public Affairs at Franklin and Marshall College, touched on the stalemate in comments earlier this week: “We have more partisanship now than any time in modern history. We have a less willingness to compromise because of the polarization and partisanship.”
So look for some short term posturing from both sides, then another kick-the-can down the-road budget for 2015-16. John Q. Public was hoping for more but in this day and age, we elect ‘em and we get back what those elected produce: not a whole lot yet again.
Speaking of Politics:
Don’t be surprised to hear that Kerith Strano Taylor will again be making a run for U.S. Congress from the 5th congressional district.
Strano Taylor, a Democrat, was the foe for incumbent Glenn Thompson in November of 2014 and while she was applauded in many quarters for the way she comported herself, she still lost badly to the incumbent Republican, the margin 64 to 36 percent.
But the Brookville attorney has already been in touch with local Democratic officials, reportedly to plan for another run at Thompson, the four-term Republican from Howard Township. No other Democratic names are being heard at this point. We sometimes hear rustlings out of Centre County that Jay Paterno might enter the fray but according to recent reports he is involved in furthering the creation of a Joe Paterno beer (?), plus he still has pending a suit against the NCAA relative to his inability to land another coaching job elsewhere; this in the wake of the Penn State Sandusky affair unraveling which saw the younger Paterno lose his Nittany Lion assistant coaching position.
School Budgets:
While the Keystone Central School District tries to make it through the next school year without a tax increase, nibbling away at its reserves to balance the document, a couple area districts have jumped their real estate taxes for the next taxing year.
These include the Penns Valley district where the board recently and unanimously approved a 3.7 percent tax increase and the Jersey Shore district which earlier this week, on a 7-0 vote, gave a final budget approval which carries a 2.63 percent tax hike for ‘Shore district property owners who live in Clinton County.
A spokesman for the Penns Valley district said the hike there will be equal to $6 a month for the median home owner.
One would think the actions at Jersey Shore and Penns Valley are prudent, given the likelihood that the budget stalemate in Harrisburg is unlikely to produce much in the way of increased state subsidies for local districts, despite Gov. Wolf’s efforts to make that happen.
Mark This One Down:
Next weekend is the annual Woodward Township Riverfest and a highlight is always the Saturday Lynne Ramm Memorial Cardboard Boat Race. The race is quite the spectacle, dominated in recent years by an attractive yellow duck cardboard craft.
But this time around keep an eye out for a new entry, being put together under wraps at some hidden location in Allison Township. A Down River mole says developers have hired a nautical architect to design the craft and hired a muscular lightweight to do the paddling.
Efforts to gather additional information on this mystery entrant have been unsuccessful to this point.
