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Harrisburg Education Office Stays Put

admin September 26, 2011 Society Comments Off on Harrisburg Education Office Stays Put

Renovated Greystone Building Helps Harrisburg Employees

In an effort to keep Harrisburg employees working at the Regional Office of Education, in Harrisburg, the Greystone Building – situated in TIF – is undergoing a renovation.  For this work, a funding cut of $56,000 is being given along with work-without-pay from Regional Superintendent Larry Fillingim.  This is happening on the directive of the governor and will ultimately hopefully be able to reduce expenditure while keeping current staff on the payroll.

Harrisburg was offered space from another county.  The city considered taking new accommodation for its regional staff to keep about 28 jobs in its area.  However, Mayor Eric Gregg chose the Greystone building which Harrisburg took back a few years ago when a purchase agreement was in default.

Architectural engineering company Walker and Associates has been selected to develop plans and be in charge of supervising building renovations.  The construction contract was handled by H.E. Mitchell Construction, and authorized by the council with expenditure caps.

Harrisburg Takeover?

admin June 29, 2011 Law, Society Comments Off on Harrisburg Takeover?

If Harrisburg doesn’t get its act together and implement the state Act 47 coordinator proposal fast, there could soon be a takeover of the city.  According to Gov. Tom Corbett who is in favor of the Senate Bill 1151, issued by Jeffrey Piccola, it would facilitate the city’s financial recovery plan while stampeding “any efforts by the city to declare bankruptcy.”  Should city leaders fail to act on this Bill, Piccola will look toward a “three-person management board” to put it into effect.

No More Bankruptcy Options

It seems like the longer it is left, the less chance Harrisburg will have to file for bankruptcy.  The Act 47 plan is remiss of any “debt forgiveness” too.  Corbett – somewhat sensibly IMHO – is saying that he will indeed sign it should it get through the legislative process.  According to councilman Brad Koplinski, Corbett’s support is great, “and really should put all of us on alert as to how quickly this is moving on, and I hate to say it, but the fix might be in for Harrisburg.”

Act 47 Disadvantages

But of course there are always two sides to every coin.  While Corbett may be an Act 47 supporter, he might not realize that it would lead to an increase in taxes and unemployment, alongside a selling or leasing of the “city’s  parking garages and incinerator…to ensure banks get their money back.”  So it seems like the main beneficiary here would be Wall Street, according to Koplinski.

Piccola’s argument however is that Bill 1151 seeks to “protect municipalities and the state itself.”  Declaring bankruptcy is only going to end up “hurting credit ratings elsewhere,” rendering it much harder for townships to borrow money. The city’s mayor, Linda Thompson pointed out however that the bill fails to “respect the publicly elected officials in this city.”  She just doesn’t feel that it is the “appropriate process at this time.”

Well, we might know a little bit more in a few days’ time since it could get to the Senate floor “for a vote Friday,” moving on to the House by next week.  But then state lawmakers are going to be on recess so the timing might end up being not so great and once out of sight, may become out of mind.

New Law Good for Harrisburg?

admin June 1, 2011 Society Comments Off on New Law Good for Harrisburg?

At the end of the day, it always comes down to money.  By July 1, Harrisburg needs to make a decision on its state budget which basically means, what money goes where.  At the moment it seems like the Lehigh Valley Arts Council is pushing lawmakers to push for its own state funding because right now it doesn’t look like it’s going to be getting all that much money.  Currently there’s a proposal out that, if passed, is going to make a substantial cut on funding for the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts.

Big Budget Cuts in Art

Indeed, if this goes ahead, monies going towards the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts will be reduced from $8.2m to $2.5m (that’s a staggering 70 percent reduction). So if Harrisburg lawmakers vote in favor of this, it’s not going to bode well for Lehigh Valley artists who are set to lose around $350,000 in state support in 2012.

Other Big Budget Busts

It’s not just going to be the arts that are going to be suffering though.  It seems like pretty much everyone in Harrisburg is going to have to watch out since the proposed budget cuts are coming in thick and fast, impacting a whole slew of areas.  Education and health care will probably suffer too.  So who exactly is going to benefit?  And what are people meant to do?  Senator Daylin Leach of Montgomery is advising candidates to try to remember that their “state lawmaker voted in May 2011 to cut state support for local schools or other programs.”  People need to remember this when they enter a voting booth next year, in November 2012.

If all these budgetary cuts go through, people are not going to be happy.  Everyone will be affected in some way and not in a good way either.  Arts,  health and education are likely to suffer the most.