By Matt Snyder
MERCER COUNTY — As the Pennsylvania Legislature struggles to pass a budget with a $3 billion deficit and a recession grips the nation, county commissioners said in a Thursday meeting in Grove City that more local tax hikes are not out of the question.
The problem is that the state pays for a variety of mandates they pass on to the county, and some of those required services may not be getting as much money this year thanks to Pennsylvania’s money woes.
Mercer County’s $67 million budget is only maintained with $22 million of local taxpayer money. The rest is pass-through money from the state.
Already, the county’s Children and Youth Services will receive more than $400,000 less than expected, and the county will have to make up the difference during an already strained budget year.
The main problem with passing a budget that cuts pass-through money, said Commissioner Brian Beader, is the county’s only way of making that cash up is to raise property taxes.
The state would have more taxing options.
With fewer taxing tools to work with than the state, Beader said the county would end up knocking around property owners in the county.
Mercer County already tacked on a 2-mill tax hike across all property owners this year, in part to bury the longstanding Woodland Place issue. Beader said commissioners will do whatever they can to keep from adding to that tax increase.
But, he added, “At the end of the day, we will make difficult decisions to fund the core functions of county government.”
Commissioner John Lechner said the county has an obligation to keep the general fund solvent and provide mandated services. And they can only trim so much from the budget.
Still on the table are a host of possibilities, including re-opening contracts with county employees, trimming benefits, conducting layoffs, or cutting courthouse hours.
He emphasized that everything is still on the table, and added that they will try to work with and not against county employees.
County fiscal chief John Logan said they will also consider renegotiating service contracts and possibly pinch some pennies that the county spends on goods.
But CYS may not be the only department hit by a shortchanged state budget. District Attorney Robert G. Kochems said a Senate budget bill includes no Weed and Seed money, which would slash $250,000 of grant money that goes to county communities.
There’s also a key grant for the Victim/Witness division of the courts that would eliminate $45,000 that the county would have to make up, since those services are mandated, he said.
If the state isn’t able to provide as much pass-through money, commissioners said they hoped they would ease some of the mandates the county is required to fund.
Henry Lutton, who attended the meeting, asked how set in stone the mandates were and whether they could be “rolled back.”
Commissioner Kenneth Ammann said a roll back wouldn’t necessarily work, since many mandates provide for CYS or Mental Health Mental Retardation. But, he added, “There are certain corners that should be cut.”
Giving an example of a state mandate, Beader said the state requires all calls on child abuse to CYS be investigated within two hours. Before that mandate, they relied on staffers to decide whether or not to get immediately involved. Beader did not specify whether this was a mandate for which he would advocate cutting funds.
