Issue Position: Local Government

Issue Position

In order to maximize the level of assistance and engagement that local governments can expect from the State, I advanced a platform in 2010 which called for several significant initiatives.

I advanced the belief that local officials needed to be able to obtain reliable data about the fiscal health of their communities. As challenging as it is, I advocated for the need to address local pension and tax reform as well as to offer incentives for the regionalization of municipal services and land use planning.

Providing incentives for energy and operational efficiency in school districts as well as offering support for professional planning, market analyses and technical assistance (i.e. grant writing) for local governments, also formed the basis of my 2010 platform for local government.

At the conclusion of my first term, I point to my involvement as Chair of the Senate Local Government committee which allowed me to have a strong hand in several important reforms and legislation affecting local governments throughout the state.

While I am no longer Chairman, I remain a member of the Local Government Committee as well as a member of the PA State Local Government Commission. I have introduced several bills to assist local governments and have been actively involved in a major upgrade and reform of PA's Act 47, the Financially Distressed Communities Act. I have also held annual Local Government Forums to engage local government officials from throughout the 22nd District.

I introduced the Optional County Sales Tax legislation at the request of both the County Commissioners and the Mayor of Scranton, as a potential vehicle to provide property tax relief to residents as well as enhance revenues for the county and the city. This legislation was not supported by Senators in the Republican Majority; it did not move out of committee in my first year in the Senate. There remains little Republican support for the bill. A local sales tax option has already been granted to the cities of Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, but no other jurisdiction in the state can levy such a tax to diversify local revenue streams and reduce reliance on property taxes.

I was involved in high profile hearings in the wake of a fiscal debacle related to the City of Harrisburg's Trash Incinerator. Those hearings led to a five bill legislative package of local government reforms designed to protect taxpayers from poor borrowing decisions, the dangers of interest rate swap transactions, as well as protect them from conflicts of interest or ethics violations by local government officials. (This package of bills -- Senate Bills 901, 902, 903, 904 and 1189 will likely be voted on the floor of the Senate in this upcoming year). I am the author and prime sponsor for SB 902. This reform effort was bi-partisan and involved Senate Republican John Eichelberger, Senate Republican Mike Folmer, and Senate Democrat Rob Teplitz.

The Act 47 Task Force resulted in creation of a major piece of legislation -- with companion, identical bills introduced in the PA House by Representative Chris Ross (R) and in the Senate by Senator John Eichelberger (R). The legislation was drafted by the Local Government Commission after a bi-partisan, bi-cameral effort, led by these two legislators, along with Representative Bob Freeman (D) and myself. Three legislative colleagues and I presided over hearings and fact finding sub-committees involving over 100 stakeholders from local government associations, private business, legal and financial consultants, state agencies and legislative staff.

The reforms and changes slated to occur in Act 47 as a result of this effort will likely be legislated this year. It is important to note that elements of the legislation, which has been introduced in the House and the Senate by Republican lawmakers, has considerable import for and benefit to the City of Scranton and for every current and future Act 47 community designated by the state as financially distressed.

I have also worked very hard, along with my colleague Senator Judy Schwank, as well as with former Scranton Mayor Chris Doherty, current Scranton Mayor Bill Courtright, the Lackawanna County Commissioners, and the Borough of Dunmore to advance prospects for establishment of state sanctioned Community Revitalization Improvement Zones (CRIZ). These zones are a major tool in helping to attract private investment to blighted or disinvested areas of cities and boroughs throughout the state. While Scranton and Dunmore applied for CRIZ zone approval in 2013, both were declined in the state competition. Senator Schwank and I have introduced new legislation that will not only assure that Scranton and other cities and boroughs be permitted to compete for CRIZ zone approvals by the state, but will also accelerate the number of such approvals beyond the ceiling originally stipulated by the Corbett Administration in 2013.

My voting record, my work in the Local Government Committee and Local Government Commission and my extensive work (and that of my staff, including my Regional Director Larry West) with local government officials within and throughout the 22nd District confirm that I have met the intentions identified in this element of my 2010 Platform.

From Flood Control projects in Duryea and Jermyn to interventions with PennDOT on road and bridge work in Taylor, Moosic, Scranton, Dupont -- and indeed in most of my 22nd District Communities, my staff and I have kept our promise to be helpful and accessible to local government officials. Offering technical assistance and advocacy on state grant applications as well as many other examples of local government engagement and assistance demonstrate I have worked hard to make the state a better partner to my communities.

Finally, I made a campaign promise that I would attend at least one local government meeting (City Council, Borough Council, Township Supervisors) meeting in all of my municipalities in the 22nd District. I've been to about one third of those but will get to the remainder in 2014. While my attendance at these meetings may not seem significant in and of itself, it stands as another visible reminder that my campaign promises have been translated into actual accomplishments in my first three years in the Senate.

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