Harrisburg finally agrees on budget

HARRISBURG n Following a Monday of locked government offices and unfilled potholes, Governor Ed Rendell announced Monday night that a tentative budget agreement was reached with legislative leaders just after 9 p.m. The pact sent nearly 25,000 furloughed state employees back to work at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday. Rendell issued the furlough notice on July 3 to force the Republican led state Senate back to Harrisburg to complete budget negotiations. Transportation, including Pennsylvania’s network of highways, bridges and mass transit systems, will be well-financed for the next 15 to 20 years, Rendell said. “I am pleased to announce that as a result of earnest and sometimes difficult negotiations, we have achieved an important agreement that will allow Pennsylvania’s government operations to be restored and all furloughed employees to return to work,” Governor Rendell said. “While I regret that we were not able to reach this accord earlier, I am gratified that we have agreed in principle to a spending plan that will continue to move Pennsylvania forward.” Rendell thanked legislative leaders and budget negotiators from both chambers of the General Assembly. Members of the legislature are expected to begin considering the budget legislation this week. He also said efforts will be made to “lessen the impact” of state employees’ lost wages. A statement from Rendell said that “all sides came out with things they were seeking.” Governor Rendell said he was able to keep funding for pre-kindergarten, laptop computers for high school classrooms, workforce development, reducing the waiting list for mental health/mental retardation services, expanding childcare programs and providing cost-of-living adjustments for human services workers throughout the state, among other important agenda items. He called the transportation package “historic.” “With this agreement, there will about $950 million a year for transportation in Harrisburg, Erie, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Wilkes-Barre, Altoona and everywhere else for the next 10 years,” the Governor said. “It’s the most significant amount of funding devoted to transportation needs in the history of the commonwealth and it should put transportation systems in good shape for the next 15 to 20 years.” The compromise effort did not come without some harsh words from the loyal opposition. Rep. Mike Peifer (R-139 Pike) did not issue a statement following the budget approval. Earlier, Peifer blasted Rendell. “House Democrats and Gov. Ed Rendell are stonewalling, and this obstructionism could lead to hundreds of hard-working state workers being laid off. My Republican colleagues and I have foreseen this brinkmanship since February, when the governor offered his overambitious wish list of proposals. “We warned at that time that he would create yet another budget crisis with his refusal to compromise. This is pure Rendell doctrine n create a crisis and then ‘save the day’ with more tax, more borrowing on our kid’s future and more spending for more programs. These warnings are coming to fruition: we are several days past the deadline and the governor remains insistent on his tax-and-spend agenda items. State Rep. John Siptroth, D-Monroe/Pike, emphasized that the plan agreed to between legislative leaders and the governor does not contain any tax increases, but includes many of the initiatives promoted by the House Democratic caucus. Among the critical objectives in the spending plan are transportation funding for repairing the state’s ailing bridges and roadways and for mass transit, as well as investing in early childhood education. The House was expected to vote on the budget this week.