Redstone Township Board of Supervisors

Times are tough, and Wall Street isn’t the

only place that is hurting. Main Street is in

trouble, too — in more ways than one.

The effects of the nation’s financial crisis are

trickling into Pennsylvania’s townships, where

soaring prices for necessities, like groceries, are

taking a bite out of your wallet. And like you,

the commonwealth’s municipalities are experiencing

their own money woes.

No doubt, you’ve picked up the local newspaper

only to learn that your township supervisors

are approaching this budget season with

more caution than usual. As one local official

put it: “Everyone’s afraid. You’re afraid to go

and spend money when you actually don’t know

how much you’re going to have.”

So now there is lots of talk about trimming

spending, delaying projects, dipping into

reserves, and even instituting tax increases or

employee layoffs to do what state law requires:

Balance the township budget.

The housing slump and local job losses have

led to a decline in real estate transfer and earned

income taxes, both significant revenue producers

for municipalities. Meanwhile, the cost of doing

business is up — way up.

Just ask your township how much it costs

to maintain “Main Street” today compared to a

year or two ago. Their stories will stun you.

Townships statewide are trying to squeeze every road

dollar as far as it will go, but escalating wage and product

costs are putting local officials in a bind. Financial

support from the state would help alleviate the problem,

but so far lawmakers have been slow to act.

“Townships are

doing the best they

can and working hard

to trim their costs.

The last thing

they want to do,

especially now when

so many of their

constituents are

hurting fi nancially,

is raise taxes to fix

roads. But that’s

exactly what will

happen unless state

lawmakers find

a way to provide

additional funding.”

No relief in sight

In the past year, for example, the price of

petroleum-based products, such as asphalt, has

almost doubled. Road salt, which has become

a scarce commodity, is another expensive item.

Last season, townships were paying an average

of $40 a ton for salt. This winter, many are

paying well over $100 a ton, that is, if they can

locate a supplier.

And now, thanks to the Pennsylvania

Supreme Court’s decision in Youngwood v.

Pennsylvania Prevailing Wage Appeals Board,

municipalities are being mandated to shell out

additional dollars for routine road maintenance

projects. Under the decision, townships must

now pay contracted workers higher wages,

commonly known as “prevailing wages,” which

could add up to 30 percent to their costs.

On top of all this, state efforts to produce

additional transportation funding have hit their

own roadblocks.

Recently, for instance, the Federal Highway

Administration rejected Pennsylvania’s application

to toll Interstate 80. This decision, while

welcomed by some, was a blow to Act 44 of

2007, which would have turned the toll revenues

into new transportation funding and generated

about $900 million a year for roads, bridges, and

mass transit.

Meanwhile, Gov. Ed Rendell’s plan to lease

the Pennsylvania Turnpike to raise road revenues

has faltered, too. A private partnership

had offered the commonwealth $12.8 billion for

the 75-year lease. However, state lawmakers let

the September 30 decision deadline come and go,

and the partnership pulled the plug on the deal.

Rendell had estimated that the lease plan would

have raised an estimated $1 billion a year for

transportation.

State sources report that the I-80 toll and

turnpike lease proposals will likely be revived in

2009, but this isn’t good news for townships.

Why? Well, these initiatives would funnel

very little money — and in some cases, no

money at all — to your community, where offi

cials are responsible for the upkeep of many of

the roads and bridges that you use to get to work

and your children take to school. Instead, much

of the funding would be directed to the state

Department of Transportation and mass transit

authorities.

This lack of support, coupled with increasing

costs and decreasing revenues, spell trouble for

township budgets, local roads and bridges, and

the traveling public, which will be impacted the

most if state lawmakers continue to overlook the

growing transportation needs of Pennsylvania’s

local governments.

“Townships are doing the best they can and working

hard to trim their costs. The last thing they want to

do, especially now when so many of their constituents

are hurting financially, is raise taxes to fix roads,”

says Ken Grimes, president of the Pennsylvania State

Association of Township Supervisors, which represents

the state’s 1,455 townships of the second class.

“But that’s exactly what will happen,” he adds,

“unless the governor and state lawmakers find a

way to provide additional funding for the state’s

The next few months are critical

That’s why the next few months are critical.

When lawmakers return to Harrisburg in

January, transportation funding is expected to be

uppermost in their minds. And this time around,

it’s imperative that they survey the entire landscape

and treat everyone — PennDOT, municipalities,

and mass transit — equally and fairly.

In addition, lawmakers need to repeal the state’s

prevailing wage, which is also helping to spike

transportation costs.

And you can bet your township offi cials will

be on the phone with state senators and representatives,

urging them to support local roads

and bridges and take action on the prevailing

wage. But this isn’t a battle they can — or

should — fight alone.

You and your neighbors — in fact, every

Pennsylvanian – relies on local roads and bridges

to travel to work, school, and the grocery store.

Therefore, you must join township officials and

become an advocate for increased transportation

funding not only to ensure the safety of

local roads but also to keep property taxes from

climbing. Phone calls, e-mails, and letters are the

most effective ways of reaching state lawmakers.

“The adage about strength in numbers applies

here,” Grimes says. “Township officials and you,

their constituents, have to work together to make

sure local roads, a vital link in Pennsylvania’s

transportation chain, aren’t overlooked anymore.

We all have to do something, or we run the risk of

getting nothing. I don’t think any of us want that.”