Pennsylvania's Counties Unveil Priorities For 2009

County leaders from throughout Pennsylvania this week unveiled their list of nine key legislative priorities for 2009 aimed at improving tax equity for local residents, government efficiency and seeking cost savings while working to assure that funding decisions at the state level do not adversely impact local taxpayers.

 

Jim Kennedy, Butler County commissioner and president of the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania said, "Counties' legislative priorities cover a wide variety of issues, but carry a common theme: our communities' needs are many, and cutting funding for critical services at the state level does not automatically result in cost savings. Failure to adequately fund mandates, and thus passing responsibility to local taxpayers, shifts the tax burden but does not reduce it."

 

Kennedy discussed the continued desire of Pennsylvanians for property tax reform at every level of local government, including a more equitable way to fund services. Counties continue to advocate options that will allow county elected officials to select fairer revenue sources, more compatible with local economic conditions, in return for a reduction in property taxes.

 

"As in previous years, our top priority is tax fairness. We will continue to call on the General Assembly to authorize optional local tax bases such as the sales tax or the personal income tax in return for a dollar-for-dollar reduction in property taxes. But tax fairness also includes measures that affect the tax base and how services are funded, and this is why we are advocating to restore the ability to assess oil and gas interests," Kennedy stated.

 

Counties had the ability to assess oil and gas prior to a 2002 Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision. Currently, a majority of counties around the state are experiencing the impacts of Marcellus shale drilling and exploration. Pennsylvania remains one of the few states with significant oil and gas production that does not permit property taxes. If the state does not reverse the court decision through legislation, the property tax burden will be borne disproportionately by the remaining taxpayers.

 

Kennedy also discussed counties' second legislative priority encompassing Commonwealth budget funding, which includes funding for human services as well as other important county-related programs such as conservation districts and cooperative extension.

 

"In 2008, decisions were made to not fund some mandates, such as the commonwealth share of district attorney salaries, and to fund other mandates such as human services at levels less than the actual need. While we are sensitive to the state's fiscal difficulties, county commissioners will stand together to demand that the state meet its statutory obligation to adequately fund mandated and necessary services," Kennedy said.

 

Here are the environment related priorities--

 

Clean And Green: The Clean and Green law allows agricultural and forestlands, or lands that could be used for agriculture or forestry, to be assessed at use value rather than market value. However, the statute is not clear on how certain special uses, such as leases for oil and gas development, solar or wind, affect eligibility for the program. This has caused confusion for counties who administer the Clean and Green program, as well as for landowners whose leases may not address responsibility for roll-back taxes and penalties under the law. Counties seek uniformity and believe that any change to the statute dealing with lease types must recognize and delineate when a change of use has occurred that would cause all or part of a tract to be ineligible for preferential assessment.
 

County Recycling Fee Authorization: Due to a court decision, counties can no longer levy a local administrative fee to fund supplemental county recycling programs such as household hazardous waste collection, electronics recycling, recycling drop-off centers, illegal dump enforcement, and cleanup and tire recycling. Counties are seeking express statutory authorization to re-instate administrative fees that would be dedicated to recycling programs, administration of those programs and public education.

 

Marcellus Shale: The Marcellus shale exploration and development impacts nearly two-thirds of Pennsylvania's counties, and has the potential to bring a boost to the state economy during an economic downturn. Yet this development is not without social, economic and environmental concerns. Counties seek action by the General Assembly to restore the ability to assess oil and gas for real property tax purposes, which was historically permissible until a 2002 Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision. Without the proper taxation of oil and gas companies' interest in mineral rights, an inequitable tax burden is placed on other property taxpayers. Counties also seek amendments to the Clean and Green statute, which will give consistency to its application on Marcellus operations throughout the state.

 

Conservation Districts: Counties support an increasein the state’s share of conservation district funding, includingsufficient funding to meet the 50 percent costshare provisions for conservation district directors,as well as appropriate funding.