May 20, 2007 2 min read

Fayette County human service agency representatives will travel to Harrisburg on Tuesday to urge lawmakers to preserve funding in the state budget for programs that help children and youth, tobacco prevention and cessation, nursing homes and families struggling with the challenges of mental retardation. “The state and federal government have mandated many of the services that counties provide to our most vulnerable citizens,” said Michelle Grant Shumar, director of the Fayette County Office of Human and Community Services. “So, I am sending staff to Harrisburg to ask our state legislators to work with us to assure that these mandates are supported by responsible funding so that our local taxpayers do not have to foot the bill.

“The Fayette County community is defined by the well-being of the people who live here,” Shumar said. “Caring for abused and neglected children, helping families with addiction or mental health challenges, preserving the dignity and respect of our senior citizens and many other programs are responsibilities we take very seriously. Providing these services to meet the needs of citizens is vital to everyone’s quality of life. We are making the trip to the state Capitol to make sure these services are not threatened.”

Counties spend as much as 60 percent of their total budgets on the provision of human services – many of which are mandated. Not coincidentally, state and federal dollars, which support human services, are the largest source of funding for counties, often accounting for more than half of county revenue, according to Shumar.

Officials contend that without a commitment by the state and federal governments to honor their obligations to fund these mandated and entitlement services, and without county tax reform, the delicate balancing act forces commissioners to choose between cutting local services and increasing taxes.

“When responsibility for funding these vital services is shifted from federal and state budgets, counties must find the missing dollars somewhere,” added Shumar. “Counties have nowhere to turn except to local property taxpayers to make up the difference.”

Pennsylvania’s counties rely almost exclusively on the real estate tax as their local tax base. However, the present tax system does not equitably or adequately reflect a homeowner’s economic condition, placing an unfair burden on some property owners, said Shumar.

For more information about CCAP’s position on human services funding, tax fairness, etc., log on to www.pacounties.org.