Keep DeWeese in power; he’s working on tax reform
I am a member of the Masontown Borough Council. As is the case in most of Fayette County, a large percentage of our population is retired persons. Paying their property tax is often a hardship for these residents. The state legislature has tried to address property tax relief and has passed several attempts to achieve it. As with any tax issue, property tax is very complex and difficult to resolve in a manner that is fair and equitable to all. Last week on a PCN call-in ahow, Gov. Ed Rendell received a call asking about current efforts to address property tax reduction. He explained that he and the leaders of the legislature were meeting regularly to develop a workable plan to reduce property taxes.
Of the six or eight names that the governor said were working on this bipartisan task force to find a way to reduce property tax, only one name was from Southwestern Pennsylvania. State Rep. Bill DeWeese is the only person from a rural area on that panel. DeWeese is our voice at the table. DeWeese is at that table because he is the Democratic floor leader of the House of Representatives.
Some of you may be upset at the pay raise. DeWeese has publicly admitted that the legislature made mistakes in passing the pay raise, he has apologized for it, and he has paid his back to the people of the 50th District by sending each of the school boards in the district a check. Albert Gallatin chose to use their money to pay tuition so that more of our students could attend classes at Penn State Fayette Campus.
In addition to the many, many grants that DeWeese has brought to Masontown, as floor leader he is in a position to speak for us on the critical issues, like property tax reform. No freshman legislator is going to have the voice in Harrisburg that DeWeese does.
Thomas Salonick
Masontown