Mar 3, 2017 By Gov. Tom Wolf 5 min read

We live in a democracy, and I understand and appreciate that we’ll often have a difference of opinions.

But in state Sen. Pat Stefano recent guest column called, “Stefano rips Wolf’s budget plan,” I heard a lot of criticism without a clear proposal on how we can make a new way for Pennsylvania by seriously addressing our $3 billion dollar budget deficit while still investing in the things that matter most to Pennsylvanians.

Harrisburg has been broken for years, failing to focus on what matters most to Pennsylvania families. For far too long, Harrisburg politicians have done the bidding of special interests, lobbyists, and their well-connected campaign contributors.

In the past – for almost a generation – Harrisburg tried to cut its way out of structural deficits by slashing education and services for seniors and people with disabilities while using phony budgeting gimmicks to make it look like the commonwealth’s checkbook was balanced when it really wasn’t. And yet every year Harrisburg politicians kicked the can down the road, making our problems worse, refusing to make the tough decisions to cut bureaucracy, all while forcing seniors and school children to pay for their mistakes.

My budget is a new way for Pennsylvania that moves our commonwealth forward and demands that Harrisburg move away from the failed policies of the past.

It’s a new way and a better way. It doesn’t raise taxes on people. It protects and invests in the services that mean the most to Pennsylvanians. I’ve proposed more money for education so that our children can get the education they deserve, invested in programs for seniors so they can stay in their homes and communities instead of moving into nursing facilities, and continued investment in treatment centers for those who are struggling with the disease of addiction to opioids and heroin.

We’re building on our efforts to strengthen the middle-class by investing in creating manufacturing jobs and apprenticeship and training programs that will make sure we have a workforce for the 21st century. My budget continues to invest in companies that promise to create jobs and grow our economy. But if those companies don’t keep their promises by failing to create jobs or moving out of state, they will have to pay us back.

My budget also makes sure oil and gas companies pay their fair share, closes corporate loopholes that let big businesses avoid paying taxes and increases the minimum wage to $12 an hour.

My budget makes all of these investments, yet it still balances our commonwealth’s $3 billion deficit without using smoke and mirrors.

It does this by cutting waste and inefficiencies by more than $2 billion without affecting the services people rely on. We accomplish this by consolidating agencies and services and getting rid of unnecessary red tape. For example, we’re creating the Department of Health and Human Services, which merges four agencies, so that we can not only save money, but provide more streamlined services to Pennsylvanians.

We’re cutting things that our state can no longer afford, like $30 million to the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Veterinary Medicine. Though I wholly support the work the school does, the state cannot afford to continue to provide these funds, especially considering that the school has a multi-billion dollar endowment.

We’re also taking steps to make sure we can continue to keep our communities safe. In Pennsylvania, some municipalities choose not to have a local police force and thus fully rely on the Pennsylvania State Police, which is funded by taxpayers statewide. Taxpayers who live in municipalities like Uniontown, Fairchance, Connellsville, and Brownsville that have local police forces, pay local taxes to support their own municipal police force. But municipalities that rely fully on the Pennsylvania State Police pay no extra for these services.

I have proposed a very modest fee on municipalities that rely solely on the Pennsylvania State Police for full-time police coverage. Municipalities will pay $25 per resident, which is minimal compared to the actual cost to provide full-time coverage, approximately $234 per person. It’s fair and will make sure that we can continue to ensure the public safety of all Pennsylvanians.

I’m also committed to addressing our commonwealth’s pension problem. As I’ve repeatedly said, I would sign a pension bill that gets to my desk if it saves Pennsylvanians billions of dollars in the long term, reduces risk to Pennsylvania taxpayers, and establishes a 401-K style plan for future employees, similar to plans available in the private sector. If the legislature is able to send a pension bill that accomplishes these goals, I will sign it.

Sen. Stefano and I share the same goal – to make Pennsylvania a better place. But to accomplish this, we need a budget that fixes our deficit and provides the people of Pennsylvania with the services they want without asking them to pay more. My budget achieves this goal. When Sen. Stefano develops a plan that balances the budget while investing in what matters most to Pennsylvanians without raising taxes, I will gladly meet with him to negotiate the best way forward for Pennsylvanians.