Latest news with #Act47
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
‘Unlock the future:' Cognetti touts achievements in optimistic State of the City Address
SCRANTON — Touting considerable investments in infrastructure, parks, public safety, internal operations and more, Mayor Paige Gebhardt Cognetti celebrated Tuesday her administration's progress while casting a momentum-driven vision for Scranton's future in her latest State of the City Address. The state of the city is 'promising,' Cognetti said shortly before addressing a crowded auditorium of local officials, business leaders and other stakeholders gathered at Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine. Cognetti's unsurprisingly bullish and buoyant address comes as the incumbent Democrat seeks reelection to another four-year term. Her remarks Tuesday were often retrospective — a look back at progress made during her eventful first five years in office. In many ways it was a story of numbers: $23 million in stormwater infrastructure investments, $26-plus million invested in parks, 4,500 street signs upgraded, 72 hazardous structures razed and so on. 'Working together as an efficient city government will unlock the future that we all see: a thriving, growing city that is a destination for families and residents and students,' Cognetti said. Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti discusses the city's achievements and future plans for Scranton during her State of the City Address at the Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine in Scranton on Tuesday, March 25, 2025. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER) An Oregon native, Cognetti ran as an outsider candidate and won a 2019 special election to fill the unexpired term of corrupt former Mayor Bill Courtright. She took office in 2020 and, by January 2022, had helped see the city through the end stages of its 30-year stay in Pennsylvania's Act 47 program for financially distressed municipalities — a titanic accomplishment stemming from decades of work by multiple administrations and city councils. In the intervening time, Cognetti's administration weathered pandemic-prompted challenges and Cognetti herself sailed to reelection, comfortably winning a full four-year term in 2021. Several achievements the mayor touted Tuesday reflect the city's much-improved financial position. Scranton, for example, achieved an investment-grade bond rating since exiting Act 47, improved creditworthiness that makes it cheaper to borrow money. It also hasn't taken a tax anticipation note since 2022, meaning the city hasn't had to borrow and accrue interest on that borrowing to cover early year expenses pending the receipt of property tax revenues. Those admittedly esoteric accomplishments complement more visible signs of progress, including ongoing, planned or completed park and playground improvements and the substantial rehabilitation of Scranton's historic 1888 City Hall. On those fronts and more broadly, Cognetti was quick to credit the contributions of past administrations, including those of former mayors Chris Doherty and Wayne Evans, and the city's strong partnerships both inside and outside of local government. The biggest power a mayor has is the power to convene, she said. Stressing the importance of advocacy and collaboration, Cognetti pointed to the successful opposition campaign local officials at different levels of government organized in 2023 and 2024 to curtail rate increases sought by Pennsylvania American Water. Similar opposition is currently brewing against proposed natural gas rate hikes sought by UGI. She also called for ongoing collaboration on housing, hunger-prevention, youth initiatives, the arts and similar issues, and on projects with the broad potential to improve life and bolster economic conditions in Northeast Pennsylvania, including the long-sought restoration of passenger rail service between Scranton and New York City. Current and former officials at virtually all levels of government have endorsed that project, most recently Republican U.S. Rep. Rob Bresnahan Jr. 'So we're advocating at the local level, advocating at the federal level, making sure that we're alongside cities like ours to push for the little stuff and the big stuff, because it all matters,' Cognetti said. 'City limits are not the whole scope of our work, right? This is all of us, all as a county, all as a region. We don't try to create artificial barriers.' Cognetti faces several very real barriers she'll have to clear in pursuit of another term, including a Democratic primary challenge from former Scranton School Board President Bob Sheridan. A pair of Republican candidates, newcomers Trish Beynon and Lynn Labrosky, seek the GOP nomination for mayor in the coming primary. And former Scranton Sewer Authority Executive Director Gene Barrett has forecasted plans to run for mayor as an independent candidate. But Cognetti made clear Tuesday her vision for the future extends beyond the political battles yet to come. 'It truly is an honor to be able to address you all and to do this work alongside you,' she told the friendly crowd in closing. 'We really love our work, as hard as it can be sometimes, so (we're) looking forward to these next days and weeks and months and years with you all to make sure we keep making lots of progress.'
Yahoo
24-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
End of federal relief money will push some Pennsylvania municipalities off a financial cliff, Shapiro admin fears
This story was produced by the State College regional bureau of Spotlight PA, an independent, nonpartisan newsroom dedicated to investigative and public-service journalism for Pennsylvania. Sign up for Talk of the Town, a weekly newsletter of local stories that dig deep, events, and more from north-central PA, at STATE COLLEGE — The Shapiro administration expects some Pennsylvania municipalities to become so financially distressed they could require state assistance as billions in federal stimulus dollars dry up. State and local governments received unprecedented federal aid during the COVID-19 pandemic to cope with its impact on public health and the economy. The funding extended a lifeline to recipients during the emergency, as many spent their allocations to fill revenue gaps, but that help is now going away. The state Department of Community and Economic Development has asked the legislature to approve a $10 million increase to the special state fund that aids local governments facing severe economic hardships in its proposed budget for the 2025-26 fiscal year. The increase accounts for about 2.3% of Gov. Josh Shapiro's $430 million pitch to fund the agency. While one expert says that isn't enough funding, some stakeholders question whether the money would be better spent addressing the needs of municipal governments before they become distressed. Under the Municipalities Financial Recovery Act, also known as Act 47, municipalities declare financial distress and gain access to resources. The Act 47 fund helps these government entities develop and implement recovery plans, supplies grants for achieving those plans, and provides loans as emergency cash flows, a spokesperson for the DCED told Spotlight PA. The City of Harrisburg, the City of Chester, and the Borough of Newville are currently part of the Act 47 program. About $17.4 million was in the fund as of March 18, according to the Pennsylvania Treasury. Shoring up the fund with the proposed $10 million is intended as a proactive measure that prepares for 'any potential impact for the ARPA cliff,' DCED Secretary Rick Siger told lawmakers during a budget hearing on Feb. 18. He was referencing the expiration of funding authorized by the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act. The federal government gave $350 billion to tens of thousands of state, county, city, tribal, territorial, and local governments through the State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds program, which ARPA created. It was meant to help government agencies across the nation through the economic and health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Government entities had until the end of 2024 to commit their funding, and the deadline to spend the money is Dec. 31, 2026. The funding can supplement lost revenue, pay for public health and safety services, assist local businesses, and address infrastructure needs. Pennsylvania spent over half its share to counteract revenue loss. It also funded a home repair program, agricultural conservation, and community violence prevention. Treasury rules allowed a broad range of funding uses in the revenue replacement category but required relatively simple information to be reported back to the agency. That appealed to smaller recipients, including nontribal governments that received less than $10 million, known as Tier 5 entities. Nearly two-thirds of the 2,140 Tier 5 recipients in Pennsylvania reported committing all their money to replace lost revenue, according to the latest available data they submitted to the U.S. Treasury last March. Local and state governments now have to make sure the needs covered by the federal pandemic relief money can be supported in some other way, William Glasgall, a public finance advisor at the Volcker Alliance, told Spotlight PA. 'This money is not going to be replaced. It was designed for an emergency. The emergency is gone,' he said. The ARPA funding included $7.29 billion for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, $4.95 billion for its largest cities and counties, and $1.21 billion for smaller municipalities, according to data from DCED and the U.S. Treasury. To date, many municipalities have spent their full allocation, according to the DCED spokesperson. 'The agency is aware that many communities used their ARPA allocations to fill budget holes and now that those funds have been expended, may still have deeper fiscal issues,' he wrote to Spotlight PA. State College, for example, was able to avoid a tax increase in three of the past four years thanks to the pandemic relief funding, reported. However, Borough Council approved a property tax increase for 2025. Limiting expenses while finding ways to increase income, such as raising taxes, is going to become a 'very common' situation for governments, especially on the local level, Glasgall told Spotlight PA. He pointed to the additional uncertainty regarding federal funding cuts or freezes as another financial stressor. Glasgall said DCED's proposal to add $10 million to the Act 47 fund won't go far. 'I mean, [$10] million will last about three seconds,' he said. But David Sanko, executive director of the Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors, told Spotlight PA that many local governments are 'not stressed at all' because they have been planning for the end of the ARPA funding. His organization has done 'an awful lot of education' with members, he said. Townships were advised not to use the funding for long-term or recurring expenses, he added. DCED's proposal attempts to be helpful, Sanko said, but the state should prioritize other actions that could reduce costs in providing local government services. His organization has advocated against prevailing wage — state-mandated minimum pay rates for public work that vary by type of work, location, and project. More needs to be done to prevent communities from becoming financially distressed instead of offering help afterward, state Sen. Patty Kim (D., Dauphin) told Spotlight PA. Kim is the minority chair of her chamber's Local Government Committee and represents Harrisburg, an Act 47 city. Kim told Spotlight PA that it's unclear whether the $10 million increase will pass the legislature, and Pennsylvania's budget could be affected if the federal government goes ahead with funding cuts that the state might have to make up for. 'I am bracing myself for a very, very different budget in the next couple of months,' she said. and help us reinvigorate local news in north-central Pennsylvania at Spotlight PA is funded by foundations and readers like you who are committed to accountability and public-service journalism that gets results. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Reading City Council president announces bid for reelection
Reading City Council President Donna Reed has announced that she is seeking reelection to the post. Reed, 71, was appointed to serve as council president in January 2023 and elected in November 2023 to serve the final two years of the full term to which the late Jeff Waltman was elected in November 2021. Donna Reed Reed formerly served as council's District 5 representative, a position to which she was elected six times, beginning in 2001. Reed will enter the May 20 primary on the Democratic ticket. She is the third person to announce a primary bid for the president's seat, which is elected at-large. Council members Jaime Baez Jr. and Vanessa Campos also will be running as Democrats for the post. 'This was a serious decision for me,' Reed said in a statement. 'In the past weeks, I've been approached by so many people from city residents to state, county and city officials to folks in law enforcement, legal, business and trades professionals to run again for the office I hold.' Nearly all, she said, stressed the need for consistency and institutional knowledge on the council body. 'I intend to continue to lead into the city's future with independence, integrity and a shared intent to move Reading forward through supporting economic development to increase job opportunities, the return to passenger rail service, and to support collective efforts for a safer and cleaner city,' Reed said. Reed has served on council, with a brief interruption to reenter the news business, since 2002. In those years, Reed said, she has worked with a number of council members. Among the key issues she tackled as a council member, she said, were the preservation of the Antietam Lake Watershed and the successful, decadelong effort to rescue Reading from its former designation as a financially distressed city under state Act 47. Reed's everyday work of council, she said, is to be present and responsive to residents' concerns, deal with ongoing fiduciary and policy matters, and hold fellow officials to their responsibilities stated in the Home Rule Charter. Reed serves as council representative to the Reading Area Transportation Study, the Pagoda Foundation and the America250 Committee. She also is council liaison to the Stadium Commission and BCTV. She is a past member of the city planning commission. Reed was chair of the Reading 275 anniversary celebration, is a trustee of the Berks History Center and a longtime board member of Crime Alert Berks County. She previously served on the board of the Centre Park Historic District and the Greater Reading Chamber Alliance Women2Women Council. Reed is a graduate of Muhlenberg High School and The American University, Washington, D.C., with a bachelor's degree in political science and communication. She worked on Capitol Hill and in a D.C. news bureau before returning to Berks and joining the Reading Eagle where she served for 23 years as a reporter, columnist and editor. Reed said her time on council and former career in local journalism reflect her dedication to public service. 'On council, I serve as the public's voice,' she said. 'As a journalist, I served as the peoples' eyes and ears on government, including covering City Hall.' She also served as vice president/communications for the former Berks County Chamber of Commerce, volunteer coordinator for Meals on Wheels, assignment editor for the Berks Edition of Channel 69 News, media/government relations staffer for a local pharmaceutical research firm, communications coordinator for the Berks County Parks and Recreation Department, editor of The Historical Review of Berks County, and Cocalico editor for The Ephrata Review, during which time she earned two top statewide reporting awards. She handled the publication of 'Pagoda Centennial Tales' for the 100th anniversary of the city's icon, and has written for a number of local, state and regional publications. She is a regular contributor to Berks County Living magazine. 'I believe my long experience and connections in the community have been an asset to the work of the council and to the city and its people,' she said. 'I love Reading, its many cultures and people that can both honor the past and look to the future.' Meet the candidate Candidate: Donna Reed, 71, Reading Position sought: Reading City Council President Background: She has served as council president since January 2023. Reed formerly served as council's District 5 representative, a position to which she was elected six times, beginning in 2001. She has served as vice president/communications for the former Berks County Chamber of Commerce, volunteer coordinator for Meals on Wheels and has been a reporter, columnist and editor. She has a bachelor's degree in political science and communication. Term: Four years. Compensation: The council president is paid an annual salary of $6,875.
