Commissioner Michael Pipe presented the 2013 Centre County government tentative budget, highlighting collaboration with department heads and a 98.5% agreement among the board on budget areas. Key debates involved the use of Act 13 funds, human services budget cuts, and the need for adequate funding in essential services. The commissioner emphasized the importance of balancing the budget without raising taxes by using available resources effectively.

1. Commissioner Michael Pipe
2013 CENTRE COUNTY
GOVERNMENT TENTATIVE BUDGET
PRESENTATION

2. 2013 Budget
• One of the duties of the minority
commissioner is to offer a different viewpoint
from the majority commissioners and to hold
them accountable.
• Set up meetings with all of the Department
Heads and Elected Officials. I went line-by-line
through their budgets.
• Town Hall Meetings

3. Board Agreement in over
30 Areas of the Budget
• Centre Crest • Jury Commissioners
• Children and Youth Services • Maintenance
• Commissioners • Planning and Community Development
• Conservation District • Probation & Parole
• Controller • Prothonotary and Clerk of Courts
• Cooperative Extension • Public Defender
• Coroner • Recorder of Deeds
• Court Administration • Records Management
• Criminal Justice Planning • Register of Wills and Clerk of Orphans'
• District Attorney Court
• District Judges • Risk Management
• Domestic Relations • Sheriff
• Elections and Voter Registration • Tax Assessment
• Emergency Communications/9-1-1 • Tax Collection/Tax Claim
• Emergency Services • Transportation
• GIS • Treasurer
• Housing Authority • Veterans' Affairs
• Human Resources • Weights and Measures
Board has 98.5% of Agreement.

4. Areas of Debate
• Use of Act 13 Funds
• Amount of Contingency Fund
• Prison payroll changes
• Contract with Community Help Centre
• Staffing at the Office of Aging
• Cuts in services at Mental
Health/Intellectual Disabilities

5. Robust Debate on Act 13
• Impact fee was for natural gas related impacts
• Governor Corbett side-stepped around “no
tax” pledge
• I supported the passage of the ordinance even
though the fee was not enough
• Have there been impacts related to the
drilling?
• Use the Act 13 to balance the budget or else
taxes go up

6. Robust Debate on Act 13
• Amount of impact fee will decline. After Year 3
(Spring 2014 payment) the maximum amount
that can be assessed for a well is $20,000. For
the $660,000 payment the County received, the
assessed amount for a well was at $50,000.
• Snow Shoe Borough - $7,000
• Using Act 13 funds for programs that we’ve
historically used General Fund money concerns
me as they might be being moved onto the
endangered species list.

7. Act 13 Payment Schedule

8. Act 13 Impact Fee Municipal Distribution

9. Human Services Cuts
• Cuts to three areas of human services budgets:
– Adult Services – contract with Community Help
Centre
– Office of Aging – laying off 3 staff positions
• 3 “Care Managers II” (case workers)
– Mental Health/Intellectual Disabilities
• $350,000 reduction in Purchase Client Services

10. Cuts to Human Services
• Adequately funding human services is
important because “it helps people address
their problems now instead of in the future,
when the problems could worsen and become
more expensive to address.”
• What could happen if human services are
reduced?

11. Taxes
• I’ll never be afraid to advocate and fund
something that I believe is important
– 9-1-1 radio system upgrade
• There will be a time in the future when a
Centre County Board of Commissioners raises
taxes. Hopefully, it’s been after they have
exhausted every other measure.

12. Hope for a compromise?
• The Board of Commissioners has 24 days until
final passage of the budget…
• Different perspectives, different approaches