DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Pennsylvania had been making advances in job creation and employment rates, outpacing neighboring states as well as the national numbers. However, after Governor Corbett’s drastic budget cuts to some key programs, Pennsylvania has stumbled in these gains.
The proposed budget for the Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) calls for even deeper cuts to programs and line items that have taken repeated hits over the past several years. DCED is a department that is so vital to job creation and business expansion in Pennsylvania, and it has seen its budget go from over half a billion dollars less than 5 years ago to just over $250 million in FY 2009-10 to $211.7 million in the current proposed budget.
Last year, DCED faced the added challenge of consolidating myriad programs that spanned several line items into a handful of new programs. In addition to creating new guiding principles for these programs, DCED was also faced with how to accommodate qualified groups with significantly less funding than was available just one year before. There are now even more qualified and eligible groups applying for these funds, at a time when the proposed budget calls for even more draconian cuts to these line items. Of these programs, PA First and Keystone Communities received 10% cuts, while Partnerships for Regional Economic Performance and Discovered in PA, Developed in PA remained level funded.
Some noteworthy areas include Marketing to Attract Tourists, which has seen a 70% decrease in funding over the past 2 years despite being Pennsylvania’s second largest industry; the total elimination of funding to the Industrial Resource Centers; and a roughly 30% decrease in funding for Infrastructure and Facilities Improvement Grants since FY 2010-11.
The Homeowners Emergency Mortgage Assistance Program (HEMAP) that is funded through the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency has been eliminated completely in the proposed budget. This successful program has served as a national model for assistance to help keep struggling families in their homes. After being consistently funded at approximately $11 million for many years up through FY 2010-11, HEMAP was cut to just $2 million in last year’s budget.
With all state and federal money included, DCED is set to receive $452.66 million for FY 2012-13. This reflects a decrease of $27.3 million, or 6%, from FY 2011-12; and a decrease of $231 million, or 34%, from FY 2010-11.