READING, Sept. 24, 2014 – Representing one of Pennsylvania’s 20 communities that are financially distressed, state Sen. Judy Schwank has voted to change the law that governs the commonwealth’s municipal recovery program.
Schwank’s vote Wednesday helped to send the Act 47 proposal, House Bill 1773, to the governor for his consideration.
“I voted to make comprehensive changes to Act 47 because I don’t want Reading to be stuck in an otherwise positive program for decades, as have some other communities,” Schwank (D-Ruscombmanor Township) said today.
“Reading has a recovery plan, thanks to Act 47. If it continues to follow the prescription, it should be well on its way to a brighter economic future. While I am confident it will enjoy better times, we must make sure the city – or any local municipality – has the tools it needs to get back to self-sufficiency in a reasonable period of time,” she said.
Reading’s Act 47 recovery plan, approved Nov. 12, 2009, is designed to improve the city’s management and accountability, advance its oversight of housing codes and funding sources, and rethink how it pays for and delivers city services.
HB 1773, if signed into law, would limit municipalities’ participation in the program to five years and give the Department of Community and Economic Development more authority in enforcing a recovery plan.
Municipalities in the program when the law goes into effect are allowed one three-year extension after their first five-year program expires.
Also, HB1773 delivers fairer taxing options that local governments can consider to quickentheir exit from Act 47 financial distress.
Of the 20 municipalities under Act 47, the commonwealth has watched Farrell (1987), Mercer County; Aliquippa (1987), Beaver County; Braddock (1988), Clairton (1988) and Rankin (1989), Allegheny County; and Franklin (1988), Cambria County, the longest.
###
More information on Sen. Schwank is available on her website, Facebook and Twitter.