Harrisburg, June 30, 2013 – Legislative efforts by Sen. Judy Schwank (D-Berks) to save thousands of dollars for emergency responders and expand a proposed economic development program to include Reading and other cities were approved today by the state Senate.
The Senate approved HB 465, creating the City Improvement Revitalization Zone (CRIZ) program, after expanding the number of cities that could participate. CRIZes would be funded with public bonds issued by a local municipal authority, with the bond payments covered by local and state tax revenue raised within the zone.
Schwank sought the change and her proposal was among a number of provisions the Senate added to the bill. It will now be returned to the House of Representatives for concurrence with the Senate’s action.
“The initial CRIZ proposal was technically very good, but it was too limited. It was available only to four Third Class cities with populations between 40,000 and 70,000 people,” Schwank said. “That left Reading and many more deserving cities on the sidelines.”
Schwank had introduced her own proposal, SB 1033, to establish a 15-city pilot program in which all cities but Philadelphia and Pittsburgh were eligible to apply. The proposal approved Sunday was a compromise, opening the program to all cities over 30,000 in population and also providing for one pilot zone in a borough or township.
Up to two cities a year could join the program beginning in 2016, and two cities and the borough/township pilot could establish zones sooner, when the law takes effect.
“The particulars and timing of the economic problems change from city to city, but the results from Altoona to Reading have been similar: declining property values, crippling taxes, lost jobs, increasing crime rates, and declining graduation rates from city to city across the state,” Schwank said. “We need to stop the bleeding and revitalize cities.”
The bill also contains a provision Schwank previously succeeded in introducing with support from Rep. Ryan Mackenzie that would create a property transfer tax exemption for fire companies and other emergency response companies when they merge or consolidate.
The idea for the bill came when the Barto, Bally and Bechtelsville fire companies merged to form the Eastern Berks Fire Department, Company 97, and were hit with a $17,000 transfer tax bill on deeding their stations to the new company.
“When any local fire department, EMS, river rescue or police department takes a proactive step to save money and help more people, it’s incumbent on the commonwealth to not penalize them for doing the right thing,” Schwank said.
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More information on Sen. Schwank is available on her website, Facebook and Twitter.