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HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf is warning Pennsylvania’s county commissioners that they’ll get stuck with higher human services costs if the Republican-controlled Legislature refuses to raise taxes.
Wolf spoke Monday at a county commissioners’ association conference in Harrisburg.
Wolf is seeking a tax package that includes an 11 percent income tax increase that would cost a$50,000 a-year earner an extra $165.
Top Republican lawmakers say they’re committed to dealing with the state’s deficit without raising taxes. But Wolf also told county commissioners that the state is already short-changing them on human services programs funding.
Entrenched budget gridlock has left billions of dollars in subsidies in limbo more than two-thirds into the current budget year. Some school districts are borrowing to pay staff while Penn State is threatening to close agricultural extension offices.