Click here to subscribe today or Login.
Often when state or federal money gets funneled to our area, local politicians issue press releases taking (or at least implying they deserve) credit.
Frequently the information from a local politician is incomplete. They have a tendency to only announce money coming directly to their district, ignoring any dollars from the same source that may be dolled out to other municipalities in Luzerne County.
But a media release from State Rep. Alec Ryncavage was, as a story in Wednesday’s paper pointed out, rife with issues.
“Ryncavage announces $56 million in funding for infrastructure projects,” the headline on the release read. Much of the money, the release suggested, will fund reconstruction of the West Nanticoke Bridge. Other projects mentioned included a street in Hanover Township and three roads in Wright Township.
While Ryncavage’s support of these projects certainly helps state money flow to his district, the headline could easily be inferred to mean this is a new source of revenue secured for projects he championed. Neither is quite correct.
As county Manager Romilda Crocamo explained (discreetly leaving out Ryncavage’s name, while thanking all past and current legislators for their support), the funding had been secured through the Luzerne County Public Infrastructure Program put in place by the state’s passage of Act 24 of 2021, along with needed actions by county council and the county Redevelopment Authority.
Specifically, council voted in November, 2022 — before Ryncavage was seated in Harrisburg — to provide a loan guarantee needed to create the new fund. The loan is arranged through the county Redevelopment Authority. The fund itself is intended to address many projects on county-owned infrastructure. The bridge and roads Ryncavage mentioned are on the list, but the money is not dedicated exclusively to them and could go to other work outside of his district.
The plan, under legislation pushed by former State Sen. John Yudichak, is for the state to provide $3 million a year for 25 years to the county from the “Local Share Account,” which is money the state raises through legalized gambling. County Council had to approve a loan guarantee on the outside chance that gambling money would dry up. Basically, the county put its own ability to raise money through taxes as collateral for the loan. If the state defaults on the $3 million-a-year promise, the county picks up the tab.
After council agreed to guarantee the loan, the authority closed on it in November. The Commonwealth Financing Authority (CFA), an independent agency that approves various LSA awards, voted at the time to start releasing the annual $3 million. The county identified the bridge as the main project to be funded.
In short, every aspect of this happened before Ryncavage was sworn in as a representative. It involved many government entities and agencies, and “yes” votes by a lot of officials either elected to office or appointed to boards. To our knowledge, Ryncavage was never one of those votes.
Nor did he claim to be. When asked about all this, he said his support was required as a new legislator to continue the work. Considering the CFA is an independent board, his support shouldn’t be necessary, but we’ll take him at his word. In which case the real news would have been if he had opposed the deal after so much political wrangling by so many other people. In that case, odds are this freshman representative would not be in office beyond his sophomore year.
Taking credit for his part is fine. We hope in the future he will be more willing to keep his part in perspective — and to clearly share credit with others involved.
— Times Leader