SUNBURY — State Representative Fred Keller (R-85th, Kreamer) gave us an update on the state budget this week on WKOK’s On The Mark program. Keller says they are starting off at a much better spot than the previous two years and was pleased that the Governor wasn’t calling for across the board tax increases in his budget proposal.
However Keller says there are a couple of items that are troubling to him, “In the proposal, the governor had to borrow money against the Farm Show for debt service. Also, the state police per capita fee in municipalities that don’t have a local police force. There are some concerns when you dig into the information surrounding those items.”
Keller said the Governor’s budget is 500 million dollars more than the previous year. However, Keller prefers the House budget proposal, claiming it is more level, “The governor proposed some borrowing to pull a couple things or to fund a couple things in the budget. The Republican budget requires some new revenue in the form of expansion in gaming and more privatization in liquor. But the Republican budget pulls about $267-million off-line. So, when I look at a budget, I have to add that back onto the bottom line and say that it is basically level over last year.”
Keller adds he is concerned that the revenue has not been identified and the revenue estimates for this year were about $600-million short through March collections. You can hear more from Keller on the state budget on WKOK’s On The Mark program online at WKOK.com. (Ali Stevens)
