On March 1st, the Columbia-Montour Visitors Bureau unveiled two new interactive kiosks located in the Danville area. The first kiosk was placed at Geisinger Medical Center in the Atrium Café, which is a heavily trafficked area of the hospital complex. The other kiosk is located in the lobby of the Pine Barn Inn. These displays are linked to the Visitors Bureau website to assist users in finding information about local businesses, upcoming events in the area, dining and shopping options, local attractions and other activities in Columbia and Montour Counties. Jim Wilson, Executive Director of the Danville Business Alliance, highlighted the impact of the new technology on the area. “The kiosks are strategically placed in two of the busiest pedestrian locations in Danville and Montour County: Geisinger Medical Center and the Pine Barn Inn. Literally thousands of people (patients, their families, visitors) will pass by them every day. They will provide an unparalleled opportunity to promote the many natural, historic, cultural and commercial assets of both Columbia and Montour Counties.”
Data trends show that the new kiosks are indeed having an immediate impact on the area. In the months preceding the installation of the new kiosks, the Visitors Bureau website averaged 300-400 unique page views from the Danville area every month. In the one month after the kiosks were placed, this number dramatically increased to reach nearly 2,000 unique page views in the month of March. Several local business owners have expressed their excitement about the new installations, and hopes are high that downtown Danville will see greater foot traffic in the upcoming summer months.
More than 600 businesses and organizations belong to the Columbia Montour Chamber to receive benefits and support efforts to strengthen our region. Increased membership allows us to offer additional programs and benefits, have a stronger voice in advocacy, and be involved in more activities and initiatives in our communities. The Chamber welcomes six organizations that joined in March to help us fulfill our mission:
487 Rustics – 1549 State Route 487, Orangeville
Can U Xcape – 95 East 10th Street, Unit 1, Bloomsburg
Keystone Payroll – 355-C Colonnade Boulevard, State College
Resurrection Movement Studio – 1408 Montour Blvd, Danville
Sokol Quarries, Inc. – 3860 State Route 487, Stillwater
Susquehanna Valley Limousine, Inc. – 2225 Ridge Road, Northumberland
Additional contact information is available on the Chamber’s Online Directory. A reminder that anyone who recommends Chamber membership will receive a $25 gift certificate when that organization joins.
From PA Chamber of Business & Industry
The 2015-16 PA budget was finalized last week as Gov. Tom Wolf allowed various appropriations bills to become law. Of the number of bills sent to the governor’s desk, only one – the Fiscal Code – was vetoed. The veto reduces by $439 million the amount of money that Pennsylvania’s public schools will receive – an interesting result given that the Wolf administration continuously pushed for more education funding during the budget impasse. Senate Republicans say that a $150 million increase in basic education funding and $289 million in school construction reimbursements can’t be distributed due to the Fiscal Code veto – a fact the Wolf administration is trying to make up for by proposing $200 million in PlanCon funding in the 2016-17 budget. Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman, R-Centre, decried the governor’s action as making the schools a pawn in a tax and spend agenda. “At the tip of the governor’s veto pen are schools left searching for ways to pay the interest on loans or school construction costs,” Corman said.
Capitolwire reports that the governor is defending his Fiscal Code veto by stating that the bill contained objectionable provisions including the funding formula for new money – which the governor agrees with, but only after more basic education funding has been distributed via the old funding formula – and a borrowing plan for school construction, which he claims would be too costly given the state’s current credit rating situation. It was further reported that the veto affects more than $25 million in agricultural funding, as the Fiscal Code bill would have allowed for spending from a restricted receipt account within the supplemental appropriations bill that became law. House and Senate lawmakers returned to Harrisburg this week for session to examine the implications of Gov. Wolf’s veto and spending levels for the 2016-17 budget.
With the start of the Chamber’s new fiscal year on April 1, several new members will be welcomed to the Board. Incoming members are as follows:
Martin Bowman, Columbia Alliance for Economic Growth
Diane Ljungquist, Berwick Hospital Center
Travis Petty, Borough of Berwick
Denise Stone, Geisinger Health System
Jeff Whitenight, First Columbia Bank & Trust
Sharon Wilkin, CSS Industries
Officers are as follows:
Mark Gardner, Chair, M&T Bank
Karen Wood, Vice Chair, Service 1st Federal Credit Union
Diana Verbek, Treasurer, Danville Child Development Center
Fred Gaffney, President
A complete list of Chamber Board members is available online.
Exiting the Board are Jim Nemeth, Autoneum, and Andrew Pruden, Inn at Turkey Hill. Chair Mark Gardner expressed appreciation for their service at the March Board meeting. Both continue to be active on the Partnership Board and committees.
In February, the majority of Bloomsburg Town Council members voted not to advance an ordinance that would have expanded parking enforcement times in the downtown. That decision followed calls from the Chamber and dozens of business and property owners for a more comprehensive approach to managing parking. A sub-committee was formed by the Town’s Community and Economic Development Committee and is now meeting regularly to discuss the issues and make recommendations to Town Council.
The committee is comprised of representatives of Council, Police Department, Columbia County, the Chamber, DBI, Bloomsburg University, downtown merchants, the Bloomsburg Landlord’s Association, and residents. In the first two meetings, the committee agreed on areas of focus, and assessed the existing parking inventory in the commercial district. The committee is next scheduled to review data from parking studies conducted in 2009 and 2015. The members recognize that parking in the downtown is confusing and can be frustrating in certain areas, and are interested in proposing long-term solutions.
A revitalization plan being spearheaded by Downtown Bloomsburg Inc. suggests a number of improvements to the downtown commercial district. Ideas include increasing the amount of green space, building improvements, incentive programs for businesses, and a roundabout in front of Town Hall. The phase 2 report of the 3-phase plan was presented last Thursday evening at the Greenly Center. Duane Greenly, benefactor of the Greenly Center, Mayor Sandy Davis, and Chamber President Fred Gaffney expressed support for the initiative.
The presentation and a list of major supporters to date is available on DBI’s website at www.visitbloomsburg.org. The DBI Board would like to move forward with phase 3 immediately upon securing funding.
From PA Chamber of Business & Industry
With the looming threat of layoffs at hospitals and educational institutions as a result of the budget impasse, the General Assembly attempted yet again last week to resolve unfinished portions of the 2015-16 budget by sending Gov. Tom Wolf a budget bill that would bring total state spending for this fiscal year to $30 billion, without raising taxes. House Bill 1801 passed the House in a 128-63 vote, with 115 Republicans and 13 Democrats voting in the affirmative. The Senate passed the bill in a 31-18 vote along mostly party lines.
House Bill 1801 would result in the state spending 3 percent more than was spent in 2014-15 – about $238 million less than the budget plan that the General Assembly passed in December and Gov. Wolf line-item vetoed. The sentiment among lawmakers who voted “yes” on H.B. 1801 was generally that spending increases that were agreed-to last year can no longer be put in place, as it’s the last quarter of the fiscal year. The new plan sets education funding levels at $5.93 billion – an increase of $203 million over 2014-15 – but still about $175 million less than the governor wants. The budget plan provides for a 5 percent increase in funding for the state’s 18 public universities and the 14 community colleges.
Given that his 2016-17 budget plan relies on more hypothetical revenue from the final 2015-16 spending number, Gov. Wolf not surprisingly announced an intent to veto the legislation. Moments after the Senate passed the bill (with all Republicans and one Democrat supporting it) the governor issued a statement saying that the plan simply doesn’t spend enough: “In its current form, I will veto this budget, and I urge Republicans in the legislature to … negotiate a final budget that funds our schools and eliminates the nearly $2 billion deficit. I look forward to working with both parties in the legislature to finally end this impasse, fix our schools, and eliminate the deficit.”
However, there is a growing possibility that the legislature could have the two-thirds majority needed to override the governor’s veto this time around. According to a story in Pennlive, between 13 and 28 House Democrats crossed the aisle to vote with Republicans on Wednesday to approve the various funding bills. A veto-proof majority would require a minimum of 16 Democratic votes, and GOP leaders have said they will schedule an override vote if the governor vetoes the legislation.
From PA Chamber of Business & Industry
The House and Senate Appropriations Committees hosted their third and final week of budget hearings last week with the heads of state-run and state-related agencies.
House Appropriations Committee members kicked off last week by meeting with the Public School Employees Retirement Commission and the State Employees Retirement Commission. PSERS Executive Director Glen Grell said the state has finally begun making its full actuarially required payments for PSERS – the first time in 15 years that the Commonwealth is making its full payment. Grell reported that the unfunded liability for PSERS is $37.3 billion; it is $18.8 billion for SERS. This level of unfunded liability is clearly unsustainable, and is a main reason why Pennsylvania has experienced credit rating downgrades in recent years.
Revenue Secretary Eileen McNulty defended the $2.7 billion in tax increases that are included in Gov. Tom Wolf’s 2016-17 budget proposal. Specifically, she told the Senate Appropriations Committee that Pennsylvania is one of only two states that does not tax all tobacco products; and that some businesses may be able to absorb the proposed tax on property and casualty insurance without increasing rates. In terms of the proposed severance tax on natural gas, McNulty said one of the things having the biggest impact on natural gas sales is the ability to get the gas to markets. She anticipated that once pipeline capacity under construction comes online there will be significantly more growth in sales of natural gas. She added that the administration isn’t proposing to change the current impact fee, which would be deducted from the tax and would keep the effective rate of the tax lower. She explained the idea is to keep it a broad based tax that is easily calculated. She said there would not be a deduction for post-production costs. McNulty also opined that Pennsylvania previously went too far in its lowering of the Bank Shares Tax. During the hearing, Sen. Bob Mensch, R-Montgomery, argued the “deficit is outside the budget” and rejected arguments that increasing taxes is the way to balance the budget. McNulty responded some of the trends, such as increasing pension payments and aging demographics, point out the reasons why the Commonwealth needs revenue and must have a revenue structure to meet demands. She further pointed out the governor has offered a proposal that would address rising property taxes.
The defense of the administration’s $33.29 billion budget proposal continued into Thursday, when the House Appropriations Committee held its final day of hearings with the Governor’s Budget Office.
From PA Chamber of Business & Industry
Among the notable budget hearings in Harrisburg last week included the House Appropriations Committee meeting with the Department of Community and Economic Development where Secretary Dennis Davin estimated no jobs would be lost if Pennsylvania raised the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour. According to a Pennsylvania Legislative Services story, Davin said in his experience meeting with companies that pay various levels of compensation, the only effect of a higher minimum wage would be to “raise people out of poverty.” Davin was also asked if any analysis was done on the impact that the proposed retroactive increase to the Personal Income Tax would have on small businesses in the coming year’s budget (Gov. Wolf wants to raise the PIT by 11 percent and make it retroactive to Jan. 1). Davin said Pennsylvania’s PIT is second lowest among those states that have one, and would rise to only the third lowest after the increase. He said he thinks it is competitive and stressed DCED’s job is to look at the whole picture. The minimum wage was a central topic in the Senate Appropriations Committee’s budget hearing with the Department of Labor and Industry. Secretary Kathy Manderino said the Department of Revenue estimates an increase to $10.10 an hour would generate $60 million in sales and income revenue and reduce the number of people in poverty. Sen. Mario Scavello, R-Monroe, doubted these statistics and said the focus should be on creating jobs, which in his region has increased the average wage. Democratic Appropriations Chairman Vince Hughes, D-Philadelphia, said every surrounding state has a higher minimum wage than Pennsylvania and has higher levels of job growth. “I would suggest that we kick start much harder the drive for raising the minimum wage in Pennsylvania,” Hughes said. “Those who are opposed to raising the minimum wage have a philosophy that just wants to keep people in poverty…we’re going to fight and I’m glad this governor has decided to stand up and fight to raise the minimum wage in Pennsylvania.” On Monday, Governor Wolf signed an executive order raising the minimum wage for employees under the governor’s jurisdiction to $10.15 an hour. The order also covers employees of organizations that negotiate state contracts or that lease property to the commonwealth. This provision will take effect when contracts or leases are solicited or bilaterally modified on or after July 1, 2016.