I’ve been reading alot about the budget woes that Montgomery County is going through. It’s incredible what the are planning to cut to make the numbers work. The best coverage I’ve found is located at Patch (http://plymouthwhitemarsh.patch.com/articles/proposed-montco-budget-threatens-massive-service-cuts-e2486f1d). BTW: If anyone reading this blog is not keeping tabs on Patch, you need to start. They have local reporters, covering local events and they do a great job of it. Check them out.
In any case, one of the better overviews I have seen comes from a friend of mine. Here is a bullet point list of items that will likely get cut or just go away:
- Community revitalization grant funding would be eliminated.
- A voice for Montgomery County project in the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission funding review process would be lost.
- County trail projects and maintenance would be lost. It is possible that trail maintenance could fall to the municipalities in which sections of the trails are located, placing a burden on local municipalities.
- County review and assistance in land development and planning would be lost.
- The cutting of library funds would seriously impact the Conshohocken Library which is a branch of the county library system. Conshohocken’s library could loose staff and operating funds, which the Borough probably could not make up, and or hours could be severely reduced.
- Regional parks such as the Norristown Farm Park, Upper Perkiomen Park and Lower Perkiomen Park would suffer a loss as would the Zoo, whose funding is precarious at best.
- Community College likewise would suffer loss for all County residents.
Good post. Could it be a message to support tax increase? Get folks up in arms to rationalize higher taxes? Conshy is sending a new treasurer to Montco. Fact is, with few exceptions, counties and municipalities are reeling from lower revenues.