MEDIA — Sister Sandra Lyons has seen a lot in her 25 years of serving the people of Chester in Delaware County. But Friday, she didn’t want to see less of something.
Lyons, the director of the Bernadine Center in Chester for the last six years, was representing one of several organizations in a rally at the Delaware County Courthouse to urge state legislators to delay a cut to the Capital Stock and Franchise Tax in 2014, which would keep $360 million in the state budget and maintain support for several state school districts and other organizations.
“It depends on when and where they would limit the funds,” Lyons said when asked how potential budget cuts would affect the Bernadine Center. “I do know that over the last few years that funds are decreasing and need is increasing. We are seeing more families in need.”
The Bernadine Center has a daily brunch that feeds between 40 and 60 people per day. Lyons added that the center distributes food for the week to between 55 and 60 families, which vary in size from three or four to as much as nine or 10.
“We are lucky that we have some individuals and churches that are regular donors,” she said. “We would not make it without them.”
Friday’s rally was organized by the Public Citizens for Children and Youth. The CFST has been cut by 85 percent over the past several years and, according to the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center, most companies that pay the tax pay less than $1,000 per year. The budget center says that more than 70 percent of businesses do not have to pay the tax because there is an exemption on the first $160,000 of net worth.
According to Friday’s speakers, it would be hard to measure just how much the services they provide are worth. For example, Tatiana Moskatova, a native of Russia, told her story of how the Delaware County Literacy Council helped her learn to read, write and speak English, which eventually led to her landing a full-time job.
Dr. Robert Burley is one of 200 volunteers who tutors people for the literary council and is on the council’s board and said he has seen the rewards of the program firsthand.
“We still have a long waiting list of people who want to be tutored,” he said. “They are the ones that are the best students. They don’t miss appointments.”
Other speakers at the rally were William Kaplan, a parent in the Upper Darby School District; Joanne Petrosina, the director of Christ Church Preschool in Media; and Diana Marques, representing Pathways PA, which helps women, teens, children and families in southeast Pennsylvania achieve economic independence and family well-being.
Marques said the cuts that began with the 2008 recession and that have continued have taken a toll on organizations like Pathways PA.
“We feel this is one of those times when the legislature should delay the tax cut,” she said. “We’ve had to make really difficult decisions. There’s nowhere left to cut.”
There is hope for those who spoke Friday as the CFST has been delayed five times in the past 15 years.
“School districts, health care and other programs across the state could benefit greatly if Harrisburg would vote to delay the elimination of this tax,” said Kate Atkins of the Better Choices PA Coalition, who was also at the rally. “We can balance this year’s budget without shortchanging our children and communities and our state’s long-term economic competitiveness.”
The state Legislature has been debating several budget issues over the past few weeks. The deadline for the state budget is July 1.
Daily Times – June 22, 2013 – Read article online