We were right after all.

During the July 20th presser held by Mayor Thompson we asked if the city would apply for sponsorship by Dauphin County for Local Share Gaming Funds, Thompson said the application was within the act 47 plan and that the city could not apply.

Our RTK request proves otherwise.

Linda D. Thompson Mayor Office of the Mayor The City of Harrisburg M.L.K. City Government Center 10 North Second Street Harrisburg, PA 17101-1678

CITY OF HARRISBURG LOCAL SHARE MUNICIP AL GRANT SPONSORSHIP REQUEST.

The City of Harrisburg is facing a direct, immediate and grave financial crisis.

The City of Harrisburg, like other cities, struggles to meet the many financial burdens placed upon it. While Harrisburg is the State's Capitol City, it is a medium-sized city with a declining population and a stressed economic base.

Consequently, the financial resources from which the City can draw upon to fund its expenditures are extremely limited.

This problem is compounded by the very high percentage of property exempt from taxation. With the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania owning a vast amount of property across the City, and a significant number of nonprofit, tax-exempt organizations owning real estate in the City, the City's financial struggles are, in part, due to the nearly half (49%) of it's assessed real estate being exempt from any form of property tax. Adding to this burden, the office buildings owned by the Commonwealth are filled with employees during the daylight hours, swelling the City's population to over two times the evening population, creating significant additional demands for City services.

Additionally, the City has been unable to meet debt payments for guaranteed bonded debt and judgments, and has had a multi-year history of fiscal year-end structural deficits (four out of the past six years), declining fund balances and significant cash flow difficulties. As a result, in October 2010, the City of Harrisburg was determined to be a financially distressed municipality under Act 47 of 1987 by the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development. Since this determination, the City of Harrisburg has been working to develop a comprehensive recovery plan to restructure the City's debt, eliminate its structured budgetary deficit, while attempting to prevent the layoff of public safety officers, and ensure essential services are maintained.

If awarded the Local Share Municipal Grant, the City of Harrisburg intends to use the grant funds to prevent the layoff of public safety officers. In July 2011, the Act 47 coordinator assigned by the PA Department of Community and Economic Development determined that the City's inability to secure additional sources of funding could result in the need to eliminate 12 police officer positions and 11 firefighter positions.

The Act 47 coordinator also recommended, after obtaining support from the Dauphin County Commissioners, that the City of Harrisburg apply for at least $2 million annually in gaming funds from Dauphin County through 2016 to limit reductions in public safety bureaus.

A reduction in the City's public safety personnel would result in serious consequences for the City and County.

For example, the Harrisburg Bureau of Fire provides fire suppression services to Dauphin County and Commonwealth of Pennsylvania offices located within the City of Harrisburg, in addition to the other residences, schools, and businesses that are located within City limits.

Additionally, the Harrisburg Bureau of Fire is both a signatory to and an active participant in a County-wide mutual aid agreement.

It has mutual aid agreements in place with the majority of the municipalities' fire departments and/or fire companies in the area, including Steelton Borough, Paxtang Borough, Swatara Township, Susquehanna Township, and Fairview Township, among others.

A reduction in the number of firefighters would cripple the Fire Bureau's ability to effectively provide these services in a timely manner, which could result in financial loss, injury to fire personnel and citizens, and the loss of lives.

The Harrisburg Bureau of Police's ability to effectively provide public safety services would also be crippled.

Currently, the Harrisburg Bureau of Police provides public safety services to Dauphin County offices located within city limits. Additionally, police services provided for the Dauphin County Crisis Response Team and County-wide Terrorism Taskforce could be eliminated, as the City would not have the personnel to support these programs. The City's police response would also be delayed in the event of a County emergency, including flooding or an incident at Three Mile Island, if there was a reduction in police personnel.

The City of Harrisburg is not eligible to apply for Local Share Municipal Grant funds without sponsorship because it is not contiguous with East Hanover Township. However, the City of Harrisburg is located within Dauphin County, which is eligible to apply for local share grants and sponsor the City of Harrisburg's grant application.

Considering the City of Harrisburg's financial situation, preventing the layoff of public safety personnel will be difficult without additional financial assistance.

Therefore, the City of Harrisburg respectfully requests that the Dauphin County Commissioners sponsor its application for Local Share Municipal Grant funds to support personnel costs for the City's public safety officers.A reduction in the City's public safety personnel would result in serious consequences for the City and County.

Photo?Natalie Cake