Joint Finance makes big cuts in education, nonprofit grants as budget deadline approaches

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Just two days before the deadline to set a budget, the  Joint Finance Committee balanced the budget by making $88 million in cuts, WHYY Newsworks reported. 

“None of these decisions were made lightly,” said JFC chair state Rep. Melanie George Smith, D-Bear. “We were not happy with most of the cuts we had to make, but the end result is we have a balanced budget.”

One of the largest slashes is about $37 million from education, part of which could be offset if districts decide to raise property taxes, something they could do without a referendum. There’s also an elimination of the entire Grants-in-Aid bill, which funds items like paramedics and fire, senior centers and other nonprofits.

The cuts come after an agreement could not be made between Democrats, who wanted to raise taxes  and Republicans, who rejected tax hikes. Republicans have asked for a three-year moratorium on the prevailing wage and new spending limits. 

JFC members said cutting Grant-in-Aid was the most difficult decision.

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“We have put all of our communities in jeopardy, because our fire service, our EMTs, those folks that serve us well, are going to have to figure out how they are going to continue to serve us,” said Nicole Poore, D-New Castle.

Following the JFC action, Democrats and Republicans lashed out at one another for sticking to their tax hike and cost-cutting stances. 

The cuts could have high costs for legislators down the road. Volunteer fire companies are a powerful force in state politics. No referendum property taxes are also seen as a backdoor way to shift the burden over to a property tax levy that is the lowest in the region.

A no referendum property tax increase is likely to draw fire. Downstate counties are proud of their low property tax rates that have brought in retirees and contributed to strong population growth. That aging population is also likely to be skeptical of paying more for schools from their property taxes. 

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