Make no mistake about it, the budget crisis facing the state is going to have a direct impact on Oil City and the region, and it is not likely to be good.
The question is how bad will it get?
We need to be prepared and we need to fight for those programs we think critical to our future.
Among the state programs high on my priority list are the Main Street Program and Weed and Seed.
In the budget proposals now floating around Harrisburg both are slated for significant cuts, in some proposals to virtual elimination. Both programs have had real success in local communities, revitalizing many of the state’s older cities. Oil City is poised to be a beneficiary, but will largely lose that opportunity if deep cuts are made to those programs, flushing countless hours of local work down the tubes.
The Oil City Weed and Seed program was just approved and funded by the state after months of local efforts to make it a reality. It makes no sense to me for the state to initiate the program and then cut it just as it begins to make a difference.
Main Street is much the same story. The community really came together to develop a Main Street Program application, including detailed five-year plans and raising more than $100,000 in local money to match and leverage state funding. We – the community – did our part in good faith. The state legislature needs to follow through.
I recognize the financial problems facing the state and nation. We are in an era of tough choices and we must get our fiscal house in order. But if we don’t save our communities what do we have?
I also recognize that I am like most and somewhat hypocritical when it comes to state and federal government programs. What benefits me and my community I view as essential, what benefits someone else’s community (especially if it is Philadelphia or Pittsburgh) is pork and waste.
We are all going to have to make compromises and that means a willingness to look at the needs of others.
And that comes back to prioritizing based on real needs and real value.
I wonder if our legislature is up to that or if this year will be like past years; simply Pennsylvania politics as usual – posturing for political gain, acting on personal animosities and a concern for “what can I get” rather than what will benefit the Commonwealth.
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7 comments:
I agree John. You do have to wonder how it is decided where tax dollars are spent and where they aren't and if it's at all fair. Maybe Oil City is getting more than their fair share of state & federal hand-outs - who knows. An example is the by-pass in Oil City. At a cost of nearly $3 million, and not started until we are well into the recession, you have to wonder how it could be considered emergency stimulus. The firm doing the work is out of town so no jobs were created here for it. Who would have paid for it had it not been for the stimulus money? Why should another state's tax payers pay for our road to be fixed so people can by-pass our downtown? Why shouldn't they? I'll tell you why because someone will pay for all this spending and it will not be you or me but the next and future generations in the form of higher taxes. Those jobs that didn't employ anyone here will be gone when the by-pass work is done but it will not be paid for.
Business owners should have been given tax breaks to provide the emergency working capital they needed to get back on their feet and create long-term employment. If you look closely at all the economic development that is done by agencies such as the ORA, you will find that it's businesses that did the expanding and ORA just helped them get some tax breaks, lower interest rates, etc. They did not and can not create jobs. Smart, talented, risk taking, business owners do that and the government is doing very little to help them right now. I applaud the efforts of all those involved with Main Street and I agree that it's a shame their work might go to waste when it's not too unlikely another PA metro area with a bigger voting block will get those tax dollars.
Let's face it, Oil City is probably not a priority and I fear we are becoming too much of a "nanny" city with a lot of people taking and not as many paying and we will not be able to sustain it. I think the best thing we could do is to pool our resources and tear down as many blighted, low/no income rental slums as possible and reduce our supply so the non-contributors are forced to go elsewhere. That is if we had resources to pool!
You are fourtunate John in that you live in a secluded area and are shielded from a lot of the ill-effects from all the free-loaders with their poverty of values - as you call it. They fly around town and once quiet neighborhoods in junk cars will loud mufflers and music blarring and do little but get into trouble with the law. Our once quiet senior housing complexes are now home to young free-loaders, living off the government for God knows what reason. The blight and the indecency is spreading into every neighborhood so that the only way to escape it is to move up on top of the hill or out of town altogether. That is a sad, sad situation for a town to be in but it is our reality here.
Thanks for letting me bloviate. I feel better now actually!
Hi John. I agree with your comments about losing those programs. My only thought is that I wonder how much they really can do. When I walk around the southside neighborhoods, for instance, I see so many properties not cared for that you have to wonder how they are getting away with it. For instance, there is work being done to the sewer line on Front St. and one of the houses directly adjacent to it is a total mess with gutters hanging from the roof to the ground. How do owners get away with that? Oil City isn't that big. Can't the code enforcement officer plot out the problematic sections and do a drive thru once a month or even once every six months and go after the offenders? I also noticed Moran between First and North St. is really looking terrible and I feel sorry for the one homeowner that is maintaining their nice yellow home. I am sure they would love to have some assistance and intervention.
Another problem area is Hiland Ave. Many owners/tenants are creating off street parking spots that encroach on the sidewalk and look terrible. Boats, trailers, and just plain junk are illegally parked in front yards. How are people getting away with this?
I think a large part of our problems stem from apathy and a reluctance to enforce the laws and ordinances we have in place.
If you own a building or house in Oil City you should not be able to just let it rot and decay and lower the value of your neighbor's property. Another good example: the Scribble Design building! What a mess! How can they get away with that for so many years?
The properties on Main St. by the big crater/bridge are another good example. Have you or the code officer walked by there within the last several years? Ugly, rusted fire escapes hover over the sidewalk and the buildings look like they could fall into the creek at any moment.
Maybe the blight commitee could or will turn up the heat. My point is that although those programs would be most beneficial, we could be more pro-active eliminating blight now, enforcing the ordinances we have, and sending the message that it's NOT acceptable here to let your property decay. Right now it appears that it is. Slum lords would be far less likely to purchase a house or building in O.C. if we had a reputation for being tough. Higher quality rentals would be the norm and they would command higher rental rates resulting in better quality tenants/residents.
I know you have heard all this before. It just seems like a never ending story in Oil City and the problem appears to be getting worse.
"Higher quality rentals would be the norm and they would command higher rental rates resulting in better quality tenants/residents."
How do you think people can pay higher rents?
Plus, it's interesting to know that you think people who pay more for their housing are higher quality.
Many people in the city lack the money to keep up their homes.
Oil City needs jobs. It also needs to lower taxes and be more friendly to business.
You seem to think that government can take care of everything with more regulation and higher taxes.
John - Can't the Main Street committees use the funds they raised and the org structure provided as a last resort? I hope both programs survive in some form or another.
I have a few pet peeves myself that seem to go unaddressed. I recall reading in the paper that the Mayor mentioned it was against a City ordinance to have boarded up windows. One area that really needs attention is the Tobey's Pizza block. Many of the windows in the buildings in that area have ugly plywood or waferboard in them. It shouldn't be permitted. Whomever bought the former video store should be required to maintain it properly - not just get his apartments renovated and rented then leave the area.
I do believe there is a low interest facade loan program at the City they could tap to fix them. The Grandview Estates building owners might also be interested in the program to replace the plywood in their windows.
Rather than just giving them a fine, offering some assistance isn't a bad idea. We do need to appreciate the businesses we have here and do what we can to help them succeed. However, they have a responsibilty to accept if they purchase a building in the downtown business district.
tr"How do you think people can pay higher rents?
Plus, it's interesting to know that you think people who pay more for their housing are higher quality.
Many people in the city lack the money to keep up their homes."
I think it's obvious I was referring to rental property owners. I know first-hand from owners of rentals in Franklin that they do command higher rent there and higher quality tenants. A few won't even consider Oil City.
I feel strongly that we could support higher quality housing, like say Red Coach Manor, if we could attract a developer that could see the potential.
I also find it hard to beleive that some of the really run down properties in town have that high of property taxes, although I don't dispute the taxes are high here.
There is a glut of low-end housing that needs to be eliminated one way or another in order to help turn this town around. The people moving in, for the most part, aren't improving the quality of life here. That is just the reality.
When all the shops and plants were booming, we needed all the houses on the hillsides, packed together. That is no longer the case. The pride in ownership isn't there because most aren't occupied by the owner and for whatever reason, a lot of tenants don't do anything but squat and destroy properties.
The neighborhood associations have helped a few people with renovating their homes and I applaud their work. Many people are out of work and don't the funds for home repairs, but I have lived here for 40 years and the same houses and areas have and always will be run down and shabby. Unfortunately, it is spreading like a cancer and it needs to be brought under control - soon.
What great comments from everyone who posted. There's a lot of food for thought here. hank You.
I will be the first to agree we need to be very tough with code and zoning enforcement. As a member of Council I'm finding that is easier said that done and I think it has been a bit frustrating for all of us. I believe we will continue to push in that direction and improvements will be seen.
To the one poster, there is a low-interest facade improvement revolving loan fund available for the downtown, but it is seldom tapped by businesses. I don't know why. Perhaps when Main Street is up and running it will be better utilized.
As for the question regarding the use of the local Main Street money raised and where we can go with Main Street, we are exploring that now. All the Main Street volunteers are committed to making the program a reality with or without the state, although without might mean a somewhat different program, but one with the same goals.
We are new to the area and we love the beautiful natural setting here. The grand old houses on the south side, where we live, are a pleasure for us. Our experience living in older sections of other cities is that the variation in the way houses are kept is pretty normal. It does help if the code people are conscientious. I worry because I have had experience working in the lead poisoning prevention program. These old homes are full of lead paint and refurbishing them is likely to stir up a lot of harmful lead dust. Homeowners beware as it is very dangerous to expose young children to lead dust which can cause irreversible brain damage.
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