“I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take this anymore.”
The line is from the 1976 movie Network and relates to the state of our society.
What is making me mad as hell and not want to take this anymore is our state – Pennsylvania.
Residents of Oil City and every other Third Class City and anyone concerned about fairness, equity and our core communities should be mad as hell as well. The reason is this: the state of Pennsylvania and our legislators currently and for several decades now have failed our cities.
State money has flowed to outlying townships in many ways, effectively providing operating subsidies to those municipalities. We have not seen the same subsidies.
Police services are a quick example. Residents of Third Class cities have to foot the bill for local police services, which are mandated. Outlying areas get state police services paid for by everyone in the state.
Oil City’s population represents about 19 percent of the Venango County’s total. For argument’s sake, let’s say Oil City residents provide 15 percent of the state taxes originating in Venango County. Do you think they get 15 percent of state police services? There is no state money flowing into the basic operations of the Oil City Police Department.
Volunteer fire companies get state loan and grant assistance not available to those communities like Oil City with paid departments and where the taxpayers have recognized their obligations to provide for fire service collectively. Legislation has been introduced that would provide a similar grant and loan program for municipalities with paid departments, but it has not passed.
There are many, many other examples.
Adding to the problem is the state has failed to provide options to its cities to spread the tax burden around and raise additional money.
Monday evening Oil City Councilman Neil McElwee raised the possibility of Oil City adopting a Home Rule Charter in the hopes it would allow new or additional revenue streams.
That’s an option Oil City should not have to use. The state should simply provide funding options to all its cities. It should also equitably fund its cities. You would not think that would be a hard thing for our legislators to do, but I guess that is not what excites voters.
In the Oil City Derrick and in numerous other papers across the state Monday morning there was a story about proposed legislation that would provide state funding for financial incentives for volunteer firefighters. I’m all for incentives to attract volunteers and reward the men and women who are willing to give their time and risk their lives, but shouldn’t local taxpayers in those communities pony up. We are expected to pay the full freight in Oil City. I’ve never heard mention of legislation to directly financially support our firefighters.
“I want you to get up right now. Get up. Go to your windows, open your windows, and stick your head out, and yell, "I'm as mad as hell and I'm not going to take this anymore!" Things have got to change my friends. You've got to get mad. You've got to say, "I'm as mad as hell and I'm not going to take this anymore!" Then we'll figure out what to do … But first get up out of your chairs, open your window, stick your head out and yell, "I'm as mad as hell and I'm not going to take this anymore!"
Let every state representative and state senator hear you.
About Me
- John Noel Bartlett
- Oil City, Pennsylvania
- A retired journalist now employed by the Foundation for Sustainable Forests and a member of Oil City Council.
Links of Interest
- City of Oil City
- Erie Blogs
- Foundation For Sustainable Forests
- Friends of Allegheny Wilderness
- Oil City Arts by Joann Wheeler
- Oil City Arts Council
- Oil City Southside Association
- Rebuild Oil City -- Scott Smail
- Venangago-go -- Mike Dittman
- Venango Area Chamber of Commerce
- Venangoland -- Peter Greene
8 comments:
While I can sympathize with your sentiments I would like to paint you another picture, for one moment, think about Oil City residents when they leave the confines of their city (I’m sure they all probably drive through Reno or the Grove and I’d bet $100 they go to Seneca or Cranberry once a month).
This dutifully tax-paying OC resident is driving to the mall and is struck by another vehicle. Is the OCFD or the OCPD going to drive up over the hill and rescue them because well, dang it, they are an OC resident and pay for their services?
I enjoy your blog but I would like an opportunity to ask your readers, keep a balanced outlook. You are residents of a state and residents of a county unless you never leave your city. As a former member of a volunteer organization that covered vehicle rescue on I80 – I can tell you I was just as happy to help someone in our “home town” as I was to help someone on their way down from Canada traveling the interstate when they ‘needed’ us.
Rather than yelling and getting mad and pitching a fit, look around, find somewhere that struck the right balance and learn, learn, learn.
I guess my first question would be, is Oil City (or Franklin's) population still big enough to require a full time paid fire department? What are the advantages? Or why do Franklin and OC each have a force - wouldn't make more fiscal sense to have a regional professional force?
Condatis,
Basically I agree with what your are saying about the need for police and emergency services that serve us all.
My point is that residents of Oil City and other Third Class cities are not receiving an equitable share of state funding for such services. Basically they have to pay fully for the services in their community and a share for everyplace else as well. Let's all pay a fair share, or conversely bear a similar share of the burden, as residents of the county and state.
I certainly hope to have police and emergency services available everywhere I travel and to everyone, everywhere.
Perhaps using emergency services was not the best choice for an example of inequitable state funding, but it is one that I think is quick to see on the surface.
Dittman:
I think there are a number of sound reasons to maintain a paid fire department. Foremost is response time. With the housing density, age of structures and type of downtown buildings, I believe a paid and sufficiently staffed department is essential. Also in Oil City our FD provides paramedic services, a critical need of our residents when an ambulance is often several minutes later in arrival.
(Point of Disclosure: My son is an Oil City firefighter – I’m quite proud of him. My support of a full-time paid department far preceded his employment, and in fact him as a being)
I think a regional approach to fire and related emergency services makes a lot of sense, and to some degree I think we are seeing the very early beginnings of that in some mutual aid agreements. It is increasingly difficult for volunteer services to staff during the workday.
Dittman: Good call (not unlike the consideration to consolidate the school districts in the greater and lesser Franklin and Oil City areas).
As an aside, it was nice to see the Franklin Fire Department participate in the Oil Heritage Parade in their assume new platform rig!
Perhaps I should have written more.
I think of it this way...
I choose to live in a town with a paid police and fire department because I like having them at the ready (if you knew how accident prone I was you'd not wonder that I'd be willing to fork over big money for this lol). Since I choose to live there and that is part of the reason I make that choice I am more than happy to pay for that. I pay local taxes *for* that. I expect my state taxes to go for things like a more lax blanket protection on the road I guess I'll call it.
If I didn't value such a thing maybe I could save some money and move to a volunteer or state covered area and *hope* there'd be help when I needed it (I know someone that was shot at, missed by an inch and the state police took an hour to arrive - that's not something I'm willing to rely on).
Regional services would be an interesting proposition to explore.
Don't forget, even as wonderful as paid "urban" departments are to have, they can even need the help of those unpaid, subsidized volunteers around them. I'm sure they'd rather those volunteers have some funding to be properly trained and equipped in the case they'd be needed to bail out or back up.
If your true concern is with fairness from the state governments expenditures I'd then argue, there is only so much to go around. If it is a cities wish/way to grow close and large, necessitating immediate emergency response, then why should the state pay for that?
Just like I do not really want to be pitching in on mass transit for big cities like Philly and Pittsburgh, I want my money to stay local. The true debate should be to lower state taxes and offer more ways for local entities to raise funds to take care of their residents needs. Then people can vote with their feet (ahem, a huge part of the reason I am where I am :)
I'm so happy your blog even exists to discuss such things.
Thanks!
Conditas,
Once again, we are in agreement.
I too choose to live in a community with full-time, paid police and fire services. I’m willing to pay for that.
My point though is that if the state is going to subsidize fire and police services, it should be available and equal to everyone.
I’m not asking the state or any other entity to pay for our services, but only to provide the same financial assistance they do those who choose not to pay or are willing to only pay very little.
As an example, there’s a state-backed loan program for volunteer fire departments with an incredibly low interest rate. It is not available to a community with a paid department. If Oil City could tap into the program it would save us thousands of dollars in interest on the purchase of a fire truck. Our bank note and even municipal bond rates do not come close to the rate available through the state program.
Residents of Oil City willingly (well, I like to think willingly) pay a higher rate of taxes to have a full-time paid police and fire department, so why shouldn’t they also expect a fair share of state support?
Regionalism has a lot to be said for it. I don’t know why it has failed so miserably throughout Pennsylvania and most notably in the immediate area. In Pennsylvania a regional approach to services of all types is a rarity. In other parts of the country, it is common place.
The public safety examples I cite regarding state support are only one element of how state government in my mind is unfair to Third Class Cities. Perhaps most unfair is how they constrain cities in how they operate and tax. If local government is the best government, wouldn’t you think the legislators would provide the greatest freedom to local governments.
I agree that there needs to be more of a regional focus and eventually we will be forced to do it.
There are a lot of positive developments happening in Oil City and many surrounding companies are thriving - despite the economic conditions elsewhere.
However, and this is not directed at you John, I just don't see any sense of urgency or aggressiveness on the part of the individuals charged with economic development within Oil City.
We need motivated, aggressive, competitive individuals who work every angle to build this place back. Is there any planning (short or long term) in place and goals set to be achieved? Is anyone doing that? Are they being measured? Held accountable? Economic development isn't just going to happen. There is potential out there and it's happening here too but we are no where near where we could be.
For instance, why is Electralloy expanding outside of Oil City? Why did Webco? If we had an active Redevelopment Authority in place years ago we could have conceivably found funding and a way to keep them here. Is anyone even meeting with them to get some insight into their plans or what could be done to attract other manufacturers here? Trust me, they will tell you far more than anyone employed at City Hall.
New swimming pools, pretty brick sidewalks and lamp posts are all great, but they should not be the main focus of paid employees. I KNOW we can do better here.
John, that is why you were elected to end the status quo - roll up your sleeves, start askings pointed questions and yes, yell if you have to that you are sick and tired of the same old crap and you aren't going to take it anymore! We need to stop talking about what needs done and start making productive steps to acheive it. If ORA is responsible for Oil City's economic development, what have they done this year? Not last year - this year? If someone at City Hall is responsible, what have they done? What are they doing? What do they plan to do?
Let me guess, waiting for the phone to ring and then scratching their head about what to say???
Anonymous,
I agree about the need for a body that focuses on the economic development, marketing and promotion needs of the city. It's something council has discussed and also the subject of a planned blog post that I simply have not had the time to do.
As for Webco and Ellectrally, the questions you asked, I and others asked. The bottom line is this, the necessary space was not availabe in Oil City. We couldn't fit them into the industrial park and there was no other suitable space readily available. I find that frustrating, but that is the reality. The other reality is that it is often cheaper to do green space than redevelop.
I don't think the Redevelopment Authority could have made any difference, and economic development is a bit different than what RDA's traditionally undertake.
I'm glad you brought this subject up and it needs a lot more discussion. At some point I will get the blog done to share my thoughts.
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