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Montgomery County warns SEPTA service cuts, human services grants at risk amid state budget impasse
Summary
County commissioners said a continuing state budget impasse could force service cuts to SEPTA beginning Aug. 24 and jeopardize tens of millions in human-services grants that support meals, foster care and behavioral-health services.
Montgomery County commissioners said a continuing impasse in the Pennsylvania state budget could trigger SEPTA service cuts starting Aug. 24 and put tens of millions of dollars in county-supported human-services programs at risk.
The commissioners made the comments during opening remarks at the Aug. 14 Board of Commissioners meeting, saying regional-rail service reductions and further cuts could follow if Harrisburg does not pass a budget. County officials urged residents to contact state lawmakers to press for a resolution, saying transportation disruptions would affect commuters and local traffic patterns.
County officials also outlined specific human-services funding exposed by the impasse. They said about $24,000,000 in state grants are at risk this quarter, including a $2,600,000 human-services block grant for the Office of Aging Services (which funds more than 100,000 meals for older residents), a $1,700,000 grant for drug- and alcohol-prevention programs serving roughly 20,000 people countywide, a $5,600,000 grant that supports 10,000 children and families through the Office of Children and Youth, and a $10,000,000 grant for developmental-disability and mental-health supports that serve about 2,500 people. County staff also noted funding for shelter services that house about 100 people at a time is part of the funding at stake.
Commissioners said those sums reflect just one quarter of funding and that, if the budget remains unsettled, county leaders will face difficult choices about temporarily suspending services or finding short-term alternatives. No specific cuts or contingency plans were adopted at the meeting.
The remarks placed the county’s immediate advocacy goal in stark terms: preserve SEPTA’s operating budget and the stream of state human-services grants while seeking longer-term improvements to regional transit and social-service funding coordination. County leaders also introduced Erin Boyle as the new director of external affairs and said her office will coordinate with municipalities and state and federal representatives on grant opportunities and advocacy.
County officials said they are monitoring the situation closely and will update residents if formal local actions become necessary.
