News, Entertainment, Enlightenment
The Pennsylvania House, today, voted to create a searchable online database regarding state spending. The vote to pass HB 1880 to establish the operation of the Pennsylvania Government Accountability Portal, or “PennGAP, was unanimous.
Gov. X-Man Rendell is reportedly against the bill citing cost.
The Commonwealth Foundation estimates the cost to operate such a website at $160,000.
The Neshaminy School District is saying it could save nearly $9 million over three years by outsourcing janitorial services. Similiar savings could be found in most school districts.
The Commonwealth Foundation notes that state entities can save $70 million over three years switching to online public notices rather than mandated legal advertising, and HB1757 was introduced in July 2009 by State Rep. Tom Creighton to do just that .
And of course forbidding strikes by public school teachers and transit workers would see major cost savings in those areas — certainly teacher salaries would stop rising 3 and 4 percent per year as they have for the last 3 decades and this of course would mean the home tax levied by your school district would not keep rising $200 to $300 per year.
The owner of a home assessed at $200,000 in at the turn of the millennium would have paid $3,134 to the Springfield School District (Pa.). This year, he would have paid $5,240.
If the tax rate simply matched inflation, however, the bill would have been $3,934. I could use that extra $1,300. And I could have used the extra $900 or so — the difference between a tax bill according to inflation vs. the one that was — last year. And I could have used the difference in the previous year and the previous year etc.
Just some things to think about in tough economic times.