The United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley hosted a state budget forum at Northampton Community College March 28, featuring state and local representatives and a panel of guest speakers who shared their perspectives on the burgeoning budget process.

Scores of local activists, government officials and nonprofit leaders filled the sixth-floor hall at the Fowler Family Southside Campus for the mostly informational meeting.

Peter Tartline, Pa. executive deputy secretary of the budget, gave a condensed outline of the governor's proposed 2013-2014 budget, after which panelists shared important considerations from their own perspectives.

According to Tartline, the financial challenges of the past few years are being addressed, but are not going away anytime soon.

"This information sharing is critical as we try to grapple with the challenges that aren't over. We're not going to address these challenges without taking some bold action over the next few years. I personally believe the decisions we make in the next five years will shape public policy and financing for the next two generations."

The proposed budget is set at about $28.4 billion and continues to refine problems with pension systems as a means of easing issues elsewhere because of their interconnectivity. Governor Tom Corbett stressed this when he visited the Hotel Bethlehem last May.

Tarline said the governor continues to invite corporations to bolster state income and jobs, but must try to sell them on the state despite a 9.99 percent corporate net tax – the nation's highest.

The budget includes a $90 million increase to education, up to a total of $5.5 billion. Tartline said it was originally hoped the increase would assist the Head Start program, but because of decreasing federal funds due to the sequestration, that program will have essentially the same funding as last year.

His other notes on the impact of the sequestration were vague – which Tartline admitted is all his own department has to go on. He said they were told to expect cuts, but not how much or to what departments.

One huge variable is Obamacare. Pennsylvania's status as an "expansion state" in consideration of the Affordable Care Act is still unclear, so the amount of federal reimbursement expected could be 50 percent or more than 90 percent. Corbett was set to meet with federal leaders to continue discussions of Medicaid expansion recently.

The panelists were each given eight minutes for their comments, and Allentown School District representative Suzan Lozada addressed the sale of alcohol at local grocery stores.

Lozada said there are close to 20,000 students in Allentown, the state's third-largest school district, and budgeting is immensely important to see after all their educational and health needs.

Lozada said liquor privatization will theoretically expand the school's financial resources, but perception cannot be denied.

"How do we go to our students and 'say no to drugs, alcohol and tobacco' while we say 'yes' to possibly making this more readily available in our community? It's a really difficult discussion for us to have."

She suggested other sources of income, such as Marcellus Shale revenue or refurbishing blighted buildings for communities to control neighborhoods.

Peter Schweyer of Sacred Heart Hospital said visitors using Medicare or Medicaid make up about 81 percent of all patients, almost 20 percent more than at other Lehigh Valley hospitals. He said he's pleased the governor hasn't yet completely closed the door on Affordable Care because he feels it's the federal government's best deal.

Schweyer said he has friends on both the extreme left and right on the issue, but most Americans recognize Obamacare is the law of the land.

"So how do communities embrace that fact and use this new tool to the best of our abilities to provide the best health care we can?"

Schweyer said, and reiterated, hospitals have recently voluntarily taxed themselves so the state government can draw additional federal money and given up funding in exchange for more citizens having more access to health insurance. "This is a juggling act," he said.

Succinct and passionate, Community Action Committee of the Lehigh Valley Executive Director Alan Jennings pronounced the proposed budget a continuance of inadequate resources directed toward the needy. He decried the stagnation of old social service programs and a lack of funding increases. He also said that while he understands the perspective of those who favor tax cuts to stimulate the economy, "I just don't understand why those who advocate for that position don't understand investing in people pays dividends, too."

Links to the United Way's budget tour and presentation can be found at http://www.unitedwayglv.org/Home/Advocate/PA-Budget-Forum.aspx.

The entirety of the governor's proposed budget can be found in PDF form at http://www.budget. state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/current_and_proposed_commonwealth_budgets/4566, though at nearly 1,100 pages long, you may want to stick to the Overview and Summaries section.