Pennsylvania municipalities have a lot of responsibility.
They are where the rubber meets the governmental road. They plow the streets. They keep the buildings safe and the parks welcoming. They provide dozens of small services residents might never even realize exist and yet would be sorely missed if they disappeared.
And in 2020, that responsibility increased. The coronavirus pandemic made everything harder. Budgets got tighter as businesses closed their doors. Residents had difficulty paying rent. Landlords couldn’t pay mortgages. There were investments to be made in cleaning, social distancing and virtual availability.
It was a lot to ask, but it was important to make sure people stayed safe from covid-19. State and federal government made some funds available to help, such as the money provided by the CARES Act passed by Congress in March and that was administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development.
The counties received money they also passed along. Westmoreland, for example, has distributed multiple rounds of funding to fire departments, small businesses and municipalities. North Huntingdon received reimbursement for some of its cost of operation during the pandemic — for things such as sanitizing, shields and personal protective equipment.
But now, Westmoreland might have to pull that because the funding requires the recipients to comply with state mandates regarding covid-19, and North Huntingdon’s leaders aren’t complying.
Township commissioners have been vocal about Gov. Tom Wolf’s restrictions. The police have been told to ignore businesses in violation. They are declining to hold virtual meetings to avoid violating Wolf’s newest mandate limiting indoor gatherings to 10 people.
The county commissioners have no choice but to follow the terms of the funding. To ignore it could have implications for other grant recipients or could affect the county’s ability to receive future funding for this or other emergencies.
But North Huntingdon’s commissioners can adjust their actions, and they owe it to the residents and taxpayers to do so. They still can protest the governor’s actions if they disagree. There are ways to do so, loud and long, while still being fiscally responsible.
