Pennsylvania budget impasse halts millions in state funding to Chester County

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The three state senators representing Chester County are accusing their Republican colleagues of failing to compromise on Pennsylvania’s budget.

Stalled negotiations in Harrisburg have already upended SEPTA operations — and are beginning to slice into crucial community services across Pennsylvania’s wealthiest county.

“Chester County’s human services departments have not received $10 million in state funding during July and August due to the budget impasse,” state Sen. Carolyn Comitta said Tuesday at a joint conference in West Chester Borough Hall. “The county is absorbing those costs for now, but they cannot bridge the gap forever.”

Pennsylvania’s budget is approaching two months overdue. Comitta and her Democratic colleagues said the county could face cuts in at-home senior services, programs for people with disabilities and mental health initiatives.

Local school districts are laying off workers to remain viable. Comitta welcomed a Chester County–based speech pathologist who lost her job as an early intervention specialist for school children with developmental challenges.

“Schools are dipping into reserves or borrowing to make ends meet, but the associated costs will be passed on to taxpayers,” Comitta said.

State Sen. John Kane pinned the chaos on his GOP counterparts.

“Because senate Republicans — refuse — refuse to move forward, schools are left in limbo. Counties can’t provide critical services and transit systems like SEPTA are forced to eliminate critical routes,” Kane said.

A spokesperson for Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

State Sen. Katie Muth, D-Chester, noted that Republicans have held control of the Pennsylvania Senate for more than three decades.

“This budget impasse is a result of decades of dysfunction, of decades of pay to play and failed efforts to pass laws to remove special interest from our legislative process,” Muth said.

The Senate is expected to reconvene in Harrisburg on Sept. 8.