Wolf presents dire financial picture for Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania Gov.-elect Tom Wolf is continuing to sound the alarm about the state’s fiscal woes.

At a press conference in Philadelphia, Wolf said the state is facing a budget gap that could be more than $2 billion. He is not saying how he plans to close the gap. Wolf said he wants to first determine the exact size of the problem, and then work with the legislature to come up with solutions.

“We need to think about solutions on the spending side. We need to think about solutions on the revenue side,” he said. “Just hoping for growth doesn’t seem to be enough.”

Wolf said the state is in a dire financial situation partly because Gov. Tom Corbett’s administration relied on one-time revenue fixes.

“This is not political sloganeering,” said Wolf. “We actually have a problem.”

Corbett’s team has said it inherited a larger deficit from former Gov. Ed Rendell four years ago, fueled by one-time revenues.

Wolf campaigned on increasing spending for schools. He said education will still be a top priority when he crafts next year’s budget proposal.