Annual Report - County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania

extensive block granting and privatizationof services, and we were successfulin putting together a comprehensive listof county human services with detailon the federal and state statutory andregulatory underpinnings, the finances,the categorical requirements, and otherinterrelationships that proved persuasiveto the Governor and the budget office thatthe strategy was worth reviewing, but notin the context of the 2011-2012 budgetproposal. Although it was not the case inthe just completed (as this Report goesto print) budget, at least the Governor’sMarch proposal was sustainable from thecounty perspective, and opened the doorto what is likely to be a productive reviewof human services funding and administrationover the long term.The commonwealth 2011-2012 budget ultimatelywas not good news for counties,but it was not for lack of effort. When theHouse passed its version, taking well over$400 million from Department of PublicWelfare (DPW) lines largely in the guiseof “waste and fraud” we launched a publicand legislative campaign that pressedhome the point that DPW lines are not thestereotypical public support but encompassservices for children, the intellectuallychallenged, seniors and others in ourcommunities that our constituents believe“This year is special for CCAP,marking its 125 th year of serviceto county government...But it isnot all about celebrating us andour success; early on, the Boarddetermined that we would use thisopportunity as a means to expandour public information efforts...”need public support. We also developeda detailed report showing the cuts andrescissions taken by county-provided programsover the last decade, demonstratingclearly that county taxpayers had alreadyborne their share.Our efforts were successful enough that atleast three legislative caucuses expressedbelief that the proposed DPW cuts wouldbe harmful to vulnerable populations, andthat some allocation should be made fromprojected state surpluses to backfill theHouse cuts. While efforts to do so wereultimately not successful, the groundworkhas been laid for new legislative perspectiveson the nature of the DPW budget andthe need to restore funding as the commonwealth’sfiscal picture continues toimprove. And we have secured languagein the budget requiring DPW to work withCCAP on strategies and pilot programs onservices and funding restructuring.Joe GilesBoard ChairmanErie CountyDespite this fiscal setback, we are nonethelessmaking progress in other legislativepriorities, which are detailed by ourstanding committees elsewhere in this Mark HamiltonReport. Still, we want to make special Presidentmention of counties’ inclusion in two of Tioga CountyGovernor Corbett’s policy initiatives, theMarcellus Shale Advisory Commissioncontinued next pagePresident, Mark Hamilton, Commissioner, Tioga CountyBoard Chair, Joe Giles, Council Member, Erie CountyFirst Vice President, Jo Ellen Litz, Commissioner, Lebanon CountySecond Vice President, Christian Leinbach, Commissioner, Berks CountyTreasurer, Donna Hartle, Commissioner, Clarion CountyDistrict 1 Representative, Basil Huffman, Commissioner, Forest CountyDistrict 2 Representative, Joe Spanik, Commissioner, Beaver CountyDistrict 3 Representative, Robert Thomas, Commissioner, Franklin CountyDistrict 4 Representative, Rebecca Burke, Commissioner, Lycoming CountyDistrict 5 Representative, Terence Farrell, Commissioner, Chester CountyDistrict 6 Representative, Mantura Gallagher, Commissioner, SchuylkillCountyDistrict 7 Representative, Mark Smith, Commissioner, Bradford CountyPast President, J. Bracken Burns, Sr., Commissioner, Washington CountyPast President, Erick Coolidge, Commissioner, Tioga CountyPast President, Percy Dougherty, Commissioner, Lehigh CountyPast President, Donna Gority, Commissioner, Blair CountyPast President, James Kennedy, Commissioner, Butler CountyPast President, James Scahill, Commissioner, Armstrong CountyNACo Representative, Joe Giles, Council Member, Erie CountyNACo Representative, James Scahill, Commissioner, Armstrong CountyAgriculture Committee Chair, Dennis Stuckey, Commissioner, LancasterCountyAssessment and Taxation Committee Chair, John Cusick, Council Member,Northampton CountyCommunity and Economic Development Committee Chair, Pamela Snyder,Commissioner, Greene CountyCounty Governance Committee Chair, Charles Camp, Commissioner, BeaverCountyCourts and Corrections Committee Chair, Teresa O’Neal, Commissioner,Juniata CountyEnergy, Environment and Land Use Committee Chair, Steve Craig,Commissioner, Lawrence CountyHuman Services Committee Chair, Pamela Tokar-Ickes, Commissioner,Somerset CountyTechnology Steering Committee Chair, Mark McCracken, Commissioner,Clearfield CountyResolutions Committee Chair, Donna Gority, Commissioner, Blair CountyNON VOTING, EX OFFICIOScott Martin, Commissioner, Lancaster County, Committee on CriminalJustice System Best Practices for the 21 st Century ChairRobert Knupp, Attorney, Knupp Law Offices, LLC, CCAP SolicitorGeorge Kovarie, III, Administrator, Berks County Children and YouthServices, PCYA PresidentDonald Clark, Deputy Director, Office of Intellectual Disabilities, AlleghenyCounty Department of Human Services, MH/MR PAAP PresidentPhillip Cusano, SCA Director, Bradford/Sullivan Drug and Alcohol, PACDAAPresidentDavid Schwille, Administrator, Venango County, PACHSA PresidentKim Cobaugh, Administrator, Communities at Indian Haven, PACAHPresidentJim Jones, Administrator, Central Counties Youth Center, JDCAP PresidentSteve Howe, Chief Assessor, Dauphin County, AAP PresidentSTAFF LIAISONDouglas E. Hill, Executive DirectorAnnual Report 2011 County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania5