State has legitimate role in funding economic development

Published: February 2, 2012

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Pennsylvania and some other states are engaged in the novel process of trying to cut their way out of recession, when growth should be the priority.

Even in good times, Pennsylvania's government has a major role to play in economic redevelopment. Its history as an industrial powerhouse has left it with a great deal of broken public infrastructure and abundant private properties that never would be redeveloped with some public assistance.

Lawmakers must be cautious as they approach a proposal by Rep. Mike Turzai of Allegheny County, the House majority leader, to diminish the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program.

That program has been used extensively across the state to drive major development projects. It has a $4 billion debt ceiling and thousands of pending projects.

In this area the largest pending project is the $40 million reconstruction of PNC Field, for which Gov. Tom Corbett has approved $20 million.

That points to a cautionary note sounded by Sen. John Blake of Lackawanna County, who was an acting secretary of economic and community development during the Rendell administration. He pointed out that the state program matches local money for each project. Restricting the types of projects eligible for finding might well reduce state spending, but it also would limit local contributions and the badly needed job creation that comes with big projects.

Turzai said in a memo to colleagues that he wants to increase the transparency and accountability of the program, which is all to the good. Lawmakers, however, should strive to keep the state as a major player in redevelopment funding.

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