By Alex Roché, Director of Advocacy, GRCA
In August, the Business and Community Advocacy Council (BCAC) heard directly from State Rep. Jordan Harris, Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, about Pennsylvania’s recently passed $50.8 billion state budget.
The conversation covered a lot of ground, but one of the biggest takeaways was how closely many of the decisions being made in Harrisburg connect to the challenges facing Berks County.
Building a workforce for the jobs we have
Workforce development and education were a major part of the discussion. The budget includes $565 million in new education funding, along with increased funding for Career and Technical Education programs.
For our region, that is an important investment. But the focus cannot simply be on creating more seats in training programs. It has to be about building a pipeline into the jobs that actually exist in our community.
Our manufacturers are looking for welders, technicians, machinists and other skilled workers who can step into good-paying careers. Those opportunities exist here, and many do not require a traditional four-year degree. The challenge is making sure our education and training systems are connected to those opportunities.
Housing is part of the workforce equation
That same connection exists with housing, which continues to be one of the biggest challenges facing our region.
Workforce development does not end with training. If someone develops the skills needed for a good-paying job but cannot afford to live in the community where that job is located, the workforce challenge remains.
Berks County’s housing market continues to demonstrate the problem. The median home price reached over $320,000 in July, while inventory remains extremely limited. That creates barriers for first-time buyers and young families, but it also makes it harder for employers to attract and retain talent.
The state budget includes $100 million in real estate tax revenue for affordable housing through the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency (PHFA). There also is a growing conversation around streamlining permitting and creating clearer standards for housing development. Building more housing, particularly higher-density housing in areas where infrastructure and services already exist, needs to remain part of the conversation.
Creating room for small business growth
Small business growth is another piece of the larger economic picture. Access to capital remains a challenge for many small businesses, with a potential $100 million to $250 million revolving loan fund among the ideas discussed, along with continued support for organizations providing small business training and technical assistance.
For a small business, access to capital can be the difference between maintaining the status quo and being able to purchase equipment, hire employees or expand.
There are larger questions about how Pennsylvania approaches economic development. Giving counties more tools and greater local control could create additional flexibility, but it also raises questions about how those tools would work across communities with very different tax bases and economic resources.
The Bigger Economic Picture
The ongoing debate around regulating and taxing skill games also has significant economic implications. Whatever your position on the issue, there is potentially hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue at stake, with the possibility of directing those resources toward priorities like public transportation and economic development.
What continues to stand out is how connected these issues are.
Housing affects workforce development. Workforce development affects business growth. Business growth strengthens our communities and tax base. And all of it depends on having the infrastructure and public policy necessary to support growth.
For the Greater Reading region, those connections should continue to shape the conversation around economic development and public policy.
Remember, the state budget is ultimately about more than how Harrisburg spends $50.8 billion. It is about whether those investments help communities like ours create the conditions for people and businesses to succeed.