Nevermind.
That was the message that rang forth from the Harrisburg school district last month.
Remember that multi-million deficit and unbalanced budget? Nevermind.
The cancellation of kindergarten, of all school sports, of band, of extracurricular activities? Nevermind.
Residents, taxpayers, parents, schoolchildren, furloughed teachers–please forget about the recent past because nothing has really changed after all.
Like most city residents, I’m delighted that public education in Harrisburg has not been stripped to the bare bottom. Harrisburg’s children already have lost much over the past few budget cycles, and they cannot afford to lose any more.
However, the rapid, perplexing shrinking of the deficit–from $17 million to $8 million to $6.6 million to a balanced budget to a surplus with all the cuts restored–underscores an unfortunate truth: living in this city has become an unceasing leap into the great unknown.
Nothing is ever stable. There’s no predictability, and everything could change tomorrow.
One day, we have a capable receiver who seems truly concerned about Harrisburg; the next we don’t. Then, awhile later, we have another one–one with no experience in municipal finance, priorities unknown.
One day, we can file for bankruptcy, then we can’t. Then maybe we can again, until the state again intervenes and extends the bankruptcy prohibition.
When will years-late municipal audits be done? What will happen if the council continues to defy the receiver? Who will control the school system next year? How much debt will be left over after the incinerator is sold and parking assets leased?
No one knows.
I’m often asked–who’s really in charge of Harrisburg? The mayor? The receiver? The state Department of Community and Economic Development? The City Council? A couple of out-of-town law firms?
To some extent, all of the above, I respond. Power in Harrisburg is deeply fragmented.
So, it’s not just about the school budget situation–instability is endemic everywhere here. Why?
The crumbling of the entrenched, controlling Reed regime is largely to blame, as is the financial disaster it left behind, both of which have left the city in chaos.
That turmoil is deepened by the desire of state legislators to protect the interest of distant creditors over their own citizens, which has resulted in repeated and profound interventions into city affairs.
Then there’s the political feud between the mayor and the council, the departure of so many quality city employees and the widening split between Gov. Tom Corbett and the legislature over budget priorities.
And, since not everyone is a bad guy, some of the turmoil is due to legitimate differences over how best to restore Harrisburg to fiscal health.
Life, as we know, does not always follow a straight path. It bends and twists and sometimes heads in weird directions. However, no healthy society can be built upon unyielding chaos and crisis.
Governmental bodies must work to create a foundation of stability and predictability, from which people can build their lives.
Given its dire financial situation, Harrisburg will be less stable than most other cities for the forseeable future. There’s no way around that. But that stress must be managed and minimized, not exacerbated.
Kids must know they’ll have a school to attend, vital programs they can rely on, sports they can play and take pride in.
Residents should have a decent idea what they’ll pay in taxes each year, the basic services they can expect–that crime will be fought, streets fixed and garbage collected.
Citizens should know that their state and county officials will represent them first, not Wall Street.
Some measure of stability, even in the most trying of times, is the least we can ask for.
