30 Ways in 30 Days: Community Revitalization

'Street Closures' Would Impact More than 100 State Communities

Vacant store fronts and economic decline would dog small towns and boroughs across the state with the shutdown of the Department of Community and Economic Development's Elm and Main Street assistance programs.

HARRISBURG (June 20, 2009) - Community revitalization efforts across Pennsylvania would grind to a halt if a plan to eliminate all state funding for the Main and Elm Street programs is enacted into law.

The proposed funding cut, included in Senate Bill 850, concerns Kirk Wilson, a long-serving Republican mayor in Carlisle. An active Main Street Program has allowed that older borough to undertake streetscape and other improvements that are luring new businesses to its main business district.

"These cuts will be devastating to those communities that currently use the funds for their revitalization programs, and instead thrust the burden back onto local governments and taxpayers," Wilson said. "Meaning either the programs will come to a halt, or local taxes will need to be increased to cover the costs that the state had previously provided."

Governor Ed Rendell proposed a $15 million appropriation in the 2009-10 Fiscal Year for the New Communities program, which includes the Elm and Main Street programs.

The Main and Elm Street programs are currently being used by 96 Pennsylvania communities, ranging from the state's largest cities to many of its smaller towns.  Another five communities have just begun pilot programs that are expected to expand in coming years.

To learn more about how Carlisle is benefiting from the Main Street program, contact Mayor Kirk Wilson at 717-249-4422.

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