Cities' financial woes

A study of the financial situation in five Pennsylvania cities, including York, paints a pretty bleak picture.

The study, done by the Pennsylvania Economy League, looks at the financial situation in York, Lancaster, Easton, Reading and Bethlehem. Here are a few of its conclusions:

• In all but one of the cities, the total taxes collected each year were insufficient to pay for police and fire services
• None of the cities could support public safety, general administration, public works and debt service with their existing tax base
• "If the cities cannot capture the revenue streams produced as a result of their status as regional economic generators, the cities will be compelled to search for even more creative methods to pay for the services that their citizens have a right to expect from their local government tax dollars."
  
• "It is not inaccurate to say that the cities are older, smaller and poorer than they were over the past several decades."
  

The study doesn't exactly offer any recommendations. The mayors of the five cities gathered yesterday in Lancaster and pushed the state for a 1 percent local option sales tax to help reduce property taxes, according to an AP story.

Read the study here.