Daryl Metcalfe

CRANBERRY TWP — State Rep. Daryl Metcalfe, R-12th, gave his constituents a chance Thursday night to ask questions about what is taking place in Harrisburg.

Roughly 40 constituents came to the Dessert with Daryl event at the Cranberry Township Municipal Center and a topic that kept coming up was the state budget.

Metcalfe said GOP legislators hoped the budget vote that took place Wednesday would send a message to Gov. Tom Wolf that there is not support for any broad-based tax increases.

Wolf, a Democrat, is pushing increases in the state sales tax and the personal income tax, Metcalfe said. The Republican-controlled Legislature shot down the tax increases, and that was the third revision for the increases from the governor.

“The budget has been the main issue in Harrisburg that’s kept a lot of other issues from being addressed,” Metcalfe said.

The question was posed as to what the next step would be in getting a budget passed.

Metcalfe said legislators passed a budget by the June 30 deadline and Wolf immediately vetoed it. Wolf did not do any line item vetoes.

Then the Legislature gave Wolf a four-month budget to deliver money to school districts and nonprofits, Metcalfe said. It would have given operational funds to backfill what has been spent over the last few months, but this measure also was vetoed.

Metcalfe said the next step would be to try and get enough Democrats to join Republicans to override the governor’s veto. Metcalfe said about 18 Democrats would need to vote with the Republicans for that to happen.

“If the override does not occur then there will have to be another budget negotiated and put on the governor’s desk,” he said. “The problem is that budget we placed on his desk was no tax increase and it was balanced. The next budget ... I expect the Democrats will be saying give us more spending here or there and then we will work with you.”

Metcalfe said even if Wolf vetoes it at that point it could be overridden. He also said the Legislature should be placing one bill after another on Wolf’s desk that will help reduce the cost of government.

“So that we give him other options besides raising taxes,” Metcalfe said.

One constituent said there needs to be more dialogue with the governor.

“It is good to have dialogue, but when you vote down two huge tax increases he is proposing and he comes away from it saying, ‘I am not taking anything off of the table,’ how do you have dialogue when you can’t talk to (him) with reason.”

Metcalfe said he thinks Wolf’s own party is going to start deserting him.

“There is only so long that he can push this,” Metcalfe said. “When is (Wolf) going to realize that he has to work with the majorities that are there and he does not have Democratic majorities, he has us.”