Don’t kill the goose
Let’s talk about Act 13.
In 2013, North Franklin Township approved a 30-year bond to upgrade our road system. After satisfying the balance of a previous bond, there was a balance of $1.9 million to work with.
In July 2013, North Franklin Township received $147,048. This amount was the 2012 Act 13 distribution.
In June 2014, Act 13 funds were received for 2013. This amount was $163,685. This is why Act 13 is so important to the township. These funds are designated to retire this bond. No fund, no bond, no bond, no roads.
Victor Paving in Monongahela was paid $326,280 for the first part of the project. Alex Paris Contracting in Atlasburg was paid $739,971 for the second phase of the project. The remainder of the road work is scheduled to be completed in the spring.
You can see where the money comes from and right where the money goes. Right in our own backyard. But if an extraction tax is enacted, Act 13 would probably be no more. The extraction tax money, in the name of education, will be shuffled off to Philadelphia or Harrisburg, never to be seen again.
The gas industry did not cause the problems in our educational system.
The message to Gov. Tom Wolf is: Don’t kill the golden goose. Use Washington and Greene Counties as examples of the economic benefits derived from the oil and gas industries.
The model in place in Washington County is working; don’t destroy it.
Silvio Passalacqua
North Franklin
Passalacqua is the chairman of the North Frankin Township Board of Supervisors.