Jun 26, 2018 2 min read

We hope you’re sitting down when you read this.

The Pennsylvania budget was delivered on time this year, with a minimum of rancor between the Republican-dominated House and Senate, and Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf.

What else can we look forward to? A UFO landing in Point State Park? Bigfoot showing up in the stands for a Steelers game in the fall? Jimmy Hoffa turning up alive and well and ready to lead the Teamsters?

In fairness, on-time budgets haven’t been that rare in Pennsylvania, but they’ve not been all that common during Wolf’s tenure, when the budget process has been used for ideological trench warfare and the scoring of political points. An election year does have a way of focusing the mind, though, with the GOP in the Legislature and Wolf coming to a quick accord this time around.

The $32.7 billion budget increases spending by $700 million, just a smidge over the $32 billion 2017-18 budget that will expire June 30. The additional spending will be going to public schools and universities, with a $60 million grant program being established to help schools improve safety measures in the wake of recent school shootings.

Wolf described the budget as “responsible and bipartisan” even as he was rebuffed on two points he has repeatedly pushed and we believe are eminently sensible: a severance tax on natural gas drilling; and a $25 per capita fee being levied on communities that do not have their own police forces and instead rely on the Pennsylvania State Police for coverage. Wolf has estimated the fee would help generate $63 million for the state police, who, it should be noted, provide protection for many communities in Washington and Greene counties.

Still, an on-time budget is something that should be noted and appreciated. How about we do this again next year?