Bill OBoyle: AG audit of Pa. Turnpike Commission calls for 'innovative solutions'
Sep. 12—WILKES-BARRE — Auditor General Timothy L. DeFoor this week released a performance audit of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, which found it continues to face significant challenges to meet its financial obligations putting the burden on travelers.
"Today, the Pennsylvania Turnpike has more debt than the entire state government of Pennsylvania, and the only way to pay it is to raise tolls," DeFoor said. "This is an unsustainable situation which highlights the need for innovative ideas and different solutions to rectify an issue that is decades in the making. The Turnpike Commission didn't get into this situation by itself. The legislature and executive branch need to work together now to ensure the Turnpike is financially viable for the future."
The audit has three findings and 23 recommendations for improvements. The performance audit covers the time from June 1, 2018, through June 13, 2022.
—Finding 1: The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission continues to face significant challenges to raise toll revenue to make future payments to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) under the current Act 44/89 financial structure, its associated debt payments and expenditures for capital projects.
—Finding 2: Uncollected tolls have continued to increase and therefore, the Commission must continue to seek new ways to collect tolls due from both in and out-of-state travelers.
—Finding 3: The anti-discrimination language in the Commission's contracts for amenities provided to its customers at service plazas is outdated and lacking content.
"We need to work at finding a solution that will make sure the Turnpike continues to provide an invaluable service to all who travel through Pennsylvania, without it being a financial burden," DeFoor said. "We recommend the General Assembly take another look at Acts 44 and 89 and consider drafting new legislation to mitigate the current debt burden placed on the Commission."
In Finding 1, auditors found the Commission's ability to make its projected debt payments depends on usage, continuing to recover from the effects of the pandemic, incurring less debt and continuing to make positive adjustments to minimize expenses. It also found that annual toll increases continue to place an undue burden on Turnpike travelers. Auditors had five recommendations for the Commission and two for the General Assembly to reduce operating costs, address debt and attempt to take the financial burden off travelers.
In Finding 2, auditors found almost a quarter of uncollected tolls were because of unpaid invoices, unidentified license plates or because PennDOT either had the wrong address or no address at all. As a result, $104.9 million remains as uncollected Commission revenue. Auditors highlighted 11 recommendations to improve collections that includes looking at more consistent enforcement, for PennDOT to determine the cause of missing addresses or undeliverable mail and working with the legislature to close the loopholes in current laws.
In Finding 3, auditors concluded the Commission's anti-discrimination language in its contracts for service plaza vendors is outdated and lacking content. There were five recommendations to address this finding, including looking at contract language and posting signage for travelers to report discrimination complaints.
The Commission is in general agreement with Findings 1 and 2, and although it disagreed with recommendations related to amending contract language in Finding 3, it generally agreed with the auditors' recommendations regarding posting customer complaint signage and establishing policies or procedures to monitor lessees' compliance with contract non-discrimination requirements.
To read the full audit report visit — www.PaAuditor.gov/audit-reports.
Gov. Wolf highlights $355 million
commitment to 'safer communities'
Gov. Tom Wolf this week was joined by Democratic legislative champions for gun violence prevention and local advocates fighting against gun violence to highlight his $355 million commitment to safer communities in Pennsylvania.
Through the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD), two new violence intervention programs are now open.
The $85.5 million Violence Intervention and Prevention (VIP) Program is open for community organizations, municipalities, institutions of higher education, and district attorneys to request funding for a wide variety of programs that address community violence and prevention efforts. Grant awards can range from $25,000 to $2.5 million to support project activities over a 29-month period. Applications can be submitted online, the application period closes Oct. 12, 2022.
A new program — the $15 million Coordinated Community Violence Intervention (CVI) Strategies Pilot Program — aims to invest in collaborative community violence prevention and response strategies within focused service areas. This new initiative will support five to eight pilot projects that will pursue transformative strategies to prevent and respond to violence. Eligible applicants can request up to $3 million to launch and implement a pilot project over a 32-month period. Applications can be submitted online, the application period closes October 31, 2022.
State investments total $355 million over the course of the Wolf administration:
—$50 million invested in 65 VIP projects across the commonwealth and another $85.5 million committed and available,
—$15 million for the new Coordinated CVI Strategies Pilot Program.
—$135 million to support local law enforcement.
—$50 million to violence investigation and prosecution.
—$19.5 million to support communities targeted by hate crimes.
Meuser hears concerns of officers
during visits to federal prisons
U.S> Rep. Dan Meuser, R-Dallas, recently visited the United States Penitentiary Canaan at the invitation of the American Federal of Government Employees (AFGE).
The visit was scheduled as follow-up after the Congressman's June visit to the Federal Correctional Institution in Schuylkill County.
Both visits were organized by the union, which brought concerns of the staff regarding the safety of employees and an issue regarding competitive pay rates.
Both facilities are understaffed and fear retention of their workforce as the labor market tightens. The Federal Bureau of Prisons has suffered from a multi-year staffing crisis, worsened by the pandemic and the vaccine mandate.
Meuser said as of March, one third of federal correctional officers' jobs were vacant. He said the situation has forced officers into mandatory overtime and led to other employees overseeing prisoners instead of working in their typical roles.
Because of these concerns, Meuser has joined the Bureau of Prisons Reform Caucus, headed by Rep. Fred Keller, R-Williamsport. The caucus is focused on ensuring that the Bureau of Prisons is a better run and more efficient part of the government. They are focused on the staffing crisis, which is making BOP correctional work far more dangerous.
"I have real concerns after listening to the individuals who are working under these conditions," Meuser said. "We rarely think of the challenges and dangers these men and women face daily, and they have been facing additional pressure since the pandemic began. It's time to look at solutions that will offer them fair compensation and increase staffing levels in these facilities."
Meuser said his office has been in constant communication with the senior leadership of the AFGE. Meuser's district director now has weekly calls with the union president in Schuylkill to collaborate on how to resolve the security and staffing issues in PA's federal prisons.
One such bill that Meuser has now co-sponsored is H.R. 5761 — the "Pay Our Correctional Officers Fairly Act" — a bill introduced by U.S. Rep. Randy Weber, R-Texas. The bill would extend the pay benefits for living in a city out 100 miles so that the BOP could pay competitive rates enough to retain and recruit staff.
Meuser has also co-sponsored H.R. 8645 — the "Cellphone Jamming Reform Act" — sponsored by Rep. David Kustoff of Tennessee. Kustoff's bill would allow state and federal prisons to operate a cellphone jamming device to combat the use of contraband cellphones that union officials have told Meuser are still a major problem.
PLCB returns $2.2 million in
licensing fees to communities
The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB) this week announced the return of more than $2.2 million in licensing fees to 1,359 municipalities in which licensees are located.
Twice a year, as required by law, the PLCB returns liquor license fees paid by PLCB-approved licensees to the municipalities that are home to those licenses.
Municipalities have flexibility in allocating and spending the returned license fees to meet local needs.
The current dispersal period represents fees paid from Feb. 1 to July 31, 2022. In all, 55 cities, 541 boroughs, and 763 townships will receive payments ranging from $25 to $359,875.
The complete list of license fee distributions by municipality is available on the PLCB website.
Reach Bill O'Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.
