Independent Research

Tax-exempt organizations and institutions are a necessary part of all communities and play a vital function in ensuring overall well-being. However, in some communities, the tax-exempt property rate inhibits a municipality's financial outlook.

Funded by the Progress and Poverty Institute

PA’s municipal tax laws have failed to keep up with inflation and modern living. What are the consequences and what can be done. Features case studies of eight municipalities.

This study was funded through the Pennsylvania Municipal League.

Have county revenues decreased because of the pandemic? What were the biggest changes that counties made? How were federal stimulus funds used? Conducted in partnership with the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania.

In partnership with the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania

How did local government operate in the early days of the pandemic? What challenges did they face? What do they anticipate for the future?

In partnership with the Pennsylvania Municipal League, the Pennsylvania State Association of Boroughs, the Pennsylvania State Association of Township Commissioners, and the Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors

PEL looks at the health of over 2,300 municipalities from 1970 to 2014 and discusses the causes of municipal financial distress.

Funding was provided by: Berks County Community Foundation, Central Pennsylvania Community Foundation, Central Susquehanna Community Foundation, Community Foundation for the Alleghenies, The Foundation for Enhancing Communities, Lancaster County Community Foundation, The Luzerne Foundation, the Philadelphia Foundation, the Pittsburgh Foundation, Scranton Area Community Foundation, and the York County Community Foundation

The first of three reports that examine the fiscal health of Pennsylvania’s over 2,000 municipalities (excluding Philadelphia and Pittsburgh), the study found that over half of all households in the state now live in communities suffering fiscal decline. The report debunks the myth that local mismanagement is totally responsible for fiscal distress, finding that a prime cause is limitations in laws enacted decades ago that govern tax levies, pension funding and collective bargaining agreements.

A statewide regional review (excluding Philadelphia and Pittsburgh) comparing revenues and expenditures of cities, boroughs and townships in 1970 and 2006. The comprehensive report outlines sources of local government revenues, how local governments spend tax money, and changes in local government finances between 1970 and 2006.

Case studies of five third-class Pennsylvania cities – Reading, Lancaster, Bethlehem, York and Easton, as well as municipalities in Lycoming County. The report explores the fiscal difficulties experienced by the five cities as they struggle to provide services in the face of shrinking populations and stagnating or declining tax bases. The Lycoming County chapter looks at the differing fiscal experiences of the county’s city, boroughs and townships.

This project was prepared for the Pennsylvania Municipal League and supported by the PA Department of Community and Economic Development, Air Products Foundation, Berks County Community Foundation, First Community Foundation of PA, PPL, Inc., and the York County Community Foundation.

Impact on the Cost and Financing of Government Services in the Selected Host Municipalities of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education: A study on the economic impact of SSHE universities on the host communities of Bloomsburg, Edinboro, Lock Haven, Millersville and West Chester. The report found municipalities that host a state system university consistently collect less revenue per capita than other municipalities, making it difficult for the host communities to fund services.

An exploration of municipal and school district merger, consolidation and sharing of services including the history, the process, obstacles and various case studies. The conclusion: “Structural consolidation/merger is a complex and time-consuming process with a high probability of failure based on the historical record. On the other hand, function consolidation presents more realistic and significant opportunities to share services as opposed to structural consolidation.”

Prepared for Team Pennsylvania Foundation 10,000 Friends of Pennsylvania

An analysis of regional policing versus individual community policing looking at both costs and the presence of full-time police officers with an emphasis on achieving quality services.

In partnership with the Institute for Public Policy and Economic Development

Examination of transportation infrastructure, physical condition and performance in Pennsylvania and Ohio, New York, New Jersey, Michigan and Illinois. Also compares transportation funding mechanisms.