Fiscal Responsbility and Keeping Taxes Low

By Mario J. Civera

As Vice Chairman of Delaware County Council, Jack Whelan was instrumental in helping to craft the county budget for fiscal year 2009. That budget contained no tax increase on local residents and sought to reduce costs by directing county departments and agency leadership to implement cost-cutting measures, by implementing a hiring freeze, imposing travel restrictions, and providing retirement incentives to existing county employees. The county also reduced interest payments by refinancing debt to take advantage of historic low interest rates.

As Chairman of the Pennsylvania House Appropriations Committee, Mario has also played an instrumental role in helping reduce government waste and reducing the size of the state budget. His expertise on the state budget, grant programs, and state funding mechanisms will also be invaluable to Delaware County as it seeks additional state money to offset expenses in the county budget to keep taxes low for local residents.