Centre County Commissioners discuss parks, state budget plan

BELLEFONTE, Pa. (WTAJ) – The Centre County Commissioners proclaimed July 19 as Parks and Recreation Professionals Day along with discussing their reactions to Gov. Josh Shapiro’s new budget plan.

While dedicating a day to parks and recreation professionals is a way to highlight the work that they do, Commissioner Steve Dershem said there is still “a lot to do” in terms of helping out the different parks in the county. For Tim Herd, CEO of the Pennsylvania Recreation & Park Society , the biggest challenge is clear.

“Funding is always an issue,” Herd said.

Although the parks and recreation discussion took some time, an even more significant amount of time had to be dedicated to Children and Youth Services. They had 14 total items on the agenda, mostly consisting of contract approvals and renewals.

Commissioner Chairman Mark Higgins said Children and Youth is “roughly tied” for the largest department of Centre County’s government, so it was good to have all the items taken care of.

At the end of the meeting, the commissioners gave their opinions on Gov. Shapiro’s new budget plan. In particular, they focused on the “very small increases” to the county’s budget for school mental health services and physical security funding, along with mental health services county-wide.

It was a mixture of appreciation and disappointment.

“The counties were asking for a $250 million increase to cover inflation over the last couple of years,” Higgins said. “We’d rather have $25 million than nothing, but that’s what we received here.”

Get the latest news, weather forecasts and sports stories delivered straight to your inbox! Sign up for our newsletters .

Higgins went on to say that they will “definitely have more requests in the future,” but for now, will continue to make the current funding work.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WTAJ - www.wtaj.com.