From PA Chamber of Business & Industry

The Commonwealth collected $1 billion more in tax revenue than ancitipated to close out the 2018-19 Fiscal Year.  This allowed lawmakers to put $318 million into the state’s nearly depleted Rainy Day Fund, as well as help to fund numerous state-run programs, including public and higher education, without raising taxes on business or individual taxpayers.

A recent story in the Philadelphia Inquirer explains that this historic collection was due in large part to the federal tax reform law that was enacted in late 2017 and provided a much needed boost in employer optimism and confidence that resulted in higher than expected corporate profits. According to Independent Fiscal Office Executive Director Matthew Knittel, his office initially estimated $3.1 billion in revenue for the last fiscal year, but increased that estimate last month by $306 million.  “I suspect that we had maybe underestimated the impact of those tax law changes,” Knittel admitted to the Inquirer.  These positive results – along with the employer optimism expressed in the PA Chamber’s most recent Economic Survey – are why our organization is committed to working with lawmakers to enact comprehensive tax reforms at the state level when lawmakers return to session this fall.

The story also lists the taxation of internet sales and gaming expansion as two other factors that put revenue collection over the top in 2018-19.

In other good news, Knittel said that much of the additional revenue collected in the past year (with the exception of gaming) is permanent, meaning that higher revenues will continue to flow into state coffers without the need for additional taxes.

Republicans are also touting their commitment to holding the line on state spending as another factor that led to Pennsylvania’s banner Fiscal Year.  At a news conference this spring, House Majority Leader Bryan Cutler, R-Lancaster, credited the increased revenue as being “one part of the impact of fiscal responsibility and sound policymaking.” 

Chamber members are reminded to provide updates to organizational contact information as soon as possible. The 2019-20 Membership Directory will be going to print soon and we want to ensure that we’re representing members as accurately as possible. Any updates to addresses, contact information, website addresses, etc. should be sent to Brenda via email.

Also, for businesses in Montour County that were affected by readdressing, the Post Office has stopped forwarding mail to old addresses. Businesses and residents are urged to post their new addresses on properties and provide the information to the Chamber and other organizations with which they do business if they haven’t done so already.

• The Central Susquehanna Community Foundation is pleased to announce scholarship awards for local students through the Berwick Health and Wellness Fund (BHWF).
  

  Front row (l-r): Marisa Missien, Sarah Lalli, Rachel Reader, Griffin Keller
  Back row (l-r): BHWF Advisory Committee Members: Bryan Carlin, Lance Kittelson, Athena Aardweg, Amanda Stutzman, Jeff Cerminaro, and Mike Goresh.

  Applications for a variety of health-related career choices were accepted from students at Berwick, Benton, Northwest and Central Columbia school districts. The fund awarded $10,000 in scholarships to 12 graduating seniors and non-traditional students. The Foundation also awarded scholarships from 101 other scholarship funds. The following students received BHWF scholarship awards: Allison Beaver, $1,000.00; Madison Coolbaugh, $750.00; Megan Dalo, $750.00; Alicia Dent, $750.00; Samantha Dyer, $750.00; Teagan Karafinski, $750.00; Griffin Keller, $750.00; Emily Kester, $1,000.00; Sarah Lalli, $1,000.00; Joseph Lynn, $750.00; Marisa Missien, $1,000.00; Rachel Reader, $750.00

• Service 1st Federal Credit Union’s 2019 Community Savings Challenge helped members save $1.5 million in combined interest and benefited six organizations.
  

  (L-R): Laurie Swank, Director of Programs, AGAPE; Eileen Chapman, Executive Director, AGAPE; and Tom Rambo, Assistant Vice President Bloomsburg and Danville Markets, Service 1st.

  Representatives from participating charities and Service 1st recently gathered at the Pine Barn Inn, to celebrate the difference they made by working together on this four-month initiative. During the Community Savings Challenge, Service 1st reminded everyone how important it is to get a financial checkup. These checkups help establish healthy financial habits, and often identify ways members are able to save more. After completing a financial checkup, members had the opportunity to vote for one of six local charities. These organizations each received a donation reflective of the percent of votes received. The following charities partnered with Service 1st for this year’s Challenge: AGAPE, Bloomsburg; Candy’s Place, Wilkes-Barre; Caring for Kids Backpack Program, Sunbury; Disabled American Veterans, Susquehanna Valley Chapter 47, Williamsport; Mobile Health of Evangelical, Lewisburg; and Summit Early Learning, Mifflinburg.

• Bloomsburg University’s IT Outreach Webinar Series will conduct its next webinar this Thursday, July 18, at 1:30 p.m. This edition’s topic is “Two Key Ingredients for Successful Criminal Investigations: IT and Interviews,” and will be  given by Michael Huben, an instructor in the Zeigler College of Business. This event is free and open to the public. Register online and see the flyer for additional information. 

• The United Way of Columbia and Montour County’s United in Recovery coalition will hold a free assessment and treatment information on drug & alcohol next Tuesday, July 23, from 3-7 p.m. at the Reliance Fire Company, 501 West 3rd St., Berwick. 

• The Bucknell University Small Business Development Center will hold its annual Celebration of Small Business breakfast on Friday, July 26 at 8 a.m. This annual event celebrates entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial leaders and also features awards. There is no cost to attend. Register online or call 570-577-1249. 

• The Regional Impact Fund of the Central Susquehanna Community Foundation recently announced its second competitive grantround of $50K for projects that address current areas of unmet needs throughout the CSCF’s service area, which includes Columbia and Montour Counties. This year’s grantround will consist of an exciting new application process and opportunity for the public to get involved. Interested nonprofits will first submit a Letter of Inquiry introducing their organization, needs, service area, and budgetary request. Those proposals selected by the CSCF Grants Committee will then be invited to submit a full application and participate in The Nonprofit Narrative on Monday, July 29, at 8:30 a.m. at the Danville Area High School auditorium. The Nonprofit Narrative is a platform for these groups to share their grant requests and stories of regional impact—the joys, challenges, dreams and requests each face as they serve our neighbors, communities, and region at large. For more information on the Regional Impact Fund, competitive grantround or The Nonprofit Narrative, visit csgiving.org/rif. 

• The Bucknell University Small Business Development Center invites interested business in need of website development to connect with Bucknell students in the “Markets, Innovation, and Design 300” class in the Freeman College of Management. Each semester, these students make websites free of charge for local small businesses. These projects provide a hands-on learning experience for the students while bringing new ideas to these organizations. In early September, the students will be introduced to this assignment and divided into teams. Then the teams will have the liberty to choose with which businesses and organizations they would like to work. By early October, each student team will meet with their client to learn about the specific needs and goals of the organization and the purpose that the site should serve. Over the course of the semester, the students will then design and build the website with an online website software program, incorporating text and photographs provided by the organization. If your business or organization is in need of a website, or if it would benefit from a redesigned site, then please fill out this online form by Aug. 15 to ensure your organization is considered. Additional information is available on this form. 

The 35th edition of the Benton Rodeo, voted one of the best of over 65 rodeos held east of the Mississippi River by the American Professional Rodeo Association, gets underway tonight and runs through Sunday, July 21 at the Benton Rodeo Grounds.

The Rodeo brochure has all pertinent information, including ticket, schedule, vendors, sponsors and more. All shows are presented rain or shine. The shows scheduled for tonight and Wednesday night, July 16-17, are free admissions, while the championship rodeo is scheduled for July 18-20 and the Bull-A-Rama on July 21. All shows begin at 7:30 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at the door or by calling 570-437-0081. For more information, visit the Benton Rodeo’s website.

On Saturday, July 20, there will be a leukemia/lymphoma cure walk/run at 8 a.m., followed by the special kids roundup at 10 a.m., a special show exclusively for kids with special needs and their families. These events raise money for their respective causes, and the special kids roundup has in the past benefited Chamber members such as the Danville Child Development Center and Camp Victory. 

Sponsors of the Benton Rodeo include Chamber members A.O. Rent, Ken Pollock Ford Lincoln, Seven Mountains Media, The River 105 & 103.5, Steve Shannon Tire & Auto, WVIA, Williams, First Columbia Bank & Trust, Alexander Family Dealerships, Mahindra of Bloomsburg, Sokol Quarries, Atlantic Broadband , Geisinger Encompass Health Rehabilitation Hospital, and WYOU/WBRE.

More than 400 businesses and organizations belong to the Chamber to receive benefits and support efforts to strengthen their businesses and our region. Increased membership allows us to offer additional programs and benefits, have a stronger voice in advocacy and be involved in more activities and initiatives in our communities. The Chamber welcomes its newest member, Peters Consultants, Inc., to help us fulfill our mission.

Previously a Chamber member that the Chamber is happy to welcome back after a brief absence, Peters Consultants, Inc. was founded in 1976 by owner Dennis Peters, and it recently celebrated its 40th anniversary. It is a full-service consulting engineering/design firm with locations in both Bloomsburg and Berwick, and has been providing consulting services in the engineering, environmental and land surveying disciplines to municipal, authorities, commercial, industrial and private clients for more than 40 years. It is located at 40 West Main St., in Bloomsburg and 100 Robbins Ave. in Berwick, and can be reached at 570-387-0334 or 570-752-4433. Visit its website or Facebook page for additional information.

The Chamber stopped by the Berwick Hospital Center campus for a ribbon cutting on Thursday afternoon, July 11, to help welcome three providers to their new practice location on the hospital campus. All three previously practiced at different Commonwealth Health locations before recently relocating to physician office buildings on the East 16th St. campus in Berwick.

Dr. Kathy Baylor (family medicine), Dr. Ayesha Usman (OB/GYN) and Dr. Anton Georgiev (general surgery) are all now located on the Berwick Hospital Center campus. To schedule an appointment with any of these providers, call Berwick Hospital Center at 570-759-5000.

The Chamber was on hand Thursday, July 11 to help welcome Traditional Home Health Care to Berwick with a ribbon cutting. Traditional, which opened a home care office on West Front St. in downtown Berwick last year, recently opened a second office for its home health services on East 3rd St., just a short walk away from its home care office.

Traditional Home Health Care provides in-home medical care for its clients, while its home care business handles non-medical care.

A bill passed by the State Legislature in late June and signed into law by Governor Wolf brings fairness to sales at Pennsylvania brewpubs. In July, 2018, the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue (DOR) put out a tax bulletin requiring Pennsylvania breweries to collect a six percent sales tax for every dollar of beer sold directly to consumers via taprooms, tasting rooms, and brewpubs. Other restaurants pay sales tax on the wholesale amount (keg, case, etc.). The application of this tax was set to go into effect July 1, 2019. Earlier this year, the Chamber joined the statewide brewers guild in calling for a fix that provided fairness to the industry.

Under this bill, which amends the Tax Code, breweries will pay the sales tax on 25 percent of the retail sale, having the effect of taxing the wholesale amount. The Brewers of Pennsylvania applauded the General Assembly for passing the legislation. “The Brewers of Pennsylvania, in conjunction with the Governor’s office, were able to bring fairness and parity to sales tax collection among restaurants, taverns, grocery stores, and brewery taprooms across Pennsylvania,” said Chris Lampe, BOP President.

In April, the Chamber sent a letter to Senator John Gordner and Representatives Kurt Masser and David Millard asking that the industry be treated equitably in the assessment of sales tax. All three voted in favor of the legislation. The update will take effect October 1, 2019.

From PA Chamber of Business & Industry

For the second year in a row, the Commonwealth is starting the new fiscal year with a budget in place. Gov. Tom Wolf’s budget address in February set a bipartisan tone with a focus of working together to find common ground. With the exception of a few minor speed bumps in the final days of June, this year’s budget negotiation process was relatively smooth. Thanks in large part to strong revenue collections throughout the year, the governor and legislative leaders remained confident that an agreement could be reached prior to the June 30 Constitutional deadline.

The nearly $34 billion budget agreement includes increased spending for K-12 education, as well as more money for career and technical education, community colleges, PASSHE universities and the state’s non-preferred universities. It also includes a $25 million increase for the popular Education Improvement Tax Credit program – which the PA Chamber supports because it allows the state’s business community to support Pennsylvania students by giving them access to alternative educational opportunities. There are also funding increases for mental health services as well as agricultural programs.

A number of items that the PA Chamber had previously expressed concerns with were taken off the negotiating table early in the negotiation process – including a proposed minimum wage increase, as well as another attempt to put an additional tax on the natural gas industry. We have repeatedly warned lawmakers that government mandated wage increases have a negative impact on jobs. A recent Independent Fiscal Office report found that the administration’s proposal to increase the minimum wage to $12 an hour would lead to the loss of 34,000 jobs across the Commonwealth. Likewise, we continue to push back against efforts to enact a punitive severance tax because it will negatively impact the state’s business climate and send jobs and opportunities to other states in the shale play.

Following the passage of the budget, the PA Chamber issued a statement applauding lawmakers and the governor for getting the budget done on-time without any broad based tax increases. Additionally, we commended the administration and General Assembly for working across party lines to finalize a spending plan that responsibly puts additional surplus revenues in the Rainy Day Fund to help the state better withstand future economic downturns and makes smart investments in key education and workforce development priorities including the Educational Improvement Tax Credit program and Career and Technical Education.

At the same time, we are urging the Wolf administration and the General Assembly to build on the positive economic momentum the state is currently enjoying by enacting pro-growth policies. Tax reform on the federal level helped to jump-start the nation’s and Pennsylvania’s economies. Comprehensively addressing and streamlining Pennsylvania’s outdated Tax Code will help to further this economic growth. Likewise, we look forward to continued constructive dialogue on ways to address the jobs skills gap and the state’s workforce issues. Moving forward on these two initiatives – as well as reforming Pennsylvania’s burdensome regulatory environment – will send a strong message to job creators that Pennsylvania is open for business and a prime location for future investment.

We look forward to working with elected officials on these and other important policy issues that will help to foster economic growth in the Fiscal Ye

• Focus Central Pennsylvania is pleased to announce it has received an $8,500 dollar grant from the PPL Foundation. These funds will support the Smart Capacity initiative to invest in a comprehensive business attraction partnership to provide significant increased capacity that will leverage existing resources and efforts to effectively promote new corporate investment, career creating location decisions in Central Pennsylvania. This grant will provide a year of Site Location Partnership (SLP) business attraction services with specific deliverable metrics that include targeted industry prospect development, site selector appointment setting, trade show representation and online exposure. Site Location Partnership (SLP) is a dynamic, full-service consulting firm specializing in corporate site selection and business attraction for economic development. SLP executives have completed site location projects valued at over $840 million which have accounted for the creation of more than 7,200 careers.

• The Central Susquehanna Community Foundation announces the creation of a new scholarship fund for local students. Established in memory of Dr. Ronald L. Lehnowsky by his family, the fund will benefit a graduating senior from Berwick Area High School who is pursuing a career in the medical field. Dr. Lehnowsky, D.D.S., J.D., grew up in Berwick and graduated from its high school. He attended Georgetown University School of Dentistry and Ohio State University, where he received his D.D.S. and M.S. in Oral Surgery. He also received a J.D. from Cleveland State University – John Marshall College of Law. Despite living much of his life in Ohio, Dr. Lehnowsky never forgot his beginnings in the Berwick community. It was important to his family to continue his legacy and honor his dedication to education by establishing this fund where he was born and raised. Dr. Lehnowsky passed away at the age of 76 after an extended illness. Through the family’s desire to honor his memory and a town formative to his early life, the Lehnowsky Scholarship Fund will offer increased educational opportunities for Berwick students in perpetuity. Contributions can be made to this fund online (click donate and search “Lehnowsky”), or mail to the Central Susquehanna Community Foundation, Attn: Lehnowsky Scholarship Fund, 725 West Front Street, Berwick, PA 18603.

• Bloomsburg University’s IT Outreach Webinar Series will conduct its next webinar on Thursday, July 18, at 1:30 p.m. This edition’s topic is “Two Key Ingredients for Successful Criminal Investigations: IT and Interviews,” and will be  given by Michael Huben, an instructor in the Zeigler College of Business. This event is free and open to the public. Register online and see the flyer for additional information. 

• The United Way of Columbia and Montour County’s United in Recovery coalition will hold a free assessment and treatment information on drug & alcohol on Tuesday, July 23, from 3-7 p.m. at the Reliance Fire Company, 501 West 3rd St., Berwick. 

• The Bucknell University Small Business Development Center will hold its annual Celebration of Small Business breakfast on Friday, July 26 at 8 a.m. This annual event celebrates entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial leaders and also features awards. There is no cost to attend. Register online or call 570-577-1249. 

• The Regional Impact Fund of the Central Susquehanna Community Foundation recently announced its second competitive grantround of $50K for projects that address current areas of unmet needs throughout the CSCF’s service area, which includes Columbia and Montour Counties. This year’s grantround will consist of an exciting new application process and opportunity for the public to get involved. Interested nonprofits will first submit a Letter of Inquiry introducing their organization, needs, service area, and budgetary request. Those proposals selected by the CSCF Grants Committee will then be invited to submit a full application and participate in The Nonprofit Narrative on Monday, July 29, at 8:30 a.m. at the Danville Area High School auditorium. The Nonprofit Narrative is a platform for these groups to share their grant requests and stories of regional impact—the joys, challenges, dreams and requests each face as they serve our neighbors, communities, and region at large. For more information on the Regional Impact Fund, competitive grantround or The Nonprofit Narrative, visit csgiving.org/rif. 

• The Bucknell University Small Business Development Center invites interested business in need of website development to connect with Bucknell students in the “Markets, Innovation, and Design 300” class in the Freeman College of Management. Each semester, these students make websites free of charge for local small businesses. These projects provide a hands-on learning experience for the students while bringing new ideas to these organizations. In early September, the students will be introduced to this assignment and divided into teams. Then the teams will have the liberty to choose with which businesses and organizations they would like to work. By early October, each student team will meet with their client to learn about the specific needs and goals of the organization and the purpose that the site should serve. Over the course of the semester, the students will then design and build the website with an online website software program, incorporating text and photographs provided by the organization. If your business or organization is in need of a website, or if it would benefit from a redesigned site, then please fill out this online form by Aug. 15 to ensure your organization is considered. Additional information is available on this form.