Counties say proposed cuts in state funding for Department of Public Welfare programs will hurt a little bit less if they have more control over how they spend their state money. 

Gov. Corbett has proposed to send one lump sum to counties that usually receive money coming through seven different funding streams – all for DPW programs.

The multiple streams have made for excessive administrative costs, said Jo Ellen Litz, a Lebanon County Commissioner and head of the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania (CCAP). 

“It’s redundant paperwork.  It costs money.  We have seven audits to go through,” said Litz.

Litz said bundling the state funding into a single block grant for counties would amount to savings.

“It would save a lot… of paperwork, a lot of time of our staff, a lot of time at the state staff,” said Litz.  “We would still be accountable.  We would still have to come in and show what we’re doing with the money.  But it would just be a lot simpler.”

Although the governor’s plan is to pretty much flat-fund the Department of Public Welfare (he proposed a $30 million overall cut to the agency, bringing it from $10.56 billion to $10.53 billion), he proposed about a 20 percent cut to social services programs administered by counties.

Add in what the counties get in federal funds, and you’re looking at about a 14 percent cut, said Doug Hill, spokesman for the CCAP.

“That essentially reduces the effective rate of that 20 percent,” said Hill.

Corbett’s plan to boil funding down into a single block grant would also come with additional flexibility for county commissioners.  Litz said under the current system, the counties have to return unspent state funding for certain Department of Public Welfare programs.  With the governor’s proposed collapse of several line items into one category, the counties could use any leftover funds in one program to close a gap in another.

Litz said if counties have more control over how they spend their state money, they’ll be able to stomach the planned reductions

“If these different streamlining suggestions are incorporated, I can see where we would probably save that much money,” she said.  “So I don’t think that our clients would be hurting so bad.  I think that they would still get the services.”