WILKES-BARRE -- A TV ad airing across Pennsylvania takes aim directly at the state budget Republicans proposed--the same one Governor Tom Wolf shot down with a veto.
We met Walter Barteld on Public Square in Wilkes-Barre and showed him the ad. He said he has never seen a political ad about the state budget.
“No, never. I can't understand what's going on!” Barteld said.
He's disappointed that state lawmakers still haven't come to an agreement.
"It is a shame they've had so long to work on this and it's gonna be delayed weeks if not months,” he said.
The ad is paid for by America Works U.S.A., an arm of the Democratic Governors Association, which is funded by donations. A spokesperson tells Newswatch 16 Governor Wolf wasn't involved in the ad, but that America Works U.S.A. "supports the education and fiscal priorities in Governor Wolf's budget--a middle-class budget that funds Pennsylvania schools and provides the largest property tax cut in Pennsylvania history."
But some business leaders in Wilkes-Barre say Pennsylvanians will benefit better from a budget with lower taxes in other parts of it, too.
"It should actually help you to get better jobs, better economic development, which in turn drives more businesses into the state,” said Wico van Genderen of the Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Commerce.
Wilkes-Barre Mayor Tom Leighton, a Democrat, worries that delaying a budget compromise could impact social services in the Diamond City and across the state.
“The last thing we want to happen here in the city of Wilkes-Barre is for state services to be cut which would ultimately affect our residents,” he said.
