HARRISBURG – During Thursday’s Senate Appropriations Committee state budget hearing with the Office of the Budget, Senator David G. Argall (R-Schuylkill/Berks) asked Secretary Randy Albright to explain a $300 million investment for the Port of Philadelphia, at the same time as the governor is refusing to approve new City Revitalization and Improvement Zones (CRIZ) or Keystone Opportunity Zones (KOZ) that could benefit smaller communities across the state.
“We cannot find the funding to help communities with KOZ and CRIZ, but you and the governor were able to find $300 million for an investment program for the Port of Philadelphia,” Argall said to Albright. “This would be enough to fund the KOZ and CRIZ for 50 years. Why can’t our smaller cities and towns get the same opportunity for revitalization programs that are already in place?”
This was the third Senate Appropriations Committee budget hearing this week where Argall emphasized these economic development tools that could assist struggling communities with major population declines, including many third class cities highlighted below:
