Pennsylvania State & Local Taxpayer Debt

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Gov. Tom Corbett’s FY 2011-12 budget proposal includes $63.6 billion in total operating spending—$27.3 billion in General Fund spending—a reduction of $3.3 billion from FY 2010-11. This budget restores overall spending to pre-stimulus levels and proposes no new taxes. This is the fourth in a series of fact sheets on the state budget

Pennsylvania State & Local Government Debt
Debtor Debt Outstanding Per Capita
Total State $44,701,159,000 $3,595
   State $10,487,159,000 $844
   State Agencies & Authorities $34,214,000,000 $2,752
Total Local $82,601,626,456 $6,644
   School Districts $26,059,284,754 $2,096
   County/Municipal/Twp/other $56,542,341,702 $4,548
Total  $127,302,785,456 $10,239
Sources: Governor’s Executive Budget (http://www.budget.state.pa.us) December 2010 data; PA Dept of Education (http://www.pde.state.pa.us) June 2009 data; U.S. Census Bureau (http://www.census.gov/govs/www/estimate.html) 2008 data/2009 projected by Commonwealth Foundation

Today, Pennsylvanians owe $127 billion in state and local government debt. This equates to more than $10,000 for every person, and more than $40,000 for the average family of four in the Commonwealth—an increase of more than $12,000 since 2002.

  • This total represents bonded debt, and excludes unfunded pension and healthcare liabilities for government workers, borrowing for unemployment compensation, and short-term tax anticipation notes, which add tens of billions more in obligations for Pennsylvania taxpayers.

State Debt

Since 2002, total outstanding state general obligation debt increased 54%, from $6.8B to $10.5B.

  • Annual debt payments on general obligation bonds increased from $349M in FY 2002-03 to $1.1B in the FY 2011-12 budget, an increase of 203% in annual debt payments in nine years.

Pennsylvania General Fund Debt Payments

State Agencies & Authorities Debt

Three-fourths of Pennsylvania’s state-level borrowing is done by off-budget state agencies and authorities, like the Turnpike Commission and the Commonwealth Financing Authority.

  • Debt held by state agencies and authorities increased from $16.8B in 2002 to nearly $34.2B in 2009an increase of 103%.
  • Total Pennsylvania state and state agencies and authorities debt increased from $23.6B to more than $44.7B in the last eight years—representing a total state-level increase of 89%.

 

Pennsylvania State, State Agencies & Authorities Debt
Debtor Debt Outstanding 2002 Debt Outstanding 2010 Increase Change
   State $6,805,184,000 $10,487,159,000 $3,681,975,000 54%
   State Agencies & Authorities $16,848,800,000 $34,214,000,000 $17,365,200,000 103%
Total State $23,653,984,000 $44,701,159,000 $21,047,175,000 89%
Sources: Governor’s Executive Budget (http://www.budget.state.pa.us), December 2010 data

School District Debt

Pennsylvania taxpayers are also experiencing an increase in debt at the school district level.

  • According to the Pennsylvania Department of Education, school district debt increased from $19.3B in 2002 to $26.1B in 2009an increase of 35%.

County, Municipal, Township, & Special District Debt

Other local government debt represents more than 40% of all taxpayer debt in the Commonwealth.

  • According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s most recent data (2008) and Commonwealth Foundation projections, county, municipal, township, and special district debt increased from $44.9B in 2002 to $56.5B in 2009an increase of 26%.

 

Pennsylvania School District, County, Municipal, Township, Special District Debt
Debtor Debt Outstanding 2002 Debt Outstanding 2009 Increase Change
   School Districts $19,351,014,152 $26,059,284,754 $6,708,270,602 35%
   County/Municipal/Twp/other $44,943,251,000 $56,542,341,702 $11,599,090,702 26%
Total Local $64,294,265,152 $82,601,626,456 $18,307,361,303 28%
Sources: PA Dept of Education (http://www.pde.state.pa.us/k12_finances/cwp/view.asp?a=3&q=89351) June 2009 data; U.S. Census Bureau (http://www.census.gov/govs/www/estimate.html) 2008 data/2009 projected by Commonwealth Foundation

 

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For more on Government Borrowing and Debt, visit www.CommonwealthFoundation.org

The Commonwealth Foundation (www.CommonwealthFoundation.org) is an independent, non-profit research and educational institute.