Mayor-For-Life Steve 'Hopalong' Reid's roosting chickens.

This Super Genius won't admit that he is the problem.

It is time to abandon Pennsylvania's capital, kiddies, and move to the more sane and more safe suburbs...just like the Commonwealth's elected "leaders" do.

Harrisburg Patriot-News: Reed's plan calls for 17% real estate tax increase
Mayor Stephen R. Reed's plan for ridding Harrisburg of an estimated $13.8 million deficit involves a 17 percent real estate tax increase, a $10.5 million loan and a whole lot of belt-tightening.

"The choice will be clear and simple," Reed said last night in his annual budget address to the City Council. "Either resolve this challenge now or allow it to carry over into next year and beyond and force significant staff and service reductions."

The council has until Dec. 31 to pass a budget for 2007.

In initial reactions last night, some members seemed resigned to a tax increase and a longer-term bailout loan of some amount. But all were reserving judgment until the council could hold hearings on the proposed $135.2 million spending plan...

Due to time constraints, we now move to further action.

Reed said it could have been worse; he was originally eyeing a 4-mill increase. That would have translated into a 46 percent increase, adding $400 a year to the city taxes of the $100,000 homeowner.

"It's remarkably better news," Reed said.

Thank you for being so merciful to the little people, Your Magnificence!

The mayor also proposed a 15 percent increase in city sewer fees. That would add $2.87 to the monthly bill of a typical family of four, for a new monthly rate of $21.97.

The second major part of Reed's plan involves his proposed $10.5 million, 15-year loan.

Harrisburg already has borrowed $7 million through the end of this year to blunt the budget shortfall.

The $10.5 million would repay that short-term borrowing. The remaining $3.5 million would cover a portion of the leftover $6.8 million deficit for this year.

Reed again vowed that he would use money from the sale of city assets, including Western artifacts he accumulated for a museum, a Susquehanna River island, the Harrisburg Senators baseball club and the naming rights of parks, to repay the loan without using tax dollars.

However, Reed also has proposed selling the city's public safety building on Walnut Street to the Harrisburg Redevelopment Authority. He said this is mainly to provide collateral for the $10.5 million loan and to allow the authority to be a player in the financing.

While the home of the city's police and fire officials would have a new owner, Reed said operations there wouldn't change and the city would pay only $1 in rent to the authority.

Finally, there is the belt-tightening.

The city's general fund budget -- the portion spent on basic city services such as fire and police, parks and recreation and street cleaning -- would be virtually unchanged for next year at $59.2 million.

While the budget doesn't call for additional staff layoffs, the 32 workers who lost jobs in the fall budget crisis won't be getting them back, Reed said.

The October staff cuts, which involved management and nine police cadets, along with the elimination of 23 vacant positions, are estimated to save $3.4 million next year.

A second round of up to a dozen layoffs was slated for this month, but Reed said that became unnecessary due to other resignations and retirements.

But Reed warned of what he called "massive layoffs" in 2007 if the steps he outlined aren't taken.

"I'm talking major," he said. "You're talking about 55-plus workers, including police officers. That would be a tragedy."