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A message to state lawmakers and the governor: not again.

Don’t you dare repeat a prolonged budget standoff like the one that began last summer and stretched for nearly nine months, crippling certain social service programs and causing headaches for leaders of counties, school districts and other bodies reliant on a steady stream of state funds.

As another budget deadline approaches on June 30 – less than three weeks from today – there had better be a prevailing sense among the Capitol crowd that state residents won’t accept another round of drama. Or trauma.

Already this season, groups such as the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania made pleas for some political sanity. “A timely budget, and one that begins to restore funding for key county human services programs, must be a priority for (fiscal year) 2016-2017,” states a commentary issued last week from Douglas Hill, the group’s executive director.

Pennsylvania’s counties, on average, needed to scrape up $12 million during the state’s most recent budget impasse to keep human services programs running, according to the association. It noted that the dollar figure represents “the equivalent of 20 percent of county operating budgets,” and the money helps to pay for services including mental health programs and child abuse investigations.

“Nearly three-quarters of the counties used their reserves to cover the gap, a few draining them completely,” according to the association. Other counties “borrowed an average of $5.7 million, paying tens of thousands in borrowing fees and interest payments.”

Luzerne County was among the borrowers, approaching lenders at the 11th hour for $20 million. A divided county council approved the emergency loan, rather than fail to meet payroll and shutter entire departments. By mid-January, the loan had been repaid, but Luzerne County taxpayers reportedly were out $46,185 in interest charges.

Newly appointed Luzerne County Manager C. David Pedri has vowed that the county will be better prepared this year, in the event of another ugly budget showdown in the state capital. “I will say this now, and I will say it again,” he told the council’s members. “We are not going to be in that position again.”

No county should be.

The state’s well-paid senators and representatives, in conjunction with Gov. Tom Wolf, should see to it.

Don’t allow your differences to jeopardize good sense – and the uninterrupted flow of vital public services.

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