​The PA General Assembly will finalize today the annual state budget. Senate Bill 1100 (Pat Browne, R-Lehigh), is a $45.2 billion budget plan includes an $850 million increase for K-12 school districts, plus increase spending by 2.9 percent over the 2021-22 budget.

By Butch Bennett, Timothy A. Boyce, Reverend Lenard Carroll, Chief Bruce Egan, Laura Goodrich Cairns, Mayor Thaddeus Kirkland, Trish McFarland, Chief John Viola, and Chief David Tedjeske

Car accidents, missing persons, violent acts, heart attacks, children in danger, smoke filling homes and fires spreading rapidly.

All are frightening events that put families at risk, and they often generate calls to Delaware County 911. Each call is answered locally by a trained professional who calmly handles the emergency, and then dispatches needed help – day or night, rain or shine – to first responders from every corner of the County.

These emergency events occur hundreds of thousands of times every year – with over 800,000 emergency calls received in 2019 alone - and each time aid is directed to those who need it.

Always.
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Delaware County’s emergency communications system is a busy one, well-organized and staffed by people who are dedicated to protecting every resident as well as many others who work in and travel through the County. It does, however, have serious infrastructure, technology and security deficiencies and is long overdue for modernization that will better support emergency services --- fire, police and medical -- by allowing them to do the jobs they have devoted their lives to, while reducing the risks they take and providing better services to you.

By: Alex Rahn, Wanner Associates
On December 21st, the United States Senate and House of Representatives approved a $900 billion Coronavirus Relief Package.  President Donald Trump has indicated he will approve the legislation and has until December 28th to sign it.  
 
The package contains $600 stimulus checks for those who make under a certain income and $300-per-week for federal unemployment stopped at 11 weeks.
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The legislation also assigns $284 billion of the funds to a new round of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). PPP eligibility is expanded for nonprofits, including 501C6 organizations which was a large push from the Chamber community.