Feb 15, 2024 3 min read

By Brad Hundt

Staff writer

bhundt@observer-reporter.com

MT. LEBANON – Gov. Josh Shapiro dropped by Empire Music in downtown Mt. Lebanon at lunchtime Wednesday, but it wasn’t to buy one of the many guitars hanging on the store’s walls.

Instead, the governor was there to talk up his proposed 2024-25 state budget and, more specifically, an additional $25 million for a new Main Street program that would boost small businesses and commercial corridors in Pennsylvania. Shapiro explained to a knot of media, elected officials and community leaders that getting behind Main Streets is a prime component of an economic development strategy the governor’s office recently announced.

“It’s time to do more,” Shapiro said. He said the infusion of money into the program, called Main Street Matters, would be “an investment our region not only needs, but our Main Streets deserve.”

He added, “This is the time for us to be bold in Pennsylvania. This is the time for our Main Streets to come alive in Pennsylvania.”

Shapiro said he came to Mt. Lebanon to promote Main Street Matters because of the vibrancy of its downtown business district. Saying he would “hold Mt. Lebanon up as an example to other communities,” he announced a new $32,000 grant from Keystone Communities Partnership for a public art project in the borough. In addition to that money, Harrisburg has chipped in close to $800,000 over the last six years for renovations in downtown Mt. Lebanon that have resulted in upgraded sidewalks, new streetlights and building facades that have been repaired.

The governor was joined on his visit to Empire Music by several local elected officials and Department of Community and Economic Development Secretary Rick Siger. Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato said, “We love our Main Streets and we love our mom and pop businesses. A thriving Main Street is a sign of health in our community. When we invest in our Main Streets, we invest in our people.”

Shapiro was also due to make a visit to Philadelphia Thursday to promote the Main Street Matters initiative. The $25 million proposed for it is a sliver of the $48 billion budget that would also increase funding for education and public transportation. While it does not include any tax increases, it would take about $2 billion out of the commonwealth’s cash reserves.

Republicans have criticized Shapiro’s proposed budget, saying it is excessive and, in the words of state Rep. Tim O’Neal of Washington, “a tax and spending agenda.” Shapiro countered that “now is the time” to spend some of the cash reserves.

“It shouldn’t be a badge of honor to take money from the good people of Pennsylvania, put it in a bank account and hold it there,” Shapiro said. “We are not investing enough, and we are losing out to neighboring states, including Ohio, and I’m sick and tired of losing out to Ohio.”