Capitol Update

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Capitol Update Friday, September 04, 2015 The latest news from the State Capitol Outreach Office Hours Set for Sept. 10 To help ensure access to state government information and services, I will hold outreach office hours at the following locations on Thursday, Sept. 10:  • Emporium Borough Office – 9-10 a.m.  • Port Allegany Borough Office – 11 a.m. to noon. As always, you are welcome to stop by my offices in Bradford (78 Main St., first floor), Coudersport (107 S. Main St., Room 1) or Kane (55 Fraley St.) Monday through Friday, or visit my website at RepCauser.com or my Facebook page at Facebook.com/RepCauser for the latest news from state government.                    Great Turnout for Ambulance Service Meeting Thank you to everyone who came out to the “Save Our Ambulance Services” meeting on Monday night in Port Allegany. More than 100 people, including dozens of EMS personnel from throughout the region, as well as state, county and local officials, took part in a much-needed discussion about the challenges faced by these life-saving organizations. While many issues were raised, most of the comments focused on three main areas of concern: funding, training and manpower. It is my goal to establish a task force to further investigate our options to address these problems. To read more about the issue, click here, click here.    Fire, EMS Grant Applications Available Soon Applications for the 2015-16 Fire Company and Volunteer Ambulance Service Grant Program will be available to area fire and rescue organizations starting this Tuesday, Sept. 8. These important public safety grants may be used for construction or renovation of a unit’s station, the purchase or repair of equipment, training or debt reduction. The maximum grant amount is $15,000 for fire companies and $10,000 for volunteer ambulance services. Since its inception, the grant program has provided more than $4 million in funding to fire and ambulance companies in the three-county area. Additional information and the application will be available here. The application period closes Thursday, Oct. 22.     Prescription Drug Disposal Events Set for Sept. 12 To help keep prescription medications out of the hands of those who shouldn’t have them, the U.S. Department of Justice, working with local law enforcement, will hold prescription drug take-back events in our area on Saturday, Sept. 12. These events allow residents to drop off unwanted or expired prescription medications free of charge for safe and convenient disposal. From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., residents can drop their medications off at the following local sites: Pennsylvania State Police in Coudersport: 3140 E. Second St., Coudersport. Pennsylvania State Police in Emporium: 12921 Route 120, Emporium. Pennsylvania State Police in Warren: 22001 Route 6, Warren. Coudersport Borough Police Department: 201 S. West St., Coudersport. McKean County Sheriff’s Department at Penn State Extension Office: 17129 Route 6, Smethport. City of Warren Police Department: 318 W. Third Ave., Warren. For more information, click here.   Local Tax Return Letters are Not a Scam We’ve been notified by Berkheimer Tax Administrators, which is the local tax collector for many areas of the state, about a situation in which many people may disregard letters about the non-filing of their 2014 local tax returns – based on what they’ve seen on social media. Letters were sent over the past four to six weeks to taxpayers who may not have filed their local returns, and the fear is that some may throw these letters away. The social media post contends that the letters are a scam and that they should not respond to them. THIS IS FALSE! Due to the fact that it has become apparent that this falsehood is continuing to spread, the tax collection agency has posted this message on its website: “If you received a 2014 Local Earned Income Tax Reminder Notice, our records show that no return was received from you. If have already submitted the tax return to our office, please return the Reminder Notice with a copy of your entire return (the tax form and all supporting documentation) to P.O. Box 25108, Lehigh Valley PA 18002-5108. Act 32 of 2008 requires taxpayers to file a return of an income tax and/or to pay an income tax. Act 192 of 2004 permits the taxing district and tax collector to impose the costs of collecting any delinquent taxes directly upon the taxpayer’s account. To avoid unnecessary costs and charges, you should promptly file and pay your earned income taxes accordingly.”