After Gov. Ed Rendell presented his second budget plan for a "new Pennsylvania" last week, local state legislators responded to the plan, most critically.

The plan calls for increased spending on public education and job creation, a property tax cut and an 34 percent increase in Pennsylvania's personal income tax. That increase is intended to repair a property tax system that Rendell tagged a "statewide disgrace."

Local Republicans in the General Assembly were wary of the plan, saying it left many unanswered questions.

State Rep. Rod E. Wilt, Sugar Grove Township, R-17th District, claimed substantially higher benefits will go to Jamestown schools, but every one else will pay more in income taxes. The plan might work, he said, if taxpayers buy into a large tax increase.

"Maybe there's more people that don't mind paying taxes," he said.

Rep. Richard R. Stevenson, Grove City, R-8th District, said a large tax increase is questionable in the midst of Pennsylvania's economic slowdown. Stevenson said there's no telling how Rendell's plan will affect local taxpayers because it varies from district to district.

"Is the gain worth the pain of the tax increase?" he asked.

In a released statement, state Sen. Robert D. "Bob" Robbins, Salem Township, R-50th District, also disputed arguments that the plan will help local residents. He said taxpayers might end up paying higher taxes with no real benefit to countywide schools.

"This really isn't tax reform, it's tax shifting," he said.

State Rep. Michael C. Gruitza, Hermitage, D-7th District, the lone Democrat in the county's Harrisburg delegation, said he supports Rendell's plan. Gruitza called it "very ambitious."

He said all school districts would receive some increase in funding and Mercer County would see about $9.9 million in property tax reductions, he said.

"One thing that's clear, if the state does not provide the funding from Harrisburg, the local districts will be faced with going back to the property taxes for those funds," he said.

If the income tax increase is approved, a family earning $100,000 would pay $950 more a year; a family earning $60,000 would pay $570 more a year; and a family of four earning up to $31,000 a year would not pay state income taxes.

Wilt said those numbers don't add up.

"The numbers prove the average taxpayer in each school district will be paying more than what the reduction in the property taxes are," Wilt said.

New taxes would also be applied to out-of-state long distance calls, beer, traffic tickets and cell phone use. Both Robbins and Stevenson questioned why Rendell never addressed large cuts in library funding and drug and alcohol programs in his earlier budget.

"It's disappointing to see these dollars being spent on a whole new list of programs, while cuts to libraries are not restored in the governor's plan," Robbins said.

Gruitza argued that the new taxes will support schools and economic development, two of the most pressing local issues. Gruitza acknowledged there's much work to be done between now and July 1, when the next fiscal year begins.

For any of his "ambitious" plans to be realized, Rendell's budget must receive approval from the legislature and that largely depends on the Democratic governor's ability to negotiate with the Republican party, which controls both chambers of the legislature.

"Without their fair cooperation and some compromise, nothing can happen," Gruitza said.