An Associated Press news analysis published in last Sunday's Mirror began by saying that "for the third time in a dozen years, counties and nonprofit agencies that make up Pennsylvania's social services safety net are girding to pay the price of partisan deadlock in Harrisburg."

It's an unacceptable scenario precipitated by stubborn, unproductive partisanship and an unwillingness to compromise. It's troubling that Pennsylvania's elected officials so often cannot get serious about important responsibilities or issues until a deadline is close or has passed.The unfinished 2015-16 budget-preparation exercise, which is at the heart of counties' and social service agencies' current fears, is one such situation a situation that merits state residents' anger.Beyond the actual budget stalemate, what usually isn't talked about are costs associated with such stalemate.Unfortunately, state taxpayers might be on the verge of witnessing another example of stalemate-related fiscal irresponsibility for which they might have to pay a hefty price a possible money crunch within the Legislature.The General Assembly might have to borrow money to keep itself operating until a new budget is in place.Meanwhile, agreement on a budget might take weeks or months to achieve, judging from how little progress apparently has been made on controversial spending and tax issues to date.According to an Aug. 3 report by the news and information service Capitolwire, Republicans and Democrats are examining options for making payroll without going "hat in hand" to the executive branch if their reserve funds run out. House Speaker Mike Turzai, R-Allegheny, told a Pennsylvania Press Club luncheon that the House GOP was considering seeking a line of credit from a bank to cover operational costs if reserve funds run out.Meanwhile, a spokesman for House Democratic Leader Frank Dermody, D-Allegheny, said that party's caucus is looking at "alternative contingency plans," including seeking a credit line from a financial institution, if the need arises.If borrowing by the Legislature is necessary, those loans will require payment of interest. Those interest payments will be made with revenue collected from taxpayers not a prospect that taxpayers should relish, not when there was a way for the Legislature and Gov. Tom Wolf to meet the June 30 budget deadline without a stalemate.After receiving Wolf's budget proposal in March, the Legislature should have delved into its details, line by line, for a couple of weeks, then began serious meetings with the governor to examine points of agreement and areas of disagreement all with a give-and-take mindset prevailing by both sides.Instead, without first having held such meetings, the Legislature passed a budget that it had to know Wolf would veto. Now, more than a month after the June 30 budget deadline, the stalemate persists, with virtually no hints of substantial progress having been made and counties' and social service agencies' fears continuing to multiply.The Legislature and governor need to get serious about passing a budget so no costly General Assembly borrowing becomes necessary, and state residents need to start delivering a stern message to that effect to Harrisburg without delay.The Altoona Mirror