It’s been a week since the deadline for a state budget passed, and public libraries, schools and rape crisis centers are bracing for the possibility of tighter times even while the memory of last year’s 135-day budget debacle remains fresh.

A repeat is a real fear for many whose funding may be interrupted if it takes too long for Democrats and Republicans in Harrisburg to make a compromise.

“I don’t want to have to go through that again. I don’t want our team to have to go through that again,” said the CEO of Crime Victims’ Center of Chester County, Christine Zaccarelli, who had to witness several similar centers lay off workers and make cuts to stay afloat. “It was super stressful.”

The deadline was June 30, and the first week without a budget ended with no reliable public indication when political leaders would finish the job. The key players in the behind-closed-doors negotiations each gave their own version of an update when asked for one.

A spokesperson for Senate Republican Majority Leader Joe Pittman of Indiana County said the work was continuing and that the Senate — which left Harrisburg a week ago — would not return before Thursday afternoon. At the same time, there was no guarantee members would return this week at all.

Democrats who control the House and the governor’s office lambasted the departure of the Republican-led Senate after its June 30 session day.

A spokesperson for Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro referred to a statement he issued previously that noted Shapiro made his original budget proposal in February. “They (Senate Republicans) should be here and they should be working. We should work through this and finish the job together, and instead, they ran away,” the governor said.

A spokesperson for House Democrats referred to statements made by top Democrats last week when the Senate left town. Rep. Matt Bradford of Montgomery County, the House majority leader, said at the time it was “frustrating beyond belief” that “the Senate is throwing in the towel already.”

During the 135-day period last year when billions of dollars in state funding was withheld, schools cut programs, nonprofits furloughed workers, and counties lost millions of dollars. Those losses occurred via counties’ being forced to borrow money, and by counties losing significant interest income on reserve money they had to spend, rather than save.

“We are all disappointed that this has happened again,” said Kyle Kopko, executive director of the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania. “Everyone is shell-shocked from what happened last year.”

This is the fifth year in a row the state’s political leaders have failed to meet the June 30 budget deadline. Kopko noted that 25 or

30 years ago, there were a number of years when the main budget bill was approved many weeks before the deadline.

Referring to last summer and fall, Kopko said, “Nobody wants to see anything like that happen again.”

Unlike state workers and legislators who continue to receive pay regardless of budget outcomes, many nonprofits rely on state funding and grants to continue operations.

“Eighty-five percent of our public libraries in Pennsylvania are nonprofit charitable organizations,” said Christi Buker, the executive director of the Pennsylvania Library Association. “The state aid to public libraries represents a very stable source of revenue. And when it is delayed, it really creates uncertainty.”

The effects of an impasse on public education can include cuts, paused programs, and delays in hiring new staff.

“When budgets are late, districts cannot fully rely on that funding when it matters most,” said Kevin Busher, Pennsylvania’s School Boards Association chief advocacy officer. “Some are forced to borrow, tap into limited reserves or postpone important investments like facility upgrades.”

While public schools received increased funding in recent years, libraries across the state have not received any such increase since 2001. With today’s prices 1.89 times higher than they were 25 years ago, current state grants for libraries do not even cover inflation.

“Libraries do run on very lean margins, and we have been working for many years to get our funding for the public library subsidy,” said Buker. “Our expenses have continued to increase year over year, and level funding doesn’t help us meet those increasing expenses.”

Meeting inflation and the higher costs of living, however, continues to be a priority in Harrisburg. At least, that is, for Pennsylvania legislators who have continued to enjoy automatic raises every year since 1995.

All of them make more than $113,000 a year and have access to a generous benefits package. Lawmakers in Pennsylvania are the third-highest-paid state legislators in the country despite their failure to pass the budget on time.

Some in their ranks recognize a discrepancy.

“If we’re not doing our job, we shouldn’t be getting paid,” said Rep. Jeremy Shaffer, R-Allegheny. “I think that it is a modest step that we shouldn’t get an automatic pay raise every year if we can’t do our job.”

Shaffer is the prime sponsor of a bill removing the automatic raise for state legislators, however the bill, introduced in September, has yet to make it past the House.

For nonprofits providing care for victims of abuse, the “struggle” is always present, and an unpassed budget affects more than just their employees.

“Survivors matter,” Zaccarelli said. “Please pass the budget.”