The urgency surrounding adoption of a complete 2009-10 Pennsylvania budget seemed to evaporate when Gov. Ed Rendell signed what is being referred to as a skeleton budget — in this case, a spending package limited mainly to paying state workers and providing money for his office, public safety and state parks.

But the lack of urgency now in play in the General Assembly smacks of legislative irresponsibility and an unconscionable disregard for counties, local governments, school districts and nonprofit agencies that depend on state money to help them provide social services to the poor.

An Associated Press report Thursday indicated that scores of nonprofit agencies were laying off workers, taking out loans and cutting back to survive without billions of state taxpayer dollars for social services for the poor.

The article went on to say that many nonprofit and local government officials were fearful that another month without final budget action to free up the money would irrevocably tear the state's safety net for tens of thousands of people.

Meanwhile, at the annual conference of the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania earlier in the week, the group expressed deep concern about the continuing final-budget impasse and its impact on the counties, and urged prompt resolution of what months ago became a fiscal debacle.

Butler County Commissioner James Kennedy, who is president of the statewide group, led the effort to make it clear to lawmakers and the governor that what they are not doing in regard to achieving a budget agreement is having serious adverse consequences across the commonwealth.

The message emanating from the commissioners organization needs to be repeated and amplified by municipal and school officials as well as by the service agencies directly impacted by the budget stalemate. It's also time for state residents to become more active in applying pressure on the Legislature and governor to get serious about compromise and to breach the unbending partisanship that so far has stymied any possibility of achieving a budget solution.

It's not in the best interest of the state and its residents for the commonwealth to be operating under such a precarious fiscal situation. Taxpayers have cause to wonder how much the current inability to spend money beyond what the skeleton budget authorizes will in fact add to the state's fiscal morass.

For example, there's the possible adverse financial impact stemming from not being able to pay certain bills on time.

But it was Kennedy's comments at the conference that should make lawmakers of both parties and the governor take notice.

"Our counties want state lawmakers to understand — to really understand — that their lack of action is very real to the families, children, senior citizens and all those who greatly depend upon county government for assistance," he said.

Kennedy warned that all of Pennsylvania's 67 counties face the prospect of layoffs if the lack of an approved state budget persists.

"The danger is absolutely there," he stressed.

Those who have followed the 2009-10 budget debate — or lack of productive debate — for so long feared that the budget urgency would dissipate once a temporary budget was in place.

That fear has come to pass, although legislative leaders are undoubtedly working behind the scenes in an attempt to overcome areas of disagreement.

Regardless, it's troubling that no signficant progress is evident and that individual lawmakers now seem so detached from a crisis that is so very real.

The budget inaction is a serious threat to the workings of counties, municipalities, school districts and social services. As each day passes, it also should be a growing threat to the legislative careers of the lawmakers who remain so powerless and so beholden to stubborn partisanship that they refuse to step forward to try to lead the charge for a budget settlement.