The Committee of Seventy has called for the mayor and City Council
to be more aggressive and creative in finding ways to trim the cost of
city government. Now we want to know what you think. Do you have a good
idea?
Send us your best suggestions.
As Mayor Nutter and City Council maneuver over the final form of Philadelphia's next budget, their thoughts will be on a little-known but vitally important state agency that is watching over their shoulders. And the head of that agency - The Pennsylvania Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority - is openly suggesting that there may be big problems with the budget plan the city is working out. We look at the history and powers of PICA and examine what would happen if it doesn't accept the latest budget.
The day before Council considers yet another tax hike, the Committee of Seventy releases an open letter calling on Mayor Nutter, City Council President Verna, and members of Council to begin responding to hard times with imagination and flexibility. We ask them to consider serious ways to reduce costs and make government more effective and efficient.
With just weeks left to work out its version of the city budget, City Council is getting serious about whether Philadelphians will have to pay more in taxes. On May 13 at noon, Council will hold a hearing on a plan to hike property taxes by as much as 9 percent. It is also considering imposing a new tax on some tobacco products.
Philadelphia has it pretty bad budget-wise this year. But if it is any consolation, we’re not alone. Just about every city, county, and state government is facing budget problems brought on by the bad economy. In fact, a few places have it far worse (including talk of bankruptcy in Los Angeles and our own capital city, Harrisburg). But one thing is clear – lots of places are doing things differently than Philadelphia, where city leaders seem intent this year on raising taxes while avoiding potentially painful service cuts. We're taking a look at how other governments are handling the budget crisis and highlighting some cases where their approach is both creative and far-sighted, making changes that will have a positive effect for years to come.
City Council has just one month to hammer out its version of the $3.9 billion budget. The decisions that Council and the mayor will make in the days ahead will determine the kind of city we live and work in far into the future. The Committee of Seventy is starting a special series of our “IN THE KNOW” feature to help Philadelphians understand the issues, the politics, and the consequences of this year’s budget process, the third year in a row with the city facing a major budget deficit. We’ll look behind the seemingly dry facts and figures of the budget to help those that live and work in the city understand how and why their tax money is being spent.
Although massive layoffs and emergency health center closings aren’t predicted – as they were last year on an almost daily basis – the city’s financial struggles are far from over. City officials have already announced at least a $31 million deficit, a number that could grow higher. City Council will be hearing testimony for the FY2011 budget over March, April and May 2010, click here for the schedule.
During these lean times, most of us are figuring out what to cut from the family budget and ways to put a little more in the piggy bank. Imagine making these choices when nearly 60% of what has to go out the door is still a question mark. That’s what Philadelphia is now facing. As of publication, contracts for three of the City's biggest unions on issues including employees’ wages and benefits – which make up almost 60% of the general operating budget – are still unresolved. This Q&A exlpores strong connection between labor costs and the budget.
On March 4, 2010, Mayor Michael Nutter will make his Annual Budget Address to the city. Between now and the July 1 start of Fiscal Year 2011, Mayor Nutter and City Council will have tough decisions to make. This In The Know is the first installment in a series that will highlight issues that will surface during the budget discussions.
We hope you will e-mail us at budget@seventy.org to suggest other issues or to let us know if we’ve got something all wrong.
In the summer of 2009, the Committee of Seventy released
PHILADELPHIA’S LONG, HOT SUMMER, a comprehensive easy-to-read, easy-to-understand three-part series for non-experts on the Fiscal Year 2010 budget, labor negotiations and city workers’ pension plan.
While some of the information pertains only to what was happening in June-July 2009, the series provides a lot of background materials that remain current year after year.
If you have the time, we invite you to take a look at PHILADELPHIA’S LONG, HOT SUMMER:
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PART I: CRUNCH TIME ON THE BUDGET •
PART II: THE CITY AND ITS UNIONS: DEAL OR DISASTER? •
PART III: PENSIONS: THE ELEPHANT IN THE LIVING ROOM •
UPDATES TO THE SERIES • Download the Full Series as a PDF
here.
Another terrific resource for background information that we highly recommend was published by the Pennsylvania Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority (PICA), the city’s fiscal watchdog:
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Get a handle on the numbers with PICA's Citizen's Guide to the Budget here. (PDF)