Need another reason to drink? How about improving the futures of Philadelphia's kids?
Mayor Nutter and City Council are rarely on the same page these days, but a proposal to increase the “liquor by the drink” tax to help fund the School District’s $60 million request seems to be gaining traction on both sides.
City Council President Darrell Clarke has mentioned the possibility of raising the tax, which now adds 10 percent to your bar bill, in recent budget hearings. Nutter indicated Thursday that it's a proposal his administration is considering.
The mayor voted in favor of creating the tax as a freshman councilman in 1994.
"Council President Clarke and I have talked about that, and I am certainly interested in that kind of proposal but my track record on that one is pretty clear," Nutter said. "That [1994 vote] was a tough vote for a lot of folks but I thought it was the right thing to do then and it’s certainly something that we should explore now.”
The possibility of increasing the tax by 50 percent (to 15 percent per drink) has been floated. The tax brings in more than $45 million per year for the School District. So increasing it by half would not be enough to be the silver bullet martini shaker for funding the schools' request.
A day after Mayor Nutter named seasoned crisis manager Thomas Knudsen chief revenue collections officer; Council president Darrell Clarke introduced a proposal to create a chief revenue generator office.
Coincidence?
Clarke said he has been in discussions with the Nutter administration for the last two years on new ways to generate money other than through tax hikes including a proposal for municipal marketing which has been at a standstill. But he says he has talked about these measures until he’s “blue in the face.”
“There are a number of ways to generate revenue other than traditional sources as it relates to taxing individuals. We need to be creative it’s not rocket science,” Clarke said, adding that it could help with lower the rate on property-taxes and the underfunded pension fund. “What I’d like to see is someone responsible for implementing these various proposals.”
Revenue generation has been a hot topic in light of the city’s new property-tax system, the Actual Value Initiative –an effort to correct a terribly flawed system under which some residents will see spikes to their tax bills.
Tom Knox, a wealthy Philadelphia businessman who seems to crave media attention for political ambitions,declared Thursday morning that he will not run for governor in 2014 but may run for mayor in 2015.
"After careful consideration and many discussions with people whom I deeply respect, I am seriously considering a run for mayor of Philadelphia in 2015," Knox said via an emailed statement to reporters.
Knox finished second in the 2007 Democratic primary for mayor, ran briefly for governor in 2009 and 2010 and then toyed publicly for months with the idea of running again for mayor in 2011 as a Democrat or independent.
In February, Knox issued a news release saying he had a "serious intent to mount another campaign for political office." He just didn't know which office.
Knox, who would certainly face a crowded Democratic primary race for mayor, on Thursday promised a "formal announcement of my plans in the very near future."
Federal prosecutors want details about how the Delaware River Port Authority in recent years spent money on projects unrelated to its official duties, according to a subpoena obtained by the Daily News.
Mayor Nutter on Wednesday named Tom Knudsen his first chief collections officer and announced other shakeups in top administration posts.
Nutter on Thursday will likely veto Councilman Bill Greenlee's paid sick-leave bill. The question today is whether Greenlee has enough support for the measure to override the veto.
And Helen Ubinas thinks respite care for the homeless should be a goal for the city.
The city has paid nearly $54 million for workers' comp claims for fiscal year 2011 -- a 26 percent increase from what the city paid five years ago, according to a report by City Controller Alan Butkovitz.
The report cites concerns pertaining to excessive use of physical therapy in which costs have jumped by 25 percent to $4.4 million. In 49 of the 165 claims tested workers made 30 or more visits to physical therapy which in some cases were up to 15 months beyond the date of injury. Butkovitz said this was "well beyond the average three-month standard regimen after which a physical therapist will release a patient from physical therapy."
He said that leads to higher medical expenses and allows workers to collect benefits under the Workers' Compensation Program for a much longer period of time.
The report also revealed that some city workers have a history of filing several workers' comp claims including 386 who have filed 11 or more claims and 2,203 workers that filed five to ten claims during their employment.
Butkovitz said there needs to be better management of the use of physical therapy and perhaps better training for those workers that are constantly injured on the job.
Mayor Nutter on Wednesday named Thomas Knudsen as Philly's first chief collections officer, a position the mayor created to deal with tax-collection problems across city government.
Knudsen gained a reputation as an effective crisis manager by guiding the School Reform Commission and Philadelphia Gas Works through periods of turmoil.
Nutter also named Clarena Tolson, formerly of the Streets Department, as the new revenue commissioner. She is replacing Keith Richardson, who will lead the Philadelphia Housing Authority's Development Corporation.
Dave Perri, of the transportation and utilities office, will replace Tolson as head of Streets.
The difference between the chief collections officer and the revenue commissioner is that the former will coordinate efforts across all city departments that collect taxes or fines (Fire Department, Licenses & Inspections, etc.), whereas the latter operates within the Finance Department.
The creation of the new position was based in part on a recommendation from FTI Consulting, which the administration hired to find spending and collections efficiency in city government.
Councilwoman Marian Tasco on Tuesday literally called “bulls---” on the administration’s explanation for why a rec center in her district was delayed last year.
Tasco last week accused Mayor Nutter’s administration of delaying a planned $3.5 million renovation at Oak Lane’s Sturgis Recreation Center because she opposed an issue related to Nutter’s plan to sell the Philadelphia Gas Works. Nutter’s spokesman, Mark McDonald, said the delay happened because the administration was focused on “other pressing issues.”
“What was the priority over Sturgis? There was nothing wrong with that project. The money was there. There was no question,” Tasco on Tuesday asked Nutter’s chief of staff, Everett Gillison, during a lengthy exchange.
“The only thing I would differ with you on-” Gillison said.
“Just stop cause all of that is bulls---,” Tasco interrupted.
Gillison maintained throughout the interrogation that Tasco’s project was not singled out for political reasons and that many capital projects get delayed.
Businessman Tom Wolf, who served as secretary of revenue for two years during Gov. Rendell's second term, officially entered the 2014 Democratic primary election for governor Tuesday by pledging to invest $10 million of his own money in the race. Jay Howser, a Wolf spokesman, said the candidate is confident he can raise another $5 million for the primary.
That would seem to make Wolf a financial front-runner. U.S. Rep. Allyson Schwartz and state Treasurer Rob McCord are expected to enter the Democratic race. Schwartz had $3.1 million in a federal account as of Dec. 31 that she can transfer to a state campaign. McCord had $1.5 million as of Dec. 31. Both have been actively fund-raising since then.
Wolf lives in Mount Wolf, north of York. He looked past Democratic rivals in his announcement, firing his first political salvos against Gov. Corbett. Wolf said Corbett has spent his first term as governor, "putting politics over policy; corporations over people; and giving away our natural resources to the highest bidder."
Wolf was planning to run for governor four years ago but said he learned that a business that has been in his family for six generations, supplying home products like kitchen cabinets and outdoor decking, was on the brink of collapse. He dropped the campaign to right the business. His holdings in the business before that were in a blind trust, he said.
Wolf said Rendell has been helpful with advice on how to run for governor. John Hanger, a secretary for environmental protection for Rendell has already declared his candidacy. Kathleen McGinty, another former DEP secretary for Rendell, filed paperwork recently to explore a run.
Wolf said the Rendell alumni, along with likely candidates U.S. Rep. Allyson Schwartz and state Treasurer Rob McCord, will make a strong field for the Democratic primary.
U.S. Rep. Allyson Schwartz has not officially announced her plans to run for governor in 2014 and not seek reelection to her 13th District seat in parts of Philadelphia and Montgomery County. But that has not stopped the rush to replace her in the U.S. House.
State Rep. Brendan Boyle of Northeast Philly announced Tuesday morning that he has hired two former staffers from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, a few hours before state Sen. Daylin Leach held a conference call with reporters to announce his candidacy for the 13th District. Leach said Schwartz's public comments about her interest in the Democratic primary election for governor made him comfortable declaring for her seat.
“I think she’s been very clear," Leach said. "Allyson Schwartz is a serious person. I don’t think she talks about running for governor frivolously. I think she means it."
Schwartz has said she will not run for reelection to the House and governor at the same time next year. Leach, a member of the state House for five years before winning a state Senate seat in 2008, said he will keep his state office while running for Congress. His current term runs through 2016.
Leach's pitch for Congress starts with a very personal story about his childhood, growing up fatherless in Northeast Philly and being put into foster care homes when his mother could no longer care for him and an elderly parent. Leach said good teachers and access to public libraries during tough times in his childhood "literally saved my life."
“So I’m running to make sure that everyone is included in the prosperity and wealth of America," Leach said. “The economy can’t just work for a few people at the top while everyone continues to struggle more and more.”
Leach and Boyle recently spent a week in Israel as part of a legislator's trip to the region. He said they teased each other about potentially facing each other for Schwartz's seat. “I am not running against anyone, " Leach added. "I am running for the issues I care about.”
Boyle on Tuesday said he had hired a former political director and former finance director for the DCCC. His announcement was short on details about their new duties and did not mention Schwartz's seat.
Thousands of Philadelphians on Monday got a new district City Council person and likely didn't even know it.
Will Bunch tells the story of a man trying to clear his son's name - even after he's been freed.
And Helen Ubinas thinks it's time to rename the Italian Market.
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David Gambacorta spent a small eternity writing about cops, drug dealers and serial killers. Now he’s writing about power and politics – which sometimes reminds him of the old crime beat. He joined the Daily News in 2005. And yes, he knows you’re not quite sure how to pronounce his last name. E-mail tips to gambacd@phillynews.com
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Jan Ransom, a native New Yorker, joined the Daily News in 2010 after graduating from Howard University. She has since written about the difficulty of filing police complaints, tax deadbeats and life after violent home invasions. She joined the Daily News City Hall Bureau in 2011 and has plunged headfirst into reporting on administration budget battles and City Council shenanigans. E-mail tips to ransomj@phillynews.com
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Sean Collins Walsh is from Bucks County and went to Northwestern University. He joined the Daily News copy desk in 2012 and now covers the Nutter administration. Before that, he interned at papers including The New York Times, The Dallas Morning News and The Seattle Times. E-mail tips to walshSE@phillynews.com
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