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Monday, May 11, 2009

Councilman Kenney: Pass A "Workable Plan" For Budget And Move On

City Councilman Jim Kenney confirms that a tentative deal is in place between City Council and Mayor Nutter on the city budget, dropping the mayor's call to increase property taxes temporarily for two years and leaning instead on Council's proposal to boost the local sales tax by 1 cent for five years.

"I think it’s time to get a workable plan and move on," Kenney said. "Frankly, I’m tired of hearing about it. There’s so many other issues and areas that we could be working on."

Kenney said the tentative deal stays away from two areas that he considered to be potential "major errors":  Increasing wage or business taxes and borrowing $200 million in the early years of a 5-year sales tax increase based on anticipated receipts in the later years.

"I don’t know whose genius idea that was," Kenney said. "But thank God that’s gone."
Posted by Chris Brennan @ 12:56 PM  Permalink | 23 comments
Comments   
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 1:29 PM, 05/11/2009
    Nice to see that Councilman Kenney is on top of raising our taxes...
    — ponoka
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 1:29 PM, 05/11/2009
    If Nutter dropped his property tax hikes, he went with Council's alternative plan. Council's alternative plan calls for a five year sales tax hike that borrows against future sales tax revenue. That sales tax hike is DOA in Harrisburg, so the plan essentially calls for borrowing against a hike that has no support at the state level. There is no way to have the five year sales tax hike cover the shortfall in time unless the city borrows. The plan was to borrow for operating costs against projected revenue. How is that any different? Kenney appears to just be spinning.
    — CleanupPhilly
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 1:31 PM, 05/11/2009
    What are the specifics of this chimera, the "workable plan?"
    — CleanupPhilly
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 1:32 PM, 05/11/2009
    Yes, by all means, get back to passing laws that conflict with state laws (guns, cell phones while driving), regulating every nook and cranny of our lives (cell phones while driving, tooth fillings, plastic bags), and passing off responsibility for approving casino locations to the Planning Commission.
    — anodyne
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 1:37 PM, 05/11/2009
    You get what you all keep voting for!!!!
    — Mike S.
  • Comment removed.
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 1:47 PM, 05/11/2009
    Raise the sales tax one percent is what is needed. Please we are talking about 1 cent on the $. Yes there are problems but it will not be solved with just cutting services . . .we need more money plain and simple.
    — Philly_Avenger
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 1:54 PM, 05/11/2009
    I admire Kenney for giving the appearance that he is working. Vote all of them out on the next election anyway!
    — SayHello2MyLittleFriend
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 2:01 PM, 05/11/2009
    Geez Kenney sounds disappointed that no new taxes were implemented...for a change somebody listened and cared about the people...real estate tax increases at this time would have been devastating to the city in more ways than one...the answer is unpopular but right ...we need to reduce the size of city government and if that means layoffs so be it...it should not mean reduced services...also lets start nurturing business development and build the 2 casinos already
    — phillysmart
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 2:01 PM, 05/11/2009
    Here's an idea, already in front of Council. The likely compromise that would hurt Philadelphians the least would be for the Council to enact a sales tax hike, coupled with our idea to enact a revenue-neutral land value tax, which will ... Read Morereduce homeowners bills, while still collecting taxes from visitors, out of towners and commuters. The Henry George Foundation website www.ourcommonwealth.org explains how.
    — JoshuaVincent
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 2:15 PM, 05/11/2009
    The sales tax hike is DOA in Harrisburg. No one wants to introduce it. This compromise budget needs to have $614 million in cuts and collections. AVI is in place, so it looks like that is still a go unless the AVI implementation stops while Nutter reforms the BRT, so Josh gets part of his wish (AVI is more closely approximate to the land value tax than the previous system). Philly has not shown any inclination to cut the fat in government by going after the patronage waste shops. The property tax collection system is still broken -- the list of properties for auction at sheriff sale for May, 2009 isn't even posted yet online and it's mid-May. See www.phillysheriff.com. There's been no real change to the status quo, no day of reckoning. How council and Nutter plan to do any of this is still a complete mystery.
    — CleanupPhilly
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 2:21 PM, 05/11/2009
    The sales tax is the right plan. It is a tax on the poor which in this case is what we need. In a local economy if you tax the rich they just leave and you end up with a smaller tax base. Worst case taxing the poor is they leave as well, best case they have an incentive to make more money. Tax the vacant land while you're at it and cut the property taxes on well developed sites. Encourage effort, not lack thereof.
    — js5180
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 2:24 PM, 05/11/2009
    Anodyne is not only right, but we just sent H-burg the message that "we don't need their stinking money" by passing the cell phone ban and forfeiting highway and bridge money of some $80 million. Not only was that bad for the ugly finalized South St. bridge design, now downgraded to cement highway overpass, it's going to be an issue when we go to H-burg, no matter how "unified." With one voice we can ask for money from a sales tax hike and with one voice H-burg is going to say "you people are dingbats."
    — CleanupPhilly
  • Comment removed.
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 2:33 PM, 05/11/2009
    I'm not saying the city should hike property taxes, I'm saying that for the sake of good schools, its the most ethical tax to raise so long as property taxes here are lower than the surrounding areas IF you needed the revenue. The best path of all is to cut fat out of the city government. Nutter said he wouldn't do that at first, that it would be too draconian. I can only go by what the people say. I personally think if I was mayor I would cut the city budget projection from $3.84 billion by the $614 million needed to cover the property tax and sales tax hikes. That now seems like what they are going to do, but they don't want to say so in public.
    — CleanupPhilly


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About The Philly Clout Team
PhillyClout
Chris Brennan, a native Philadelphian and graduate of Temple University, joined the Daily News in 1999. He has written about SEPTA, the Philadelphia School District, the legalization of casino gambling, state government, the mayor, the governor, City Council and political campaigns.
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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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Catherine Lucey joined the Daily News in 2002 and has written about murderous drug gangs, political protesters and Harry Potter. After covering the 2007 mayoral election, she moved over to the City Hall bureau where she has been reporting on the Nutter administration.
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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.
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