Budget is near, contracts upcoming.

It wasn't just the force of old habits that sent Mayor Nutter to City Council's fourth-floor chambers this morning. The former councilman showed up to say thanks for the budget.  Council had just gone through the initial reading of Nutter's first city budget, setting it up for final approval next Thursday. "We got it on time, it's balanced and it's real," Nutter said while mingling with council members after the meeting. "It took a lot of hard work by these folks up here."

Speaking of hard work, Nutter has 10 events on his public calender today stretching from 8:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.  He showed up in Council in part because yesterday was too busy for him to thank members by phone.  Nutter joked about being cloned when reporters noted his schedule.  Nutter also noted that today is the one-year anniversary of his big win in the Democratic mayoral primary that set him up for a landslide victory in November's general election.

Next up for Nutter is the expiring contracts for the city's four municipal unions.  Nutter pledged to go about the negotiations with dignity, respect... and secrecy.  That last bit means no negotiating in public.  That didn't stop reporters from trying to get some details. "Going back to the first thing I said:  We're not going to negotiate in public," Nutter said. "We put in our plan what we think we can afford. All the rest will be discussed at the table."