Mayor Nutter this afternoon met with his top staff to talk about how he will continue to implement the Plan C "doomsday" budget this week, as the the city continues to wait for budget relief from state lawmakers.
"This will quite possibly qualify as the most difficult week in any of our respective public service careers," Nutter said to the dozens of top city officials gathered at the Municipal Service Building.
The state House had been scheduled to vote on House Bill 1828 -- which would allow the city to raise the sales tax temporarily and to defer some pension payments -- last Tuesday. But that vote has been delayed due to widespread union complaints over pension amendments tacked on to the bill by the state Senate. The earliest it will happen is now Thursday.
And without the state relief -- worth $700 million over five years -- Nutter is moving forward with his Plan C budget, which calls for the layoff of 3,000 city workers, including police and firefighters. Here are a few new details given out at today's meeting:
Notices will go up at recreation centers and libraries on Thursday, stating that buildings will be closed on Oct 2.
Libraries will continue lending until Sept. 30, but all materials will be due back on Oct.1 in advance of the closure.
Almost all of the police layoffs will come out of patrol, many from the city's most violent neighborhoods.
Some details were still unclear. Officials did not say which health centers were slated for closure or what fire equipment would be shuttered.