Council passes tentative budget, without a soda tax
Philadelphia City Hall and political coverage from the Philadelphia Inquirer City Hall bureau.
Council passes tentative budget, without a soda tax
Patrick Kerkstra
City Council gave its approval moments ago to a budget package that includes a host of tax increases - including a 9.9 jump in property taxes and a $300 garbage fee for small businesses and mutli-unit homes - but not the by-the-ounce soda tax Mayor Nutter had lobbied so hard for.
The cash raised by Council's budget ought to be enough, just barely, to cover a deficit that Nutter has described as approaching $150 million. But without a soda tax or further cuts, the city will be left with a fund balance of just over $40 million, a meager cash reserve that could create cash flow problems throughout the year.
Nutter has another week to try and sell his soda tax - which at one point in the afternoon appeared to have majority support - but its prospects do not look good.
The budget package that cleared Council yesterday includes an additional $17 million in spending cuts which have already been widely reported, as well as a new tax on cigars and smokeless tobacco that may well be trumped by a state tax on those same products later this year.
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Comments (24)
Vote all incumbents out the next election, Rendell should run for Mayor again and replace Nutter, if not vote for anyone challenging Nutter and get him out. The major minority demographic of this City is what is keeping this city from making progress. Every head of the government and the schools system is made up of this minority majority and just look at their neighborhoods and how they raise their kids as well as crime. Vote for someone else and change City Council while you are at it, bunch of old fools protecting patronage jobs.
first of all do we really believe this nutter ?? how many times did he lie about the budget deficit?? let us see the numbers mister nutter??I dont believe for one min we have a deficit ...transparency I bet!! Is everyone that works still paying city wages?Is everyone that lives here still paying taxes?? what about the sales tax wasnt that supposed to take care of any future deficits?This guy is a lair then some idiots blame the city workers benifits unions and pay which by the way is the lowest its ever been in the history of city workers.We have less workers per capita than baltimore.All you idiots that beleive this bull should move to baltimore and then youll see the difference between this great city and others .— cityslicker- How do you register to run for a council seat? This is too much. I see the waste from the inside and would love to explore an opportunity to run for a council seat. None of these so called representatives should ever get back into office.— POD
- We have a city run by pathetic morons who owe no accountability to the citizens of this city. But we get what we deserve we elected them. You made your bed so now lay down in it.— lafferty
- AWFUL. Cant wait to sell and get the F out of this sinkhole city. F-ing clueless criminals run this city. CUT SPENDING YOU DUMBAZZES— Nezhy
- A few things. We cannot put the blame of budget deficit in a slumped economy on the current Mayor. Two, the Mayor has made efforts to cut wasteful spending (no more Clerk of Quarter Session, possibly no more BRT, and accountability for City Departments, vehicle fleet reductions). Three, yes more needs to be done, I agree. Let's be ruthless with wasteful spending.— EAvila
- NEW YORK, NY (WPIX) - Long Island exotic dancers gathered Wednesday in a rally to strut their support for a stripper pole tax. Prompted by the prospect of school budget cuts, owners of a gentleman's club and dancers hoped the new tax -- a voluntary surcharge added to a club's admission fees -- will help restore some of the much-needed after school activities.
- Is it legal for City Council and the Mayor to raise the property tax? I thought this was only to be done by the Real Estate Tax Board, can any lawyer sue on behalf of the residents, this is wrong. The last time taxes were raised was 1987, about every two years our taxes are raised by BRT, the last time taxes were raised in 1987 was by City Council, I don't think they have the authority????
- Whoa.. Crazy.
- Glad I got out of the apt house business, it will just be passed on to the tennant any way the poor will only get poorer Good show city council.— George Hanna
- Remember at election time that these people are using our money to finance their ineptitude. But they keep getting elected. When will the republicans put up someone who has a real chance at making this a two party city and can offer ideas other than let's make the middle class a litltle poore. Detroit is in our future.— mcscave
- Who's going to step up? All this talk about "throwing the bums out", but people forget the choices in '07. Taubenberger? Give me a break. No talented person would want a job on city council because it is not about public service. If it was it would be more than a part time job paying six figures. Who will step up and start a separate reform party that takes this City by storm? Until that happens - yes, something radical - then we'll be stuck with this. Stop complaining and start something. As for this ridiculous tax: the shortfall has to be made up somehow. If they're not going to make more cuts (they're not), then I'd at least push consumption taxes. This includes soda. We don't need to consume soda. If you choose to do so, then you should be willing to pay extra. I don't drink soda. I don't smoke either. If people want to do these things they can pay extra. Pushing a property tax through where every homeowner suffers is absolutely ridiculous. Is there a homeowner's lobby that can hold meetings with councilmembers like the bleeping soda lobby does? This is such a bad choice and it was clearly impacted by lobbyists. What a disgrace.— AntiWaste
what about Latrice Bryant and her 90k/year?- spread, what percentage of folks in philly DON'T pay taxes at all? Any idea? You see, whether it is philly, NY, LA or any big city, the tipping point has already been reached.— jalinsgs
- Great, 10 percent more based on assessments no one trusts. Can you say lengthy appeals process?— DJR
- Either decrease the union benefits or start reducing payroll. Until this is part of the bargaining Philly will keep falling further behind as the union benefits take a larger and larger chunk of the budget. More people who can afford to leave will. Poor people stay because they get lots of benefits without paying any taxes. Rich people stay because their Philly home is abated and they don't pay wage taxes becuase the are retired or they list their primary address in the suburbs.— BLKMD
Comment removed.- Perhaps City Council is some primordial fragment from the original big bang of stupid. Some pure essence of a stupid so uncontaminated by anything else as to be beyond the laws of physics that we know. Or perhaps the original big bang of Greed. Hard to say.— Bark man
- Philly has already cut $1.7 billion out of the budget and now a new round of $50 million. But pension costs keep rising. Nutter wants reform; he got a piece with the cops on their pensions; he needs more from DC33 and 47. he needs the right to furlough. It's the main tool to rein in costs. Council ought to grow a set and pass at least a 3/4 cent sugar-sweetened beverage tax. It helps keep the budget balanced and will fund a needed program targeted to poor overweight people who have no concept of proper diet or if they do then they can't afford it. And Kennedy2 instead of whining about fat, bloated payrolls, why don't you offer some evidence instead of running your wingnut Republican mouth.— Pangloss
- There will now be 9.9% more illegal dumping.— Economics
- Comment removed.
- Everybody complains about government spending and taxing but nobody does anything BUT complain. We deserve what we get.— TripleCap
- Should have done soda tax. The stuff is poison with all the high fructose corn syrup and sugar. Then the city has to pay for all the people on wealfare who have diabetes and heart problems from bad diets. They should open a casino downtown. They could earn millions on the backs of gamblers— Four4Four
- So let me get this straight ... "we have a 140 million dollar shortfall but all we'll cut is 17 million" SO ... the balance of the budget gets to be balanced on the backs of Mr. & Mrs. Philadelphian? Seems ridiculous right? Yeah it does to me too. Also, 9.9%?? I'm telling you, they take us for morons. They feel the 9.9 looks better than the double digit increase of 10% (Same difference) This tax increase is egregious. They should've first looked to make decent cuts into their fat & bloated payrolls instead. Nutter 2 - Phila 0. Ironic he wins again, and the people who elected him in 07" are the losers. Hopefully the voters of this city are keeping score w/ me.— kennedy2
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