Philadelphia budget at risk as House delays critical vote
In an ominous development for Mayor Nutter's budget, state House leaders have delayed a critical vote on Philadelphia budget relief and pension legislation amid growing signs there are not enough votes to pass the bill as drafted.
The delay brings Philadelphia that much closer to enacting the so-called "Plan C" budget, which could yield up to 3,000 layoffs, including deep cuts in personnel and services in core city departments like Police, Fire and sanitation.
If the Democratic House amends the bill, which seems increasingly likely, the bill would be sent back to the Republican-controlled Senate. Senate leaders have indicated they will not accept a bill that differs fundamentally from the one they sent to the House last week.
The city's budget relief requests -which include a two year deferral of pension payments and a one penny per dollar increase in the sales tax - are not the sticking point in the legislation.
Rather, the debate is over sweeping pension reforms that the Senate added to the bill last week. The new language would cap pension benefits for union workers in Philadelphia, and compels the city to lower the cost of future retirement benefits by 20 percent or face stiff sanctions. The bill also includes provisions that would overhaul the municipal pensions of dozens of other municipalities across Pennsylvania, including Pittsburgh.
Union leaders, who were initially caught by surprise by the Senate's vote, have rallied in a hurry, and they now appear to have generated enough resistance in the House to put the bill's passage at serious risk.
In an impromptu press conference outside his office moments ago, Mayor Nutter again urged Harrisburg to pass the legislation as quickly as possible, but he seemed to recognize that its prospects in the House were dim.
"This is exactly the kind of thing we were fearful of," Nutter said, referring to a scenario where the city's budget relief legislation got caught up in broader political debates.
Because the city must assume it will not get the legislation it needs until Gov. Rendell actually signs a bill, the Nutter administration is continuing to take steps to enact Plan C. On Thursday, the city is scheduled to sent 30-day notices to many of its contractors terminating business. Barring passage of a bill, layoff notices will be sent to thousands of city workers by Sept. 18, though the layoffs would not take effect until Oct. 2.
for Philly.com's politics page.