Mayor Nutter formally presented a $3.87 billion budget to City Council this morning, calling on its members to approve a new tax on sugary drinks and a $300 annual trash fee in order to avoid cuts that would “devastate” city services.
“The deep budget cuts required to fill the deficit would force massive layoffs and a very noticeable reduction in city services. It’s a path we should avoid,” Nutter said.
If approved by City Council, the two new revenue sources would raise $146.6 million next year and $185 million in future years. Together, the fee and tax are enough to eliminate the city’s projected $150 million deficit.
Though the mayor told Council that Philadelphia continues to face serious economic challenges, his overall tone was upbeat, and he used the occasion to repeatedly tout his administration’s accomplishments.
“I believe that Philadelphia is uniquely positioned for greatness in this new century. We’re at the right place, at the right time and we have what it takes to create huge economic growth and prosperity for our city, a city that is safe, smart and sustainable,” Nutter told Council.
Calling his administration “battle tested,” Nutter said his vision for Philadelphia is “based on its fighting spirit.” And he urged residents to embrace his sense of optimism.
“For years now, Philadelphians have been engaged in a great internal debate between our betters angels who have hope, who see possibility and who want change, and those whose cynicism and lack of an imagination freeze them in a past of low expectations,” Nutter said.
The mayor used his address to reach out, by name, to every member of City Council, and he praised specific accomplishments of each council person.
Nutter also emphasized the spending cuts and efficiencies his administration has enacted since the nationwide economic crisis began.
“In extraordinary times, we’ve met the challenge of recession. We’ve innovated, we’ve reformed and we’ve preserved the basic services that Philadelphians want and deserve,” Nutter said.
Towards the end of his 50 minute address, Nutter called the mayor's office a "humbling place," and he acknowledged he has "made some mistakes."
"I ask your forgiveness for my mistakes, but I also ask for your continued support as we all strive together to serve the citizens of our city," Nutter said.
The outlines of Nutter’s budget have been clear for several days, but the mayor’s address did contain a few nuggets of news.
* All of the city’s functioning pools – 69 of 72 – are funded in Nutter’s proposed budget.
* Wage and business tax cuts, which had been tabled when the economic crisis struck, are now included in the mayor’s five-year plan, but not until 2014.
* The city will work with a pro bono consultant to seek further efficiencies.
* Capital investment in technology would be sharply increased. Nutter proposes sinking $120 million into technology over the next six years.
* Nutter plans to overhaul the largely inactive Mayor's Commission on Literacy.
$120 million into technology? What!?!? We are being taxed twice for the same thing and he is including NEW SPENDING! WHAT AN IDIOT! If anyone in Council passes this they will NOT be reelected.— psyrus- I smell a rat. The city has 600,000 households. At $300 a pop, that is $180 Million a year just for the trash fee. If you assume 50% of the households only pay $200 because they are "poor", the total tax revenue would still be $150 Million. Why don't the Inky reporters ask questions about this?— justablogger99
- I have a suggestion for the City of Philadelphia....turn their trash/waste to energy. My company has the technology and the city can save millions!— Agonza2000
- The city has to make cuts, and a leader is able to explain the need for those cuts. We can't afford free rec centers, free pools, free health centers. This stuff to have fees to use or be privatized. The YMCA can buy rec centers and pools. Nonprofits can take over health centers, getting a good deal even, below market cost. But the city has to cut these positions and costs. NYC did this and they are still doing great. People still get the same uses out of the facilities even though these formerly city owned entities now have private or nonprofit owners.— CleanupPhilly
- The city is owed $400 million in overdue property taxes that will be paid when these properties are exposed to sheriff sale. The city is owed $1 billion in forfeit bail by court no shows that will be collected when the city fixes the Office of the Clerk of Quarter Sessions. The waste, patronage, and inefficiency are what Nutter simply has not changed. AVI can still go in place -- there's no reason to wait until assessment and appeals functions are voted to be separate agencies. Let's end every BRT patronage employee. They are not needed, and they are not doing the job. Nutter has to be decisive. He is a mayor in a strong-mayor type government. He doesn't City Council's permission to do all of this. Nutter is going to have to take his own advice and lead on this, without Council signing off. Cuts are a must. Mass cuts.— CleanupPhilly
- @justablogger99 - they don't expect 100% compliance. Since it's going to be added to the RE tax, if you don't pay the RE tax, you don't pay the new fee. The only time this becomes an issue is when you sell your property cause then the city will have liened your house. Otherwise, there's no reason to pay it. For landlords who have already bought their rentals, they are free to ignore the fee and their RE taxes, especially if they are already not getting a landlord license anyways. What's the city going to do? It's not like they're going to evict the tenants. That would make too much sense.— jhchang
I have a better idea, just take your trash to the abandoned house or lot that is closest to your house and throw it there. Be sure to burn all the mail and stuff that has your name on it. For the recycling, get together with some neighbors and anything that has a deposit, take it over to jersey for the cash!- Justablogger is right that the math doesn't add up on the trash fee either. This will be like the sales tax -- much less than projected, leaving the city scrambling. Why isn't the press asking about the uncollected property taxes and bail? Property taxes are collected with no problem in other counties, so why not here? We have to have a functioning, apolitical, blind, objective assessment and collection process for property taxes. We tried to move away from property taxes with wage and business taxes, and it didn't work. Now we have to move back to using property taxes like every other county and school district does.— CleanupPhilly
- If the city can't collect real estate taxes effectively, then how does it propose to collect trash taxes? If the city won't sheriff sale property that owes money, even if it is vacant, a shell, a lot, even if it is a parcel of properties owned by one owner, how does it plan to collect trash taxes? The inherent injustice to those of us who do pay is high time for the press to address. I should not have to pay the bills for my neighbors who are not held to the same standard I am. There cannot be two sets of rules anymore. There's one rule -- pay your property taxes or lose your house to auction. If Nutter can't do this, he has to turn it over to the state.— CleanupPhilly
- Can someone help me understand the Mayor's little parable about optimism and cynicism? If you try to live within your means one year and reduce the amount of facilities and services from archaic and unnecessary levels, but you give up because too many narrow-minded interest groups vocally complained, and instead you just raise taxes two years in a row, try to call them fees instead of taxes, and then actually add back some of the few facilities you did manage to close, do you want change, or are you frozen in the past?— anodyne
- Let me give you some examples of how badly Nutter is failing in not addressing property tax collection. There are numerous properties that owe property taxes in my neighborhood and the owners are all able perfectly well to pay in 19146, or SWCC. But the city's system of collection makes property tax payment optional. These houses are vacant, and owe over $18,000 per property -- 2320 Fitzwater, and 2149 Catharine are both empty but the city won't certify them for sheriff sale. We have to do it, the neighbors, with a fee of $800 to "certify" that we will bid on the property, even though property sells like hotcakes in this zip code at sheriff sale. That fact never enters into the decision to sheriff sale properties to pay for schools and services. The whole system is completely bereft of common sense. The Democrats absolutely want it this way, because they understand the reality of the problem, and choose to do nothing. Why? Look up the blighted house in your neighborhood and see how much it owes at www.phila.gov/revenue and click on "Real Estate Tax Balances/Payments." Getting rid of empty houses and blighted properties renovates neighborhoods, improves the property tax revenues coming in by increasing equity, and adds a paying customer to the property tax base. Everyone wins. Why won't the city auction properties that are just empty or vacant lots that owe property taxes? It's gotten beyond absurd, and it really seems like there must be Fumo level system of corruption to have this bottleneck in collection.— CleanupPhilly
- Jannie Blackwell is blocking the mayor from making layoffs, but I don't understand why he gives her that much power. Is it going to be impossible to elect a Democrat in Philly if there are some layoffs? Must the Democrats buy votes? Certainly Blackwell believes that is the case, that she presides over a quid pro quo system that hands out favors. The truth is that people can find other jobs -- Philly is weathering the recession better than most places. There will have to be layoffs of city employees, and the Democrat model of a city job for every election worker must finally come to a close, 100 years after it should have.— CleanupPhilly
- I've certified many properties for sheriff sale for nonpayment of property taxes, using the refundable $800 mechanism, but my question is to the journalists, why do I have to this? Why can't the city do this? City Council claims it will "certify" a property for collection without the neighborhood having to do it, but the reality is that Council aides turn around and undo that very non-monetary certification. They play both sides, the deadbeat and those of us fighting to get deadbeats to pay up or sell. The city can't afford this deadbeat vote, and Nutter has to block Council from interfering (it's theft municipal services anyway, a felony) in property tax collection matters. City Council staff stop sheriff sales for empty houses, vacant lots, drug houses -- there's no vote Council won't try to buy using a corrupt quid pro quo interference with property tax collection. Council is going to get sued for doing this. The city is going to get sued for not collecting property taxes in a fair, objective, legal manner. It's prima facie corruption to have half a billion in uncollected property taxes.— CleanupPhilly
Comment removed.- AMEN, Vinnie. What about the BRT employees in the PSD budge? Why are they still here? The mayor has to act. He's simply trying to do nothing as much as possible. He has to make cuts and layoffs like every major city, county, and state. The longer we keep spending like mad, the closer we get to state takeover. That must be Nutter's intention.— CleanupPhilly
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