With death of soda tax, Nutter's budget and clout are hurting
Philadelphia City Hall and political coverage from the Philadelphia Inquirer City Hall bureau.
With death of soda tax, Nutter's budget and clout are hurting
Patrick Kerkstra and Jeff Shields
With the failure of his much lobbied for soda tax this morning, Mayor Nutter's budget and political clout are both in trouble.
Let's take the budget first. In a letter this morning to City Council, Nutter chief of staff Clay Armbrister warned that - without a soda tax or a bigger property tax hike - the mayor would be forced to trim an additional $20 million and 300 positions from the budget that Council has put together. Council leaders reject that view. They say the budget is balanced, with a $42 million fund balance. The Nutter administration considers that balance way too low, and warn that it does not "provide enough money to cover the cash flow requirements of the city nor meet the requirements of a prudent five year plan."
But council is not budging. There will be no vote on the soda tax today. The budget Council will vote on today includes a 9.9 percent property tax hike and a $300 annual trash fee for small businesses and multi-unit residences. There is no appetite on Council for any tax hikes on top of those.
Council also just overrode a Nutter veto on separate legislation that guarantees city paramedics the right to stay in the same bargaining unit as city firefighters. The override was led by Councilman Jim Kenney, who has been among Nutter's allies on council.
Taken together, Nutter's defeat on the soda tax and the veto override are bound to raise questions in the chattering classes about the mayor's political clout.
Click here for Philly.com's politics page.
yay no soda tax!— DaniS- TERM LIMITS!!! VOTE COUNCIL OUT!!! the city needs to cut there payroll budget!! get Gov Christie to show them how!!!!— dianeoc
- Nutter should have NO CLOUT! All of his proposals wind up getting defeated. Hasn't made a right call yet.— Kennedy
Let's hope this is the beginning of the end for Nutter...- How about trimming useless positions and outrageous salaries? Start there!! Are the reports of city officials taking long breaks and just hanging out at work should cut the budget nicely!— starz
- the interesting thing is council was unwilling to take up any legislation that would've lowered pension costs out of supposed respect for city workers and the collective bargaing process. And yet they approve a budget that will leave no money for new contracts and lead to layoffs. They are using the budget as an indirect method to cut city employment and compensation for city workers. If they wanted to do that they should've jumped in earlier and took a stand on the pension issue.— Yakov
- They should raise the wage tax higher - its too low as it is.— phillyfrunce
- @phillyfrunce You're joking right? You think we should be forced to pay a wage tax that's higher than anywhere else I know of in the state? The wage tax effectively negates the competitive advantage of lower property taxes from living in the city.— bpsmit28
YaHoo Mountian Dew not extra taxes due! Is it true ehtical Nutter is using fund to get Council attention! (Just another cheat)- I have to laugh when I read stories about Philadelphia's finances...these same hacks keep getting sent back every four years simply because they have a "D" next to their name. The city's residents will have to reap what they've sown. Something's gotta give, either cut your bloated budget or raise taxes, Nutter is right.— ChrisInConshy
Comment removed.- The problem isn't Nutter; it's city council. Every single one of them should resign.— Sam Pileggi
- Raise phillyfrunce's taxes!!!!— Carlo Morelli
- Maybe yhe Mayor should "think outside the box". What a joke.— themarshall
- As I often comment, stop blamming the Democrats (I'm being more specific this time), but please remember that the Republicans 50years ago, were just as corrupt, which is how we wound up with equally corrupt republicans. WHAT WE NEED IS MIXED GOVERNMENT, so that no particular party has a stranglehold on government. In that mix we also need to include 3rd parties such as the Greens, Socialists, etc.. Please do not tell me that those parties are no good and and that they have nothing to contribute! We need to talk, and have differences of opionions, because YOU'RE NOT RIGHT, AND I'M NOT WRONG!— transitactivistfromthepast
- We need to get rid of the drop program, hold city employees to their retirement date (same for all those politicans, political appointees, and city council). Why do we need so many deputies, upon deputies, collecting the taxpayer's money? We need to demand more accountability, and to OUR CITIZENS, even if you don't vote in political primaries, YOU NEED TO VOTE IN THE GENERAL ELECTION. DON'T VOTE,?, DON'T COMPLAIN! CAN'T FIND SOMEONE YOU FEEL WORTHY OF VOTING FOR, CONSIDER 3RD PARTIES, AND WRITE-INS. Just don't lose that right to vote!— transitactivistfromthepast
- A smoke Filled Room
- Addytood
- American Debate
- Casino Free Philadelphia
- Changing Skyline
- Citizen Hunter
- Citizen Mom
- City Paper
- Daily News
- Evening bulletin
- Fight for Room 215
- Great Expectations
- Hallwatch
- Inquirer
- Judges on Merit
- Keystone Politics
- Legal Intelligencer
- Metro
- Metropolis
- Neighborhood Networks
- PA Clean Sweep
- Phawker
- Philadelphia Business Journal
- Philadelphia Forward
- Philadelphia Weekly
- Philadelphia Will Do
- Philadelphians for Ethical Leadership
- Philebrity
- Philly Blog
- Philly Confidential
- Philly for Change
- Philly Future
- Philly Skyline
- Phillyist
- PICA
- Plan Philly
- Politics PA
- Public Record
- Sunday Sun
- The clog
- The Field Negro
- The Illadelphia
- The Next Mayor
- Trash Me
- Tribune
- Young Philly Politics
