Now that Mayor Nutter has made his budget proposal, City Council is set to begin holding hearings to debate the details. To help keep you up to speed, we'll be publishing "cheat sheets" with important facts and figures about the department being debated, and telling you how and when to share your thoughts with Council. After the hearings, we'll solicit your "testimony," and hopefully wrap it all up by giving you a chance to design your own city budget.
Time and Location: Tuesday, March 16 @ 10 a.m., City Council chambers (4th floor of City Hall). There’s no public testimony built into the schedule.
What it is: The city’s six-year capital plan, released the same day as the mayor’s budget address, lays out spending on infrastructure and other capital improvements.
Why it matters: Though the five-year operating budget gets the most publicity, the six-year capital budget lays out the city’s plans for maintaining its infrastructure, including everything from which terminals at the Airport get rebuilt to how much money will be spent on repairing police stations.
Where the money comes from: The city funds infrastructure improvements by using state and federal money, and by issuing bonds. That second part means the city is basically borrowing money to fund long-term improvements. The money has to be paid back over the life of the bond with money from the general fund devoted to debt service. So the money doesn't impact this year's deficit ... but needs to be paid eventually.
The city has about $115 million it can still issue in bonds before it hits a state-imposed limit meant to ensure that the city doesn't take on more debt than it can handle.
What's in Nutter's plan? The administration is proposing nearly $8 billion of investment over the next six years, including $2.4 billion for 73 different projects this year — $116.3 million of which will be paid for by the city, mostly through bond sales. Though that seems like a lot — and is an increase over Street administration levels — Nutter argues that the investments are necessary to update the city's aging infrastructure and keep the region competitive with other big cities. Some of the money will also go to supporting multi-year projects the city committed to in previous budgets.
Some of the spending the administration is planning includes:
$17.5 million in street resurfacing.
$14.2 million in recreation center improvements.
$4.13 million in Schuylkill riverfront improvements.
$2.5 million in police facility renovations.
What to expect at the hearing: In his budget address, Nutter pushed several big-ticket capital investments, including $120 million in IT spending over the life of the plan. Expect administration officials to tout this spending as a necessary investment in the city’s future. Also expect council members to be sure their districts get a piece of the pie.
What happened last year: In FY 2010, capital spending got a boost from federal stimulus funds, and Council approved a capital budget of $7.8 billion. That money will dry up over the life of this year’s capital budget.
Previous cheat sheets: The Five-Year Plan.
its obvious the tax base is shrinking in philadelphia....why hasnt the government??? thats the biggest question to ask. the more you continue to raise taxes the more that tax base shrinks. its time to shrink the government, eventually pass on the savings when the economy rebounds and let the city prosper that way rather than the government employees/officials prosper.— davidm1886- investments in IT is necessary to allow the government to shrink, with pending retirements, the city will have a golden opportunity to shrink it's staff without actual layoffs.— dreinterests
- Sad truth - the proposed $8 billion in six years is not nearly enough. Infrastructure nationwide has been perennially underfunded to the point of neglect, and it's all staring to fail now. http://www.infrastructurereportcard.org/state-page/pennsylvania— citylumberjack
- 4 million to the river improvements, hopefully the fire and ems equipment are staffed and don't break down on the way to the fancy river front. How many miles are on your car? Now go to your local fire house and see the trucks the city gives its fire department.— paramediccsmith
MONEY AND JUSTICE DON'T MIX
WILL THE NEW COUNCIL GIVE YOU A SAY?
Tips? Comments? Questions?
Contact:
Doron Taussig:
215-854-5307
doron.taussig@gmail.com
@dorontaussig
Holly Otterbein:
215-854-5809
hm.otterbein@gmail.com
@hollyotterbein
Juliana Reyes:
215-854-5855
juliana.f.reyes@gmail.com
@juliana_f_reyes
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