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Monday, November 9, 2009

Council just can't get enough PR help

My general take, when people talk about addressing city budget problems by cutting Council's budget, is that while the amount of money spent on Council may be objectionable, a fight to cut it down just may not be worth the time. Council's cost, relative to the rest of the city's budget, is really quite small: about $15 million out of a $3.5 billion budget. Yes, symbolism matters. But when you imagine the political capital and energy that would have to be spent to, say, take away Council's city cars -- well, you wonder if we're not prioritizing schadenfreude over good policy.

Then you see something like this, from Jeff Shields at the Inquirer:

City Council is looking for some help that it can't seem to find among its 200 employees.

Council approved a resolution last week authorizing up to $50,000 for a consultant to help analyze the city's pension predicament.

In addition, Council has authorized up to $100,000 for a public-relations consultant, even though it already has a communications director, Anthony Radwanski, who makes $96,000.

This is the sort of thing that makes you lose all perspective. The pension analyst is one thing. But a $100,000 public relations consultant? Bear in mind that in addition to Radwanski, numerous council people already have communications people on their staffs (Bill Green hired one a few months ago, although the position has since been eliminated).* Is this for real?

*This line was updated.

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Posted by Doron Taussig @ 2:38 PM  Permalink | 8 comments
Comments   
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 3:14 PM, 11/09/2009
    It's not "symbolic," it all adds up. It's real money that must be paid for with real dollars in too high business taxes, or foreclosure on nonpayment of property taxes. The longer the press lets Council off the hook on its excessive spending on everything, for itself, for the city, the more pressure builds to crack down on the property taxes needed to pay. On the one hand, there is little stomach to cover the $400 million in overdue property taxes and sheriff sale to get it, but little interest in halting spending that someone pays for in property taxes, sales taxes, and business taxes. When does someone call for an end to the madness?
    — CleanupPhilly
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 5:04 PM, 11/09/2009
    check your sources Councilman Green hired one but fired his PR person a few months ago.
    — ackbluz
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 5:29 PM, 11/09/2009
    This is why City Council needs PR Help. What a bone head move.
    — PaulDeon
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 9:09 PM, 11/09/2009
    Maybe the P.R. person can make it look like it's a good idea to have seven council people at large and their staffs. Ten district council people can't do the job of bankrupting the city by themselves. Three of those at large people wern't even the leading vote receivers for the jobs. So much for majority vote receivers winning. Yea, I think they need all the help they can get in the P.R. department, it's only OUR money.
    — jinglesguy
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 1:39 AM, 11/10/2009
    You get what you bargain for. And the voter's of Philadelphia, are the most stupid on the planet. Keep doing what Brady tells you at the polls. I don't have one bit of sympathy for those who vote for the same people every time.
    — FJG JR
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 7:18 AM, 11/10/2009
    Sorry but I was just elected as a Borough Councilman performing the same roles as my city counterparts. My salary? NOTHING. I ran to improve my area but not for the salary, the free car, the lavish expenses, etc. Time to eliminate City Council and make them perform the same roles as other council people but without the salaries.
    — blackknight
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 8:39 AM, 11/10/2009
    so who's been overseeing the pension up to now? I know, the people enrolled in the drop plan. They don't need PR, its to late for that, they already have a bad rap. Oh, aren't all council members enrolled in the drop plan?
    — krautmef
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 8:55 AM, 11/10/2009
    Qualfications for council are 1-Be a relative of a politican, Verna/father, Blackwell/husband, Green/father, Rizzo/father, I'm sure I left out someone. Then there is Kelly who got elected because the uninformed voter didn't know he was the wrong Jack Kelly. Bring back Joe Coleman, Milton Street and the rest of the Big Top crew from the 70's and 80's, they were much more intertaining.
    — jinglesguy


8 comments
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