Council's doing it again | Philly

Wednesday, Nov 25, 7:49 AM

Web Search powered by YAHOO! SEARCH

options

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Council's doing it again

Back in October, we were surprised when Council decided to revisit the newly-instituted trash fee -- because it had previously agreed to institute a trash fee. Councilman DiCicco, who was leading the effort to revisit the fee, responded to a DN editorial on the matter, arguing that the Nutter administration hadn't adequately communicated with council about the fee's implementation after the initial passage. Hence the walkback.

We wonder if the same argument will apply this time, because Council's doing it again. One of the items cut from this year's budget was on-street loose-leaf collection (savings: about $400,000). Council approved the cut. But, as Catherine Lucey reports today, now that the leaves have really begin to fall in earnest, the legislative body is reconsidering. Writes Catherine:

"Councilman Frank Rizzo today plans to introduce a resolution asking Nutter to restore on-street loose-leaf collection throughout the city ... 'There are certain things you can't put a price tag on,' said Rizzo, who said piles of uncollected leaves in the street are messy and dangerous."

As with the trash fee, there are good reasons to dislike the discontinuation of leaf collection: When it rained last Saturday, it was awfully dangerous on the slippery streets of Philadelphia. But this really isn't how legislative deliberation is supposed to work. You're supposed to contemplate consequences and complaints before you make a decision, when the sun is still shining and the days are still long -- not just when the leaves start to turn.

Review city services on our sister site, City Howl.

Posted by Doron Taussig @ 7:56 AM Permalink | 1 comment

Comments

Posted 09:31 AM, 11/05/2009

dreinterests

I live in a tree covered area. It could be better but it's not bad. It'll be over before we want it to, let it go.

1 comments

About It's Our Money

Every year, city government spends slightly more than $4 billion. Where does all that money come from? More importantly, where does it go? Are we getting the most bang for our tax buck? “It's Our Money” is a joint project between Philadelphia Daily News and WHYY, funded by the William Penn Foundation, designed to answer these questions.

EXCLUSIVE: UNION PRESIDENT SPEAKS OUT

It's Our Money's Ben Waxman interviews TWU Local 234 president Willie Brown on why he called the strike when he did, what it's like to be more hated than A-Rod, and what it will take the union to go back on the job. Click here to see the exclusive interview.

FOLLOW THE (LACK OF) MONEY

Philadelphia’s five-year plan includes $300 million in service cuts. Which departments are seeing their budgets slashed, and what are the consequences? Our Follow the (lack of) Money series takes stock of the effects of the budget crisis. This week: Housing Trust Fund.

State and local budget news:

National budget news:

Ben Waxman reports and blogs for “It's Our Money.” Before joining “It's Our Money,” he was a regular contributor to the Philadelphia Daily News op-ed page and former contributor to the blog Young Philly Politics. He studied political science at Juniata College in Huntingdon, PA.

Doron Taussig is the Project Manager for “It's Our Money.” He is also a graduate student in communications at Temple University. Previously he worked as a Staff Writer and News Editor for the Philadelphia City Paper.

Dave Merrell is the Web Editor for "It's Our Money." He comes to the project from Philly.com, where he is a web producer. Originally from upstate New York, he moved to Philadelphia after graduating from Haverford College with a degree in math and economics.

Anthony Campisi reports and blogs for "It's Our Money." Originally hailing from Central Jersey, he came to Philadelphia while a student at the University of Pennsylvania, where he studied intellectual history. He also writes about transportation for PlanPhilly, an innovative urban planning website started by PennPraxis, the consulting arm of the Penn School of Design.