It's Our Money is asking various experts and advocates to grade the Nutter administration on its performance in the budget process -- it's handling of the process, and the quality of the budget it ultimately got, given the circumstances. This assessment is from Daily News columnist Fatimah Ali.
Grade: B
Comments: Philadelphia was right on the brink of achieving international status -- the mayor caught a bum rap with the economy when he took over this city. With lawmakers dragging their feet on the state budget, he did the only thing he could, cry wolf and threaten to fire 3,000 people. That took a lot of guts, so it’s an "A" for tenacity, outcome, and the ability to work well with the valuable friends up in Harrisburg who helped him cut the deal. But it’s a "C" on strategy, because by back-hand-slapping arts and culture, the very amenities that make this city special, the mayor took a huge risk.* He’s put a huge dent in his campaign promises to grow Philadelphia into a world class city, which must include a marriage between the arts, businesses and cultural development. What happens if the population continues to diminish because folks seek a better quality of life elsewhere? The only upside is that the new "culture tax" will come in handy when the Barnes Foundation is completed, which means Mayor Nutter averages a solid B, for deal cutting.
*Editor's Note: The Mayor's Office points out, fairly, that the proposed arts and culture tax is part of the state budget, not the Philadelphia relief bill that Nutter supported. The Mayor had nothing to do with the tax.
Previous Grade the Administrations: Larry Ceisler, Phil Goldsmith
Let's give the grade they deserve, this guy's claims fiscal restraint, and has a staff that costs over 2 million more than Street's, I say vote all these corrupt people and their cronies out in 2010!!!— Mike S.- Let's give the grade they deserve, this guy's claims fiscal restraint, and has a staff that costs over 2 million more than Street's, I say vote all these corrupt people and their cronies out in 2010!!!— Mike S.
Comment removed.- This is easy...HIS words get a grade of A, his ideas get and A, HIS actions get an F...Until he fires all the political hacks, the lazy city union workers that occupy City Hall he will alwys get an F....Shuyt down the complex ...only pay poikce, fire, emt's and trash workers.......all others are drones and worthless....Fire them....the city will still survive and in fact it will be viable .....— nuggett
- Dismal!— junethe4th
- Look at what Nutter ran on, and look at what he's done. His first two years were no shake up, and in no way prepared the city for what he himself stated was the coming fiscal crisis. F. Well, he put in bike lanes on Pine and Spruce, so D-.— CleanupPhilly
- Kids, there's $425 million owed the city in overdue property taxes owed the city in liens that are easily collectable as a simple sheriff sale, but at least one Philly Sheriff sale for delinquent property taxes was canceled, see www.phillysheriff.com. That's no way to have a good schools, and certainly no way to get lien processors to want to bid on buying this debt, which is what Rendell did to pull the city out of bankruptcy and put him in the governor's chair. That's just ONE item that City Council and Nutter won't face that has to do with money. They are working on passing a resolution to play outside.— CleanupPhilly
- There's about $1 billion in forfeit bail owed the city because the corrupt, patronage Office of the Clerk of Quarter Sessions can't use computers. Folks, Nutter hasn't even come close to dealing with this, even before any recession. Are you kidding me? This info from property taxes comes from the Inquirer -- Kerkstra, Tanfani, Fazlollah, and some others, and they were probably the ones that did the last article on the forfeit bail owed the city. Come on. When is it a good day to live in reality? I know the DN competes with the Ink, but you may actually want to get Ali to read it at some point.— CleanupPhilly
- Chris Brennan did the most recent article on the corrupt, patronage Office of the Clerk of Quarter Sessions, of which Nutter has done zero, and he's in the DN, so kudos there. But you may to see if you can get Fatimah Ali to read some of what her colleagues are writing about happy town.— CleanupPhilly
World Class. World *ss. Rate him "f" for flunking.
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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