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Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Grade the Administration: Larry Ceisler
Larry Ceisler.

This week, 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. Today's assessment comes from political consultant Larry Ceisler, of Ceisler-Jubelirer.

Grade: Incomplete

Comments: The problem with grading this effort is we have no idea what went on behind the scenes. If Mayor Nutter’s team was taken by surprise by the Senate amendments, but managed to get the GOP-controlled chamber to drop these reforms, then the City had a great day in Harrisburg. But if the Administration was complicit in the drafting of these amendments to take advantage of a crisis, then the Mayor came arguably within an irresponsible whisker of plunging the City into an unnecessary crisis. Rahm Emanuel famously said that one can never waste the opportunities that lie in a crisis. Most objective observers would agree there was merit in many of the pension reforms contained in the Senate version. But it is very apparent that we have a very short respite until the next day of reckoning. So if I was advising the Senate, I would say not to throw away those amendments, and as for Mayor Nutter; put those layoff notices in a dry, safe, place…you may need them again.
Posted by Doron Taussig @ 10:19 AM  Permalink | 5 comments
Comments   
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 3:29 PM, 09/23/2009
    Interesting. Ceisler is frequently employed by John Dougherty and advises Local 98's various political friends and ventures, so his opinions regarding City Worker pensions and the necessity of shrinking the City workforce, are kind of surprising, perhaps representative of how far a 2011 Bill Green mayoral campaign might go on these issues (sans AFSCME support, one would suppose). Doron Taussig is a great hire, It's Our Money people! Here's hoping Dave Merrell isn't one of the web editors responsible for some of the stupid, ridiculously partisan pro-Republican choices for the philly.com front page.
    — Wurm
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 4:45 PM, 09/23/2009
    Obviously there is a misdirection play going on here somewhere. Is he an advisor to Bill Green?
    — PaulDeon
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 5:39 PM, 09/23/2009
    Larry, do make a living as Political Consultant, and if so, who pays you for this kind of analysis? Oh that’s right tax payers pay your salary, with consulting gigs for the State and City, nice. Here is a news flash for you, the grade is simple, “F”, Mayor NutterButter, has done a terrible job. This guy couldn’t hold a job in the public sector to save his life. Why? Because he is incompetent, he talks a good game, but in the end he is in over his head. In the first year in office as Philly headed into a fiscal crisis, the Mayor is having Movie night at City Hall, boy that’s leadership. And now he needs to punish Philadelphia Retail with a hike in sales tax. Look Larry, that’s an “F”, not an incomplete, an “F”, for Failure, got it.
    — NJBites
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 10:05 PM, 09/23/2009
    Hey NJBites. Not on the public tab. sorry, no consulting gigs for the State and City. My salary is paid from the private sector.Even political consultant at this point is a stretch, but since I can not even explain to my Mother what I do, it is sometimes simpler to go with that title. Ben Waxman does not even pay me, he just asked if I would give him a quick opinion. The rest of it is your opinion which is shared by a lot of people, But not even halfway into his term, Nutter still gets an Incomplete for the this test.
    — larryceisler
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 6:56 AM, 10/03/2009
    TUNNEL VISION: Unnecessary crisis that smoke screens how bad this administration is doing. The organization re-designed by Nutter is confusing and dysfunctional. Chief administrators in most departments are taking the City apart down to non-working parts.(Rate it "f") Improvement not possible!
    — Clark_Kent_SuperHero


5 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.




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WILL CITY COVER $41 MILLION IN STATE CUTS?

 podcast

On this week's It's Our Money podcast, Doron Taussig and Holly Otterbein discuss how a budget is a statement of priorities — and also how a mayor needs to be careful what he promises to pay for.

It's Our Money contributors

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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