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Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Morning Money: Follow the money (to Harrisburg)

On this snowy morning, John Baer has an excellent analysis of where the money’s coming from to finance the campaigns of Philadelphia’s Harrisburg delegation. Want a hint? Think unions and trial lawyers.

Pittsburgh’s mayor and police union have reached a deal on a contract proposal that ties the size of wage increases and bonuses to the number of days off officers take to avoid overtime.

Bethlehem’s City Council preserved its no-tax-increase budget by approving a refinancing plan for the city’s troubled water authority yesterday. It had voted the proposal down last month.

Delaware fire and ambulance companies are seeing their budgets hit by the recession. The problem? Revenues from dedicated taxes are down.

And Oregon’s governor has proposed diverting surplus tax revenue from tax rebates to a rainy day fund for government operations. If only Pennsylvania were so lucky as to have a debate about surpluses.

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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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 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

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215-854-5307
doron.taussig@gmail.com
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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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