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Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Three things to watch for in Rendell's budget address

This morning, Gov. Ed Rendell will give his eighth and final budget address. The speech, which is scheduled to start at 10:30 am, will set the priorities for his last year in office. You can watch it live on the Pennsylvania Cable Network, if you're so inclined.

Below are three big questions about the budget that remain up in the air. Keep checking back for more analysis as the day goes on.

How long will the budget process take? Last year, the legislature passed a budget more than 100 days after the June 30th "deadline." State workers and agencies providing services under contract stopped getting paid. No one is eager for a repeat of that performance, so expect to hear a lot of talk of getting things done quickly.

Can Republicans and Democrats get along? The last process was delayed partially because of partisan politics. Both sides were eager to engage in petty fighting rather than tough decision making. We're now in an election year. Will the rhetoric intensify, or will legislators work together to avoid anti-incumbent sentiment?

How will Rendell propose to deal with the $450 million deficit? Although Pew ranks Pennsylvania as one of the most fiscally secure states in the country, Pennsylvania still has a deficit to deal with. The governor will probably propose two new taxes -- one on natural gas extraction and the other on smokeless tobacco -- to help handle the problem.

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Posted by Ben Waxman @ 8:38 AM  Permalink | 1 comment
Comments   
Posted 01:51 AM, 02/10/2010
rmship
Tax toilet paper at sporting events
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 jointproject between Philadelphia Daily News and WHYY, funded by the William Penn Foundation, designed to answer these questions.



Budget Cheat Sheets: Now that Mayor Nutter has made his budget proposal, City Council is set to begin holding hearings to debate the details. To help keep you up to speed, we'll be publishing "cheat sheets" with important facts and figures about the department being debated:

The Five-Year Plan

Revenue measures

The capital budget



THE BUDGET ADDRESS IN FOUR MINUTES



Didn't have time to watch the entirety of the mayor's budget address? We've boiled it down to about four minutes for you, and annotated it for context. We're here to help! 



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STRIKE

A few months ago, we launched City Howl, a Web site that allows citizens to post their raves or rants about city services (check out www.thecityhowl.com). This week, we look at what to do when your neighbors don't maintain their properties, it's interfering with yours, and L&I isn't helping.


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or 215-854-5307

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