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Butkovitz urges rejection of city's 5-year plan

The City Controller says that the five-year fiscal proposal allows for a dangerously low balance.

City Controller Alan Butkovitz warned the city's fiscal watchdog yesterday that declining funds will prevent the city from reaching its projected revenue goal by 2017. (MICHAEL BRYANT / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
City Controller Alan Butkovitz warned the city's fiscal watchdog yesterday that declining funds will prevent the city from reaching its projected revenue goal by 2017. (MICHAEL BRYANT / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)Read more
    by BY JAN RANSOM, Daily News Staff Writer <a href="mailto:ransomj@phillynews.com">ransomj@phillynews.com</a>, 215-854-5218
    Published 

CITY CONTROLLER Alan Butkovitz urged the city's fiscal watchdog yesterday to reject Mayor Nutter's five-year financial plan because city coffers are projected to reach dangerous lows in future years.

The Pennsylvania Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority will meet today to vote on the plan. Butkovitz is concerned about the city's steadily declining fund balance, which is projected to reach only $8.5 million by 2017.

"Any significant deviation because of unforeseen circumstances such as litigations, severe weather or future unexpected commitments to the School District of Philadelphia could drastically impact city operations," Butkovitz said, adding that the city's assumed revenue is unreasonable. "This is a math project, not an English essay. The numbers are critical."

PICA Chairman Sam Katz said Butkovitz's concerns raise red flags, but said he hasn't made up his mind yet on how he'll vote on the plan.

The city assumes it will collect $536.6 million in property-tax revenue for fiscal year 2014 and $2.26 billion over the remaining years of the plan, but Butkovitz said it's difficult to assess how appeals under the city's new property-tax system may affect revenue.

The updated plan also does not include potential costs higher than the estimated $36 million and $21 million for the city's blue- and white-collar unions, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees District Councils 33 and 47, respectively. The unions have been working under an expired contract since 2009.

The Nutter administration says it is comfortable with the plan submitted to PICA.

"It heeded the controller's call to specify increases to labor costs. This plan does that to the tune of $300 million in additional wages," mayoral spokesman Mark McDonald said, adding that this plan is stronger than last year's.

A previous vote on the plan by PICA had been delayed until the result of Nutter's appeal of a firefighters arbitration award was determined. Nutter withdrew the appeal of the award, which gives firefighters retroactive raises.

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