After city cries poor, arbitrator cries foul

Philadelphia officials cried poor when they argued that they could not afford at least $66 million in costs over four years resulting from raises for firefighters.

Michael Zobrak, who wrote the arbitration opinion awarding the city's 2,100 firefighters and medics three years of 3 percent pay raises, didn't buy it - and he questioned current expenditures in the opinion that came out Monday.

"The City's confidence in its overall economic position is evidenced by new discretionary spending initiatives," Zobrak wrote, including:

Payment of the Philadelphia Museum of Art's utility bills and other expenses totaling $5.4 million per year even though the museum has a $360 million endowment.

A $5 million fee to study the relocation of the Police Department's administrative office.

Direct subsidy of the Eagles' for-profit operations in the annual amount of $7.8 million.

Firefighters earn $53,380 after five years on the job, a figure that will increase to $58,330 when the raises go fully into effect.

Ken Jarin, who represented the city on the three-member arbitration panel, argued that the pay raises will create budget deficits.

Mark McDonald, a spokesman for Mayor Nutter, disagreed with Zobrak's interpretation.

"The city very strongly rejects the notion that it has large sums of money just sitting there," McDonald said in an e-mail. "As for some of the issues cited, I can say that if Zobrak took the time to visit the Roundhouse he would rather quickly understand why the City needs to develop new space for its law enforcement arm. It is a desperately needed facility, and the plain fact is that we're going to go about this in the right way; hence the funding for prep work. As for the Eagles, that is something developed in a contract more than a decade ago as part of the stadium deal. It is simply a part of the city's costs of doing business. And let's not forget the city actually owns the museum buildings and we have a contract with it."

Zobrak could not be reached, but arbitrators often do not comment beyond what they write in their opinions.

- Miriam Hill