City Controller Alan Butkovitz

By Bill Hangley, WHYY News

Click on the play button below to listen to this story or use this link to download.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

City controller Alan Butkovitz says he has a plan to save the city almost half a billion dollars.  City officials called his report more of a publicity stunt than a blueprint for success.

Controller Butkovitz says Philadelphia needs to start acting more like a business and that means hassling people hard about their unpaid bills.  With the city facing a projected long-term budget deficit of almost a billion dollars,  Butkovitz says better revenue collection can help raise $400 million over the next five years.

Butkovitz: “We hear from people all the time who live in the suburbs, or who live down the Jersey Shore.  If they pay their real estate taxes four or five days after the due date, they start getting notices with threats of legal action.  It’s a well-established business practice that the harder you try, the more success that you have.”

In a report released yesterday, Butkovitz listed a host of strategies for saving money and increasing collections.  He says the city is currently owed almost $70 million in fines and court costs, while various departments are owed millions more.  A spokesman for the mayor said that while some of Butkovitz’s recommendations have merit, none of them are new, and many are outdated.  He said the city is shifting some staff to address the problem of unpaid bills, but added that Butkovitz is probably overestimating the amount of revenue that can be raised.