The citizen budget workshops are upon us. But the actual group working time is only 90 minutes. That’s not a lot of time to be making rapid fire decision about the possible fate of city departments. But if citizens are prepared that could go a long way.

Still, people will be taking their long held biases for and against city services into the workshops. So we hope that anyone planning to participate will try to be fair to each department.

We know for example, that few citizens are likely to demand that the Police Department take a 30 percent hit. While we would save $157 million, according the city, would mean losing 40 percent of the city’s 6,600 officers, for a total loss of 2,640 officers.

But what about lower-profile departments such as Records and Supportive Housing? Does anyone know a lot about them? And what Licenses and Inspections, an agency that is often loathed by citizens?

L&I could be especially vulnerable, because of what its job is. It regulates us and charge us fees for the privilege.  It’s also been everyone’s favorite punching bag. During Mayor John Street’s administration, Michael Nutter once said rhetorically that L&I should be blown up to improve its operations. More recently, in Dec, City Controller Alan Butkovitz said the agency was doing a poor job collecting demolition costs for abandoned buildings.

Still, Imagine a Philadelphia without a functioning L&I. That could be downright dangerous. L&I still plays an important role ensuring the integrity of buildings around the city and making sure only legit businesses are operating.

Take a look at the L&I website and for that matter all of the city’s department websites. You will learn a little more about where your tax dollars are being spent.

Here’s a few things we found. If you want to make minor repairs to your house, you may need to obtain an L&I building permit. To install an outdoor advertising sign, you will need an L&I building and/or zoning permit. Those fortunate enough to sell their house right now need to present a certificate from L&I to the new buyer before the deal can officially go through. This list goes on.

The department is also responsible for ensuring public safety through
identifying structurally dangerous buildings. Perhaps our favorite
L&I function is handled by the Weights and Measurers Unit, which regulates
all commercial weighing devices, from gasoline dispensers to grocery
scales, to guarantee that the consumer is not being shortchanged.

The budget cuts to L&I could be more serious than not getting your full
pound of turkey at the deli counter.

The proposed scenarios, released after the mayor briefed city council Monday evening, indicate that a 10% cut to L&I’s budget would result in laying off six people. That’s only two percent of the current staff.  The major effect of this cut is that the department would be forced to reduce demolitions by 10 percent.

At a 20 percent reduction, among other things, L&I would lay off 55 employees and
eliminate its business compliance unit. This unit inspects businesses
for proper licenses and condemns illegal vending.

Another 45 jobs would be reduced under a 30 percent budget cut.  The majority of
these would come from the unit that is responsible for cleaning and sealing abandoned buildings.

We called over to L&I to see how they feel they will fare in the budget workshops. L&I Commissioner Frances Burns was surprisingly upbeat. “I believe in the leadership here in Philadelphia,” she stated proudly.  Burns adds that she has “confidence that the mayor and the administration will look at the important services that each department provides.”

She didn’t really address our question of how L&I would do in the eyes of the public, but her praise for Mayor Nutter is probably a smart move because ultimately it will the Mayor who will propose to city council which departments should get hit the hardest.

We want to know what you think:

Is L&I a bloated bureaucracy?

Is L&I functions under appreciated by most residents?

Is the fairest way to reduce spending just an across-the-board cut for all departments?

Additional reporting provided by Jason Kleinman