Councilwoman says Philly subcontractors should not have to wait for pay

Listen

A Philadelphia councilwoman is calling for a new way to pay contractors. 

 

Councilwoman Cindy Bass says subcontractors working for Philadelphia need to be paid as soon as they finish work.

“When the prime contractor is paid by the city of Philadelphia, they … at that point pay the subcontractor,” she said. “The problem with that is often the city takes so long to pay. It could be 30,  60, 90 days or more. It could be many many months.”

  • WHYY thanks our sponsors — become a WHYY sponsor

Late payment has put some small businesses in a perilous situation, she said.

“Often, people go out of business,” she said. “You get this great contract, you have this wonderful opportunity to produce, but you end up going out of business because you don’t have the financial capacity to wait to be paid.”

Bass would like the Philadelphia Corporation for Industrial Development to set up a fund to pay the subcontractors.

A hearing on the bill has not been scheduled.

WHYY is your source for fact-based, in-depth journalism and information. As a nonprofit organization, we rely on financial support from readers like you. Please give today.

Want a digest of WHYY’s programs, events & stories? Sign up for our weekly newsletter.

Together we can reach 100% of WHYY’s fiscal year goal