Filing deadline for city budget approaches

The city of Philadelphia’s budget year ends June 30, and City Council’s budget deadline is May 31. Council and Mayor Nutter appear to be a long way off from a compromise budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1.

The city of Philadelphia’s budget year ends June 30, and City Council’s budget deadline is May 31. Council and Mayor Nutter appear to be a long way off from a compromise budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1.

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[audio: 090427tmplanc.mp3]

The mayor and council are split on how the city should raise revenue. Nutter prefers property and sales taxes, council seems to favor a wage tax hike. Either as a bargaining chip or a backup plan, the plan B budget Mayor Nutter has proposed includes hundreds of employee cuts and facility closings. Councilman Frank DiCicco says something has to give.

DiCicco: No one wants their taxes raised and no one wants services cut. When you have a deficit, you have to do one or the other, or in some cases a little bit of both.

The standoff will probably end in a compromise, what Councilman Brian O’Neill calls Plan C.

O’Neill: And if it doesn’t work to prevent all of plan b maybe it will work to prevent 90 percent of it.

The city worker contacts also expire this summer, further complicating the budget process.