Mayor tells Council: We're in bad shape

Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter gives his budget address to City Council this morning. The effort to plug the large budget gap includes some tax hikes and service cuts.

Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter gives his budget address to City Council this morning. The effort to plug the large budget gap includes some tax hikes and service cuts.

Transcript:
The good news is libraries, health centers and rec centers stay open.  The bad news is tax hikes and fees.  Mayor Nutter told city council
members at a briefing Wednesday night that there’s no wiggle room in this year’s budget.

Nutter: “We’re in bad shape. And any movement around the edges I would say is minimal.”

The Mayor wants to raise property taxes by 19 percent next year. And increase the sales tax to eight cents on every dollar for the next three years. Nutter is also proposing to raise fees for emergency medical services and city records, and charge a sliding scale fee for the uninsured at city health centers.

The Mayor also wants to cut about 250 city jobs.