Philadelphia Mayor Nutter to call for soda and trash taxes

Philadelphia City officials have released details of the next city budget which is designed to keep services at current levels. The $3.8 eight billion budget includes two new major revenue generating devices. The first is a $300 per home Keep Philly Clean fee, which amounts to a trash fee for households of just under $6 a week. Rina Cutler is Deputy Mayor for transportation and utilities. She says the fee will give the city a chance to expand services.

Philadelphia City officials have released details of the next city budget which is designed to keep services at current levels.  WHYY’s Tom MacDonald was in a reporters only meeting to get insight about the new spending plan. [audio:100303TMBUDGET.mp3]

The $3.8 eight billion budget includes two new major revenue generating devices.  The first is a $300 per home Keep Philly Clean fee, which amounts to a trash fee for households of just under $6 a week.  Rina Cutler is Deputy Mayor for transportation and utilities.  She says the fee will give the city a chance to expand services.

Cutler: The Keep Philly Clean fee would allow us not only allow us to pick up trash on a weekly basis to pick up recycling on a weekly basis, but also allow us to think of other types of services to bring back to the city to clean it up.That’s mostly on the neighborhood side.

The second is a “Healthy Philadelphia Initiative” which translates into a two-cent per ounce tax on sugar-sweetened beverages.  The city has also found $33 million in savings, but has not budgeted for wage hikes for fire and blue and white collar city workers.