Verna won’t commit to holding DROP hearings before primary

There is still no date in Philadelphia City Council for a hearing on the controversial Deferred Retirement Option Program or DROP.  Members of council are looking at a preliminary report from their consultant.

Sources say the council report puts the cost of DROP at $100 million  over 10 years, far less than the $250 million price-tag a Boston College study prepared for Mayor Nutter put on DROP.  

Council President Anna Verna says she and her colleagues want to have hearings soon, but no date has been set.

“We were hoping beyond all hope that we would have had this information and had a public hearing in December,” said Verna.  “That didn’t happen and it’s very disappointing.  I don’t want anybody to think we are dragging our feet because we are not.”

Whether the hearings will come before the May primary election are still up in the air.  Council President Verna says the goal is to schedule the review as soon as possible.