White stuff could sink city deeper in red

    The costs to clear snow from Philadelphia streets could top 15 million dollars.

    The costs to clear snow from Philadelphia streets could top 15 million dollars.  But city officials aren’t worrying about how to pay for snow removal until after the work is done. [audio: 100225TMSNOW.mp3]

    Even though the city didn’t budget for snow removal because of it’s tight finances, it’s a job that has to be done.  Councilman Jim Kenney says he’s concerned about just how much the latest storm could cost the city.

    Kenney:
    The budget’s a mess as it is.  But what choice do you have if you don’t clear the snow, businesses open later, or they don’t open at all, people can’t get to work, so you have a reduction in business taxes, wages taxes and everything else because people can’t get paid, so you have no choice but to do it and figure it out at some point in time.

    Other members of council told the story of a mayor of Chicago who didn’t clear the streets quickly enough after a snowstorm in the 1970’s, and was voted out of office.

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