Should Philadelphia drop the DROP program?

Hour 1

Philadelphia’s Deferred Retirement Option Program, better known as DROP, is one of the more contentious issues in city politics these days. An academic study released last week found that the program had cost Philadelphia an extra $258 million over the last decade — and that Boston College study didn’t take into account DROP’s most controversial feature: City officials who “retire” for a day, collect big payouts, then retake their office, in the case of City Council members, or high-paid consultancies in the cases of administrators. Joining guest host TRACEY MATISAK to talk about DROP, its past, present and future, and its political and fiscal implications for Philadelphia, are two Inquirer reporters who have been covering this story: JEFF SHIELDS and MIRIAM HILL. We’ll also hear from SEAN SCULLY, who’s been studying DROP on behalf of the good-government group The Committee of Seventy.

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[audio: 081110_100630.mp3]