PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philadelphia City Council members are handing in their wish lists for the city budget as negotiations get underway with the Kenney administration.
Council members are requesting more than what’s been budgeted for cultural organizations, Parks and Rec programs, pre-K, street cleaning, towing, after-school activities, Mural Arts — hundreds of items all told, adding up to hundreds of millions of dollars in spending increases.
Some of the requests include:
— Kenyatta Johnson plans to announce a $40 million package of spending focused on youth.
— Katherine Gilmore Richardson is seeking another $8 million for environmental justice.
— Kendra Brooks is asking $3 million for more non-police crisis intervention.
— Mark Squilla wants $14 million to reopen Engine Company 6 in his district.
— Quetcy Lozada is seeking $18 million for the Streets Department, including additional street lighting and illegal dumping crews.
— Mike Driscoll is looking for an additional $9.5 million for free pre-K. Along with some other big-ticket items, he also wants $750,000 for Visit Philly’s Civic Pride Initiative, in advance of the 2026 celebration of the founding of the country.
— Anthony Phillips is seeking an additional $2.4 million for commercial corridor cleaning, a signature program of his predecessor and Democratic mayoral nominee Cherelle Parker, as well as $1 million to help homeowners repair driveways and retaining walls.
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The Kenney administration declined to comment while it negotiates with Council, but Harvey Rice, executive director of PICA, the budget watchdog, said both sides need to keep in mind how new spending will impact the budget in the long term.
“That there’s money to pay for it in all five years of the budget, and that we keep fund balances at a robust level,” he advised.
A fund balance is the city’s cash flow. Rice said it’s in good shape now, but the five-year plan shows it getting very low.
Council President Darrell Clarke is filtering all the requests as he prepares to negotiate with Mayor Jim Kenney on the $6 billion spending plan that the mayor presented three months ago. It will be the last budget negotiation for both men — Kenney’s final term is ending, and Clarke is retiring.
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