PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philadelphia's budget is still recovering from COVID-19, but there were some healthy signs this week at a City Council hearing on city finances.
Deputy budget director Sadia Sattar says almost three-quarters of the city's 109 performance measures — things like demolition permits and homeless prevention services — are on track to meet or exceed their target, but about 33 are lagging. And at least one will be no surprise.
"On-time trash collection continues to not meet its target," said Sattar.
But some are more hidden. For example, attendance at Free Library teen programs has plummeted from 14,000 pre-pandemic, to under 3,000. Councilman Mark Squilla suggested the problem might be understaffing, as the city is about 4,000 employees down from what it's budgeted.
"It just seems like we're really moving slow on filling these spots," Squilla said.
Another bright spot is the efficiency with which the city has dispensed federal rent assistance. It's provided $156 million to landlords so far, 83% of what's available. In fact, the city's been able to claim an extra $30 million from other parts of the state, where the distribution rate is under 65%.
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