PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker proposed raising several taxes in her $7 billion budget, but as City Council hearings on the plan got underway on Tuesday, several council members wanted to know what cuts the administration was prepared to make.
Before asking businesses and residents to pay more, City Council President Kenyatta Johnson said he wanted to know if the administration had looked at the other side of the ledger.
“We need to be absolutely sure that city government has done everything possible to tighten our own belt,” he said.
Parker’s chief of staff, Tiffany Thurman, detailed cuts in 10 areas, totaling under $20 million. The biggest savings were in the elimination of $9 million in recurring police overtime.
“It was a painstaking, difficult process,” said Thurman. “There are a lot of people behind me that weren’t too happy but they understood.”
Another area that concerned several council members was the impact of federal cuts. Budget officials said the city has been lucky, managing to keep most of its $2 billion in federal grants. However, the head of the anti-poverty Office of Community Empowerment and Opportunity said 73,000 residents are at risk of losing Medicaid and 142,000 may lose SNAP food benefits.
The tax bills, including the mayor’s proposed $1 per trip rideshare tax, will get their own hearing, but several council members, including Jim Harrity, wanted to get in front of the rideshare discussion, including asking if the plan could include a cap on how many times the tax is collected from riders.
