PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philadelphia City Council has advanced the city's next capital budget, but differing factions on Council were still negotiating on Friday with Mayor Jim Kenney about the operating budget.
Council, meeting as the Committee of the Whole, approved next year’s capital budget and a six-year capital plan. They added some money for the Art Museum, the Zoo and the Delaware River Waterfront.
But the main obstacle about the operating budget involves tax cuts.
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Kenney proposed small, incremental reductions in wage and business taxes to help restart the economy and give workers some tax relief after pandemic closures.
Some Council members are fighting that plan, saying there should be no such tax cuts this year.
But at the same time, some of the same members are endorsing Councilwoman Cherelle Parker's plan to slash the parking tax by one-third.
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The parking tax cut is supposed to create more money for parking workers’ pay and benefits, but there is no way to guarantee it will be used that way. Kenney said he opposes the plan.
Still, it’s one of the issues on which negotiations have failed to make headway for days.
Council plans to reconvene Monday morning. They have to advance the budget by Thursday so that it can pass the full Council before the summer break begins, on June 24.