PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker proposed a $6.967 billion budget with ambitious goals and new taxes to support them, in a two-hour address to City Council, Thursday, launching a three-month process before the 2027 fiscal year begins July 1.
"Let's work together with collaboration, diligence and purpose toward this budget's passage," she said.
The mayor told council that, in her first two budgets, she had focused on her promise to make the city cleaner, greener and safer but this year she would focus on her pledge to provide economic opportunity for all.
"My economic mobility plan is designed so there is a pathway for everyone at every stage in life to move up that ladder," she said. "It's a roadmap to self-sufficiency, a path that makes It easier for every Philadelphian to move up, not just get by."
Council members were generally supportive, though they said there were a lot of details to dig through.
"We'll get feedback from members in terms of what they want to see, as part of this process, and obviously we'll do a little trading back and forth," Council President Kenyatta Johnson said.
The mayor's proposal includes several new initiatives — some lofty, some pragmatic.
On the lofty side, Parker is pursuing her plan to end street homelessness with the creation of 1,000 new shelter beds. She originally pledged the beds by the end of January. Her office says such a short timeline proved impossible but she is committed to the goal. She also conjured restoring manufacturing with a $10 million investment in modular housing production.
More conventional was the creation of what Parker called "Pothole Squads," which she said would respond faster to pothole complaints and also patrol neighborhoods looking for them.
Other new programs include an Economic Mobility Cabinet, which would oversee financial counseling and other efforts to make economic development more equitable. A new Student Loan Help Center would counsel borrowers navigating changing federal policies.
The proposed budget also includes increases in funding to SEPTA, the school district and to existing programs such as community anti-violence grants, youth employment, extended day/extended year programs in schools and additional pre-K seats.
Mayor Parker proposed a variety of new taxes and fees, some tied directly to specific programs. The pothole squads, for instance, would be funded through a 25 cent-per-order retail delivery charge.
"Businesses that rely on our streets for deliveries will help pay to maintain them," she said. "It makes sense to me."
For the shelter beds, she proposed a 2% increase in the hotel tax.
She also said that, to help small local businesses, she would seek state legislation to close a loophole that allows out-of-state retailers to collect only the state sales tax and avoid Philadelphia's slightly higher levy.
To get more funding for public schools, the mayor proposed a 20 cent-per-ride fee on rideshare trips, expected to generate $9.6 million annually, and a new calculation for the use and occupancy tax on cell towers that would generate an additional $2.4 million.
She also proposed changes in a number of fees for various city services.
The budget keeps property tax rates the same, though new assessments might increase tax bills, and it continues the slow reduction in the wage tax.
Council members praised many of the mayor's proposals but were wary of the new revenue streams.
"The services they're going to provide are positive for the city so we have to weight that with the impact of the taxes and we'll be doing that during the hearing process," Mark Squilla said.
Johnson credited the mayor for tying the taxes to services.
"Still," he said, "we still have to sit down and see where members are at but there is a direct correlation between the taxes and fees and the services people want to see here."
At one point during her address, the mayor was interrupted by someone shouting from the balcony. She paused to listen, commenting, "We're Philadelphia. This is the birthplace of democracy. If anybody has to be patient when someone's trying to express what they feel, Philadelphia should be sensitive to it."
