Mayor: Can't Cut Our Way Out Of Deficit

PHILADELPHIA - Mayor Michael Nutter said during his budget address Thursday that the city can't cut its way out of the more-than-$120-million budget gap.

"We cannot completely reply upon cutting our way out of this deficit because the enormous reductions required would devastate our basic services from police to fire to parks to libraries to recreation and every other service we have," Nutter told city council during Thursday morning's address.

So, the big question is what changes will he make?

Nutter didn't deliver a budget anywhere near as scary as last year's doomsday budget, but still the city needs more cash, and they're hoping to get it from you, Fox 29's Ty Chandler reported.

"In no way do I minimize the pain that afflicts thousands of families and businesses in our city. We feel your pain each and every day," Nutter said.

The mayor painted a rosy picture of his vision of Philadelphia. But his high hopes for tomorrow can't erase the tough times of today.

"Confronting the effects of a recession every day, we've become a battle-tested administration," Nutter said.

He promised not to raise real estate taxes to close the $125-million gap, but he does plan to create new revenue streams by charging Philadelphians $300-a-year for trash and other cleaning services and tacking on a tax for soda that in some cases could double the price.

"The new funding will enable the city to begin restoring some services previously terminated or reduced. We can begin providing better services and avoid devastating budget cuts," Nutter told council. "All of our libraries will be open. All of our health centers will be open. All of our recreation centers will be open. There will be no layoffs for police officers or firefighters or loss in public safety coverage. It means the services that we fought so hard to preserve will remain in place for Philadelphians who deserve them."

The so-called "Clean Philly Fee" breaks down to about $5.77 a week.

And Nutter says the two-cents-an-ounce sweet-drink tax will raise $77 million a year. He feels it will help address the city's high obesity rate, especially among children.

The new proposals are not sitting well with many Philadelphians, however.

Critics of Nutter's budget say that the city doesn't need to do this. It could probably close this budget shortfall if it just did a better job of collecting the money it's owed.

The mayor did talk about doing more with less by streamlining city agencies, which has been in the works for a number of months now. He also said that a lot of overtime has been cut back or eliminated.

In spite of those steps, though, the police department has managed to cut down on violent crime. The fire department has reduced costs, and a lot of work has been put into making things more efficient.

Obviously, though, there are situations where overtime just can't be avoided, like these heavy snowstorms, which added a lot of costs to the city's expenditures.

Still, streamlining city agencies is a big goal of Nutter's to get the city in a better financial situation.

Councilman Frank Rizzo doesn't agree with all of Nutter's plan, and the Republican spoke out about that on "Good Day Philadelphia" Thursday morning.

"That's why I'm being a little bit open-minded to this, because I've been around this the best part of my life, and I can tell you that that $300-per-property will be a lot different than the $300 we hear today – he came in high," Rizzo said.

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