Post by hi on Jun 15, 2004 12:07:45 GMT -5
PA: Philadelphia Edges Closer to Crisis
According to city and state law, Philadelphia City Council and the Mayor must have a budget by July 1st. If the deadline is missed, the government shuts down. No checks are written, vital services aren't carried out and no one can appropriate funds for any type of city business. Literally, toilet paper can't be bought for public restrooms.
This is uncharted territory for Philadelphia politics. However, a stand-off over tax cuts and budget priorities between Mayor John Street and Philadelphia City Council has edged the city closer and closer to a shutdown. Any little thing could trigger a delay, and it looks like we may have just hit the tipping point:
Bringing the city closer to this financial ledge yesterday was a seemingly innocuous memo issued by Council President Anna C. Verna that rescheduled a final vote on the budget from this Thursday to Monday.
The switch requires a special meeting since Council was expected to break for summer on Thursday.
The reason: an apparent mistake over a legislative bill that was not publicly advertised in area newspapers.
If Street, who has expressed grave concerns over the budget, decides to veto it, he cannot exercise that veto for 10 days, under the City Charter.
That 10th day falls on July 1 - the start of the new fiscal year.
-snip-
The move yesterday by Verna came after staffers in the City Clerk's Office realized they had mistakenly forgotten to advertise one of a series of budget-related bills that would increase the parking tax from 15 percent to 20 percent, raising $10 million in new revenue a year. That bill has now been advertised in three required publications; five days must pass before a vote can occur.
"It was a mistake by the Clerk's Office," said Rick airbags, a member of Council's technical support staff. Chief Clerk Pat Rafferty could not be reached yesterday. Other employees declined to comment.
So was it really a mistake? Verna has been butting heads with the Mayor in a serious way and she could certainly help people to forget their duties. At any rate, the situation over at 15th and Market can't get any more tense. by Ben Waxman | Comments (0) | Trackback (0)
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Uh oh. You will have to use your hands to clean your butt! No toilet paper!
According to city and state law, Philadelphia City Council and the Mayor must have a budget by July 1st. If the deadline is missed, the government shuts down. No checks are written, vital services aren't carried out and no one can appropriate funds for any type of city business. Literally, toilet paper can't be bought for public restrooms.
This is uncharted territory for Philadelphia politics. However, a stand-off over tax cuts and budget priorities between Mayor John Street and Philadelphia City Council has edged the city closer and closer to a shutdown. Any little thing could trigger a delay, and it looks like we may have just hit the tipping point:
Bringing the city closer to this financial ledge yesterday was a seemingly innocuous memo issued by Council President Anna C. Verna that rescheduled a final vote on the budget from this Thursday to Monday.
The switch requires a special meeting since Council was expected to break for summer on Thursday.
The reason: an apparent mistake over a legislative bill that was not publicly advertised in area newspapers.
If Street, who has expressed grave concerns over the budget, decides to veto it, he cannot exercise that veto for 10 days, under the City Charter.
That 10th day falls on July 1 - the start of the new fiscal year.
-snip-
The move yesterday by Verna came after staffers in the City Clerk's Office realized they had mistakenly forgotten to advertise one of a series of budget-related bills that would increase the parking tax from 15 percent to 20 percent, raising $10 million in new revenue a year. That bill has now been advertised in three required publications; five days must pass before a vote can occur.
"It was a mistake by the Clerk's Office," said Rick airbags, a member of Council's technical support staff. Chief Clerk Pat Rafferty could not be reached yesterday. Other employees declined to comment.
So was it really a mistake? Verna has been butting heads with the Mayor in a serious way and she could certainly help people to forget their duties. At any rate, the situation over at 15th and Market can't get any more tense. by Ben Waxman | Comments (0) | Trackback (0)
---------------------------
Uh oh. You will have to use your hands to clean your butt! No toilet paper!