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KITCHEN: PHILADELPHIA FISCAL BILL APPROVED
IN SENATE
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Kitchen |
HARRISBURG, September 18
— After weeks of negotiations and
anticipation from the City of Philadelphia,
the Pennsylvania Senate passed legislation
that would give Philadelphia the authority
to take care of its fiscal deficit,
according to state Sen. Shirley Kitchen.
“While I’m not happy that it took this long
to pass this legislation, the measure in its
current form was carefully crafted to
address the needs of all municipalities
while ensuring that Philadelphia can finally
take care of its fiscal issues,” Kitchen
said. “I urge the governor to sign this bill
quickly.”
House Bill 1828 would give the city the
authority to raise its sales tax by 1
percent for five years and restructure the
city’s pension plan system by deferring
payments for two years, with the city
repaying it at 8.5 percent interest. If the
city does not make the repayments, the state
will withhold funding and institute
penalties.
“Without this legislation, Philadelphia
would be forced to lay off thousands of city
positions, including hundreds of police
officers and fire fighters, as well as close
all libraries and recreation centers and
some city health centers,” Kitchen said. “In
this particularly bad economy, we cannot
afford to see job losses, fewer police on
the streets and shuttered city services.
People depend on these services — and their
jobs — more than ever. Hopefully, with the
governor’s approval, it won’t come to that
point.”
The bill also allows other municipalities
across the state to restructure their
pension systems. It also instills
guidelines for
municipalities that choose to implement
Deferred Retirement Option Program (DROP),
while banning elected officials from
participating in this program.
Legislators have been working on
House Bill 1828 since July, when Mayor
Michael Nutter asked the General Assembly
for help to alleviate the city’s gaping
deficit. After numerous amendments were
added by both the Senate and the House, the
legislation finally came together in a form
that addressed the fiscal needs of
municipalities throughout Pennsylvania.
The bill now goes to the governor.
Back
to PaSenate.com |
