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Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker, in her first budget of her tenure atop the city’s highest office, is expected to unveil a nearly $6.3 billion spending plan for the next year that will include increased funding for schools, law enforcement, her own office — as more initiatives are set to move under that umbrella — and no increase in taxes for city residents.
Mayor Cherelle Parker is expected to deliver her budget for the upcoming year at a City Council meeting that will begin at 10 a.m. in City Hall. The event will be livestreamed at the top of this story.
In a presentation ahead of Thursday’s scheduled official announcement of the budget, city officials said Wednesday night that the mayor’s plan was put together while also overcoming some hurdles as federal pandemic funding will expire this year and estimates for tax revenue are about $300 million less than last year.
A full picture of Parker’s plan will need to wait until she presents the budget to city officials on Thursday, but some highlights were made available on Wednesday.
One thing to note, there will be no change in tax rates to fund the changes that Parker hopes to implement in the budget.
Also, in an increase in investment in education, Parker plans to give 56% of property tax income to school initiatives — over the 55% that had been allocated — as well as providing an additional $2 million into the district this upcoming year.
Overall, the proposal would increase school spending in next year’s budget by an additional $24 million this year and $129 million over the next five years.
For public safety, Parker’s budget includes about $877 million in spending for law enforcement initiatives in the city. This would include new hiring for internal affairs positions, 911 dispatchers, community outreach positions and victim advocates.
The proposal would also include funds for a forensics lab, as well.
Another big ticket item in the proposal is expected to be a city match of new funding for SEPTA.
In his budget address, earlier this year, Gov. Josh Shapiro said he intends to invest in public transit throughout the state, with $161 million in new funds for SEPTA.
To provide increases to transit, the governor is asking for a match from the Philadelphia and other cities. Parker’s spending plan includes a $117 million match for SEPTA funding over the next five years.
Other spending increases include lifting spending for initiatives falling under the mayor’s office to $15 million, as officials said new efforts will fall under the direction of this office. However, they did not clarify how this would breakdown, leaving that for Parker to detail on Thursday.
There will also be $8.5 million set aside for Philadelphia’s new office for the chief public safety director.
Along with this initiative, the Parker’s proposal will include the launch of a new residential neighborhood cleaning program — along with a community appearance index to let officials know where additional city services are needed.
In concert with this effort, Parker’s proposal will include a pilot program to step up trash collection to twice a week, in areas where litter concerns are most serious.
Parker is also expected to discuss a spending plan — $100 million in 2025 — for new triage and wellness centers. Officials did not define what these facilities might entail, but the mayor is expected to break this spending down during Thursday’s event.
Following the delivery of Parker’s proposal on Thursday, there will be a series of public hearings beginning on March 26 and continuing through May 1 to be held in City Hall in City Council’s chambers.
A full hearing schedule is available on City Council’s website.
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