Winners and losers from the first city budget in Philly’s Parker-Johnson era
Clout is breaking down who's up and who's down following the first big legislative agreement of the Parker administration.
Clout loves a late night at City Hall.
Things get a little loose when the people’s business requires our elected leaders to burn the midnight oil, as was the case when city budget negotiations went deep into Wednesday night.
City Council staffers and members stepped out for dinner or refreshments and returned feeling a bit more talkative. Some managed to slip into more casual attire. And the air-conditioning shut off, turning the usually frigid Council chambers into a steam room.
At about 1 a.m. Thursday, Council’s Committee of the Whole unanimously approved a $6.37 billion compromise budget negotiated by Mayor Cherelle L. Parker and Council President Kenyatta Johnson. The budget is scheduled to get a final vote next week at Council’s last meeting before it adjourns for the summer.
Here are the winners and losers from the new budget.
The winners
Parker and Johnson: Parker largely got what she wanted in her first budget as mayor: flat tax rates, $100 million for a drug rehab facility next to the jail complex, and millions invested in her “clean and green” initiatives.
It was a good look for the mayor, who showed that she could compromise with Council despite recent dustups, such as lawmakers’ opposition to one of Parker’s school board nominees.
Johnson, who was elected Council president in January, also came out looking good. The budget got done on time. Council members seemed largely happy with his efforts to negotiate for their priorities. His property tax relief measure went through. And he kept members on the same page — they voted unanimously to approve the budget.
“This wasn’t a hard budget,” he said. “Most members of Council are in line with what we’re trying to do in terms of taking this city to the next level.”
Councilmember Jamie Gauthier and progressives: A year ago, Gauthier cast the lone vote against the final budget of Mayor Jim Kenney’s administration, saying it favored “corporations and affluent residents more than investing in the municipal services our neighbors need.”
Times have changed. Gauthier and fellow progressive Councilmembers Kendra Brooks, Nicolas O’Rourke, and Rue Landau pushed for four major priorities to be added during negotiations, and they got three: $14 million to build 70 affordable housing units at the site of the former UC Townhomes in Gauthier’s West Philly district; $5 million for the Built to Last home repair program; and $19 million for rental assistance. As a bonus, Parker’s plan to not cut wage or business taxes aligned with their agenda.
The progressives’ only miss was the lack of new funding for the Office of Worker Protection. More on that later.
Perhaps it’s no surprise that Gauthier did so well. Many believe she provided Johnson with the clinching ninth vote in last year’s race for Council president.
The losers
Local chambers of commerce: Parker’s budget proposal did not include cuts to the business or wage tax rates, a disappointment for the business community and a break from the city’s recent precedent of adopting small annual cuts to both levies.
Even after members announced that they were abandoning their push to cut business taxes, the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia sent representatives to Council to ask lawmakers to make a small reduction anyway.
But there could be some good news for the chambers in the coming year: The Tax Reform Commission created by Johnson is expected to produce a report in the fall.
Harm reduction advocates: The city will cut $1 million in funding to Prevention Point, a social services organization in Kensington, as part of the mayor’s promise to end the city’s financial support of programs that provide sterile syringes to people who use drugs.
Some progressive members who advocate for harm reduction strategies publicly derided the mayor’s plan, but in the end, they voted for the overall budget and the cut remains.
The Office of Worker Protection: Progressives wanted to add $2.6 million to support the office in the city’s Department of Labor that oversees the enforcement of laws such as wage theft and mandated paid sick leave, but their request didn’t make it in the final deal.
O’Rourke, a member of the Working Families Party, said it means the city won’t have the “necessary funding” to bolster enforcement of its labor laws.
“I want to commend those who are organizing around this issue and how consistent they have been,” he said.
Council staffers’ headaches: Clout may like a late night, but we think more than a few Council staffers woke up Thursday morning feeling a little sluggish. We recommended Gatorade.
When lawmaking is illegal
Eagle-eyed watchers of Council may have noticed an unusual procedural motion at Thursday’s session: the recall of a bill the body passed the previous week.
What happened? It turns out that Councilmember Cindy Bass got her colleagues to pass zoning legislation they weren’t legally allowed to vote on.
The bill creates a conservation district to set design standards for the blocks around East Mermaid Lane in Chestnut Hill, where neighbors were spooked four years ago by a Goldenberg Group proposal for apartment development.
The effort proved unexpectedly controversial, with opposition from city planners and the Chestnut Hill Community Association. The Planning Commission last month placed a 45-day hold on the bill.
But Bass hurried it along anyway, and her colleagues voted unanimously, and illegally, to pass it last Thursday.
Oops.
“It was purely a mistake on her part that she allowed it to go forward,” said Charles Richardson, Bass’ chief of staff. “Nothing nefarious.”
On Thursday, the Planning Commission lifted its hold, and Bass requested the mayor’s office send it back to Council. It’s an unusual action, but it will likely allow her to get it passed next week.
Clout provides often irreverent news and analysis about people, power, and politics.