Rendell promises balanced budget

Mayor Ed Rendell presented his fiscal 1994 budget to City Council last night, promising a balanced budget but warning of sacrifices to come. Rendell was greeted by a packed council chamber, where many of the members of the audience held up posters of protest to any budget cuts, and heckled the mayor. The mayor delivered his proposal amidst catcalls from protestors and shouts of "Rendell is a liar," and "You'll never go to the state house." "When I presented our first budget and plan last year, we were facing a $208 million projected defecit for this fiscal year, and a $1.4 billion projected deficit over five years," said Rendell. "We were unsure whether we could make our payrolls." Rendell added that the city has made fiscal progress since then, citing the $77 million gained from the renegotiated labor contracts. The mayor also proposed changes to help the city stay solvent. He recommended putting civilians in desk jobs at the police department. Civilian workers' salaries and benefits are lower than those of uniformed officials. Rendell said this change would result in $3.6 million in savings this fiscal year, and $5.4 million in fiscal year 1994. Rendell also stated this move would increase the number of officers on the streets. He also suggested new deployment methods for Philadelphia fire-fighters, removal of traffic signals in favor of stop signs, limiting service provided by the Health Department, curtailing hours in the Free Library system, and cutting all funds givien to cultural groups through the Recreation Department. Rendell said that the only way to acquire the funds outside of cuts would be to either raise the property tax by 32 percent, or to raise the wage tax by 5.55 percent. But he pointed out that there has been improvement in stream-lining costs. Rendell said management reform has made large strides in cost saving. He applauded the 300 executives loaned from the private sector who have helped the city project $141 million in managment savings this fiscal year. The mayor pointed out that this is, "almost 70 percent more than the five-year plan's first year target." Rendell said there is a new sense of confidence in Philadelphia. He cited the quick sale of $100 million in short-term notes the city sold at 2.98 percent. But the mayor also had sobering news. "A middle-class family living and working in Philadelphia pays twice the taxes of a similar family in the suburbs, and more than in any other city on the East Coast," he said. "And a 1987 study estimated that 130,000 city jobs had been lost since 1965 as a result of the wage tax." However, he remained optimistic. "There's a new sense of hope in Philadelphia. We have begun to believe in ourselves again and others are starting to also . . . When we succeed -- and I know we will -- Philadelphia will become a model for what a city of the 21st century can be."