CAMPUS BRIEFS: Friday, March 27, 1998

City Council approves $128.8 million budget Rendell proposed the budget on January 27, when he told a packed crowd that last year was marked by fiscal stability. Fiscal year 1997, which ended June 30, was the fifth consecutive year which ended with a budget surplus, this time a record $128.8 million. The proposed budget seeks to cut taxes, improve services such as graffiti removal and trash collection and spur job growth and economic development. The mayor also outlined new proposals on crime, eduction, welfare, homelessness, recreation departments and neighborhood projects. "It has worked well for us, and I think most Council members believe that this is a reasonable spending program for the city over the course of the next year," Council President John Street told the assembly. After the budget was passed, Council approved a separate resolution which will allocate $15 million to the Philadelphia public school system. Council has been deliberating over the proposed budget since February 10. -- Lindsay Faber Skimmer tradition to return to U. tomorrow Spring Fling wasn't always the single biggest social event of the year. Until the early 1970s, when Skimmer Day was banned, the event was hailed as Penn's own Woodstock, while Fling took a backseat. More than two decades later, Boathouse Row will once again come alive tomorrow as Skimmer makes a resurgence. Sponsored by the Junior Class Board, the afternoon event will include free food and performances by the reggae band Jah Works and the "jazz-funk-groove" band Rugby Road, as well as a cappella standards Pennsylvania Six-5000 and Counterparts. The event will continue from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. at Boathouse Row, which is about 2 1/2 miles away from campus, according to College junior and class President Sarah Gleit, who is running Skimmer. Buses will leave every 15 minutes from 40th and Spruce streets starting at 12:45 p.m., Gleit said. "The weather is on our side," Gleit said. "Everyone is going to be there." -- Ginny Dorsey