Mayor Cherelle Parker advocated for additional SEPTA funding, homelessness programs, and a new student loan help center in her budget address delivered before Philadelphia’s City Council last week.
The $6.9 billion budget also includes new taxes aimed at generating revenue for city schools and pothole repairs. Parker — a 2016 Fels Institute of Government graduate — said during the March 12 address that the budget focuses on “economic mobility” and “self-sufficiency” for all.
“If we get this right — by making value-driven, data-informed investments — Philadelphia can become the national model for economic mobility,” Parker said. “This is our moment, our chance to do what no city has done before.”
Parker intends to create a student loan help center to “assist borrowers” as they “navigate the confusing and frequently changing landscape.” During the address, Parker said that changes made by Congress to the federal student loan program “threaten to increase costs for most borrowers.”
“Student loans are already confusing without all the new changes,” a spokesperson for Parker wrote to the Daily Pennsylvanian. “We’re seeing people who don’t know where to start and want to give them accurate and timely information that can help them make choices that are right for them, to avoid delinquency and hopefully save them money.”
The spokesperson added that for those “still in school, like many Penn students, it helps you get ahead of it so you’re not figuring everything out at the last minute.”
The budget also establishes a five-year plan that sends nearly $900 million to SEPTA through 2031. It also includes $22 million to address homelessness by adding 1,000 shelter beds throughout the city.
During the address, Parker introduced a “Transportation Network Company Tax” that would implement a 20 cent tax on “ride share rides that originate in Philadelphia.” She said that the tax is estimated to generate more than $9.5 million per year.
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The tax is one of two proposed initiatives that would raise a projected $12 million annually for the School District of Philadelphia. The second is a proposal that would alter the way cell towers are taxed.
Parker said that the city would “work hard” to “fix our crumbling school facilities,” as well as “give our children the learning spaces they deserve.”
“It’s the state’s responsibility to deliver a thorough and efficient education, and we’ll be watching their appropriations closely,” Parker said. “Our kids deserve it.”
The mayor also proposed a tax on retailers — 25 cents per order on certain goods — beginning July 1, 2027. She stated that “essential delivery items,” such as food, baby products, medications, and medical devices, would be excluded.
The mayor’s office estimated that the tax would generate $15 million annually, to be spent on repairing streets and potholes.
“In other words, businesses that rely on our streets for deliveries will help pay to maintain them,” Parker said.
The proposed budget will now go to the Philadelphia City Council, who have announced that they will begin budget hearings on March 24. The council has until July 1 to pass a budget.
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Senior reporter Arti Jain covers state and local politics and can be reached at jain@thedp.com. At Penn, she studies economics and political science. Follow her on X @arti_jain_.
