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Another $27 Million Cut From City Budget

by KYW's Mike Dunn

Philadelphia's budget woes continue. The Nutter Administration has announced yet more spending cuts totaling $27million, affecting virtually every aspect of the city government.

The Nutter Administration laid out this latest round of spending reductions in the wake of the continuing recession and declines in city business and property tax revenues. It includes large scale reductions in police and fire department overtime.

And, chief of staff Clarence Armbrister says achieving those cuts won't be easy:

"The command staff will have to work very hard to make sure that the overtime is managed very well."
The Fire Department in fact will achieve its overtime cuts through "rolling closures" of fire companies citywide. The mayor earlier had said he'd close some companies outright. The only actual layoffs will be ten staffers cut from the office that deals with homelessness.

There's also a million dollar cut to the Community College of Philadelphia, a million dollar cut to the prison system, and a million dollar cut to the city's cultural fund. And, officials warn, that with the recession continuing and federal funding for Medicaid in limbo, this may not be the end.

One bit of good news is that the mayor rescinded his plan to close branch libraries one day a week. That was avoided thanks to greater-than-expected results from the city's just-completed tax amnesty.

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