Mayor Nutter Eyeing Additional 2 Percent Cuts In City Spending
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - The arrival of October brings the possibility of another round of budget belt-tightening for the Nutter administration, and the mayor says the belt may end up only one notch tighter.
Much of Mayor Nutter's first term has been marked by some drastic budget slashing along with tax hikes, as the recession slammed into the city (see related story).
Now, city department heads have been told to come up with less painful scenarios on the order of two percent reductions.
Mayor Nutter stresses that no decisions have been made.
"We've asked the managers to look at two percent, and we want to know -- given all the other cuts that have been made over the years -- just what would that look like, what would you have to do," he told KYW Newsradio.
A final decision will come in a week or so, after September tax revenue figures come in. July and August showed drops in sales and wage tax receipts (see related story).
Nutter says whatever the quarter's numbers look like, the police and fire departments will not face even slight cuts.
"We are not touching our public safety services," he vowed.
Reported by KYW City Hall bureau chief Mike Dunn
