Not Pleased With Mayor's Budget, District Attorney Asks City Council For Funding Increase
By Mike Dunn
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) --- Philadelphia district attorney Seth Williams went before City Council yesterday, asking for more money in the coming year. And he was critical of the mayor's attitude toward funding his office.
DA Seth Williams is not pleased with the mayor's proposed budget, which sets aside just under $35 million for the DA's office. He told councilmembers that other offices are getting increases.
"I just think that we are being penalized (by the administration) for running an office so efficiently," he said. "And there is so much more that we could do with just a slight investment."
Williams wants the extra cash primarily to boost salaries of assistant district attorneys, who are being paid far less than what they could get practicing law privately.
A spokesman for the mayor, Mark McDonald, said that given the fiscal challenges facing the city, they believe the budget allocation for the DA is "appropriate."
