Nutter, Are You Nuts?

Well, the fun never stops when it comes to all of the ridiculous ways that the City of Brotherly Love is trying to get more money from its fair citizens "by any means necessary". The latest proposed tactic: We may have to pay for our trash to be collected and a tax may be placed on soft drinks (and the like) which contain sugar! Check out THIS breaking news...

Mayor Michael Nutter formally proposed yesterday a $300 annual trash fee and the biggest tax in the nation on sugary drinks, as he told Philadelphians that "nothing worth having in life is free." Casting himself as an unapologetic champion of city services, Nutter (who has been known as an avid tax cutter for most of his career) said the new taxes were necessary to fill a budget deficit of up to $150 million. Nutter said during his budget address to City Council... "The deep budget cuts required to fill the deficit would force massive layoffs and a very noticeable reduction in city services. It's a path we should avoid."

The $3.87 billion budget Nutter proposed yesterday includes just $33 million in spending reductions, compared to $146.6 million in new taxes and fees, a figure that rises to $185 million in future years. Past budget-cutting targets, such as libraries, pools, and the Fire Department, are entirely untouched in Nutter's latest budget offering. Indeed most departments, with the notable exception of prisons, avoided Nutter's budget ax entirely. Nutter said... "So yes, we'd pay a little more. But we'd preserve city services."

Many Philadelphians will shell out more than just a little, if the mayor's proposals are enacted. The $300 annual garbage fee, which would raise about $108 million, is akin to a 26% increase in the city's property-tax collections. The tax of two cents per ounce on sugary drinks will not prove cheap for those unable to break their Coca-Cola habit either. Drinking two 12-ounce cans of sugared soft drinks a day would add up to an additional $175 in taxes a year. Together, the two new fees represent a 4.9% increase in Philadelphians' overall general fund tax and fee burden.

In Nutter's view, these sacrifices are unavoidable, in light of lower-than-expected tax collections and unforeseen expenses like the huge cost of snow removal. Nutter said... "In extraordinary times, we've met the challenge of recession. We've innovated, we've reformed, and we've preserved the basic services that Philadelphians want and deserve." The mayor struck a few sober notes in his 50-minute budget address, such as when he quoted Thomas Paine: "These are the times that try men's souls."

Nutter's overall tone was far more positive than it was during last year's long-running budget crisis. He told City Council... "I believe that Philadelphia is uniquely positioned for greatness in this new century. We're at the right place, at the right time, and we have what it takes to create huge economic growth and prosperity for our city, a city that is safe, smart and sustainable." Calling his administration "battle tested," Nutter extensively referenced the spending cuts he enacted last year, such as a $50 million reduction in overtime spending and the shedding of 800 city jobs through attrition. Nutter said that overall city spending in 2009-2010 was $159 million below the prior year, excluding pension and debt-service costs, which he has no short-term control over.

Given its controversial new provisions, Nutter's budget will surely be attacked from many corners in coming months. Already, former Mayor John F. Street is a prominent critic of Nutter's plan. Waving an empty two-liter bottle of Coke as a prop, Street said Nutter's proposed taxes would disproportionately hurt the poor, a criticism echoed by low-income advocates. Street said Nutter should have raised property taxes instead, a course Nutter rejected given the inaccurate real estate assessments provided by the Board of Revision of Taxes. Street said, "The real estate assessments are out of whack, I give him that... but this is an out-of-whack proposal!"