Mayor Parker's Budget Address

Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker speaks in City Council chambers at City Hall on March 14, 2024. Photo Credit: Kimberly Paynter/WHYY

I Listened To The Mayor’s Budget Address, So You Don’t Have To!
​What taxes are increasing and where is your money going?

On Thursday, March 12th, Mayor Cherelle Parker unveiled her Fiscal Year 2027 (FY27) budget of $6.97 Billion ($B) in a two hour address to City Council. This budget is the largest proposal in Philadelphia history. Now I know, not everyone has the time to sit through a two hour speech, or the time to read the whole thing… So I did it for you! Read on for the highlights!

---

Mayor Parker started her address honoring many people and thanking City Council members and civil servants in typical political fashion. She then turned her attention towards the budget announcing that Philly would be ‘Cleaner, Greener. And Stronger.” But most importantly, this year's budget will focus on an Economic “GPS”: Growth, Prosperity, and Security.

Now onto the meat of what Mayor Parker said:

Notables
While Mayor Parker primarily addresses revenue and investments, she did specifically have some notable moments and commitments outside of spending and revenue.

• Philadelphia’s Economic “GPS”: Growth, Prosperity, and Security. A “Roadmap to self-sufficiency.”
• The Budget Stabilization Reserve Fund (the “Rainy Day Fund”) will have $344 Million ($M) by the end of the proposed five year plan, the most ever.
  • This fund was used to help stabilize economic conditions during COVID, and in times of economic hardship or disasters, like the I-95 bridge collapse.
• Pension will be fully funded by FY33
  • This will eliminate $550M in debt payments that date back to the 90s. This will be the first time in four decades that Philadelphia is up to date on their pension payments.
• 100 new seats for PHLpreK
• The city has net 2,000 new City Jobs since January 2024. 
• Increasing enforcement of the Illegal Dumping Task Force
• One Philly Plan to End Street Homelessness  is committed to creating 1,000 new beds across their systems.

New Taxes
Everyone’s favorite topic: taxes! Mayor Parker proposed $48.5M in new revenue. These are the new taxes, as well as where their revenue will be directed:

• Hotel Tax Increase: Increasing 2% for $20M annually
  • Will be used to open new Homeless shelters and clinics.
• Retail Delivery Fee: $0.25 per order for $15M annually
  • Will be split between the General Fund and “One Philly Pothole Squad.”
• Rideshare Fee: $0.20 per ride for $9.6M annually.
  • Will go directly to the Philadelphia school district.
• Modifying the Use & Occupancy Tax on Telecom Companies for $2.4M annually.
  • Will go directly to the Philadelphia school district.
• Online Retail Tax Loophole Closure for $1.5M annually.
  • Undisclosed where it will go.

Investments
Philadelphia will see many new investments back into the community. Most of these investments will start in FY27, but many will span the five year budget time period.

• $10M in Workforce Development training.
• $1.9M to expand Extended Day/Extended Year partnership with 47 new schools (35 district and 12 charter).
• $7M to Establish a City College for Municipal Employment (CCME) Fellows Program for recent graduates transitioning to municipal employment.
• $850,000 to create a Student Loan Help Center.
• $3.3M for a new program emphasizing small and local businesses when awarding City contracts.
• $14.7M over five years to create 1,000 new summer jobs.
• $13.9M over five years to provide expert financial counseling.
• $25M continued investment in the SEPTA Zero Fare Program.
• $10M investment in SEPTA Key Advantage program.
• $7.1M to launch “One Philly Pothole Squad.”
• $30M investment for Vision Zero (Safer Streets).
• $11.5M in City and State funds for Gateway to Philadelphia Initiative for planting 85 trees and 96,000 bulbs along I-76, and graffiti cleaning.
• $179M in Capital Investments in parks and recreations.
• $27m in FY27 and $110m over five years to support the goals of ending street homelessness in Philadelphia.
• $211M over five years in Opioid settlement funds in the Wellness Ecosystem, continuing operations at Riverview and Philly Home, Kensington Wellness Support Center, and the Wellness Court.
• $550M over five years to be set aside for collective bargaining with unionized employees.
• $33M on capital programs for HVAC upgrades to libraries.
• $50M for relocation of the African American museum.
• $500,000 operating support to Dell Music Center and $1m to their capital funding.

Housing
And we couldn’t discuss Mayor Parker’s budget address without talking about her Housing Opportunities Made Easy Initiative (H.O.M.E.).

• The first $2B investments will start repairing and restoring 30,000 units in FY27.
• The Philadelphia Housing Authority will begin construction on 20,000 deeply affordable units.
• The H.O.M.E. initiative will begin implementing and providing additional funding to the following programs:
  • One Philly Mortgage
  • Basic System Repair Program
  • Renter Protection
  • Adaptive Modification
  • Turn the Key
• A $50M investment will start renovations on an affordable senior citizen apartment building.
• Philadelphia will contribute $10M in investments to factories to create modular housing.
  • This program is currently in the Request for Information phase.

This budget address officially kicks off budgeting season here in Philadelphia. AHCOPA is hopeful that this year will see significant investments in the Housing and Economic futures of Philadelphians. If you want to learn more about the process or attend some of the budgeting hearings, you can find more information here. The first hearing is on March 24th from 10am-4pm.

---

Michael Iwan

Michael serves at AHCOPA as an AmeriCorps VISTA with the Housing Action Corps