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Philly.com- City Council passed a $4.7 billion budget that spares Philadelphia property owners a tax hike but is still expected to help the school district avoid a deficit in the near future.
Mayor Kenney failed to get support for the 4.1 percent property tax increase he initially proposed but will sign the amended budget. Council agreed with his other school funding proposals, including hiking the real estate transfer tax and slowing down cuts to the wage tax.
Council’s plan is projected to send an additional $617 million to the district over five years if the Revenue Department increases its collection of delinquent taxes.
Kenney said Council was being overly optimistic, but Council President Darrell Clarke said that with Council’s plan, the school district will stave off a deficit until at least 2023.
Overall, the budget increased spending by 6 percent because of labor contracts negotiated by the Kenney administration, funding for homelessness, the opioid epidemic, domestic violence shelters, a reentry program and gun prevention programs.
