What to expect in Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker’s 1st budget address

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker will reveal her first budget to the city council on Thursday.

Action News takes a first look at funding projections and breaks down some of the key numbers.

So far, taxes are expected to remain roughly the same.

The police department will be getting more funding and street paving is a big ticket item.

Another thing the budget reveals is that the city is hiring, with the Parker administration still working to fill hundreds of positions.

“Our biggest investment is in public safety,” said Sabrina Maynard, Deputy Finance Director for Policy, Analysis and Grants.

More than $600 million will go into the safety component of Parker’s slogan of making Philadelphia the “safest, cleanest, and greenest big city.”

The total cost of Parker’s budget is expected to come in at $6.3 billion over five years.

“The new office is really thinking through how to make sure those dollars are being used in ways that translate into impact,” Maynard said.

While giving a glimpse at some of the plans, the administration stressed that it’ll increase support for the police department and anti-violence initiatives, with the use of grants.

Millions of dollars will go toward upgrading police technology, buying new cars, drones and improving the department’s forensics lab.

However, the police department is still down hundreds of officers, which continues to be a struggle for the city to fill those positions.

Parker’s administration is also navigating the post-pandemic economy. Her administration says the city lost $1.5 billion in revenue during that timeframe.

Officials say the city still has roughly $450 million left of federal pandemic relief money that needs to be spent by the end of the year.

Another large investment will be street paving.

“Half a billion dollars. I don’t get to say that a lot — billion. Half a billion over the life of our capital program,” Maynard said.

They’ll also be addressing quality of life issues, such as littering, illegal dumping, abandoned cars, as well as vacant lots and buildings.

“One of the largest components and new programs is launching the citywide residential cleaning program, which would be dedicated cleaning crews in each council district,” said Payal Patel, Deputy Budget Director for Policy and Strategy. “Also, we’ll be piloting twice-weekly trash collection in areas of the city that deal with the most litter issues.”

Parker also wants to focus $100 million toward efforts to clean up open drug use in Kensington.

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The school district will also get a $22 million increase in this proposal.

There is a plan for more money for SEPTA, too.

The new Democratic leader will be dealing with a largely brand-new city council to pass her spending plan, which will have until July 1 to reach a final agreement on the budget.