Council To The Rescue?
Council To The Rescue?
By defying a revenue enhancement-happy mayor, our august legislative body has stepped up. Merely that doesn't mean Council President Darrell Clarke has constitute a new moral center
Jun. 12, 2018
Information technology's telling that, in a briefing for reporters last week in response to City Council's preliminary budget program that disregards the Mayor'due south telephone call for a 4.1 percent property taxation increase to fund the schools, the administration sent out Finance Director Rob Dubow to brand the case every bit to why Quango was coming upwards short. Seriously? Dubow? Is there any one in local government with less credibility right at present to talk about fiscal matters?
When last we saw Dubow, y'all'll remember, he was stammering to respond to some pretty basic questions posed by Councilman Allan Domb most why some $xl billion of taxpayer money has long been running through unreconciled banking company accounts, and where the now-$27 million (downwards from $40 meg!) that's missing from the metropolis'south Consolidated Cash account might have run off to. The answers were less than forthcoming.
In fact, each time Dubow and City Treasurer Rasheia Johnson have submitted to Domb's cantankerous-examinations, their story has inverse. (In a May 25 letter of the alphabet to Council President Darrell Clarke from Johnson, the number of accounts at present backside on reconciliations is upwardly to 7 from 5). Dubow hasn't responded to my near recent email, asking how he's coming on that search for the missing $27 million.
He'south not exactly the dominance y'all desire to send out there to brand the case that Council is wrong in opposing yet some other tax increase in the nation'due south second highest-taxed city, is he? (Cheers for being you, Bridgeport, Connecticut, by the mode.) Seriously: The best the administration could do is to send out the guy who tin't business relationship for the money you've already given him to brand the case for why he needs more ?
Enter City Council. Now, many of us afflicted with the curse of closely watching local governance have long been critical of it. Former Mayor Bill Dark-green one time called information technology "the worst legislative body in the Gratis World," right around the time that then-Councilmen John Street and Franny Rafferty were rolling effectually on the flooring, engaging in pathetic fisticuffs.
I wish I could say that Quango is that very leader. Just I suspect that many of its deportment—even those I support—are the production of Clarke'southward petty political machinations, something he's diabolically good at.
Lately, while surpassing that low bar, Council has continued to discover novel ways to debase itself—and us in the procedure. At that place's the scourge of Councilmanic Prerogative , for example, a "admirer's agreement" that finds district council members with unchallenged power over development in their districts—the mutual good exist damned. In that location was Quango President Darrell Clarke's shameful squelching of a $1.v billion selloff of Philadelphia Gas Works in 2014, because he didn't want to hand his rival, and then-Mayor Michael Nutter, a victory. And there's Council's hypocritical lack of transparency when it comes to its ain $17 meg budget; though information technology stands in judgment of how every other metropolis section spends its money, Clarke refuses to itemize almost $two million in a mysterious "Purchase of Services" monetary line item.
So you get my drift: The House of Commons this is not. Yet there Quango was last week, standing up to a Mayor who has nevertheless to run beyond a tax increment he doesn't lust after. In Year One, it was the regressive soda taxation, to fund pre-Thousand and his Rebuild initiative, both well-intentioned. At present comes a proposed property taxation increase—while Function of Belongings Assessment notices are making their mode beyond the city, some with giant hikes. And all this while, in the instance of the missing millions, the Mayor's underlings are undermining confidence that the city tin effectively manage the coin it does take in.
All these tax hikes take been necessary considering Mayor Kenney is a spendaholic. He inherited a upkeep of $iii.9 billion; it's now $4.6 billion. That'due south an xviii percent increase, when the inflation rate is all of 1.nine percent. Rather than revert to notwithstanding more tax increases, Council'southward response is to cut spending on prisons—where the population has decreased by almost a third—past $95 million over 5 years and to collect $93 million in delinquent real estate taxes past signing onto Domb's "sequestration" strategy, whereby a serial of notices go to tax deadbeats threatening that their property will become into receivership if they don't offset cleaning up their debts.
In the instance of delinquent residential landlords, that would hateful tenants paying rent to the metropolis instead of the property owner, with the funds held in escrow only to be released to the landlord once he'southward defenseless up. It'south a threat that Domb—the Condo King who knows his real manor—calls a "hammer." Finally, Council would reduce planned cuts to the wage revenue enhancement to the melody of $340 meg, which could exist seen every bit a kind of backdoor tax on businesses.
Dubow responds that Council'south plan would just bring in $530 million for the schools over the side by side 5 years, when the projected pigsty is $100 million more that, which Kenney'south tax-happy plan would exceed by $140 1000000. But, as stipulated, a) Dubow and Kenney have lost all credibility when it comes to managing our money, and b) Dubow and Kenney concede that the gap in funding facing the school district doesn't likely materialize until year three.
All these revenue enhancement hikes take been necessary because Mayor Kenney is a spendaholic. He inherited a budget of $3.ix billion; it'southward now $4.6 billion.
So a crisis this is not. Kenney admirably has fabricated himself accountable for the fate of our schools, but attributable to his "revenue enhancement first, ask questions later" ideology, he never got stakeholders like Clarke and the land together to try and put together a funding program to get at that place. That would have been what a leader does.
I wish I could say that Council, on the other hand, is that very leader. But I suspect that many of its actions—even those I support—are the production of Clarke's petty political machinations, something he'southward diabolically proficient at. Let's walk through them.
First, when Councilwoman Cindy Bass unveiled a budget proposal last week that, laudably, contained meaning budget cuts, I saw the shadowy hand of Clarke behind it. That'due south how he frequently operates—getting acolytes to strike his blows for him. In this case, he'south clearly messing with Kenney, as evidenced by his appearance on Channel half dozen's Within Story this past Sunday, when a sly smile crossed his face as he predicted that the Mayor would have a primary challenger next twelvemonth. (Paging Alan Butkovitz).
Clarke strikes me as the prototypical big city pol, brusk on core confidence, but long on political street smarts. He's a wholly political animal. Simply as he stood in the mode of economic growth by opposing the PGW sale to score political points against a rival—Nutter—so, too, volition he stand for economical growth past opposing a holding revenue enhancement increment if it means scoring political points against some other nemesis—Kenney.
Clarke—like Kenney—bemoans President Trump, yet they, like him, often let petty resentments to determine policy. Clarke is on the correct side of the property tax issue, simply not necessarily for the right reasons. If he were truly pro-growth, he'd not only oppose Kenney's addiction to levying taxes, but sign on to the plan that Paul Levy, Jerry Sweeney, Kenney, labor unions and African-American and Hispanic leadership groups have all come up out for : Increasing commercial existent estate taxes and diverting the gain to lowering the wage tax, enabling businesses to compete for talent and grow jobs. Only that would a) hand Kenney a win and b) lessen the corporeality of coin in the general fund at Clarke'southward disposal to reward friends and punish enemies.
"It's the responsibility of this City Quango to protect the people's coin," Clarke has said of Kenney's holding tax increment. "At some point, we have to say enough is enough."
Funny, Clarke doesn't seem all also concerned about protecting the people's money when it comes to getting to the bottom of the missing $27 million or the bookkeeping practices that have seen billions of dollars run through unreconciled accounts. No, it'southward way as well early to proclaim that Clarke has establish a new moral eye. But, in a highly-taxed, highly-impoverished, low-growth city that ever seems to opt for taxing an ever-shrinking tax base, peradventure finally saying "no" one fourth dimension is what passes for reform, Philly style.
Photo via Flickr 
Source: https://thephiladelphiacitizen.org/council-to-the-rescue/
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