My Kingdom For A Ladder Truck!
Can I have more in my allowance now?
The Associated Press
PHILADELPHIA — The city will close libraries and swimming pools, suspend planned tax reductions, cut more than 800 jobs and trim salaries for some administrators in order to weather “an economic storm” that could leave the city with a $1 billion shortfall, Mayor Michael Nutter said today.
Food for thought from  | |
| The economy is all the rage now and budget cutters are gleefully looking to cut staff, stations and training. — Jay Lowry in My Kingdom for a Ladder Truck | |
Nutter outlined the drastic budget cuts in a live, 10-minute televised address — a rarity that represented an attempt to convey the dire nature of the city’s financial situation.
“The economic storm has arrived with such force that a respected economist said it was as if the national economy had ‘fallen off a cliff,”’ Nutter said. “Painful program and service cuts are necessary.”
The same global economic troubles that have led to plunging stock markets and collapsing investment banks are affecting Philadelphia, he said. Revenues from business and real estate taxes are down and the city’s pension fund has underperformed, forcing officials to stabilize it with other money from the $4 billion municipal budget.
The job cuts include 220 layoffs and the elimination of 600 open positions. The city has about 23,000 employees.
No firefighters or police officers will be laid off, Nutter said, but 200 police vacancies will go unfilled and some fire equipment will be taken out of service.
“In the fire department, by reducing overtime, we’ll be able to cut 5 engine companies and 2 ladder companies, while maintaining overall safety,” Nutter said in the speech.
Officials say fire response time will still meet national standards, but the city firefighters’ union called the cuts “life-threatening” and scheduled a protest Thursday evening.