Urgent Budget Update!
City Council will vote on the Mayor’s budget, tax cuts and funding for tazers on Tuesday June 8th!
The Mayor’s budget does not include adequate funding for eviction defense, community violence prevention, mobile mental health units, rec center programming and more resources that our communities need. Yet City Council President Darrell Clarke and other members of city council are rushing a budget vote earlier than usual without spending time to make adjustments to ensure our communities receive the resources we need.
Housing advocates and Reclaim members called city council members in the past two weeks demanding full funding for PEPP and right to counsel. As the most vulnerable in our city face a housing crisis, investing in eviction defense is a key component needed in the budget. We’re demanding $3 million be dedicated to funding eviction defense programs (PEPP and Right to Counsel)
From Reclaim Philadelphia’s Housing Taskforce:
Despite Philadelphia’s impending eviction crisis, Kenney has once again refused to invest in the City’s main eviction prevention programs, slashing the Philadelphia Eviction Prevention Project (PEPP) in half and leaving Right to Counsel unfunded. PEPP was a groundbreaking program when it launched in late 2017. Borne out of growing public awareness that evictions cause profound, lasting harm, that landlords disproportionately evict Black and brown renters, and that there is such a clear and unjust power imbalance between a landlord and tenant in court, PEPP was the first time the City, Council and six tenant advocate organizations partnered to offer comprehensive services for renters facing eviction or having issues with their landlord.
Last week, city council members held a press conference to share the Youth Powered Anti-Violence Agenda from the Children and Youth Committee, chaired by councilmember Helen Gym. This proposal aims to invest deeply in the youth experiencing the most impact from community violence through direct, targeted programs to ensure jobs, rec center programing, mental health support and more. It’s not enough to support programs like this at a press conference. They need to be funded and rolled out now. We’re demanding $50 million from the 2022 city budget be invested in this agenda.
While so many critical investments require us to call in, testify, lobby and speak out - the Mayor wants tax cuts for the wealthiest among us!
In the words of Councilmembers Brooks, Gym and Gauthier:
“While the American Rescue Plan Act might bring us back to funding levels of years past, we need far more to fix the cracks in our system that the pandemic exposed and meet the needs of our communities. That is why we stand firmly against Mayor Kenney’s proposal to give away $343 million in tax cuts over five years by reducing the Business Income & Receipts Tax (BIRT) and the City’s wage tax—cuts which will primarily benefit rich corporations, with two thirds of the wage tax cuts going to suburbanites, while placing an added burden on city residents.”
Read the full statement by Councilmembers Brooks, Gym and Gauthier here.
City Council will also be voting on a tax cut for parking lot owners, introduced by council member Cherelle Parker. Parking lot owners are some of the wealthiest developers in our city and do NOT need a break. This bill is absurd. Read more about it here.
Finally, despite public support for keeping police funding flat or lowering the police budget, City Council will also be voting on funding more tazers for the Philadelphia Police Department.
Our city budget reflects our priorities and the votes slated for Tuesday are not reflective of what Philadelphia needs to prioritize.
Take action :
Testify on Tuesday 6/8.
Call 215-686-3407 or e-mail Budget.Hearings@phila.gov by 3 p.m. on Monday!
You must provide the following
info: Full name, phone number, which resolution numbers you'll be speaking testifying about:
210322 (budget),
200655 (Tasers),
210285 (Wage and Net Profits Tax),
210284 (Business Income and Receipts Tax)
Still feeling unprepared to testify? We got you
Protest!
Join us Monday June 7th for a rally against tax cuts
Call City Council!
City Council can still make amendments to the budget or vote against it in it’s current state. Join us in calling city council members to demand $3 Million for eviction defense, $50 Million for Youth Powered Anti Violence Agenda and NO TAX CUTS!
Tuesday 10am via zoom
Rally at City Hall!