Philadelphia City Council and Mayor Kenney Reach Budget Compromise [Alert]

June 18, 2021

On June 17, Philadelphia City Council approved amendments to the budget that Mayor Kenney initially presented in April. City Council is adding $89 million in additional spending, and significant changes to the budget include:

  • $155 million total towards anti-violence programming
  • $49 million to community organizations
  • $30 million to mental health co-responders, group violence intervention, job initiatives, parks, and the Free Library
  • $10 million to the New Normal Jobs Initiative
  • $10 million towards the Poverty Action Fund (partnership between the City of Philadelphia and the United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey)
  • $7 million to the arts and culture, hospitality, and tourism industries
  • $4 million in additional capital expenditures (including an additional $1.5 million towards the Philadelphia Zoo)
  • $2.1 million to the Citizens Police Oversight Commission

Ultimately, City Council opted to cut taxes less than Mayor Kenney initially proposed:

  • Resident wage tax will be reduced from 3.8712 percent to 3.8398 percent
  • Nonresident wage tax will be reduced from 3.5019% to 3.4481 percent
  • Proposals to reduce the business income and receipts tax were either held in committee or did not receive a majority vote of the Committee of the Whole

The budget will be up for final approval in City Council on June 24, and Mayor Kenney is expected to sign these bills before the July 1 deadline.

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