New Reports on City Goverment Reform

Posted by on November 2, 2009

Reforming City Government. At the beginning of the summer, Philadelphia’s government watchdog group, the Committee of Seventy, issued a report focused on the fiscal challenges facing Philadelphia entitled “Philadelphia’s Long, Hot Summer.” This report examined the City’s budget woes leading up to the State legislature’s passage of the increase in the sales tax in the City from 7% to 8% and allowing the City to make changes in its current pension management. The Committee of Seventy recently released a follow up to that report entitled “Tackling True Reform: Why Philadelphia Must Innovate.” The report states that short-term solutions to Philadelphia’s problems are not acceptable methods to continually use toward the goal of advancing the City’s future. The report urges solutions that are accompanied by reforms that will shrink and modernize local government. Recommendations for reform include reducing the cost of government and its related agencies, making the city friendlier to businesses and to economic development generally and studying Philadelphia’s Home Rule Charter to discover what sections of our City’s “constitution” could be modernized.

Original Report: http://www.seventy.org/Resources_Philadelphia_Budget_FAQ.aspx

Follow-up Report: http://www.seventy.org/OurViews_Tackling_True_Reform.aspx