The PICA vote has real consequences of the City.

The vote affirms and legalizes the fiscal policies and priorities of the City. In my view, this is a phony budget and the Board knows it. The Board has a $350,000 hammer to coerce the City into a realistic fiscal plan.

Can we trust PICA Board? Can we trust the Mayor, City Administration, Council and the City Finance Director? Can we trust government?

The the PICA City Philadelphia Cash Flow statements show cash flow deficit from July 31, 2013 to June 30, 2014 of $160,700,000 and 7 out of 12 months run at cash deficit. See page 16 of PICA Budget link. The opening cash balance on July 31, 2013 is $437,400,000 and ending cash balance on June 30, 2014 is $276,700,000. This decline of $160,700,000 is a decline of 36.7% in cash position. The City budget spends about $3.6 Bbillion dollars, and $276 Mmillion is a very thin margin of error, about 7%. One or two projections go sideways and the cash is wiped out. On August 8th, Common Pleas Judge Idee C. Fox ruled that the city is to pay an additional $1,000,000 per month, or $69,000,000 over five years, into the firefighters union health-care fund which has declined from $28 million in 2009 to $2 million now. READ MORE Inquirer 15 August 2012 The City Wont Appeal Judge Idee C. Foxs Ruling and FoxNewsPhilly 8 August 2013 Judge Idee C. Fox Orders.

ABC reports: August 15, 2013 (WPVI) -- Mayor Michael Nutter said Thursday that the city will borrow $50 million to ensure that schools open on time next month, even as City Council members who oppose the idea insisted that he cannot seek the loan without their approval. With another $50 million added to the budget by debt, (without any union concessions), there is not only, by the Mayor's admission, a budget deficit but, as we have seen from PICA web page link to budget, cash flow is going in the wrong direction adversely impacted by the $69 million ordered on August 8 by Judge Fox and the inevitable $207 million for firefighters. What will the PICA board do? *

Kicking the Pension Funding Can Down the Road is a Cooperative Bipartisanship and another way of selling out The Forgotten Taxpayer and the promises to pensioners.

The Pew Charitable Trust Report on Philadelphias Tax Delinquencies (sent to me by the responsive Steve CampLandis) states, in part: The Pew Charitable Trusts estimates that the city should be able to collect at least $155 million or about 30 percent of the $515.4 million [owed City and School District] over the course of several years, assuming that well-funded tax

collectors use all of their statutory powers, including foreclosure, more aggressively than in years past. According to Greg Rost, Finance Director Dubow and the Nutter Administration have proposed to increase spending for collections.there is, however, a plan to spend $40 million ($25M in capital and $15M in operating) to enhance collections. The $40M plan over five years includes additional staff, new technology, a data warehouse, and new processes to increase delinquent tax collections. Best, G There has been no explanation as to why an additional $40 million is needed when there is in place a property tax billing system and a City Law department to prosecute. Tax collection is not complicated as the Finance Director presents it.

JOBS Inquirer Larry Eichel 25 March 2013: While Philadelphia's population grew, mostly from foreign born immigrants about 75% of the growth, jobs did not. "Educated young adults are the people a city needs to attract and retain. But the local economy has not been helping. In 2012, Philadelphia had 661,400 jobs, 1,900 fewer than four years ago. Although there are about 10, 000 more jobs in 2012 than 2009, there are fewer than 2008 while population is increasing, 48,000 than in 2008, and 33,000 since 2009. Read More Pew Trusts State of the City Detail Population Research Initiative July 2013 and Pew Trusts Philadelphia Research Institute .

Indebtedness: The City Treasurers Office issues an annual report on City debt. Here is a link to last years Annual Report of Bonded

Indebtedness and Other Long Term Obligations for the Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 2012 -Beginning Balance of Long Term Debt is $5 0, 074 000 and ending balance is $50,498,000. I am not an expert in the intricacies of Philadelphia bond financing but it appears long term debt is going in wrong direction. There Is a category called Total Available and to be Provided in Future Years 9,045,909,000 I dont know what this is or what the impact on Citys financial base but it seems significant.

Bulldog (but not bomb thrower) the tenacious and very smart Brett Mandel and informs with details and insights. The Bulldog Budget Last year, the Bulldog pointed to the masked imbalance in the budget and was ignored. PICA: Reject City's Spending Plan (August 2012) Brett Mandel: We Need Tough Fiscal Watchdogs December 2012 Now that the City has (again) lost its appeal of the firefighters' award and the police contract has been finalized, it is clear the Five-Year Plan is at least $250 million in the red. That does not even account for the future arbitration awards for police and firefighters that will come during the next five years or for any negotiated agreements with the City's white- and blue-collared employees, which could add another few hundred million in costs to the Plan. More problematic, these costs will likely come in a large lump. Since the City has appealed and re-appealed the firefighter award, and since white- and blue-collared employees have now gone nearly four years without a new contract, the likelihood is that these bills will not

be spread out over the years of the contract, but could come all due at once as part of retroactive awards and "catch-ups."

PICA has the hammer; it may be time to bring it down. More likely, the forces of political and economic cronyism will prevail once again. The politically connected are too well protected to worry about adverse consequences to Philadelphians not in their mutual benefit network. The rest of us are and are, seemingly, helpless against the political and economic juggernaut.