Nearly 500 residents came out to St. Monica's for a forum to give the Nutter administration their take on various budget scenarios.
Harris Sokoloff, left, takes notes as one group prioritizes budget items (Staff Photo by Greg Bezanis).
Trying to get the City on board with its citizens on the budget since last year, Harris Sokoloff and the Penn Project for Civic Engagement finally got its wish.
"We never left them alone," Penn Project Director Sokoloff said. "We said, 'are you ready now?' And they finally said, 'yes.'"
"The City Budget: Tough Times, Tough Choices" public forum brought out nearly 500 residents to the gymnasium of St. Monica's Catholic School, 16th and Porter streets, where they were divided into groups to prioritize and vote on potential cuts in city departments, as well as revenue options for the 2010 budget. Hosted by Penn Project and WHYY, the Feb. 19 forum was the third of four scheduled throughout the city -- and all attracted hundreds of concerned citizens.
Even with the budget problems, the gatherings were held to engage the community in the process -- not because of the crisis at hand, Sokoloff said.
"If the city was fat with cash, we would still say we need to do this," he added.
Although the forums were funded by a William Penn Foundation grant, limited time and money allowed for only four to be held across the city. With the others in the Northeast, Germantown and West Philly sections, they were scheduled before the mayor is set to propose next year's budget to Council March 19 and, according to Sokoloff, are an unprecedented move for a city government.
"This budget has to be closed in some way, some how by someone," he told the crowd, "and now we have a chance to have input before the decisions are made."
Jerry Polk, of 12th and Bainbridge streets, went to the Germantown session the night before to gain a different perspective as he is concerned about the cutting of services, such as recreation.
"I'm looking to see if they will really take the suggestions to heart, but that remains to be seen," Polk said. "Is this a sideshow or a real show?"
Betty Beaufort, a member of the Coalition to Save the Libraries for the Queen Memorial Branch, 1201 S. 23rd St., attended last Thursday's event, as well as the town hall meeting with Mayor Michael Nutter in late November. At the latter, 400 gathered at South Philadelphia High School, 2101 S. Broad St., where cuts, especially to local libraries and fire companies, were the top topics.
"It's about my community and plus it's for my city because the things he wants to do are outrageous," the resident of 18th and Reed streets said about the mayor's decisions. "They will take [the feedback] and probably toy around with it, but it probably won't make a difference until we make some noise."
Irate over the budget situation, Phyllis Reilly came out to be heard.
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