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November 18, 2004
TO THE PRESIDENT AND MEMBERS OF THE
COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA:
I am returning herewith as disapproved Bill No. 040779, passed by the Council on October 28, 2004. This Bill would transfer $6,776,000 in appropriation from Finance Department - Benefits to the Fire Department Class 100 appropriation, in violation of the FY05-FY09 Five-Year Financial Plan approved by PICA.
The FY05 Operating Budget approved by City Council included budget increases for a few line items, primarily benefit costs and the Department of Human Services' needs-based budget, but the majority of City departments took significant budget reductions totaling $107.1 million. The budget of the Fire Department, which is the City's third-largest department, received a reduction, approved by City Council, for the first time in fifteen years as part of this total reduction of $107.1 million. In the fifteen years that the Fire Department has received steadily increasing appropriations while other departments have taken cuts, the number of structural fires has dropped dramatically. In City Council testimony and briefings, and in the FY05-FY09 Five-Year Plan, the Fire Department described that this reduction would be accomplished by departmental restructuring that would reflect the significant citywide drop in structural fires, and an increased demand for emergency medical services, without diminishing public safety. The Five-Year Plan approved by PICA was balanced in each year based on the assumption that this restructuring would be achieved.
Abandoning the plan to restructure the Fire Department commensurate with the City's fire service needs, as well as its financial resources, would create a $29 million hole in the Five-Year Plan. Subsequent to approval of the budget reduction by Council and PICA, the restructuring became the subject of a court case and labor grievance arbitration. The arbitration case is currently pending. A consultant has pro...
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