Title
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Mayor Street's FY-2008 Budget Address to City Council
Good Morning President Verna, members of City Council, members of my Cabinet and Administration, special friends and guests.
I am here today to present for your consideration my proposed FY 08 operating budget, my proposed capital budget and program along with my proposed 5 year financial plan for FY 08 through 12.
I began my career in public service in 1980 here in these ornate Chambers as the 5th district councilman. And now here in this special place, 27 years later, I will report to you for the eighth and final time as Mayor of our City.
Let me first say "thank you" to the citizens of Philadelphia for providing me the opportunity to serve. Your spirit, your ideas and your involvement have been a constant source of motivation and inspiration.
Next I thank you, the members of City Council, and particularly those men and women with whom I served for over 19 years. We share a lifetime of special moments as we serve the people of our city. Let us pay a moment of respect for our colleagues: Council members David Cohen and Thacher Longstreth, who honored our City with their service.
And I welcome the new members of this Council as I look forward to working with you in the final year of this term.
Philadelphia has balanced its budget for 15 consecutive years. We have had an unprecedented 13 years of tax reduction. By the end of the current Five Year Plan, we will have reduced taxes by 3.3 billion dollars.
We must maintain an aggressive tax reduction program without compromising our investment in our economy, Center City, our neighborhoods, our families and our schools.
Our city has become a national leader in many ways -- officials from cities like Baltimore, Boston and Seattle have visited our city to see the results of our Neighborhood Transformation Initiative; our homeless program has been cited by the White House and admired by c...
Click here for full text