Title
Amending Title 21 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled "Miscellaneous," by requiring the Mayor to submit to Council, with the proposed annual capital budget and capital program, a cost-benefit analysis that includes the return on investment and payback time for each capital project funded through the capital program and certain other information, following procedures to be adopted by the Finance Director, all under certain terms and conditions.
Body
WHEREAS, The City of Philadelphia faces ongoing budgetary pressures due to multiple factors including the broad-based economic downturn, thereby increasing the need for City government to make the most efficient and effective use of its resources and deliver the most value possible to citizens; and
WHEREAS, The City makes a significant investment every year in projects funded through the capital program - the most recently approved capital budget for Fiscal Year 2013 totaled over $3 billion, including over $107 million in new City bond funds, and the six-year capital program totals close to $9 billion; and
WHEREAS, The projects funded through the capital program include the construction of new facilities and the repair of existing facilities and infrastructure; and
WHEREAS, In determining whether to proceed with a particular capital project and in allocating scarce resources among capital projects, it is important to consider cost-benefit analysis - including both the return on investment and payback time - for individual capital projects; and
WHEREAS, The budget detail presented during the annual hearings on the capital program does not identify the return on investment and payback time for each capital project, nor the rationale for proceeding with projects that do not have identifiable returns on investment or payback; and
WHEREAS, This type of cost-benefit analysis would assist the City in making strategic capital investment decisio...
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