City Council approves Mayor Parker's $6.37B budget proposal

Overnight, City Council provided preliminary approval for Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker's $6.37 billion "One Philly" proposal.

In a statement shared this morning, a representative of the mayor's office said that City Council’s Committee of the Whole gave preliminary approval to the budget.

On Thursday morning, Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker touted the approval as the first steps toward her hopes to turn Philadelphia into the "safest, cleanest, greenest big city in the nation, with access to economic opportunity for all."

“This budget is a huge step to making good on that promise to the people," she said on Thursday morning.

Mayor Parker proposed this "One Philly" budget plan in March.

The plan -- which looks at the coming year and plans for five years ahead -- includes increased funding for schools, law enforcement, community initiatives as well as her own office as more municipal efforts are set to move under that umbrella, along with no increase in taxes for city residents.

“I thank Council President [Kenyatta] Johnson and members of City Council for voting to advance my One Philly Budget that delivers on my promise of a government that makes unprecedented investments in public safety, in making Philadelphia cleaner and greener, and providing economic opportunity for every Philadelphian,” Mayor Parker said in a statement on Thursday. “Residents will be able to see, touch, and feel the positive impacts of this budget in their neighborhoods, along their commercial corridors, and throughout Philadelphia.”

In a statement, city officials touted several highlights of the budget plan:

• Homestead Exemption increase. The Mayor and Council are increasing the Homestead Exemption from $80,000 to $100,000. Officials said this will provide a savings of up to $280 on homeowners’ property taxes.
• Low-income tax freeze. Paired with the homestead increase is a new relief program, which officials said will be a freeze in property tax increases for low-income homeowners.
• In safety investments, this budget includes funds to hire 400 police officers, provide an expansion of -- and new training for -- community policing and $100 million to begin building, what officials called, "a citywide wellness ecosystem" that would provide care, treatment and housing for those facing addiction and others.
• This budget plan also includes $477 million set aside to clean and green the city. This includes launching a cleaning and greening program to clean every city block, expanding the city's Taking Care of Business program for commercial corridors, addressing illegal dumping and other issues.
• $306 million for education initiatives in the city that would also bring extended-day, extended-year enrichment and career development opportunities to city students and provide funding for improvements to school facilities.

In touting her plan for improving public safety, Parker said that they haven't been secretive about wanting to focus on improving this issue for Philadelphians.

"We also didn’t whisper about making Philadelphia’s public safety our number one priority. We did not apologize about that," she said.

In fact, she said the funds set aside for public safety would help put police officers in communities throughout the city.

“You will see officers walking a beat and riding a bike in your neighborhoods Philadelphia, because you deserve it and without having to call 9-1-1,” she said. “They will be a part of the fabric of our neighborhoods.”

At the end of the morning event, Parker was asked about a plan to invest millions into an addiction treatment center to Northeast Philadelphia.

It will be a part of the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility and, Parker said she worried that people would criticize her for criminalizing addiction.

But, she said people could have their own opinions and she refused to apologize.

Parker said there will also be housing in that area for those facing homelessness and substance addiction.

"We are going to make sure that it is safe and secure," she said. "That is the location. We are going to build two new building up there that will be immediately in the area."

The area will be built up and there will be measures taken -- cameras, lighting and other steps -- to protect the overall quality of life for the community near the prison as well, she said.

Overall, Parker said that the approval was just the beginning of the changes she hopes to bring to the city as the city's first Black, female mayor.

“I said in March, ‘don’t just listen to what I say, watch what we do.' I hoped we would work together with diplomacy, diligence and purpose to implement a budget for the People of Philadelphia,” Mayor Parker said in a statement. “Tonight, we have shown the people we have done just that. This will be the standard operating procedure for my administration working with our partners in City Council, to serve all of Philadelphia.”

Over the past few weeks, Parks and city officials have toured Philadelphia, visiting neighborhoods to provide a series of public hearings ahead of Thursday's preliminary approval of the budget plan.

This is a breaking news story. It will be updated as new information becomes available.