Council balked Thursday (May 20) at passing Mayor Nutter's tax on sugary drinks and the mayor was not pleased. He immediately
announced a series of cuts -- fewer police, firemen, shorter library hours -- that seem designed to draw public protest, presumably to force Council to reconsider. It may be hard. Nutter never had the nine votes needed to pass the tax. The sugar-drink cartel (bottlers, Teamster drivers, etc) lobbied furiously against it. The budget actually has a $42 million surplus at the end of the year, but Nutter says that the city could have a cash-flow problem if it is not higher. It may be hard to rally public sentiment for a tax to increase the size of a surplus. One unmentioned but major consideration: the budget leaves no money for city employee pay increases and they (and have been for more than a year) in talks over a new contract.
