PHILADELPHIA – June 14, 2018 – Philadelphia City Council today unanimously approved a bill introduced by Councilman Allan Domb (At Large) that will require the City’s Finance Department to provide monthly financial reports to City Council detailing the balances of bank accounts held by the City. The measure is a vehicle to establish more accountability and to ensure taxpayer money is being properly reconciled.
The bill amends Title 19 of the Philadelphia Code entitled “Finance, Taxes and Collection” by adding Chapter 19-4300 entitled “Monthly Reconciliation Reporting.”
During recent budget hearings over the preceding months, it came to light that the City has failed to reconcile many of its bank accounts over an extended period of time. The City is currently undergoing an extensive auditing process to rectify the accounting errors which include more than $27 million that remains unaccounted for in City bank accounts.
“Sound fiscal health and management in our government is important to the overall success we have as a city,” said Councilman Domb. “It is our collective responsibility to be reliable stewards of taxpayer money and to demonstrate that responsibility. This legislation will initiate an applied practice used elsewhere and, hopefully, can help prevent this level of error in the future.”
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