PHILADELPHIA – Today, Councilmember Jamie Gauthier (3rd District) responded to Mayor Cherelle Parker’s budget address to City Council. Councilmember Gauthier chairs the Committee on the Environment and the Committee on Housing, Neighborhood Development, and the Homeless.
“I am pleased by many things Mayor Parker outlined in her budget address to City Council today, including proactively inspecting rental housing; continuing the SEPTA Zero Fare, Municipal Key Advantage, and Vision Zero programs; investing in the new forensic lab in West Philly and grassroots anti-violence initiatives; and reducing our emissions by improving the energy efficiency of municipal buildings.
“Council will now begin our review of the mayor’s proposal, and I encourage our neighbors to join us at one of Council’s budget hearings and neighborhood townhalls. A budget is a moral document, and we need your voice.
“Thanks to Trump’s expensive, chaotic, and cruel policies, it has never been more important for the City of Philadelphia to save Philadelphians money and invest in the things that keep us safe, healthy, and happy. This means ending our dirty deal with waste incinerators that turn our trash into pollution and sickness. We also need to make sure Philadelphians can afford their water bills and address dangerous abandoned properties before tragedies occur.
“I’m also fighting for the City to save 900 affordable homes that are coming up for sale across West and Southwest Philly. The most affordable home tends to be the one you currently live in, and 3,000 Philadelphians are counting on us to keep a roof over their heads. Situations like this one are why we invested in affordable housing preservation through the HOME Initiative. Now it is time to use these funds.
“If Council approves the mayor’s proposed tax abatement for affordable housing development, I will push to include an affordability requirement. It’s common sense that we should only consider giving tax breaks to developers if they use this money to build affordable housing.
“I look forward to working with my City Council colleagues to enact a budget that puts City Hall to work for Philadelphia neighborhoods.”
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