We Got Your Budget Right Here

SLIDESHOW: See Our 12 Suggestions Here.

FEATURE: Get on the Bus: Why does Philadelphia need 6,000 city-owned vehicles? Our man went looking for answers (on foot)

There’s an old saying — never let a crisis go to waste. So far, though, Michael Nutter has done exactly that. Believe us, he knew how bad the budget crisis was before he took office. He even told us all about it in our November 2007 issue. Then he inexplicably passed a budget planning to overspend revenues by $144 million — a deficit that in recent weeks has ballooned to $2 billion over the next five years. These are our suggestions for how Nutter can get back on track — without shutting libraries and pools. The good news is, all he has to do is live out the narrative that carried him to victory in 2007: Reformer wins on a platform of change. Unfortunately, the cleaner we elected was replaced by a mayor who behaves like he owes his victory to the Democratic party machine. It’s time for you to step up and do what you said you’d do, Mike, and we’ve got ideas on how to do it (prepared with help from Brett Mandel of the reform group Philadelphia Forward). There’s never been a time, or a crisis, like the present.