Summary
Total General Fund expenditures are projected to exceed revenues by $65 million in fiscal year 2017 according to the City of Philadelphia’s Quarterly City Managers Report (“QCMR”) for the third quarter. The higher-than-projected obligations can be largely attributed to a $28.8 million projected increase in employee benefits costs. In addition, increases in spending in the Fire ($14 million), Sheriff ($5 million), Prisons ($4 million), and Streets ($2 million) Departments added to the increased obligations. PICA’s Staff Report also identifies key management issues and tracks departmental performance for several City departments: · Staffing. General Fund employment has increased by 54 positions since the second quarter, and by 183 positions since the first quarter of the fiscal year, bringing City staffing levels to 21,225— roughly 300 employees less than the peak level of 21,521 recorded in the first quarter of FY2009. · Police. Homicide totals decreased through the third quarter of FY2017 compared to the same period last year, yet the homicide clearance rate continues to decline. · Fire. Six fire deaths were recorded in the third quarter of FY2017, raising the total to fourteen deaths through the third quarter—six more than at the same point last year. · Public Health. The percent of District Health Center visits by uninsured patients continued to decline through the third quarter of FY2017. New HIV diagnoses decreased by 27 cases compared to the same period in FY2016.