Philadelphia’s credit ratings were reaffirmed at A1 by Moody’s and A+ by both S&P and Fitch—the highest the City has received in over 40 years, though still below most peer cities. Rating agencies highlighted strong reserves, declining debt, and the fiscal governance required under the PICA Act as key strengths, while noting long-term risks tied…

Philadelphia spent $313.7 million on General Fund overtime in FY25, exceeding the adopted overtime budget by 10 percent and marking a nearly 19 percent increase over FY24. Major drivers included contracted pay increases, persistent public safety staffing shortages, emergency responses, and special events like the Eagles’ Super Bowl run and the presidential election. While some…

The FY25 Q4 Quarterly City Managers Report (QCMR) projects increased General Fund revenues and increased spending compared to the approved FY25-29 Five-Year Plan, but a $46M decrease in revenues compared to Q3, with lower expectations from the Real Estate Tax and Sheriff fees. Overall, the City anticipates $384M more in revenue than FY24, driven by…

PICA’s Staff Report recommends PICA Board approval of the City of Philadelphia’s FY26–30 Five-Year Plan because it meets the requirements of the PICA Act, projecting positive year-end fund balances despite planned operating deficits from FY26 to FY29. The report highlights reasonable economic and revenue assumptions, the City’s continued investments in reserves, and the substantial $379…

Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) are evolving tools that leverage large datasets and machine learning to predict what language or graphics might satisfy a prompt from a user. These tools have the potential to enhance the quality and efficiency of PICA’s work but also present some risks and dangers. This policy is intended to encourage responsible…

Capital projects are major, long-term investments, and large cities are increasingly turning to dashboards and interactive tools to keep residents informed about their progress. This publication compares Philadelphia’s new efforts to share capital spending data with more advanced transparency platforms in New York City, Charlotte, and Boston, highlighting best practices for project tracking and communication….

A proposed budget reduction isn’t always a true cut—sometimes it reflects the end of one-time costs, a shift in responsibility to another department, or reduced demand for services. For instance, FY26 budgets for Parks & Recreation and Homeless Services are lower than FY25, but not all changes imply service reductions. To discern real impacts, stakeholders…

Persistent staffing shortages have caused Philadelphia to underspend by over $200 million on employee wages across FY23 and FY24, as actual vacancies far exceeded budget assumptions. The report weighs whether vacancy rates in future budgets should be revised upward to improve transparency and flexibility. Regardless of the approach taken, clearer and more consistent disclosure of…

Philadelphia’s largest tax streams—Wage and Earnings and Real Estate—are forecasted with high accuracy, typically within three percent of actual results. In contrast, smaller and more volatile revenue sources like the Realty Transfer and Amusement Taxes show far greater forecasting errors, reflecting their sensitivity to economic shifts and one-off events. By comparing 21 years of projections…

Press Release announcing Marisa Waxman has been appointed Executive Director of PICA, effective October 2023.

Press Release announcing that PICA Board Unanimously Approves City of Philadelphia’s FY2025-FY2029 Five Year Financial Plan.

PICA’s Federal Funds and Fiscal Cliffs issue brief examines how Philadelphia has relied on pandemic-related federal relief funds and the challenges it faces in maintaining fiscal stability as these funds expire.