Summary
The City’s FY2018 year-end General Fund balance is projected to grow to $208.3 million, $131 million higher than projected in the City’s Revised Five Year Financial Plan, according to PICA’s Staff Report on the City of Philadelphia’s Quarterly City Managers Report (“QCMR”) for the third quarter (period ending March 31, 2018). The QCMR projects year-end revenues and obligations to increase, by $64.1 million and $37.2 million resepectively, compared to the projections found in the City’s Revised Five Year Plan. Additionally, the report shows actual revenues and obligations through the third quarter of FY2018 increased by approximately $230 million and $250 million, respectively, compared to the same period last year. PICA’s Staff Report also identifies key management issues and tracks departmental performance for several City departments: • Overtime: Overtime costs represented 11.4 percent of wages and salaries through the third quarter of FY2018, an increase of one full percentage point over the same period in FY2017. Overtime spending is projected to increase in FY2018 due to staffing shortages in the Fire and Prisons Departments, and unplanned special events which require overtime coverage. • Staffing: General Fund full-time positions in the third quarter of FY2018 decreased by 62 employees since the second quarter, but increased by 396 employees since the third quarter of FY2017, bringing City staffing levels to 21,621 — exceeding the peak pre-recession level of 21,521 recorded in the first quarter of FY2009. • Leave Usage: The median rate of leave usage among all City agencies in the third quarter was 18.2 percent, the highest figure since the City began reporting leave usage across all departments in FY2009.1 Law Department employees recorded the high leave usage rate at 27.9 percent, while the Human Relations Commission recorded the low rate for the second consecutive quarter, at 4.9 percent. • Police: The City reported an increase of eight homicides through the third quarter of FY2018, even as part 1 violent crimes decreased, compared to the same period last year. The homicide clearance rate (homicide cases in which an arrest is made) has improved by almost ten percentage points through the third quarter.