The state financial authority that oversees Philadelphia’s long-range financial picture has approved the city’s multi-year plans covering the fiscal years from 2012 to 2016.
The final report from the Pennsylvania Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority (PICA) acknowledges that the FY12-FY16 plan contains substantial financial risks as Philadelphia continues to struggle through a recovery. The PICA report noted that the city “will have little room to maneuver” if some significant unexpected spending emergency should arise.
Some of the potential financial risks cited by PICA include the city’s pension liabilities, labor contracts for the municipal work force, reforming the property tax assessment system and the fiscal problems plaguing the Philadelphia School District.
Sam Katz, who was appointed by Pa. Gov. Tom Corbett, chairs PICA. The authority was created in 1991 to help lift Philadelphia out of a financial crisis. It continues to have oversight evaluating the city’s short-term and long term budget impact.
The PICA Board approved the plan after concluding that it presents five years of balanced budgets.
Read the report here.
