Katz Elected Chair of City's Finance Oversight Panel

Former mayoral candidate will oversee review of Philadelphia budget

Sam Katz has been put in a position to help steer Philadelphia's finances.

Katz, a well-known business and civic leader in the Philadelphia region, was elected chairman of the Pennsylvania Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority Board on Tuesday. Katz was Gov. Tom  Corbett's appointee to the five-member PICA board on March 1.

"I am excited by the opportunity and challenge of serving as Chair of PICA. Philadelphia has huge challenges fiscally," Katz said.

PICA was created in 1991 to provide assistance to the City of Philadelphia to see its way out of a severe financial crisis. The Authority was given the power to review and approve the city's five-year financial plans.

Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter congratulated Katz on his election as PICA chair.

"As I noted when Gov. Corbett appointed him, Sam is a person with the City’s best interests at heart, and I look forward to a long and productive relationship as we work to maintain the City’s fiscal integrity," Mayor Nutter said in a statement.

Katz, 61, was a three-time Republican candidate for Mayor and decided against a 2011 mayoral challenge. He has held a number of municipal and project finance positions over the last 35 years.

Philadelphia is required to get PICA's approval for five-year financial plans tied to each new city budget. Mayor Nutter delivered next year's budget proposal and Fiscal Year 2012-2016 five-year plan to Philadelphia City Council on March 3.

"I am hoping to bring my experience and ideas to the table in a way that will enhance our prospects for realizing a stable financial city," said Katz.

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