It seems every day you're hearing something about how the city of Philadelphia is in bad financial shape.
Now it seems the city may have some big bucks lying around.
City Controller Alan Butkovitz came out with a report saying the city was owed MILLIONS of dollars by some government agencies and by some of the area’s high-profile companies.
The bill totals 6.7 Million dollars owed to the Police Department for security it provided at different events over the last eight years.
The report claims that police department financial records show that a veritable who's who of companies and government agencies owed the city money.
Among them: the Philadelphia Phillies, TD Bank, Comcast Spectator, Lincoln Financial Field and even government agencies like the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania itself!
But when NBC10 Investigative Reporter Harry Hairston did a little digging, he found out something just doesn’t add up.
Some of the companies HAVE paid their bills. So where’s the money?!
TD Bank said, “Talk to the Philly PD. We do not owe them anything. It was an error.”
The Philadelphia Phillies said, “We are confident that the Phillies do not owe the city any money for police services.” In fact, they said when they receive their bills, they paid them. They did some more checking and told the NBC10 Investigators, “We have learned that that check has not been presented to the bank for payment" by the City.
The LCB, Lincoln Financial Field and Comcast also insist they’re debt-free when it comes to the City of Philadelphia.
So what gives?
The NBC10 Investigators called the Mayor’s office and the Police Department to ask: Where’s the cash the city so desperately needs?
Thursday afternoon, no one from the police department had returned the call. But a representative from Mayor Nutter’s office said the Phillies DID PAY ON TIME and the Police Department didn’t process the check on time because the person who’s supposed to do that was out sick. The Mayor's office is still researching the other discrepancies.
The Controller’s office says the bookkeeping at the police department may be the problem.
