Listen to article \u2022\u00a00:00 min<\/p>\n
Philadelphia City Councilmember Nicolas O\u2019Rourke, facing a lack of support amid budgetary concerns, has scaled back his plan to create a Transit Access Fund<\/a> that would help pay for programs that subsidize SEPTA fares for low-income residents and other groups. <\/p>\n O\u2019Rourke in April proposed amending the Home Rule Charter to create the fund and mandate that it annually receive 0.5% of the city budget. That would have amounted to more than $33 million in the program\u2019s first year, and $135 million over five years, according to a fiscal analysis prepared by Mayor Cherelle L. Parker<\/a>\u2019s administration. <\/p>\n But Council President Kenyatta Johnson<\/a> never referred the legislation to committee. On Thursday, O\u2019Rourke introduced a less ambitious version of the plan that would instead create a new chapter of the city law code authorizing the administration to create the fund. The bill would require the city to produce an annual Transit Access Plan, but does not include specific funding benchmarks. <\/p>\n \u201cThis is what we got the most support around, as it relates to being able to get it out the blocks,\u201d O\u2019Rourke, a first-term Working Families Party<\/a> lawmaker who represents the city at large, said in an interview. \u201cIt\u2019s important for us to make sure that we continue to show that there is a desire amidst this body to make sure that we are locking in and protecting these programs that provide accessibility to the poorest in our city.\u201d<\/p>\n Programs established through Home Rule Charter amendments, which must be approved by voters in referenda, are permanent, non-negotiable additions to city government. City law, however, can be overturned by Council, and funding for programs in the law code are renegotiated each year in the city budget. <\/p>\n The transit fund, if approved, would boost funding for the Zero Fare program, which covers the cost of SEPTA fares for low-income Philadelphia residents<\/a>, and SEPTA\u2019s Key Advantage and Key Partner programs, which provide discounts for employees or students of participating companies, schools, and nonprofits. <\/p>\n O\u2019Rourke said he hopes the new bill will be a starting point that will eventually lead to a permanent version of the fund. The proposal is cosponsored by 14 of Council\u2019s 17 members, including Johnson, according to O\u2019Rourke\u2019s office. <\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re happy to continue to partner with the city on the Key Advantage program, and we appreciate their support,\u201d SEPTA spokesperson Andrew Busch said. <\/p>\n Johnson told reporters Thursday that he is giving proposals that carry a significant cost extra scrutiny due to financial concerns. In addition to O\u2019Rourke\u2019s original plan for the transit fund, Johnson has held up a business tax relief bill<\/a> authored by Councilmember Mike Driscoll that the administration has said would cost at least $29.5 million per year. <\/p>\n \u201cWe are just taking in consideration all the bills that have an impact on revenue, just doing our due diligence before we move forward on any of them, just based upon the total budget that we have,\u201d Johnson told reporters. \u201cWe need to look at the totality of all the things that are going to have a budgetary impact. … It has nothing to do if they are good ideas or bad ideas. But they have a cost to them, so we have to be mindful.\u201d<\/p>\n The city budget, currently about $7 billion, is negotiated each year between March and June, and must be approved by July 1. The city had about $1.1 billion in reserves as of June 30, according to the most recent Quarterly City Manager\u2019s Report. <\/p>\n Johnson\u2019s concerns about the budget come after Council earlier this year rejected a series of tax-raising proposals by Parker<\/a> meant to fund the cash-strapped Philadelphia School District, homeless services, and other priorities. <\/p>\n The tax fight was highlighted by Council\u2019s rejection of Parker\u2019s proposed $1-per-ride tax on rideshare services like Uber and Lyft <\/a>that the mayor championed in hopes of providing an additional $48 million per year for the schools. <\/p>\n Council last June instead helped plug the district\u2019s deficit with money from one-time savings in the city budget. Johnson at the time pledged to work with the administration to find a recurring funding source for schools<\/a>. <\/p>\n