Nobody likes to pay taxes. Worse, nobody wants their tax dollars to be spent wastefully, let alone fraudulently. And the fact that Philadelphia’s wage tax is the highest of any city in the U.S., makes waste and fraud here all the more galling. Shining a spotlight on how government spends your tax dollars is at the heart of Seventy’s watchdog mission. We watch what’s going on in City Hall vigilantly year-round, but particularly during budget season in the spring, when the Mayor proposes a spending plan for the next fiscal year and City Council holds hearings on it, amends it and adopts it.
Important Resources:
- Within the executive branch of city government, the Office of the Director of Finance is the chief agency responsible for Philadelphia's finances, accounting and budgeting. For a quick overview, explore the city's budget with this Open Budget tool.
- Philadelphia City Council's Budget Center includes proposed operating and capital budgets for the city, hearing schedules, and specific budget information and testimony by department.
- The Pennsylvania Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority (PICA) was established in 1991 to help the city recover from a severe financial crisis. The PICA Board and its staff continue to provide oversight by reviewing and approving annually the city's five-year financial plan.