INQUIRER: Under mounting public pressure, State Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi predicted yesterday that a pair of measures sought by Mayor Nutter to rescue Philadelphia’s budget would be approved, but he warned that there would not be a vote for at least several weeks. If Pileggi (R., Delaware) is right, and Harrisburg approves the penny-per-dollar city sales-tax hike and pension restructuring that Philadelphia has asked for, the city would avoid the mass layoffs and most of the crippling service reductions — such as closures of most libraries and all recreation centers — that Nutter has warned will be necessary if the legislation fails. […] Still, Pileggi’s prediction that the measures would ultimately pass was the strongest sign yet that the city will eventually get what it wants. The House has approved the bill, and Gov. Rendell strongly supports it as well. Pileggi’s office released a timetable for consideration of the bill yesterday evening, including a hearing tomorrow on the pension portion of the legislation and another session next week to consider the sales-tax request. The release said a final vote on the bill could be taken as early as Aug. 26. MORE
PREVIOUSLY: CITY BUDGET CLOCK: Five Minutes To Doomsday