[Illustration by JOHN HENDRIX]
INQUIRER: With solid support from the Philadelphia delegation, the state Senate moved yesterday to break a summerlong deadlock over letting the city raise its sales tax to avoid what Mayor Nutter terms a financial “doomsday.” On a 38-9 vote, the Republican-controlled Senate approved a bill that would allow the city to increase the sales tax from 7 percent to 8 percent, and also to defer $230 million in employee pension costs for two years. Mayor Nutter, speaking to reporters atop a marble staircase in the Capitol, made it clear he didn’t like everything in the bill (H.B. 1828), which differs from a measure passed by the Democratic-run House about three weeks ago. But he declined to criticize the Senate’s version, saying any objections he might have were offset by the city’s need to begin to collect the $700 million in extra revenue the bill would provide over the next five years. MORE
UPDATE: Daily News’ Catherine Lucey will be live-chatting about this starting at 1 PM