Thursday, April 2, 2009

They're Feelin' It

Hello All,

So a lot has been going on Feelin' the Cuts and Philadelphia politics recently. On March 19th Mayor Nutter proposed his "People's Budget" based off what people at the Penn Project for Civic Engagement Budget Forums had to say. After being part of the forums, we felt it only right that we be at City Hall to hear the proposal. The atmosphere was tense to say the least. You can read more about it in the Philadelphia Inquirer's front-page article from March 20, 2009.

Not to be outdone, City Council's Committee of the Whole has taken their hearings to the people, hosting their meetings in the community to hear testimony directly from the people. Last night was the first night of these hearings, and City Council came right here, to Temple University.

The committee heard testimony from a long list of people, mainly leaders of non-profit organizations and community members, worried about cuts and about the proposed tax hikes on real estate and sales.

The general consensus seemed to be that these were tough times, and people are looking to City Council to help Philadelphia and its citizens through this crisis.

Two FTC interns, myself included, and two FTC VOICES members went to hear what everyone had to say. We were even interviewed by The Temple News!

There will be three or four more public hearings like this. The schedule isn't confirmed yet, but you can bet that FTC will be making sure we get all the information and share it with you.

Best,
Liz

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