City Council Begins Budget Hearings Amid Many Uncertainties
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Philadelphia city council began their annual grilling of budget officials, Tuesday, in the first day of budget hearings, but some of the biggest concerns were outside the city's control.
Councilman Curtis Jones said, "Have we accounted for the Trump effect, and is there a plan B?"
Jones asked the question on many people's minds as Kenney administration officials laid out their five-year plan.
Finance Director Rob Dubow responded with, essentially, a no.
"There are so many different options for the way it could play out. You don't have any kind of specific plans," said Dubow. "In some of the worse-case scenarios, there's no way local governments can compensate for what the federal government is talking about."
That's not to say the city is not preparing at all.
Dubow says rapid response working groups meet weekly to study various federal and state proposals, and Philadelphia is working with other cities on what action can be taken to avert what would be catastrophic cuts if the so-called "skinny" federal budget proposal gained traction.