Coronavirus Latest: Philadelphia City Council President Warns Of Deep Cuts To City Services, 'Will Be Living In A Different Environment'
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The coronavirus crisis is having a detrimental effect on our economy, especially on major cities that are already dealing with poverty issues. Philadelphia officials say that could mean deep cuts to city services.
Stay-at-home orders have forced Philadelphians inside as the coronavirus rages on. It's also forced non-essential businesses to be shuttered indefinitely, leaving an unprecedented affect on the city's economy.
"I tell people to simply ride around the city if they have to go out but just look and see how many stores are closed," City Council President Darrell Clarke said. "There's no revenue being collected from those stores because of the unemployment rate"
Eyewitness News spoke with City Council President Darrell Clarke by phone on the heels of Mayor Jim Kenney's announcement of a revised budget to meet the demands of the COVID-19 crisis and its impact on Philadelphia. Sources tell Eyewitness News anywhere from $500 to 700 million could be cut from the new plan.
"We don't know what services will be impacted. We still have to remain at a certain level as it relates to delivering services, but we will be living in a different environment," Clarke said.
"We have not furloughed any staff at this point," Philadelphia Managing Director Brian Abernathy said. "Certainly, we're working through our budget and the implications of our budget, and everything is on the table at this point, and so that may change."
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The mayor will present City Council with a revised budget on May 1. Although details haven't been released, City Council expects a bleak outlook on what's to come.
"This is a simple reality -- money doesn't come in, you have to make decisions, very difficult decisions," Clarke said. "But it's unlikely that we're going to be able to continue services at anything remotely close to the level that we are currently doing."