Philadelphia Court Officials Plead For More City Funding
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - The City of Philadelphia's overloaded criminal justice system came hat-in-hand to City Council today, asking for more money than Mayor Nutter has allotted.
Pamela Dembe, president judge of the city's court system, asked councilmembers to appropriate more dollars than the mayor has budgeted -- including an extra $2 million to hire dozens of probation officers lost through attrition.
"We are very, very thin right now, and it is reaching a dangerous point, I believe," she said.
Dembe also asked for $4½ million for more electronic monitoring units that she said would be an alternative to jail time for many and would ultimately save the city $24 million.
The mayor's representative, Deputy Mayor Everett Gillison, responded to all of this by saying, they're trying.
"If we could get back to 2008 levels of revenue, I think we'd all be in a better situation," he said.
Also requesting more funding today was the Public Defenders Association.
Reported by Mike Dunn, KYW Newsradio 1060 City Hall Bureau chief
