protest city council budget

[Kkennieth Heard]

All Out to Protest City Council Budget Vote -- THIS THURSDAY, May
21stWednesday, May 20, 2009 7:23 PM
From: "Gloria Gilman" <gmgi...@igc.org>Add sender to ContactsTo:
ever...@phillynn.orgPlease see below an announcement about a press
conference tomorrow morning at 9:30 outside Room 40 City Hall before
City Council passes a budget that really hurts our children and those
who utilize city services - That's all of us but the burden is
greatest upon those of lowest income and most dependent upon these
services. If at all possible please attend the press conference. It
is important for citizens' voices to be heard and present. And if you
can stay to witness city council at 10 am.

Gloria

Gloria M. Gilman, Esq.
135 South 19th Street
Suite 200
Philadelphia, PA 19103
Telephone: (215) 568-4990
Fax: (215) 561-1375
e-mail: gmgi...@igc.org


All Out to Protest City Council Budget Vote -- THIS THURSDAY, May
21st

9:30 AM Press Conference, outside Room 400 (City Council), City Hall
10 AM in Room 400, City Hall: Protest Passage of FY2010 Budget

Join the Coalition For Essential Services on Thursday at 9:30 AM at a
press conference to protest passage of next year's city budget,
outside City Council chambers, Room 400, City Hall, and at 10 AM in
Room 400, City Hall.

The Mayor promised to deliver a "People's Budget." Instead, Council
and the Mayor have failed to deliver on that promise.

This is a budget in which working people pay more and get less.

This is a budget balanced on the backs of city workers and low-income
people. City worker jobs and benefits are being cut, the city's
payment to the already underfunded pension plan will be deferred, and
the sales tax, which falls most heavily on low-income people, is being
increased.

This is a budget put into the hands of the Republican controlled State
Senate which cares nothing about Philadelphia and recently passed a
mean-spirited budget which slashed programs for child care, basic
education, children's health insurance, job creation and the arts. If
Harrisburg fails to support the Council/Mayor budget deal, the Mayor's
draconian Plan B (Contingency Budget ) goes into effect -- closing one
health center, slashing city services, and greatly reducing hours at
rec centers and libraries.

This is a budget which charges fees for the uninsured to go to health
centers, eliminates the Adolescent Violence Reduction Program, reduces
library hours to 5 days a week, eliminates after December the LEAP
afterschool program for homework assistance and computer literacy
which serves 85,000 1st through 12th graders, shuts down many city
pools which average 12,000 swimmers per day, cuts seasonal recreation
jobs for teenagers which will result in many less children enrolled in
our city's summer camps, and cuts the Housing Trust Fund by $500,000
and the Child Care Facilities Fund by $200,000.

Join us to protest these cuts to essential services and the regressive
taxes used to fund this budget!

We thank you for your ongoing participation in this budget battle.
And remember, it is more than an equitable budget we are fighting
for. This Coalition is about the values of and vision for a City in
which all families, all people, and all neighborhoods are valued,
equally. It is about a movement for economic justice we are building
-- together.

Also, please come to our planning meeting next Wednesday at Noon, at
DC 47, 1606 Walnut Street.

Onward, through this budget cycle and the next,