City Budget
Today marks the one hundredth day on the job for Mayor Michael Nutter. The mayor will mark the traditional mileston by releasing a progress report detailing his accomplishments so far. According to the mayor, it's just the beginning but observers point out that his toughest challenges are yet to come.
By Bill Hangley
WHYY News, April 15, 2008
He's made plans.
He's made hires.
He's put forth a budget and he's staked out his priorities.
But so far, Mayor Michael Nutter has played it pretty safe.
That's according to Zack Stalberg of the civic watchdog group, The Committee of Seventy. With tough contract negotiations looming with the city's labor unions, Stalberg doesn't think the new mayor is looking to pick any fights.
"There's not a lot that went on in the first hundred days that would annoy any constituency," said Stalberg, "so I think he's trying to build up as much good will as possible as he goes into those negotiations in hopes that he can turn that into a good labor agreement for the city."
Stalberg pointed to ethics reform as a good example of Nutter's style. Examples include solid appointments to ethics-related positions like that of Inspector General and Nutter opened his campign books even when he didn't have to.
But Nutter hasn't pushed for the passage of several pending ethics bills that would directly impact City Council.
Meanwhile, the contracts for police, fire fighters and other city workers are set to expire at the end of June.
Additional Information
To keep track of the time until contracts for municipal workers expire, go to the It's Our Money homepage and check out the countdown clock in the upper right corner.
Inquirer: Mayor Nutter's feel-good first 100 days
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