LEGISLATION

Philadelphia Home Rule Charter art. II, ch. 3

in effect

Philadelphia Home Rule Charter § 2-300 The Annual Operating Budget Ordinance.

§ 2-300. The Annual Operating Budget Ordinance. (1) It shall be the duty of the Council, at least thirty days before the end of the fiscal year, to adopt the annual operating budget ordinance for the next fiscal year. The consideration of the operating budget ordinance shall begin forthwith upon the receipt of the Mayor's annual operating budget message and the proposed annual operating budget ordinance, both of which shall be submitted in printed form. The proposed budget ordinance shall be regarded as having been introduced immediately upon its receipt. 11 (2) The annual operating budget ordinance shall provide for discharging any deficit and shall make appropriations to the Council, the Mayor, and all officers, departments, boards and commissions which form a part of the executive or administrative branch of the City government, and for all other items which are to be met out of the revenue of the City. All appropriations shall be made in lump sum amounts and according to the following classes of expenditures for each office, department, board or commission: (a) Personal services; (b) Materials, supplies and equipment; (c) Debt service; (d) Such additional classes as the Mayor shall recommend in the Mayor's proposed annual operating budget ordinance. 12 Expenditures for the repair of any property, for the regrading, repaving or repairing of streets, and for the acquisition of any property or for any work or project which does not have a probable useful life to the City of at least five years following the time the expenditure is made for it shall be deemed to be ordinary expenses to be provided for in the annual operating budget ordinance. Appropriations for the use of any departmental board or commission shall be made to the department with which it is connected. (3) The Mayor's estimates of receipts for the ensuing fiscal year and of surplus or deficit, if any, for the current fiscal year may not be altered by the Council. (4) In every annual operating budget ordinance: (a) An amount at least equal to one-half of one per cent of the aggregate of all appropriations for compensation to City employees in the civil service shall be appropriated for the work of the Personnel Director and the Civil Service Commission; (b) The amount appropriated to the Auditing Department shall be adequate to enable the City Controller to perform the duties of the Controller and of the Auditing Department. Should the Council fail to make an adequate appropriation to the Auditing Department, the City Controller may petition any Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County for a mandamus to the Council to perform its duty under this section; 13 (c) Provision shall be made for the payment of compensation to certified public accounting firms for consulting services which may be rendered to the Auditing Department with regard to the manner in which the affairs of the various offices, departments, boards, commissions and other agencies receiving appropriations from the City are audited by the Auditing Department; (d) Provision shall be made for the payment of compensation to a firm of certified public accountants to make an audit of the expenditures of the Auditing Department. The Council shall, by separate ordinance, name the firm of certified public accountants to be engaged for this purpose; (e) For the first two fiscal years immediately following the effective date of this subsection, at least $1,000,000; and for all subsequent fiscal years, an amount adequate to enable the Board to perform the functions assigned to it by this charter, shall be appropriated for the work of the Board of Ethics. Should the Council fail to make an adequate appropriation to the Board of Ethics, the Board may petition any court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County for a mandamus to the Council to perform its duty under this section; 14 (f) At least $500,000, or such greater amount as shall be determined by Council, shall be appropriated to the Police Advisory Commission created by Executive Order No. 2-17 or to any successor body or bodies performing the duties of a civilian police oversight entity, provided that if more than one such body exists at the same time, Council shall allocate the appropriation required by this subsection to such body or bodies as it deems appropriate. 15 (g) An amount equal to at least one-half of one percent (0.5%) of the City's total General Fund appropriations in such ordinance, plus an amount equal to total receipts by the City in the preceding calendar year of payments made in lieu of providing affordable housing for any purpose as may be provided for under the Zoning Code, shall be appropriated for expenditure out of the Housing Trust Fund as established pursuant to the Act of July 14, 2005, P.L. 280, No. 49, 53 Pa. C.S. § 6001, et seq. and Chapter 21-1600 of The Philadelphia Code ("Housing Trust Fund"), for expenditure for the same general purposes as provided for under such laws. Such appropriation shall be in addition to any appropriation the source of funding of which is the receipt of recording fees authorized for expenditure pursuant to such laws. Such amount shall not be subject to a transfer pursuant to paragraph (6) of this Section unless the Director of Finance certifies that without such a transfer there will be a material disruption in City services or that the appropriations are needed to fund emergency programs necessary to protect the health, safety or welfare of City residents and that it would be fiscally imprudent to seek emergency appropriations pursuant to Section 2-301(a). 16 (h) An amount at least equal to 0.45% of all appropriations for the Department of Prisons shall be appropriated for the work of the Office of Prison Oversight. 16.1 (5) At least once in three years provision shall be made for the payment of compensation to a firm of certified public accountants to make an examination of the manner in which the Auditing Department performs its auditing duties. The Council shall, by separate ordinance, name the firm of certified public accountants to be engaged for this purpose. (6) The annual operating budget ordinance may be amended after its passage to authorize the transfer of items but the aggregate of the appropriations made by it may not be increased and transfers of budget items may not be made during the last four months of any fiscal year, except upon the recommendation of the Mayor. (7) Budget Stabilization Reserve. 17 (a) The annual operating budget ordinance shall provide for appropriations to a Budget Stabilization Reserve, to be created and maintained by the Director of Finance as a separate fund which shall not be commingled with any other funds of the City. Appropriations to the Budget Stabilization Reserve shall, each year, be made in the following amounts, provided that total appropriations to the Budget Stabilization Reserve shall not exceed seventeen percent of projected General Fund Revenues for end of the current fiscal year as of the first business day after February 14: 18 (1) Such amounts as remain unencumbered in the Budget Stabilization Reserve from the prior fiscal year, including any investment earnings certified by the Director of Finance; plus (2) When, as of the first business day after February 14, the Projected General Fund Balance for the end of the current fiscal year equals or exceeds: (i) three percent (3%) of, but is less than five percent (5%) of, projected General Fund Revenues for end of the current fiscal year, an amount equal to three-quarters of one percent (.75%) of projected Unrestricted Local General Fund Revenues for the upcoming fiscal year; (ii) five percent (5%) of, but is less than eight percent (8%) of, projected General Fund Revenues for the end of the current fiscal year, an amount equal to one percent (1.0%) of projected Unrestricted Local General Fund Revenues for the upcoming fiscal year; or (iii) eight percent (8%) of projected General Fund Revenues for the end of the current fiscal year, the amount that exceeds such eight percent (8%) threshold or (1.0%) of projected Unrestricted Local General Fund Revenues for the upcoming fiscal year, whichever is greater; plus (3) Such additional amounts as the Council shall authorize by ordinance, no later than at the time of passage of the annual operating budget ordinance and only upon recommendation of the Mayor. (b) For purposes of this section and Section 6-110 ("Budget Stabilization Reserve"), (1) "General Fund" shall mean the General Fund established by the Director of Finance and so denominated in the annual operating budget ordinance. (2) "General Fund Revenues" shall mean that portion of the estimated receipts of the City to be allocated to the General Fund, as estimated by the Mayor pursuant to Section 2-300(3). (3) "Unrestricted Local General Fund Revenues" shall mean that portion of General Fund Revenues that is anticipated by the Mayor to derive from local taxes and fees, whether authorized by the Council or otherwise, so long as the expenditure of such revenues is unrestricted by law, other than local law. "Unrestricted Local General Fund Revenues" shall not include any revenues anticipated to derive from taxes authorized by Chapter 6 of the Pennsylvania Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority Act for Cities of the First Class (Act of June 5, 1991, P.L. 9, No. 6). (4) "Projected General Fund Balance" shall mean the projected general fund balance as set forth in the City's Five Year Financial Plan for the five year period beginning with the upcoming fiscal year, submitted to an agency of the Commonwealth with responsibility for ensuring the fiscal stability of the City, as such Plan exists at the time Council adopts the operating budget ordinance; or, if no such Plan is submitted, as certified by the Director of Finance. ANNOTATION Sources: Act of June 25, 1919, P.L. 581, Article XVII, Sections 1 and 2. Purposes: 1. This section requires the annual submission by the Mayor of a consolidated budget of all the operating expenditures of the City and its enactment by the Council at least thirty days before the end of the fiscal year. This will fix by one legislative act the expenditures for each ensuing fiscal year. To expedite the budget process, it is required that the Mayor, who is responsible for preparing the annual operating budget ordinance in the first instance, shall submit it in printed form and that the budget ordinance shall be regarded as having been introduced upon its receipt. The Mayor is to submit together with the budget ordinance his budget message which will justify in general terms his proposed budget. He may also submit with these two documents a detailed breakdown of the appropriations requested. 2. This section, by prohibiting the line type of budget ordinance heretofore customary, is intended to prevent the Council from assuming through its appropriating power the administrative functions of City government. All appropriations are to be made in lump sum amounts according to certain fixed broad categories and such additional categories as the Mayor may indicate. Appropriations are to be made by such categories to offices, department, boards and commissions which will, subject to the direction and control of the Mayor and the Director of Finance (Section 8-102), decide how money within any category is to be spent for the purposes designated by that category. How many persons are to be employed, how many automobiles are to be purchased, and similar questions of administrative policy will be determined within overall appropriation limits by the executive branch and not the Council. 3. Certain types of so-called capital expenditures are of a recurring nature and have in the past come out of capital funds. This has resulted in unnecessarily increasing the debt of the City. The Charter requires that such expenditures shall be met, as they should be, out of annual operating appropriations and thus out of current revenues. 4. Appropriations are guaranteed for certain important purposes. In view of the inadequate appropriations heretofore made for civil service purposes, a minimum amount is required to be appropriated annually to the civil service so that this work may be properly planned and staffed. For comparable reasons, the Auditing Department is guaranteed such funds as are to be adequate for its work; it was not deemed practicable to state an amount in terms of a percentage of the annual budget as in the case of the civil service. However, should Council fail to provide an adequate sum, the Controller is authorized to mandamus Council to give it to him. The Auditing Department is given the right in the Charter to engage certified public accountants to advise it. Section 6-403. The requirement is imposed that provision shall be made to provide compensation for such services to make certain that the Department shall be able to exercise this right. The budget must also provide funds for the auditing by independent accountants of the expenditures of the Auditing Department. The auditors for this purpose are to be appointed by the Council by separate ordinance. 5. At least once in three years Council is to provide funds and to name by separate ordinance a firm of certified public accountants to examine the manner in which the Auditing Department performs its duties. It was deemed too expensive and unnecessary to require that private certified public accountants must annually audit all the agencies of the City. Yet experience has shown that some amount of independent auditing procedure is necessary. A triennial audit of the way the Auditing Department is performing its functions, was deemed minimal to meet the need. In the course of such an audit, if the independent certified public accountants find it necessary to see the books of any particular agency, authorization is found for such examination. See Section 6-404. 6. Subsection (6) is intended to serve as a check on the present practice of transferring items of the budget at the end of the fiscal year. Some agencies, finding at the end of the fiscal year that they have surplus funds left under certain items, have from time to time requested and received authorization from the Council for spending those surpluses for other purposes. This subsection prohibits such transfers during the last four months of any fiscal year except upon the recommendation of the Mayor. 7. Subsection (3) is intended as an aid to balancing the budget. It prevents a situation whereby the Council and the Mayor differ on receipts for an ensuing fiscal year, and surpluses and deficits for a current fiscal year. Under this subsection, the Mayor's estimate would be binding upon the Council. With these estimates fixed and with appropriations determined, Council will know what amount must be raised to balance the budget. Notes 11 | Amended by approval of the voters at the election held on May 17, 2022, and certified on June 6, 2022. See Bill No. 220001 (approved February 25, 2022); Resolution No. 220009 (adopted February 24, 2022). 12 | The phrase "in his proposed annual operating budget ordinance" was changed by the Code editor to read "in the Mayor's proposed annual operating budget ordinance" to be gender neutral consistent with the broad Charter change set forth in the May 17, 2022 referendum. See Bill No. 220001 (approved February 25, 2022); Resolution No. 220009 (adopted February 24, 2022). 13 | Amended by approval of the voters at the election held on May 17, 2022, and certified on June 6, 2022. See Bill No. 220001 (approved February 25, 2022); Resolution No. 220009 (adopted February 24, 2022). 14 | Added by approval of the voters at the election held on May 16, 2006, and certified on June 5, 2006. See Bill No. 040769 (approved December 15, 2005); Resolution No. 040817 (adopted December 1, 2005). 15 | Added by approval of the voters at the election held on May 15, 2018, and certified on June 4, 2018. See Bill No. 170716 (approved March 6, 2018); Resolution No. 170743 (adopted February 22, 2018). 16 | Added by approval of the voters at the election held on November 2, 2021, and certified on November 22, 2021. See Bill No. 210507 (approved August 26, 2021); Resolution No. 210524 (adopted June 17, 2021). See Charter subsection A-200(21) for effective date. Amended by approval of the voters at the election held on May 20, 2025, and certified on June 9, 2025. See Bill No. 240061 (became law September 5, 2024); Resolution No. 240068 (adopted June 6, 2024). See Charter subsection A-200(28) for effective date. 16.1 | Added by approval of the voters at the election held on May 20, 2025, and certified on June 9, 2025. See Bill No. 240817 (approved February 12, 2025); Resolution No. 240834-A (adopted December 19, 2024) and Resolution No. 250018 (adopted January 30, 2025). See Charter subsection A-200(29) for effective date. 17 | Added by approval of the voters at the election held on November 9, 2011, and certified on November 28, 2011. See Bill No. 100303 (approved April 27, 2011); Resolution No. 100314-A (adopted April 14, 2011). 18 | Amended by approval of the voters at the election held on May 16, 2023, and certified on June 5, 2023. See Bill No. 220733 (approved March 1, 2023); Resolution No. 220743 (adopted February 16, 2023). See Charter subsection A-200(25) for effective date.

Philadelphia Home Rule Charter § 2-301 Other Appropriations.

§ 2-301. Other Appropriations. The Council may not make any operating appropriations in addition to those included in the annual operating budget ordinance except: (a) To meet emergencies which could not be anticipated when the operating budget ordinance was passed; (b) To pay the expenses of holding recall and special elections and elections on proposals to amend this charter; (c) To pay such salary as the Civil Service Commission, pursuant to the provisions of this charter, may have awarded to a Managing Director whose dismissal by the Mayor the Commission found to be unwarranted; (d) To pay the costs of council investigations and inquiries and the compensation of attorneys retained by the Council as authorized by this charter. 19 Unless paid for out of current revenues, all amounts appropriated under this section must be included as liabilities of the City in the next succeeding annual operating budget ordinance and except to meet emergencies, operating expenses shall neither be appropriated nor paid out of loan funds. ANNOTATION Sources: No specific source. Purposes: 1. Limitations are placed upon appropriations in addition to those contained in the annual operating budget in order to prevent the incurring of deficits. The exceptions listed are emergencies and other situations which may not have been foreseen at the time of the enactment of the annual operating budget. It is required that such appropriations be made up out of current revenues or taken care of by the next operating budget. 2. The limitation that operating expenses shall not be appropriated nor paid for out of loan funds ties in with the scheme of treating certain recurring capital expenditures as operating expenditures and preventing the use of capital funds for such purposes. Section 2-300(4). Notes 19 | Amended by approval of the voters at the election held on May 21, 2019, and certified on June 10, 2019. See Bill No. 180820 (approved February 27, 2019); Resolution No. 180834 (adopted February 14, 2019).

Philadelphia Home Rule Charter § 2-302 Balancing the Budget.

§ 2-302. Balancing the Budget. Not later than the passage of the annual operating budget ordinance, the Council shall ordain such revenue measures as will, in the opinion of the Mayor, yield sufficient revenue to balance the budget. For this purpose new sources of revenue or increased rates from existing sources of revenue not proposed by the Mayor shall be deemed to yield in the ensuing fiscal year such amounts as the Mayor shall determine. The annual operating budget ordinance shall not become effective and the City Controller shall not approve any order for any expenditure thereunder until the Council has balanced the budget. ANNOTATION Sources: Act of June 25, 1919, P.L. 581, Article XVII, Sections 3 and 4. Purposes: To assure a balanced budget Council must when it passes the annual operating budget pass such revenue measures as will, in the opinion of the Mayor, balance the budget. The revenue measures which Council may enact are not limited to the real estate tax or to any other particular tax but lie solely within the judgment of the Council. To prevent over-optimistic estimates by the body which must impose taxes as to the amount of revenue that will be yielded, the Mayor's estimate of revenue yield is made binding upon the Council. Until the budget is balanced, no money may be spent under the annual operating budget.

Philadelphia Home Rule Charter § 2-303 The Capital Program and Capital Budget.

§ 2-303. The Capital Program and Capital Budget. (1) Prior to the passage of the annual operating budget ordinance, the Council shall adopt a capital program and a capital budget. (2) The capital program shall embrace all physical public improvements and any preliminary studies and surveys relative thereto, the acquisition of property of a permanent nature, and the purchase of equipment for any public improvement when first erected or acquired that are to be financed in whole or in part from funds subject to control or appropriation by the Council. It shall show the capital expenditures which are planned for each of the six ensuing fiscal years. For each separate purpose, project, facility, or other property there shall be shown the amount, if any, and the source of the money that has been spent, encumbered, or is intended to be spent or encumbered prior to the beginning of the ensuing fiscal year and also the amounts and the sources of the money that are intended to be spent during each of the ensuing six years. The Council may delete projects from the capital program as submitted to it, but it shall not otherwise amend the capital program until it has requested through the Mayor the recommendations of the City Planning Commission. The Council shall not be bound by such recommendations and may act without them if they are not received within thirty days from the date they were requested. (3) The capital budget ordinance shall show in detail the capital expenditures intended to be made or incurred in the ensuing fiscal year that are to be financed from funds subject to control or appropriation by the Council, and shall be in full conformity with the part of the capital program applicable to the year which it covers. Amounts specified as intended to be spent out of new appropriations shall, upon enactment of the capital budget ordinance, constitute appropriations of such amounts. The Council may amend the capital budget ordinance but no amendment shall be valid which does not conform to the capital program. ANNOTATION Sources: No specific source. Purposes: 1. For the first time a definite budget procedure is established for the orderly planning and making of capital improvements. Two types of legislation are contemplated in the field of capital finances to make possible long range planning and current authorizations in accordance with such planning. The capital program is a blueprint of capital expenditures for the ensuing six years. The capital budget shows in detail the capital expenditures to be made or to be incurred during the next ensuing fiscal year. 2. The capital program will be prepared initially by the City Planning Commission whose special function is capital planning. The Mayor will submit it with his recommendations to the Council. Since the Mayor is ultimately responsible for the financial condition of the City, he is free to say he approves or disapproves of the program, in part or in whole; but he must forward to Council the Commission's initial recommendations. 3. The capital budget ordinance will also be prepared initially by the City Planning Commission and submitted with the Mayor's recommendation to the Council. The capital budget and amendments to it must conform with the capital program applicable to the year in question so that long range planning will not be upset. The capital budget encompasses funds appropriated by the Council as well as funds which the Council may control such as grants from the State and Federal governments.

Philadelphia Home Rule Charter § 2-304 Code of Ordinances.

§ 2-304. Code of Ordinances. As promptly as possible after the submission to it by the Law Department, as required in this charter, of a proposed codification and revision of the effective general ordinances of the City, the Council shall consider and act upon such a code and revision and after the code has been adopted all measures of general application shall be ordained as amendments of or additions to it. The Council shall cause the code to be published by and distributed through the Procurement Department as other publications of the City are published and distributed. Periodically thereafter the Council shall cause new and up-to-date editions of the code to be similarly published and distributed. ANNOTATION Sources: No specific source. Purposes: At present City ordinances are compiled in the order in which they are enacted and annually a volume of the ordinances is published. From time to time an index of City ordinances by annual volumes has been prepared and published by non-City agencies. Under these conditions it is a very difficult task to find ordinances and amendments thereto dealing with a particular subject matter. Yet such ordinances are the basic laws of the City. To remedy this condition provision is made for a codification and revision of the effective general ordinances of the City. The Law Department must under Section 4-400(e) prepare within two years after the effective date of the Charter such a comprehensive revision and codification of all the general ordinances still in effect. Council is required to consider and to act upon such a codification and revision. Thereafter all ordinances of general application are to be enacted as amendments to the code. This section follows the better practice prevailing in many municipalities.

Philadelphia Home Rule Charter § 2-305 Legislation Affecting Powers and Duties of the Executive and Administrative Branch.

§ 2-305. Legislation Affecting Powers and Duties of the Executive and Administrative Branch. The Council may by ordinance add new powers and new duties, not inconsistent with the scheme of this charter, to the powers and duties of the offices, departments, boards and commissions which are herein designated as the agencies of the executive and administrative branch of the City government, but it shall not, except as herein provided, increase the number of such agencies nor shall it abolish any agency unless the agency no longer has any functions to perform. ANNOTATION Sources: No specific source. Purposes: The enlargement of powers and duties of the agencies designated by the Charter in the executive branch of the government is provided for to take care of new duties and powers which might have to be exercised and performed in the future by the executive branch of the government. Thus, although new departments may not be created (Section 1-102), room is left for existing agencies to exercise additional powers and duties. The only limitation imposed is that new powers and duties shall be added in a manner consistent with the scheme of this Charter. Thus powers and duties to be added to any department, board or commission are to bear some relationship to the powers and duties already vested in such an agency. It should be noted that under Section 1-102 new boards and commissions may be created. This section would permit the distribution of new powers and duties upon City-County consolidation to existing departments, boards and commissions and, if necessary, to new boards and commissions.

Philadelphia Home Rule Charter § 2-306 Additional Rate Commissions.

§ 2-306. Additional Rate Commissions. If any utility now operated by the City shall be operated by or leased to another operator pursuant to an agreement with the City, the Council may establish a commission which shall from time to time fix the rates to be charged by the operator in accordance with standards contained in the agreement. ANNOTATION Sources: No specific source. Purposes: The creation by the Council of rate commissions, similar to the Gas Commission, is authorized should any utilities presently operated by the City be operated by or leased to private operators by agreement with the City and should the creation of any such agencies be deemed desirable at the particular time.

Philadelphia Home Rule Charter § 2-307 Legislation Affecting Zoning, Physical Development Plan, Land Subdivision, or Authorizing the Purchase or Sale of Real Estate.

§ 2-307. Legislation Affecting Zoning, Physical Development Plan, Land Subdivision, or Authorizing the Purchase or Sale of Real Estate. The Council shall not enact any bill which shall in any manner affect any zoning ordinance, the Physical Development Plan of the City, plans of streets and revisions of such plans, and land subdivision plans or any bill which would authorize the acquisition or sale of City real estate without first receiving the recommendation thereon through the Mayor of the City Planning Commission. The approval of the Commission shall be presumed unless its recommendations are received within forty-five days from the introduction of any bill affecting plans of streets and revisions of such plans, and land subdivision plans, and within thirty days from the introduction of any other bill subject to this section, except that with respect to any particular bill, the Commission may at any time during such forty-five day or thirty day period, as the case may be, vote to extend its review period for up to an additional forty-five days, in which case the approval of the Commission shall be presumed unless its recommendation is received within such extended review period. It shall be the duty of the chief clerk of the Council to submit any such bill to the City Planning Commission immediately upon its introduction. ANNOTATION Sources: No specific source. Purposes: 1. This section is one of a number in the Charter which seeks an orderly method and plan of City development. Legislation on matters affecting City development, such as zoning, street plans, land subdivision, and the acquisition or sale of City real estate, may be enacted only after the Council has received the recommendations thereon of the City Planning Commission unless the Commission fails to submit recommendations within the required time. The Council may then act as it pleases on such legislation. This will tend to prevent hasty and ill advised legislation adversely affecting City development. It will assure that the Council will receive the expert advice of the Commission whose special function is the planning of City development. 2. The chief clerk of Council is required to send to the City Planning Commission any bill introduced dealing with the enumerated subject matters so that the Commission will have immediate notice that a matter is pending before the Council on which its recommendations are required. Notes 20 | Amended by approval of the voters at the election held on May 15, 2007, and certified on June 4, 2007. See Bill No. 060684 (approved January 23, 2007); Resolution No. 060704 (adopted December 14, 2006).

Philadelphia Home Rule Charter § 2-308 Pension and Retirement System.

§ 2-308. Pension and Retirement System. When the Board of Pensions and Retirement shall have submitted to the Council its proposal for a comprehensive, fair and actuarially sound pension and retirement system covering all officers and employees of the City, the Council shall promptly consider it and act upon the setting up of such a system. However, any system enacted shall not impair or diminish rights of officers and employees under any pension and retirement systems in force at the time of the adoption of this charter and as long as payments by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania of funds from taxes paid upon premiums by foreign casualty and fire insurance companies render it desirable, separate systems shall be maintained for City police officers and for City firefighters. ANNOTATION Sources: No specific source. Purposes: Present municipal pensions funds have been subjected to the criticism of not being comprehensive and of not being actuarially sound. The Charter (Sections 6-600 and 6-601) requires a Board of Pensions and Retirement, created by it (Section 3-100), to prepare a fair and actuarially sound pension and retirement system covering all City employees. This section requires Council promptly to consider and act upon such a system when it is submitted to it by the Board. Existing pension and retirement rights are expressly preserved and special provision is made to protect and maintain police and firemen's pension funds as long as the Commonwealth's contributions to them render it desirable. Notes 21 | Amended by approval of the voters at the election held on May 17, 2022, and certified on June 6, 2022. See Bill No. 220001 (approved February 25, 2022); Resolution No. 220009 (adopted February 24, 2022).

Philadelphia Home Rule Charter § 2-309 Leases and Contracts.

§ 2-309. Leases and Contracts. (1) The Council may by ordinance authorize the leasing of real estate for more than one year and the contracting for personal property to be supplied or for services to be rendered over a period of more than one year without making appropriations therefor beyond the current year. Such leases and contracts shall be valid and binding upon the City although no appropriations have been made for the ensuing years during which the leases and contracts are to be operative; but it shall be the duty of the Council to make subsequent appropriations from year to year to pay amounts coming due under such leases and contracts. The obligation of the City under such leases and contracts shall not be considered to be a part of the indebtedness of the City. For purposes of this section and Sections 8-200 and 8-201, the following contracts and leases shall be deemed to be for the supply of property or the rendering of services over a period of more than one year or to have a term of more than one year, and therefore require authorization by ordinance to be effective and binding on the City: (a) Any contract or lease that contains a stated term in excess of one year; (b) Any contract or lease that grants any party or parties thereto, other than the City, the option to extend the term of said contract or lease beyond one year; (c) Any contract or lease that grants any party or parties thereto, other than the City, the option to renew said contract or lease for an additional term or terms such that the total of the original and any potential renewal terms exceeds one year; or (d) Any contract or lease that provides that unless one or more parties to the contract, including the City, give notice of non-extension or non-renewal, the term of the contract or lease will: (.1) automatically be extended beyond one year; or (.2) automatically be renewed for an additional term or terms such that the total of the original and any potential renewal terms exceeds one year. (2) No option to renew or extend the term of a contract or lease shall be exercised by the City if the total of the original and any renewal or extension terms exceeds one year, unless the head of the contracting department or agency files with the Mayor, the President of Council, the Chief Clerk of Council, and the Department of Records a written certification that such renewal or extension is in the best interest of the City. The Department of Records shall make such certifications available for public inspection, and shall arrange for publication of such certifications on the City's official website in a searchable format. No renewal or extension of a contract or lease effected without compliance with this subsection shall be binding upon the City. (3) Council shall have power by ordinance to address public confidence in the integrity of the City's contracting process by requiring certain disclosures by persons seeking City leases, contracts, concessions, or other agreements of any kind, and persons who have entered into such agreements, including, but not limited to, disclosure of campaign contributions and disclosure of relatives who are City employees, and by providing by ordinance as to whether persons who have made, have solicited or have been otherwise involved in raising certain campaign contributions may be eligible or ineligible for City leases, contracts, concessions, or other agreements of any kind, or for a grant, loan, tax incentive, or other form of financial assistance from the City. (4) For purposes of this subsection, "EOP Ordinance" means an ordinance that requires certain or all City contracts and awards of financial assistance to include provisions requiring a contractor or recipient of City financial assistance to submit an economic opportunity plan that addresses the participation of disadvantaged business enterprises and workforce diversity, and to demonstrate best and good faith efforts to comply with such plan. Council's power to enact EOP Ordinances is hereby confirmed, as is Council's power to ordain that a contractor or recipient of City financial assistance may, after notice and hearing, be debarred from doing business with the City or receiving City financial assistance for a specified period of time for failure to exercise best and good faith efforts to comply with an economic opportunity plan. An ordinance providing for such debarment may specify procedures for such debarments by conferring powers and duties on existing City agencies, including Council, or by creating new agencies for such purposes. 23 (5) For purposes of this subsection, "Minimum Wage and Benefits Ordinance" means an ordinance that requires the City, those who contract with the City, and/or recipients of City financial assistance to provide their employees with a minimum level of pay and benefits, and/or that provides that certain or all City contracts include provisions mandating compliance with such a requirement, and that may include such other provisions as Council considers necessary or appropriate to accomplish the purposes of such an ordinance, including, but not limited to, provisions that require those who contract with the City or are recipients of City financial assistance to pass along the requirements of such an ordinance to subcontractors (at any tier) and subrecipients (at any tier); and provisions that authorize the granting and revocation of waivers from any or all of the requirements of such an ordinance. Council's power to enact Minimum Wage and Benefits Ordinances is hereby confirmed, as is Council's power to ordain that a contractor or recipient of City financial assistance, or any subcontractor (at any tier) or subrecipient (at any tier), may, after notice and hearing, be debarred from doing business with the City or receiving City financial assistance for a specified period of time for failure to comply with such requirement. Council may not ordain differing minimum levels of pay and benefits for different categories of covered City employees. Notwithstanding any other provision of the Charter, an ordinance providing for such debarment, and an ordinance providing for the granting and revocation of waivers, may specify procedures for such debarments and waivers by conferring powers and duties on existing City agencies, including Council, or by creating new agencies for such purposes. 24 (6) Contracts for a period of one year or less, and renewals or extensions of such contracts. 25 (a) The following contracts, renewals and extensions may be made only when permitted by Ordinance: (.1) Contracts for the rendering of services over a period of one year or less that involve an expenditure of more than one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) for the purpose of providing legal representation and related services for indigent persons, including but not limited to parents and children who are subjects of dependency proceedings; criminal defendants; persons in juvenile justice proceedings; persons involved in behavioral health proceedings; and indigent persons involved in other proceedings where legal representation is required as a matter of law or by court order. (.2) Any renewal or extension of the term of a contract described in subsection (.1), including the renewal or extension of the term of a contract entered into prior to the effective date of this subsection (6). (b) Exemptions. (.1) Council may by Ordinance exempt from the requirements of subsection (6)(a) any contract, including any renewal or extension, that would otherwise be subject to those requirements. (.2) Any contract, including any renewal or extension, with the following organizations that would otherwise be subject to the requirements of subsection (6)(a) shall be exempt from those requirements unless Council provides by Ordinance to the contrary: the Defender Association of Philadelphia, the Support Center for Child Advocates, and Community Legal Services. (c) The requirements of this subsection (6) are in addition to any requirements imposed by other provisions of this Charter. ANNOTATION Sources: Act of June 25, 1919, P.L. 581, Article XVII, Section 7. Purposes: This section continues comparable provisions of the Charter of 1919. It permits the City to enter into long-range contracts which may be of advantage to it. See Section 8-200(3). Notes 22 | Amended, and new subsections (2) and (3) added, by approval of the voters at the election held on November 8, 2005 and certified on December 1, 2005. See Resolution No. 050428 (adopted May 26, 2005). 23 | Added by approval of the voters at the election held on May 18, 2010, and certified on June 7, 2010. See Bill No. 090519 (approved March 17, 2010); Resolution No. 090529 (adopted March 11, 2010). 24 | Added by approval of the voters at the election held on November 2, 2010, and certified on November 22, 2010. See Bill No. 090580-AA (approved June 16, 2010); Resolution No. 090610 (adopted May 13, 2010). Enacting legislation added this as subsection (4); renumbered by Code editor. Amended by approval of the voters at the election held on May 20, 2014, and certified on June 9, 2014. See Bill No. 130532 (approved October 9, 2013); Resolution No. 130544 (adopted September 26, 2013). 25 | Added by approval of the voters at the election held on May 20, 2014, and certified on June 9, 2014. See Bill No. 130851 (became law March 6, 2014); Resolution No. 130861 (adopted February 20, 2014).

Philadelphia Home Rule Charter § 2-310 Additional Budget-Related Information.

§ 2-310. Additional Budget-Related Information. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in Sections 2-300 or 2-303, Council may, from time to time, ordain requirements for additional information to be submitted by the Director of Finance to the Council with the proposed annual operating budget, annual capital budget, and capital program, including, but not limited to, information about the cost of performing specific functions, the effectiveness of such functions, and the costs versus benefits of proposed expenditures. _______________ Notes 26 | Added by approval of the voters at the election held on November 6, 2012, and certified on December 3, 2012. See Bill No. 120108 (approved September 11, 2012); Resolution No. 120119 (adopted June 28, 2012).

Source: City of Philadelphia, The Philadelphia Code and Home Rule Charter (American Legal Publishing, codelibrary.amlegal.com)URL: https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/philadelphia/latest/philadelphia_pa/0-0-0-263669Fetched: 10/27/2026