Last week, Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney unveiled a radically redrawn version of his annual budget, pared back to match the loss of revenue in a locked down city.
If the city follows Kenney’s plan to cut $650m, the city’s arts office will be eliminated and a new tuition-free aid programme for low-income community college students will be scaled back.
This pandemic-bred budget crisis is a microcosm of the one confronting cities across the United States.
The federal government’s numerous rounds of aid, including the $2.2tn CARES Act, are an attempt to stave off a depression.
But these federal efforts could be offset by brutal austerity at the state and local levels, Jake Blumgart reports for CityMetric.