PICA Fact Sheet: FY25 Q3 QCMR

The FY25 Q3 Quarterly City Managers Report shows more revenues and less spending, resulting in a $298M higher fund balance, compared to estimates from last quarter. Compared to the adopted FY25-29 Five-Year Plan, projections at the end of Q3 FY25 reflect higher revenues by $221M, higher spending by $248M, and a higher fund balance, by $314M. A higher-than-originally-expected FY24 fund balance played a role in enabling expanded spending, expected to reach $6.62B, despite a structural deficit in FY25. Spending increases incorporated this quarter were concentrated in funding for 2026 events and were offset by new, lower estimates for debt service, Police personnel costs, and the release of the balance of the Labor Reserve. Revenue increases for BIRT and Wage Tax mirrored estimates in the proposed FY26-30 Plan, while Realty Transfer Tax was held flat despite earlier expectations of growth.

PICA Fact Sheet: FY25 Q3 Overtime

Overtime spending reached $229.6 million through Q3, 22% higher than the same period last year, driven by persistent public safety vacancies, emergency events, and celebrations tied to the Eagles’ Super Bowl win. Citywide overtime is now projected to exceed the FY25 adopted budget by $22.9 million, with Fire, Police, and Prisons accounting for the largest increases. Departments with lower staffing levels continue to rely heavily on overtime, especially in public safety roles where staffing remains well below adopted targets.

PICA Fact Sheet: Bond Authorizations

With legislation related to proposed H.O.M.E. Initiative borrowing introduced in City Council, it’s a good time for a refresher on how bond authorization works in the City of Philadelphia.

When the City plans major long-term investments, it must obtain City Council authorization to borrow funds—though authorization does not automatically mean borrowing occurs immediately. Borrowing typically happens incrementally, aligning with the pace of project spending, to minimize unnecessary debt service. Having approved authorization in place gives the City flexibility to move forward efficiently, while insufficient authorization can cause delays and increase project costs.

Graphic created with ChatGPT's DALL-E and edited by Rob Call

The next PICA Board Meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, June 17th at 12:15PM. Members of the public are welcome to attend in person at our 1500 Walnut Street office or online via Zoom. The agenda will be posted on our website(LINK) and the registration page one week prior to the meeting.

What We're Reading

Each year, the Federal Reserve issues a report based on the results of its annual Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking (SHED).

Key Takeaways

• People's financial well-being was similar to the previous two years but below the high reached in 2021.
• Inflation and prices continued to be the top financial concern. A majority of adults said that changes in the prices they paid over the prior year had made their finances worse, but the share saying so declined from 2023. 
• The labor market remained solid. Similar shares of people both started and voluntarily left jobs in 2024 compared with 2023. However, a smaller share of people who changed jobs said that their new job was better in 2024 compared with 2023.

$661 Million

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