image above, 6/4/2026 Budget Update Press Conference, Copyright City of Philadelphia. Photograph by Quinton Davis

About a week ago the city council approved a budget for the 2026-2027 fiscal year which begins July 1st of this year. This comes as hunger strikers from the activist organization called Sunrise Movement began to pressure Mayor Parker to address the one billion dollar surplus from the previous fiscal year expressed in her five year plan. 

Starting their hunger strike on May 21st, Sunrise movement is demanding that Parker spend this money on food, housing, schools, recreational centers, libraries, SEPTA, and renewable energy. When the city council approved the budget, they did rewrite the budget to allocate an extra $48 million to the School District of Philadelphia. Both city council and the Mayor pledged to give the school district $216 million dollars over the next five years, despite city council’s rejection of Mayor Parker’s tax increase to give funding to the schools. 

Parker’s predecessor, former mayor Jim Kinney, spent a 2021 budget surplus on public safety and money for arts and cultural programs.The following year, the school district experienced a $515 Million dollar surplus that was predicted to end in a deficit of over $400 million dollars by 2027. 

This was amidst a possibility for leadership change in the school board with Parker’s incoming administration. Currently the school district faces a deficit of over $300 Million dollars, with a plan to close 17 shutter schools, and merging others.

“We’re not going away,” said food striker Erica Brown said in an instagram post from the Sunrise Movement after ending their strike. “This is beginning.” 

Erica Brown with Council President Kenyatta Johnson at City Council budget deliberations Photo:@phlcouncilpresident on instagram

District of Attorney Office

While the city council was in the midst of budget deliberations, the District Attorney’s office asked for a $5.6 Million dollar boost in funding. According to an open letter from the DA’s office to the Mayor, this would fund the launch of a domestic violence abuse unit, hiring law enforcement to help with prosecution and investigation of crimes against senior citizens, strengthening gun violence task force operations, victim and witness relocating, and supporting external victim service providers. 

Despite the DA’s pleas, the DA’s office only received $1.6 Million over the five year plan for priority attorney positions. The DA’s office did not respond to requests for comment in time for publication. 

“One universal condition in life is that we will all age,” said Karen Buck from the Senior Law Office. “So we need to understand the ways [crimes against elders] are affecting our country, affecting generational wealth, and affecting the cycle of poverty.” 

Buck has worked at the Senior Law Center for 30 years. The center typically works in tandem with the DA’s office, Pennsylvania Corporation for Aging, and Penn Memory Center to look at these issues from a global perspective.

Buck says the Senior Law Office completely supports more funding for the DA’s office because more law enforcement is “the number one way” to stop crimes against seniors. She also says other big cities like Pittsburgh have more than enough staff when compared to Philadelphia. 

School District in Deficit 

In a preliminary budget for fiscal year 2026-27, the city council gave the school district of Philadelphia a one time payment of $50 Million. The school district said in a press release that this one time payment would be seen as “a structural imbalance” in the long term and would not help restore the 340 jobs that the district planned to cut.

During the final budget deliberations, the city council and Mayor Parker pledged to give the district $216 Million over the next five years to help them maintain those positions. 

“I just wish the school district was a bit more transparent about how they spend the money,” said Mai Micsik, the Executive Director of Children First PA. 

Micsik has been working for Children First PA for about two years and has been advocating for kids and education workers for a decade. Children First PA’s  major campaign in Philadelphia is to advocate for kids in the city to have access to Algebra which gives them access to the top schools in the city. 

Micsik says that she’s happy that these positions will stick around but also has “no problem” holding the School District of Philadelphia accountable for the way it uses its money.

Housing

In the final budget for fiscal year 2026-2027, City Council approved a debt service included for two $400 million borrowings supporting Mayor Parker’s HOME plan. It also included $10 million dollars for capital funding in modular housing production, and $7.5 million dollars to establish the Proactive Rental Inspection Program. 

However, there are still 925 units of affordable housing up for sale in West Philadelphia. Councilwoman Jamie Gauthier has been spearheading the movement to get the city to purchase these units to keep them affordable. 

Town hall on 925 affordable housing units up for sale in J.W. Memorial Hall in West Philly on June 12th Photo: Screenshot from @onepennsylvania on Instagram

2026 and Beyond

City Council’s budget for fiscal year 2026-27 included $6.5M for early childhood education, the $1.6M annually Community College of Philadelphia for operating support, and $3M annually to create career connected learning slots for youth. On top of giving funding to the DA’s office, the city council also dedicated $25M in grants for community partners and grassroots anti-violence organizations. 

Additionally $5M will go to the police department for bodyworn cameras, drones, and to form a Police Quality of Life Team. Prisons will receive an additional $5.6M to complete rollout of body worn cameras. 

City council’s budget also includes funding for SEPTA, Libraries, opioid settlement funds. Some of the funding for these sectors will be rolled out over the next five years.