PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) —Philadelphia City Council gave preliminary approval to a budget for the first phase of Mayor Parker’s affordable housing plan, but only after heavily amending it to shift more of the money to low-income residents, drawing the ire of the Parker administration.
Council added more than $80 million to the proposed budget the HOME initiative, bringing spending on phase one of the plan to $277 million. Most of the new money went to the Turn the Key program, helping first time home-buyers. The remainder was split between homelessness prevention, rent subsidies and affordable housing construction and preservation.
Crucially, the new plan had lower income limits for who qualifies, which was a victory for a vocal group of council members who had advocated for more money to support Philadelphia’s lowest-income residents. When the mayor’s office did not budge, the council amended the budget with no input from the mayor’s office…