Mayor's plan calls for more fees from U.

The Goode administration has proposed charging the University and other non-profit organizations "user fees" as one way to bail the city out of its current fiscal crisis, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported Sunday. The proposed user fees -- payment for fire and police protection, sanitation and other city services -- are part of a proposed five-year plan to balance the city budget. City officials must submit this plan to a state-run commission which oversees Philadelphia's finances before the commission will approve the one-percent regional sales tax and a bond sale which will generate operating cash for the city. It is not yet certain how much the city intends to charge the University under Mayor Wilson Goode's plan. The report has not yet been released to the public, and details of the plan were not available. A 50-page report describing the plan was given Saturday to members of the authority that oversees the city's finances. A copy was obtained by the Inquirer. University administrators said yesterday they had no first-hand knowledge of the plan, adding that no direct communication between the University and city officials had taken place about the University altering its financial relationship with the city. But according to the Inquirer, the report said the city wished to receive up to $20 million a year from all the non-profit institutions in the city. Currently, the University pays a discounted rate for water it uses and dumps trash in city sites for free. It also does not have to pay property taxes on land which is used for the "educational mission" of the University. But University officials have continually stressed that the University provides the city with other benefits besides mere tax revenues. And University Budget Director Stephen Golding said yesterday the city must consider the University's maintenance of its own police force and sanitation department. "We are spending a large amount of money in order to provide these services already," Golding said. The prospect of the University and other non-profit institutions paying user fees has been bandied about by several mayoral candidates and City Council members. Mayoral candidate Edward Rendell said last week he had not determined whether or not he would demand user fees from non-profit organizations. However, if elected, the University alumnus said his administration would likely not begin assessing such fees until at least next July. A year ago last spring, the City Council passed Resolution 402 calling for a task force to look into how universities and other non-profit organizations can give back to the city in non-monetary ways. The resolution calls for the committee to explore "improving the nature and quantity of in-kind services that can be performed by certain tax-exempt entities, such as hospitals and institutions of learning." The University is also the city's largest private employer. Budget Director Golding added that although it was premature to comment on the unreleased plan, paying user fees was "certainly not something I would encourage." City Relations Director Paul Cribbins also said he would not yet comment on the draft plan, adding he is trying to obtain a copy of the report. Neither Philadelphia City Finance Director David Brenner nor members of his staff returned phone calls yesterday and City Controller Jonathan Saidel would not comment on the draft report. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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