How Should Philly and Pennsylvania Spend Your Money?

It’s that time of year again: budget season. In February, Gov. Josh Shapiro made his $53.3 billion budget pitch for the 2026-2027 fiscal year, while Mayor Cherelle Parker proposed a nearly $7 billion budget for Philadelphia earlier this month. This kicks off a series of closed-door talks and public hearings leading up to the summer, when both budgets must be passed.

While those tax dollars are usually committed to some fixed costs — like pension funds — there’s still a significant amount of money waiting to be allocated. The question is, to what and how much? Here’s how you can follow and get involved in the budgeting process for the city and state.

Familiarize Yourself With the Proposals

You will want to know how the government hopes to spend funds before you form your opinions. Documents for Parker’s budget are accessible on the city’s site, with Shapiro’s address available on the state site. The House Appropriations Committee has an executive budget briefing that breaks things down all in one place. Fair warning, these documents can be lengthy.

If you prefer to listen to the whole thing, you can watch Parker’s entire budget address here. She appears around the 1:52:00 mark. Shapiro’s budget address can be found here.

Contact Your Legislators

Getting these budgets passed is a matter of negotiations between the governor and lawmakers at the state level, and the mayor and City Council at the municipal level. And as we saw last year with Pennsylvania’s state budget, these talks can get ugly and drag on.

Make sure legislators are prioritizing your interests by reaching out to them. Write them an email or a letter, or call and leave a voicemail. Not sure what to say? Here are tips on writing to your elected official. Be straightforward, but share how you’d be personally impacted if certain initiatives or departments receive less funding.

You can find a list of City Councilmembers and their contact information here. Find your state legislators here.

Speak Out Publicly

City Council gives three opportunities for community members to voice their thoughts on the record about the budget proposal. The upcoming hearings are:

If you are interested in providing public comment you must register to speak by 3 p.m. the day before the session you wish to attend. Sign up by calling 215-686-3407 or email budget.hearings@phila.gov with your full name, whether you support or oppose a particular bill or resolution, phone number, and email address. If you’re signing up on the day of, register at the front desk in Room 400 in City Hall.

At the state capital, public interest groups will rally in support or opposition to a particular cause. If you can make the trip to Harrisburg, you can join these groups to amplify your budget priorities. Here is a calendar of registered events.

Attend or Watch a Hearing

Although there are only three public testimony dates, city offices and departments present testimony to advocate for their agencies at several public hearings. Find a full schedule here. If you cannot attend in person, hearings are streamed live and archived on YouTube.

At the state level, you can watch a Senate session or a House session live. The Democrats and Republicans run their own Appropriations Committee sites, where you can find videos of past hearings with each department and other documents.

Participate in a Local Town Hall

The city hosts Budget Town Halls across each council district to present an overview of the proposed budget. Afterwards, guests can ask questions and provide feedback on the proposal. You can also leave written feedback. As of now, dates haven't been released for this year's town halls.

This article will be updated as more information on budget town halls and hearing schedules is released.