Share your budget thoughts

CITY HALL. City Council will hold a public hearing tomorrow on the budget and five-year plan in West Oak Lane, giving residents that can’t make it to City Hall a chance to comment on the city’s proposed $3.87 billion spending plan.

But those upset about Mayor Michael Nutter’s proposed 2-cent-per-ounce soda tax or $300 trash fee can pull back on the vitriol. City Council signaled last week that those two taxes are DOA, the Inquirer reported yesterday, and will instead be replaced with a property tax hike.

Three Reasons to Go

1) If you’re against the idea of a 12 percent property tax hike off of out-of-whack real estate assessments and would rather pay more for soda, this may be your last chance to let Council know. But a lobbying campaign against the soda tax appears to have worked in killing it.

2) Hold law makers accountable. It’s not election time yet, but this is your chance to hold two Council members (Councilwoman Donna Reed Miller and Marian Tasco are hosting) accountable for fixing potholes, funding rec centers or anything else related to city spending.

3) Change you can believe in. After the election of President Obama, many Americans were inspired to show their civic engagement. This is another opportunity to show you care about what happens in your city, whether you’re a Tea Partier, Democrat or the rarest of species in Philadelphia: a Republican.