Deputy Mayor Everett Gillison, Mayor Nutter's top aide for criminal justice, said a criminal conviction generally would not bar people from becoming city workers.
Gillison said he was a vigorous advocate of the public and private sectors' hiring ex-offenders, especially in a city in which many residents have arrest records.
"It's called second chances, and that's what we do," Gillison said.
But Gillison said the administration supported the campaign to collect the delinquent funds: "When you get a job - no matter what you do - you have to complete paying your debt to society, and I am supportive of that."
Gillison said the city would consider an arrest history a barrier to employment if the crime were "job-relevant." The city might hire someone with a fraud conviction to fix streets, but not to deal with revenue, he said.
The Police Department will hire no one convicted of a crime carrying a sentence of a year or more in jail, said Mark McDonald, Nutter's press secretary.
The names of the employees were not released because they are getting a month-long grace period. The group owes $3 million in back costs, but only $1 million is overdue.
The unnamed employee with the largest delinquent debt owes the courts $150,000, forfeited bail in a theft case.
Neifield and Controller Alan Butkovitz said letters were mailed Tuesday to the delinquent workers warning them they had a month to pay their debt or agree to a payment plan.
If they do nothing, the courts will take legal action to garnish up to 20 percent of their paychecks.
"Those who come forward voluntarily will have the opportunity to structure payment plans," Neifield said. "Those who don't will have their wages garnished. Drastic fiscal times call for drastic action."
