City Services

THE MADE IN AMERICA festival is officially paid for, and Mayor Nutter says taxpayers are off the hook. Nutter said concert promoter Live Nation has paid $505,124 to cover the city costs incurred by the Labor Day weekend event outside the Art Museum, featuring rap mogul Jay-Z. That includes a $200,000 security deposit and a payment made Wednesday of $305,124. Nutter did not break down exactly what the money covered. The contract for the event lists estimated costs for city services at $500,000, with the following split: police, $220,000; Fairmount Park, $120,000; emergency medical services, $90,000; sanitation, $60,000; licenses and inspections, $10,000; and health services, $1,000.

MAYOR NUTTER still hasn't released cost figures for the Made in America festival, but a contract for the Labor Day weekend event states that the promoter is responsible for all city expenses. So, are taxpayers off the hook for the for-profit concert outside the Art Museum, featuring rap mogul Jay-Z, produced by Live Nation and sponsored by Budweiser? City officials originally said that there would be some "cost sharing. " Mayor Nutter said Tuesday that the full details would be available "shortly.

Promoters of the Labor Day weekend Made in America concert will have to pay Philadelphia as much as $500,000 to cover overtime and other costs, according to a contract between the city and organizers of the event on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. Mayor Nutter has not officially released details of the agreement between the city and concert promoter Live Nation, but the City Controller's Office on Tuesday provided a copy of the contract. The document shows that organizers of the concert, which featured Jay-Z, Pearl Jam, and many other acts, must pay $220,000 for police, $120,000 for the use of Fairmount Park, $90,000 for emergency services, $60,000 for sanitation, and $10,000 for work done by the Department of Licenses and Inspections.

MAYOR NUTTER still hasn't released cost figures for the Made in America concert, but a contract for the Labor Day weekend event states that the promoter is responsible for all city expenses. So are taxpayers off the hook for the for-profit concert outside the Art Museum, featuring rap mogul Jay Z, produced by Live Nation and sponsored by Budweiser? City officials originally said there would be some "cost sharing. " Mayor Nutter said on Tuesday the full details would be available "shortly.

This week, if you're looking for your state senator/ mayor/council person, don't bother searching the local halls of power. Instead, try the Time Warner Cable Arena - or one of the nearby bars - in the Queen City of Charlotte, site of this week's Democratic National Convention. The list of Philadelphia pols making the trip is long, topped by Mayor Nutter, who is to give a speech at the convention. Here's a partial roll call of the others planning to serve as delegates, superdelegates, and something with the acronym PLEO that we worked hard to determine stands for Party Leader/Elected Official: U.S. Reps.

HARRISBURG - Lawyers for the state and Pennsylvania's debt-strapped capital squared off in court Thursday over whether a judge can force a city to raise taxes. Commonwealth Court Judge Bonnie Brigance Leadbetter did not rule immediately after listening to six hours of arguments on whether to order Harrisburg's City Council to double the rate of the city's 1 percent earned-income tax, as sought by appointees of Gov. Corbett. But, she said, if she did order the tax increase, she would restrict the money to paying for crucial city services amid a looming cash shortfall and insist that none of it go toward payments on the massive and controversial debt tied to the municipal trash incinerator.

This is what will make news in Philadelphia this week: COMMON PLEAS Will monsignor be out? Judge M. Teresa Sarmina is scheduled to rule Thursday on whether Monsignor William Lynn will get house arrest while awaiting his Aug. 13 sentencing. Lynn has been jailed since his conviction June 22 on charges of child endangerment in connection with the pedophile-priest scandal. He is the first senior official of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States to be convicted for covering up child sexual abuses by priests under his supervision.

TIRED OF TAKING off from work to appeal a parking ticket? Those days of running to the Bureau of Administrative Adjudication (BAA) will soon be over. City Council yesterday unanimously approved a bill sponsored by Councilman Bill Green that would let people use the Internet, email, mail or fax to contest tickets issued by the Philadelphia Parking Authority. Currently, those who want to challenge a ticket must show up for a hearing at the Bureau of Administrative Adjudication.

As Philadelphians listento the mayor and Council haggle over a new property-tax system and the School District's need for $90 million from the city, it may be time for some fresh ideas on sources of revenue. One of the freshest also happens to be one of the oldest: Go to nonprofit institutions, which pay little or nothing in property taxes, for more help. More than 2,000 charitable organizations, including large nonprofits like Penn, Blue Cross and Thomas Jefferson University, are exempt from most property taxes.

The professionals won't have to conquer "The Wall" as many times during this year's Philadelphia International Cycling Championship, but for the first time, amateur riders will get to test themselves on the same course, including the iconic 17 percent grade incline in Manayunk. Race organizers are shortening the professional race, knocking it down from 10 trips around the 14.7-mile course to seven, but instituting a morning ride for amateur enthusiasts, who will get to complete three circuits.