Snow removal just blew a $10-million hole in the city's budget, but City Controller Alan Butkovitz says we could fill almost half that hole if the people on this list would just pay up.
The Controller says it's a list of more than 600 individuals and organizations that received police services and haven't paid up. The grand total is more than $4-million.
Among those on the top 20 are the Philadelphia Phillies. The City Controller says they owe $172,000 plus interest. The Phillies tell us they're having constructive discussions with the city to resolve the matter. But they won't tell us who they're talking to.
The Phillies are in surprising company.
"Among the other most disturbing aspects of this is that the biggest deadbeats are government entities," Butkovitz said.
According to the list, the state of Pennsylvania owes the city more than $414,000, mostly for salary reimbursements. PennDOT owes $71,000 for police traffic control at construction sites. It says it's waiting for proper documentation before paying up.
The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board owes more than $217,000 for police protection at state stores in high crime areas. They say the bill will be paid in two weeks.
The DEA is on the list for more than $100,000 of police overtime on a joint task force. They say they pay up within 90 days, but don't have some dated invoices.
Many of those on the list stage public events. The Controller says the organizers of the professional bike race owe almost $125,000. They say they've gotten conflicting bills and will pay when the city clears up the confusion.
The folks behind the Philadelphia Gay Pride Parade say they're working on a payment plan.
When asked why they haven't paid, Franny Price of Philly Pride Presents, Inc. said, "Because we made payment arrangements. We told them that this was a sudden expense. We've never paid before and all of a sudden you get hit with a $9,000 bill. We're a nonprofit."
The Controller says ESM Productions owes $18,000. They orchestrated the Phillies World Series parade in 2008. ESM's owner says he thought the Phillies picked up the tab for the police protection he requested and didn't know about the debt until he got a letter from the city late last year.
"If it belongs on our tab then we're going to go and obviously take care of it. We don't want any problems with the city," Scott Mirkin of ESM Productions said.
Individuals we've contacted tell similar stories. They claim they didn't know they were on the list and the city never asked for payment.
Charles McMenamin's former company CJ Ashland, an auto salvage yard, is among the top 20, owing more than $25,000. McMenamin said the last time he heard from the city about the $25,000 was years ago. According to McMenamin, "it was all settled."
So, are they really deadbeats? Or is the city doing a poor job of accounting and collecting?
Bills that are more than 90 days late get turned over to the city law department.
"Once we turn it over to the law department, we're basically done with it," Deputy Commissioner John Gaittens of the Philadelphia Police said.
But after four days of asking, the city can't tell us why many of the bills have gone uncollected for as long as four years.
The Controller says the city has been doing a somewhat better job of collecting since a similar list was posted last year. More money has come in since Action News started asking questions.
"Fortunately as a result of Channel 6's efforts on this, you've nailed down about a third of the amount that is still outstanding on delinquencies, about a half million dollars in the last few days," Butkovitz said.
And they'll be getting even more when one more check is delivered Monday morning - one from Channel 6. Yes, we too at Channel 6 are also on the list and we're paying up, all $10.83.
Unfortunately, the city may never collect money from companies that have gone out of business. The Controller says the city should demand payment upfront before providing thousands of dollars worth of police protection.