If approved, Kenney’s proposal would translate to a 29% jump in city spending since he took office in 2016, primarily driven by increases in the number of city workers. In response to criticism that the city could have instead used its recent fiscal success to cut taxes, such as Philadelphia’s highest-in-the-country wage tax among large cities, administration officials have said the spending increases were needed to make up for spending cuts following the 2008 financial crisis and to address deep-seated issues like poverty and gun violence.