Resolution 150679

..Title Honoring and congratulating Joseph M. Casey for his contributions to the City of Philadelphia as general manager of SEPTA. ..Body WHEREAS, Joe Casey has been a dedicated SEPTA employee for 34 years in a number of roles, culminating his career as general manager; and WHEREAS, He has improved SEPTA in a number of ways, starting with establishing a customer-first culture and committing the Transit Authority to improving the overall customer experience; and WHEREAS, Mr. Casey, in his efforts to improve customer service, created the Authority's first-ever Customer Service Division charged with ensuring that customer service is a fundamental part of every SEPTA employee's job description; and WHEREAS, He established SEPTA's "Four Cs" of Customer Service - Cleanliness, Convenience, Courtesy and Communication - as the Authority's enduring guiding business principles; and WHEREAS, Before serving as general manager of SEPTA, Mr. Casey served in a number of budgetary roles, including Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer, and various senior management positions in Internal Audit and Finance; and WHEREAS, Since he began serving as the Authority's CFO before becoming general manager, SEPTA has achieved 16 consecutive balanced budgets and received the Government Finance Officers Association Distinguished Budget Award for 10 consecutive years; and WHEREAS, Mr. Casey also made economic, environmental, and social sustainability core business priorities and created a culture that encourages initiatives to grow ridership, better meet the needs of the communities SEPTA serves and identify new revenue streams and cost saving opportunities; and WHEREAS, He also helped to pass Pennsylvania Act 89 in January 2014 and procure funding so that SEPTA can embark on a number of initiatives to address its $5 billion State of Good Repair backlog, with projects such as bridge and track replacement, reconstruction of stations and other facilities and the purchase of new vehicles; and WHEREAS, Under Joe's leadership, SEPTA's nationally-recognized Stimulus program included 32 projects that were completed on time and on budget; and WHEREAS, SEPTA also earned a reputation as a responsible steward of public investment, receiving two highly-competitive TIGER Grants, among many other federal discretionary grant awards under Joe's leadership; and WHEREAS, Mr. Casey also expanded SEPTA's commitment to operating an efficient and modern bus fleet that now has 700 hybrids in service, meaning SEPTA now operates one of the largest "green" mass transit fleets in the country, reducing diesel fuel consumption by 2.2 million gallons annually; and WHEREAS, Joe's leadership has seen annual passenger trips on SEPTA increase by approximately 40 million since 2006; and WHEREAS, Joe's tenure as general manager has seen SEPTA achieve record high Regional Rail ridership in FY 2015 with 37.4 million trips, the result of Regional Rail ridership increasing by 50% over the last 17 years; and WHEREAS, Joe also oversaw the procurement of 120 new Silverliner V Rail Cars, SEPTA'S first acquisition of new Regional Rail cars in almost two generations; and WHEREAS, Mr. Casey has also founded a number of community engagement initiatives at SEPTA, including the "Stop Hunger at your Station" food drive, which has donated more than 100 tons of food to Philabundance since its inception 6 years ago; and WHEREAS, Each spring approximately 700 SEPTA employees participate in cleanup activities throughout the region as part of the "Philly Spring Clean Up"; and WHEREAS, In 2012, under Joe Casey's general management, SEPTA received the American Public Transportation Association Outstanding Public Transportation System Award, as well as the Association's Gold Sustainability Recognition; and WHEREAS, Mr. Casey will continue his dedication to the City of Philadelphia after his retirement from SEPTA as chair of the transportation committee for the 2016 Democratic National Convention; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, THAT THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, Hereby honors and congratulates Joseph M. Casey for his contributions to the City of Philadelphia as general manager of SEPTA. ..End