I really enjoy going crisscross in my district when we do the night out piece, and I want to -- can we anticipate that this year?
It's my job to make it happen, so yes. We're going to anticipate it. It will be difficult, but we did it last year and we continue to work with the neighbors to do it. So it's important.
Is there any way this body can help assist that? I mean, when I look at areas 52nd and Parkside, 54th and Berks and I can go all the way up to Andorra where they actually have Town Watches, by the time you get there, you engage community activists at a grassroot level. They tell you what's 102 5/7/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. going on and what's not happening, where the police presence is higher, crime is lower. You get all of that in a snapshot around a single issue. They point out problem areas, and that exchange of information over that three, four-hour period that you're with them is invaluable. So, I mean, I would encourage -- I have a whole list of places in my district I'd like to see it, but how can we help you to lift some of that burden to get more groups involved as opposed to less in that particular night?
Many of you actually do support us in that regard, because every time you do a community meeting, we're there to participate. And if and when your constituents call you with neighborhood issues or problems, you can refer them to us, because generally it's a neighborhood problem that will get people initially engaged, and part of our 103 5/7/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. role is to keep them engaged once that happens. So you can continue to do what you do, because you involve us.
So selfishly, I'm asking for 54th and Berks and 52nd and Parkside and Carroll Park, because Carroll Park --
Crime goes down because of it. I want to thank you again for what you're doing, and we want to remain partners with you.
You're welcome. Thank you. 104 5/7/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc.
I'm sorry. Councilwoman Miller, I'm sorry. I just noticed your light on. Did you want to --
I mean Tony. I'm sorry. It's not McIntosh. I called his name wrong.
You know, I missed your testimony because I had to 105 5/7/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. go to a short meeting across the hall, but one of the things I did want to say, that I know that your department has been cut continuously, but your staff has been most useful in my district when I've needed them. They're very useful at the high schools and with neighborhood issues and dealing with a whole bunch of the violence issues, and I like working with your staff. Right now I think the only person I have in my district is Reggie Hall.
Which I think he has a lot on his plate, because you need more help.
Particularly with some of the violence that's going on in some of the high schools and neighborhood violence. So I just want to say, you know, that I support Town Watch. You do a lot more than just Town Watch. I think 106 5/7/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. that's the point I want to make. The training of the Town Watch groups are really good. We just had another group trained up at Cliveden.
Because of the issues that they're having there with the drugs and whatnot. So I think your agency provides a valuable service.
And I think you have a lot of support on City Council, but more people might need to know all the things you do, not just Town Watch.
Leslie Benoliel, followed by Lucy Kerman. 107 5/7/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. (Witness approached witness table.)
Good morning. Well, good morning, President Verna and other distinguished members of City Council. My name is Leslie Benoliel. I'm the Executive Director of the Philadelphia Development Partnership. We're a non-profit organization that provides capital, micro loans and business training and support services to entrepreneurs, self-employed and small business owners throughout the City to help them start up, save lives and grow their business ventures. PDP, which is the short name of our organization, we're a partner of the Urban Affairs Coalition, and we too believe in the power of coalition. And I'm here today as a member of that group of people to advocate for what we think is important, to help the most vulnerable 108 5/7/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. citizens and residents of our city communities. What I think are the critical issues facing our city's economy and what can be done from the City's perspective to stimulate our economy and generate jobs is the support of small businesses and micro enterprises. Micro enterprises are the smallest of small businesses. They're businesses with five or fewer employees, and usually it's just one, the business owner. And all businesses start off as a micro enterprise. All businesses start off as a single individual. And we have thousands and thousands of them in the City, at least 75,000 that we can count, but we all know that there's far more, because a lot of those people are just getting started and they're not formalized yet, and the Philadelphia Development Partnership works primarily with that group. Central to my comments this morning are that micro enterprises are a 109 5/7/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. critical component of our city's economy, and they are a critical component and important source of our future job growth here in the City. There's no question that job creation and job retention are key to our city, our state and our nation as we recover from this deep, deep recession. One sure way to create jobs is through business development, and by its very nature, business development is job creation. Smallest businesses are the ones that create jobs. Statistics bear this out year in and year out. They are the largest creators of jobs. Nearly one in seven individuals in the City of Philadelphia -- and that's 13 percent of our employment base -- works for a micro enterprise. That's a significant number. In 2006, there were almost 75,000 micro enterprises employing almost 100,000 people in the City. Again, those are the ones that are counted. Those are not the ones that are uncounted. So I would 110 5/7/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. submit to you that that number in 2006 was understated. I think if we extracted those numbers today, there would be much, much, much, much more larger. These enterprises can be found throughout all Council districts in all of our neighborhoods. They're as diverse as our residents. They're our daycare centers, our home repair contractors, graphic designers, fruit and vegetable vendors, caterers, barber shops, bakeries, landscaping companies, coffee shops. The list goes on and on. We see them in all of our neighborhoods. And these enterprises provide essential goods and services to their community, and they employ local people, and that's the most important thing, is small businesses typically employ local people, and they don't move. They don't move out of state, they don't move out of the City. They stay where they are. And in a bad economy like we're seeing now, more and more people who are 111 5/7/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. losing their jobs are looking at self-employment as a way to generate income for themselves and their families and to make ends meet. And there are many others who in this economy especially are left out of the job realm.
Ex-offenders, those who are taking care of family members who are ill or disabled and those with very limited educational attainment or tarnished credit histories, they're locked out of the job market. They've always had difficulty, but even more so today. Those are the people that my other -- our GPUAC partners provide other types of support services. We work very closely with our GPUAC partners to try and provide them a range of support services. Is that for me?
So in closing, I urge you to continue providing support. We've received support from the City to provide services to these small 112 5/7/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. enterprises. These funds have been cut back, not as substantially as others, but it's so critical that if we're going to grow our way out of this economy, we need to invest in our services. I thank you for your time.
Thank you. Just a moment, please. The Chair recognizes Councilman Jones.
Thank you, Madam President. I come from the alumni of small business underwriters that take the difficult deals to try to make good businesses to create jobs and taxes, so I appreciate totally what you do. In the absence of PCDC, has there been a shift in numbers and how small business formation happens in Philadelphia?
That's a really good question, and, yes, absolutely. We've received a lot of referrals from PCDC or those who look to PCDC. I 113 5/7/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. haven't seen the latest statistics, but I know our inquiries were up almost 4 percent within several months after PCDC 5 closed its doors. So absolutely. 6
How is your 7 communication with PIDC, which assumed a 8 lot of the duties that PCDC had? Do you 9 have that same level of communication? 10
I'm not sure 11 what you mean by "communication." I'm in 12 touch with PIDC. We have referred some 13 of our clients to the extent that we -- 14
That's a 19 note to the Board of PIDC that might be 20 interested in that. If you could give us an analysis, not today but provide the Chair with that, I'd be interested in seeing your breakdown by Councilmanic district on where your deals are coming from, a 114 5/7/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. slight profile of the types of deals, not individual cases, but the number of women, number of minorities, number of disadvantaged businesses that take advantage of your opportunity, and then I would be willing, and probably along with a few other members, to facilitate a meeting with PIDC and Commerce to try to fill the void that PCDC has left. Because, again, I mentioned in earlier testimony about the use of mixed-use funds for mixed-use deals, and you fit right into the category of being able to provide that seed capital, start-up money, expansion money that is the difference between a bank in today's credit analysis and toughening of those analysis whether or not they get the project done or not. So as we look at arrows along the road that we need to pick up, polish off and put in our quiver to deal with this whole recession, you're one of them.
Yes, clearly, 115 5/7/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. and I'm happy to provide you with that analysis. We have a lot of that information already on hand, so to the extent that it's going to help identify where there are gaps, and I think those gaps have grown tremendously with the absence of PCDC and also in this tight credit market with the banks having pulled back enormously.
Our Commerce Director or Kevin Dow promised us a five percent increase overall, this body, a five percent increase in small business lending, and that even with the absence of the acronym, the mission would remain, and we're going to hold his feet to the fire. All right? Thank you very much.
Thank you. Our next witness? 116 5/7/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc.
Is there a representative from the Rudolphy Residence for the Blind? (No response.)
Thank you for your patience. Please identify yourself for the record.
Madam President Verna and members of City Council, good 117 5/7/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. morning. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to testify before City Council. My name is Stanley Daniel. I am a real estate investor and a licensed realtor, with my office and all my properties in the City of Philadelphia. The City of Philadelphia has financial problems. A very large part of the City's budget is supported by real estate taxes. The real estate taxes collected in the City of Philadelphia are very low. They're one-half to one-third of what the taxes are for a comparable valued property in the suburbs. To put that in perspective, if somebody has a property in Philadelphia where the taxes are a thousand dollars a year, the same valued property in the suburbs would be $2,000 to $3,000 a year, depending upon what county it is in. This bargain to real estate owners of the City is at the expense of all the people living and working in Philadelphia. This is not the fault of the 118 5/7/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. current Administration. Actually, you are the victim of past City Councils that have allowed this situation to exist. According to the BRT's website, they have been attempting to reassess City real estate since 2004. They have a small army of employees running around the City. They've hired three well-known, expensive consultants who were supposedly experts. I also understand that millions have been spent on a computer system that was going to crunch all of the statistics on every house in the City and spit out an exact value for that house. Even though the BRT is supposedly in agreement with Mayor Nutter's Actual Value Incentive, they haven't gotten there, and many think they will never reach their destination. They're stuck in the mud. They suffer from a case of analysis paralysis. They're trying to look at every detail in attempting to reassess a house. 119 5/7/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. The BRT actually reminds me of an old friend of mine by the name of Lee. We grew up together in Philadelphia. Lee has always been looking for the perfect woman.
At the age of 62, he's still a bachelor. I've met many of his girlfriends. Some of them I would have swapped my wife, my car and kids, even the dog for, but Lee always found something wrong with them. They were too short, too tall, too fat, didn't make enough money, lived too far away, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. He was looking for the perfect woman, and we know that she does not exist. The BRT is looking for the perfect evaluation for each house, and like my friend Lee, they will never find their mate. I have a system that will reassess the entire residential stock of 120 5/7/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. properties, and I believe they total 385,000, and it can be done in six to nine months at fair market value. It is simple to administrate and understand, and it is equitable to all. Once this is done, City Council can then realistically consider what they want to do with the real estate taxes, because they will know that anything they do will be fair and equitable to all property owners. I will drop off additional information to all the offices of Councilmembers after this meeting. Thank you for your time and consideration. Are there any questions? (No response.)
Thank you very much. You were very patient and we do appreciate your testimony. This Committee will stand in recess until 1:30. Thank you. (Luncheon recess.) 121 5/7/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc.
This is a continued public hearing of the Committee of the Whole. I would ask Ms. Murray to please read the name of our first witness.
That's me. I'm going to defer to this gentleman. He wants to go first. He's been waiting here for a while.
I think many of them are in their offices, but they can hear what's going on. Please approach the witness table.
All right. (Witness approached witness table.) * * * 122 5.7.10 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE (2011 BUDGET) (Second-shift stenographer Josephine Cardillo relieves first-shift stenographer Michele Murphy.)
Rudolphy Home for the Blind, if you've ever heard of it, it's at 38th and Powelton Avenue, across from Presbyterian Hospital. It's the oldest blind home in the United States; we're going to be celebrating our 143rd year this year. And it's the case that right now, we're suffering from the standpoint that we lost a lot of money there, and the reason for that was the accountant we had, she did not take and deduct the taxes that -- in other words, the employees' tax from their salary, you know. And the IRS came into the bank, and went to the bank the other day at PNC over here, on Market Street, and checked the account for the payroll. And the girl said, "Oh, Mr. Crane. Oh, Mr. Crane. Your account is overdrawn in 123 5.7.10 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE (2011 BUDGET) the payroll accountant." And I said, "Why, why, why?" She said, "Well, the IRS came in here, and they deducted all of the money out of your payroll account." And sure enough, we're broke now, with the payroll account. And then what happened? The residents -- not the residents, but the employees, they know about this, and they felt, Gee, we couldn't pay them last month or the month before, and when we couldn't pay them, they left us.
In fact, the vice president over there every night now, Anna, and she's over there and she's actually between the hours of, I think -- what did she say? -- and in the morning. She's staying overnight there and she's trying to take care of the place too, see. I just talked to her this morning; I was going to bring her with 124 5.7.10 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE (2011 BUDGET) me. And it's the case that she said, "George, I just got off of work here at Rudolphy, and I'm going to go home and go to bed." So sure enough --
Right now, darling, we have about residents that we care for, but the Blind Home is actually designated for sixteen blind people. And Mercy Douglas is involved with it, because the home, you know, realized -- I'll tell you about the home. About eight years ago -- I think I've told you this before, but eight years ago, we received a grant from the HUD program and so forth, and it made us where we actually converted the 42 rooms we had before -- for all these years, we had 42 rooms and 42 residents living there. They insisted we convert those rooms to individual apartments. 125 5.7.10 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE (2011 BUDGET) Therefore, we only received -- out of the 42 rooms, we only received about 4 apartments. And that's what we have the 5 source of the home is right now. 6 Actually, it's -- so what's -- 7 with 19 apartments, 19 residents from 42, 8 it cuts my budget right in half. 9 Actually, we have no money where we -- 10 I'm not begging. 11 I have these plea letters here, 12 and in the plea letters, I've begged to 13 our alliance clubs and I've sent them 14 letters; you probably maybe received them 15 too. 16
I 17 know that they're very generous and they 18 do give money to, you know, many of the 19 blind --
Oh, darling, we're trying to save the home, see. And it's -- like I say, being president, I've been -- actually, I've been actually a volunteer there for over 30 years now and have been with our alliance -- I've been 126 5.7.10 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE (2011 BUDGET) with the 36 years, you know.
And I've been past president of the Northeast Alliance and past president of the Torresdale Alliance, see, and you're the past president of the South Philly Alliance, right?
There you are. So, sweetheart, what we're trying to do is save this place, and I don't know if the City can help -- if your council can help me or not, but I'll appreciate anything you could possibly do to save that home.
Well, I'd say a hundred dollars or a couple of hundreds or something like that.
A couple of hundred dollars to save the home? 127 5.7.10 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE (2011 BUDGET)
Darling, the reason I say that is the case that -- I get the Inquirer -- we went to the Inquirer a couple weeks ago and we were talking to one of the girls there, and she's quite interested in helping us. And Channel 10, I went to Channel 10, and they were quite interested in helping us. I gave them my plea letters, you know. And I saw this in the paper the other day, and I said, My gosh, these people are running these benefits for these, you know, needy organizations; why can't we do that too, why can't we have a big benefit running at the Bellevue or something like that, you know, and raise money, because here's one that's in the paper that raised $270,000 in some affair they had, you know. And why can't we do the same thing because, you know, years ago, I raised money for the Kidney Foundation; I worked with the Kidney Foundation years ago too, before I got involved with the 128 5.7.10 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE (2011 BUDGET) Alliance too much. And it's a case that we raised a lot of money for helping people with kidney patients, kidney disease. But truly, if I can get maybe your committee members and so forth to back us up. See, in our area, we have Jannie Blackwell, and once, many years ago, when I was president, even then, Jannie Blackwell was on our board. And Chaka Fattah in this area, West Philadelphia, he was on our board. And I've been trying to get our alliance, I'm trying to get them to come on the board, you know, 'cause we did have a very active board when we first started with it. And, anyhow, we -- little by little, they passed away or something like that, or they retired and they went down to Florida probably, where everyone else is, and we lost our good board members. We're looking for good board members. 129 5.7.10 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE (2011 BUDGET) And right now, to top it all off, I'm looking for a good attorney to fight our case and maybe do it pro bono especially. That's what I need. I need that very badly because we had a good attorney there for years, and his name was Chris Stover, and Chris we had for years, like I say, but he wants a lot of money from us to fight the cases, and we can't afford it.
Again, I think I'd like to ask you the same question --
To save the home right now? Oh, gosh. I'd say a couple hundred thousand dollars or something like that truly, you know, because right now, we have a budget that's, like I say, practically over drawn, you know. I try to get the alliance and I 130 5.7.10 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE (2011 BUDGET) give 'em my plea letters. I sent these out to them; in fact, these are made out to some of the alliance clubs. But if anyone wants plea letters, I'd gladly get them to, you know, and tell you.
I hope that City Council can probably help. I even dropped some plea letters off at the Mayor's Office today, Anna, darling Anna, I've dropped some plea letters off at the Mayor's Office so maybe Mayor Nutter or -- the past mayors were very anxious to help us years ago too. And Governor Rendell, I know Eddie, and he and his wife were quite active with us when we started -- well, when we built the additional frame building next to our building right now.
And if you're all aware where the Rudolphy Home for the 131 5.7.10 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE (2011 BUDGET) Blind is, it's at 3827 Powelton Avenue, and you're welcome to come there, and let me know, and I'll be glad to give you what we call a nickel tour, you know. (Timer bell rings.)
So I appreciate what you do here, City Council, all of your members and so forth. I think you're doing a fantastic job, and I'm so proud of you all too, you know.
Thank you. And if I think you contact the alliances, they would be more than happy to give you whatever help they can.
'Cause we go to your benefits for your alliance club too in South Philadelphia.
Mm-hmm. 132 5.7.10 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE (2011 BUDGET)
Thank you, thank you very much. Thanks for coming in.
Anything else I can do or anyone else have questions or anything like that?
We don't have any questions. We'll certainly look into it.
Anything else anyone else wanted to know? 133 5.7.10 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE (2011 BUDGET)
I'm also the president of the USS San Francisco for the second world war. Any of you people who are second world war? Or your grandfathers, I guess, or parents. I'm also the president of the USS San Francisco Association.
And in a couple of weeks, I'm going to go out to San 134 5.7.10 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE (2011 BUDGET) Francisco for Memorial Day. I've been going out for six years 'cause I've been president for six years. And I feel this way: Whatever I can do to help the veterans and all of that, you know, I'm trying, because veterans, you know, are getting older. They're not 39 like me, you know. And I tell them, I said, Well, they tell me they said they don't fly any more or drive any more because I'm trying to get my shipmates to come to my reunion, you know.
And we do appreciate your coming in. Thank you so much.
And I want you to 135 5.7.10 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE (2011 BUDGET) get the alliance club, anyone to join the alliance, too. We're up in --
Good afternoon. Please identify yourself for the record.
My name's A.J. Thompson. I'm here on behalf of the Friends of Penn Treaty Park as well as a number of organizations in the Fishtown area. One of the things that I want to address in the budget is, with the incoming casino at SugarHouse at Delaware 136 5.7.10 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE (2011 BUDGET) and Frankford Delaware and Shackamaxon, Penn Treaty Park is only about 400 yards away from that entrance. And at this point in time, Penn Treaty Park has no 6 electricity or lighting. And a member of the Friends, we have frequent cleanups the second Saturday of every month, if anybody wants to show up. And we're going to have Love Your Park Day on Saturday. We have no real security at night. Now, there's always been sort of an element at nighttime who use the park and leave their, you know, belongings after there. Unfortunately, a lot of them tend to use the children's area. With what we anticipate not tremendous problems but an increase, flow of people who are leaving the casino, maybe down on their luck, popping over to the park. With no lighting or electric or anything really in the park to enhance safety, it becomes, you know, a little bit more of a safety hazard because we 137 5.7.10 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE (2011 BUDGET) anticipate more people there at nighttime. When there were clubs on Delaware, which there are a lot less now, it was a popular hangout then. That's subsided feel, but we anticipate it's going to, you know, increase, especially as the casino comes closer and sort of the attendant development around the casino, which, you know, I'm sure we all hope, that's going to increase traffic, it's going to increase further building. Now, there is a master plan for Penn Treaty Park that has been completed. The total master plan costs about $14 million. And one of the components is, you know, a complete upgrade to the water, the pier, and other things. But the first thing that the Friends and other people have identified is lighting. There are absolutely no 23 lights in the park right now, there's no 24 electricity. If you go in the park, you can't see 20 feet in front of your face 138 5.7.10 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE (2011 BUDGET) unless the moon's out. So it's one of the things that we would like at least addressed in the capital budget for Recreation and Parks, especially coming up and especially trying to get ahead of the casino. There's ways in which we can put solar lights along the walking path that won't cost a lot of money. There's other ways which we could have power into the park; we're trying to work with PECO. We want to bring the issue to visibility within Council, especially, you know, as our neighborhood and the park are going to serve as host to the casino, we would like to see this safety measure put in place -- not just for the people who are using the park at nighttime, but for, you know, kids who are there, you know. The amount of drug paraphernalia and other paraphernalia that's on the ground, you know, we're going to do a cleanup Saturday, and we'll 139 5.7.10 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE (2011 BUDGET) find a lot of -- people tend to take their dates down there, so there's a lot of, uh, you know, trash and refuse that's left afterwards. So we feel we can get a real concept of lighting at least right now, we can ensure a little bit more safety and --
I'm really not familiar with the area. How close is the park from the new casino?
About 400 yards. So it's about -- I mean, it's two long city blocks. So you're talking about, you know, very, very close. There are people who will probably -- might park at Penn Treaty Park to down to the casino if the lot's full. It's very close. So it's just an issue that we would like to see addressed coming up. (Timer bell rings.)
I'm sure there had to be a couple hundred 140 5.7.10 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE (2011 BUDGET) community meetings when they were considering this.
Did you ever take this issue up at the any of the meetings?
We've taken it up many times. We've taken up a lot of safety issues. It's something that's been talked about; unfortunately, it's not been accomplished. I met with Deputy Mayor Everett Gillison and a number of other people did a few weeks ago. I gave him a letter committing $10,000 from our group as the first $10,000 to this lighting project. Even if it was a solar lighting, it would not cost as much as, you know, burying power lines. So it's something that we 141 5.7.10 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE (2011 BUDGET) want to try to raise visibility, you know, and get Council's support to try to get this out ahead of the casino, which is supposed to open in September. You know, it's a part of the comprehensive plan that takes time, but this is something that we can at least get out there right now and kind of light some of the paths, light the parking lot, light the children's area, so that we can, you know, get ahead of --
I understand your concerns. Who's the District Councilperson?
Well, see, he's not here at the moment. I 142 5.7.10 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE (2011 BUDGET) don't know whether this is in the budget or whether it's been considered. So before the budget's passed, I suggest you be in contact with him --
You know, it is a concern for, you know, future budgeting. And at least, you know, if there's a more comprehensive lighting and electrical design, we'd like to have that considered for the upcoming budget.
Okay. After 143 5.7.10 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE (2011 BUDGET) Christine, Cindy Masiejczwk. Okay. (Witness comes forward.)
Okay. My name is Christine Knapp. I'm the Director of Outreach for Citizens for Pennsylvania's Future, also known as Penn Future. We're a statewide environmental advocacy organization. I'm also the coordinator of the Next Great City Initiative, which is made up of over 125 organizations throughout Philadelphia working for the implementation of an environmental agenda to strengthen our neighborhoods, increase economic competitiveness, and improve our environment. 10 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE (2011 BUDGET) and Recreation and the proposed trash fee. 4 million in capital for Parks and 5 million in capital for Recreation. For too long, we've neglected our parks and recreation facilities, and now we have the opportunity to reverse decades of disinvestment, and it couldn't come at a better time in. In bad economic times such as these, it is imperative that we continue to provide recreational and open-space opportunities. We know that more and more people are cutting vacations out of their family budgets, but a vibrant and healthy park system can help provide relaxation, enjoyment, and a much-needed break from the urban concrete and asphalt that surrounds us. 10 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE (2011 BUDGET) Additionally, we also know that job markets are tight right now and it's harder for young people to find employment, but if they're engaged in their local recreation facilities, they're less likely to put that idle time to bad use. And while the City itself struggles to balance a budget, it's also important that we use every dollar carefully and with purpose. Money spent on improving and maintaining Philadelphia's parks and recreation systems is a good investment and will help the City to achieve several goals with just one dollar so you get more bang for your buck. Some of the major positive effects of investing in our parks and recreation system include that parks and trees and open space has a positive impact on home values. 10 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE (2011 BUDGET) investment will help to retain and attract young professionals and increase our tax base. Reducing air pollution and absorbing storm water is one of the benefits of parks and trees that help to make our residents healthier and help to reduce the property damage caused by storm-water runoff on their properties. Open spaces that are maintained also help to reduce crime. And also, they help to attract regional tourism, which we know is an important industry for Philadelphia. So I hope that Council will agree that this is an important investment to make for the long-term health and growth of our city and specifically in our neighborhoods. And no matter where that initial source of revenue comes from, this specific allocation should be maintained. 10 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE (2011 BUDGET) gap, I wanted to comment on the trash fee that has been proposed by Mayor Nutter. I'm also a board member of the Recycling Alliance of Philadelphia, and I've long supported ways of reducing the amount of waste that's created by Philadelphians that end up being burned or buried. We already concede the economic and environmental impacts that increasing recycling made. We've tripled the City's diversion rate in recycling, and we're saving lots of money in the process. So, while Philadelphians are recycling more, we also need to make sure that they are producing less waste as well. There are, again, many negative environmental and health impacts of burning and burying our waste. But more importantly, probably to this body, is that waste creates a lot of -- it costs a lot of money to collect, transport, and dispose of. 10 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE (2011 BUDGET) about how their decisions are making an impact on the City's budget is important. A pay-as-you-throw system would be my preference, in that it would be more effective than a flat fee and giving the incentive to reduce their waste and to recycle or compost as much as they can.
So I really would encourage Councilmembers to take a look at a pay-as-you-throw system might be deployed in Philadelphia. I think it can be done here successfully, but it needs to be given careful thought. And it needs to be planned appropriately; it can't just be sort of thrown in at the last minute. As for the flat fee, I think there are still strong arguments for why it makes sense to pursue it. Again, it puts the value on waste so Philadelphians can begin to understand and be educated about waste their decisions and the impact that they have. 10 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE (2011 BUDGET) rewards, residents are able to make back the money that they would spending on the tax by participating in the program and receiving rewards and coupons to spend on things that they're already spending money on such as groceries. So there's a direct correlation between it; they'd be paying this money, but then they'd be making the money back on the other side. But I would say that if Council is going to be seriously considering the trash fee, that you should not do it before pushing for other efficiencies to the trash-collection program. Philadelphia's one of the few cities in the country that still has three-man crews, or three-person crews, on recycling and waste trucks. These crews can easily be reduced to two or even one person in some cases. ) And I know there are union issues with that, but that could be done through attrition over time. 10 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE (2011 BUDGET) And secondly, most collection does not have routes that they follow. Thy sort of meander through their neighborhoods, collecting trash and recycling however they see fit, not knowing if that's the most efficient use of their gas and their time. So we really need to standardize some routes, especially now that recycling is increasing and waste is going down, to make sure that that's as efficient as possible. And I'm sure there are many other upgrades as well. So, again, if the trash fee is going to be accepted by Council, I would suggest that it done in exchange for some serious efficiency upgrades. Thank you.
Thank you. The Chair recognizes Councilman Greenlee.
Why do 151 5.7.10 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE (2011 BUDGET) you think the trash trucks have no 3 routes? I mean, I've always been told they do.
They have -- I mean, they have areas that are -- you know, they call 'em routes where like, you know, your trash is collected on Wednesday morning, and it's generally around this time.
But in terms of, do we start here and go down this street and circle this way and this way, or do we go up and this way and this way, that's not -- that is a -- I mean, and the same people are on those crews every week, so they may have sort of their plan of how they want to attack it. But this has come to light, especially now that recycling has increased so much, because now you're taking a lot more of the recycling out of the waste stream, so a truck that used to fill up after, say, you know, 20 blocks 152 5.7.10 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE (2011 BUDGET) is now maybe filling up after 25 blocks because there's less trash and it's all in the recycling. So now would be a great time to take a look at how they're collecting and figuring out ways of making it most efficient for both the trash and the recycling trucks.
And one last thing on trash the fee, you said putting a cost on it would make people think about it more? If it's going to be a flat fee and it's going to be $300 whether you put five bags out or two bags out, how's that --
Like I said, I would much prefer a pay-as-you-throw, and I would suggest that if the trash fee is agreed upon as the system to close the budget gap in the short term, that it be done with idea that we're going to convert this over to pay-as-you-throw in a year or in two years and give yourself the time. 153 5.7.10 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE (2011 BUDGET) If you said right now we're going to institute pay-as-you-throw to the next budget cycle, I would say you're not going to do that successfully. It takes time to figure out how it's going to work, to make sure you think about short-dumping and other issues like that and you do it appropriately. So if you do the flat fee, do it with the intent that it we're going to change the system, to make sure that we're incentivizing. But at least I think the discussion has been helpful, you know, in that the proposal's been in the newspaper a lot, you know, and a lot of people are talking about it. And I think it's been helpful for people to realize when you put trash out, it costs money, it costs the City some serious money. And that might lead to them making better decisions.
Thank 154 5.7.10 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE (2011 BUDGET) you very much. We appreciate your coming in today.
Right. And we have someone else here too, don't we.
Marcy Witherspoon and then Rachael Vassar. (Witness comes forward.)
My name is Marcy Witherspoon, and I'm the Director of Children and Youth for the Institute for Safe Families. And I'm actually here on behalf of ISF, the Institute, to express my support for the Philadelphia Department of Public Health and its current operating budget, a city 155 5.7.10 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE (2011 BUDGET) department that serves many of the City's most vulnerable residents. ISF has partnered with the Health Department for almost two decades on issues relating to family violence, a significant public healthy issue. We know that the residents who patronize our community health centers are those who are often confronting issues of lack of access, lack of opportunity, and have often not been well served by our educational system. We must continue to work together to build up those in our community who are struggling with the issues of self-determination, for we are only as strong as our weakest link. I have been partners with the Health Department to train health-center staff on how to address issues of family violence in a health-care setting. We recognize that relationships and our experiences, in large part, are determinants of our health, safety, and 156 5.7.10 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE (2011 BUDGET) wellbeing. And we like to refer to an Ashanti proverb that goes: "The ruin of our nation begins in the homes of its people." The Health Department has also been very receptive to innovative programming and ideas to generate an improvement in patient outcomes. I serve in the Fetal and Infant Mortality Review Committee, which is only one of the many committees that the Health Department conducts, to review the care that patients receive and attempt at improving that care. Let us not be derelict in our responsibility to continue funding the programs that many depends on literally for their lives. That's the kind of city that we can be proud of. Thank you very much.
You're quite welcome. 157 5.7.10 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE (2011 BUDGET)
My name's Rachael Vassar, and I'm the Philadelphia Outreach Coordinator for Penn Future. And Penn Future works to create a just future, where nature, communities, and the environment thrive. And in line with that mission, Penn Future works as the lead organization behind the Next Great City Coalition, which is dedicated to creating a positive future for Philadelphia by advocating for commonsense, cost-effective policies that enhance environmental quality, along with strengthening neighborhoods and increasing our economic competitiveness. And we're made up of a variety of organizations, civic associations, labor groups, public-health organizations, environmental nonprofits. 158 5.7.10 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE (2011 BUDGET) Faith-based communities, et cetera. And the Next Great City Initiative came together in the fall of 2005 to address the environmental and public-health issues that are harming Philadelphia's economy and quality of life. And our diverse coalition identified ten affordable actions that the City could undertake to make Philadelphia's neighborhoods more vital -- revitalized. And these actions have the broad support of the 126 organizations that make up the coalition. Among the ten agendas items I'm here to talk about here today is the recommendation that Philadelphia maintain healthy parks. And as part of that recommendation, we call on the City to provide the park system with much-needed additional revenue. Healthy parks are a community assets. They improve health by providing outdoor spaces for recreation and exercise, they reduce sewer backup by 159 5.7.10 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE (2011 BUDGET) managing storm water, they raise property values, and they contribute to neighborhood cohesion. However, poorly-maintained parks do quite the opposite -- by contributing to urban decay and becoming magnets for crime. And decades of neglect have left many of Philadelphia's park in unacceptable condition. In a 2006 survey commissioned by the Next Great City Coalition, almost half of Philadelphians reported that they stayed away from the park in the previous year because they feared for their children's safety or their own. And despite the valiant efforts of park supporters throughout the City, from that same survey, we saw that 40 percent of respondents said that they had volunteered to plant tree in the park or to help do a park cleanup in the past year. Volunteer efforts aren't enough; we cannot rely on volunteers 160 5.7.10 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE (2011 BUDGET) alone. And keeping our parks well- maintained, safe, and attractive requires sufficient funding for the Department of Parks and Recreation. And the proposed $3.3 million increase in the newly- combined departments' operating budget, as well as 5.4 in capital for parks and 5 million in capital for recreation is the right thing to do for our communities, the economy, and the environment. This money would be used for much-needed maintenance, tree-planting, youth programming, and safety and security measures. For too long, our parks have been underfunded under-appreciated. So on behalf of the over 125 organizations that form Next Great City, I urge you to give your full support to the Mayor's proposed budget increase for Parks and Recreation. And not only will this additional funding help our parks to realize their full potential, but we 161 5.7.10 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE (2011 BUDGET) believe it will also make our city cleaner, greener, and healthier for the future. So thank you so much for your time and consideration.
Thank you. We appreciate your testimony. Do we have anyone else to testify? Did you want to testify? We do have a number of people that are scheduled to come in to testify, so we'll just have to wait. (Witness comes forward.)
Good afternoon. Good afternoon. My name is Walt Pyzynksi, and I was an elected official for ten years, and I've been involved with city and government affairs for almost over 35 years, coming into City Council and -- with budgets and things. And the one problem that really affected the City of Philadelphia many 162 5.7.10 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE (2011 BUDGET) years ago -- and I'm speaking as a member of the Chamber of Commerce -- and that is, at that time, the City, the Mayor, and City Council came in and said to the corporations and small businesses, everybody, that they were going to raise the taxes in Philadelphia, and they challenged the corporations and businesses in Philadelphia. And they came back, the Chamber of Commerce and all of these huge corporations, and said, If you do, we were going to leave the City. This was back in the 1970s; I'm going back, you know. And they, you know, came up, you know, they passed the bill, you know, to raise these taxes. And it was terrible. And the City of Philadelphia lost corporations, small businesses. At that time, we had three Congressional seats here, in Philadelphia. Because of that, all of the businesses left Philadelphia. I mean, they just moved out of the City. 163 5.7.10 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE (2011 BUDGET) And it was just unbelievable. At that time, I was in business, and I was working in, you know -- I was an electrical contractor working at these industrial plants. And at the time, you know, they just they said, you know, if you do it, you know, we're going to go. And they did, they really did. And today, we see, you know, over these 35 years all these empty industrial buildings. And to me, it always comes up the budget, the budget, the budget. And I've been involved, like I say, in wanting to rebuild the riverfront and everything and all of the -- everything down there and the SugarHouse and the casinos and everything. And we have the SugarHouse Casino now that's going to be built. When it comes up, it's going to be about September I believe, August or September. And we're really in debt that I look at for about $150 million, you know, 164 5.7.10 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE (2011 BUDGET) $150 million we need to make up. And when I sit back and I look at the budget and everything else and the money that, you know, we need to spend, I truly believe that $150 million could be picked up over that casino with -- between the riverfront, the restaurants. And I get involved with the -- down here at the Convention Center a lot, and I talk with a lot of business people that come into Philadelphia because I go into their shows. And the one question they ask me all the time is, Where is a good place to go, you know, at night? And I'll tell 'em -- I have to, you know, smile in a way. (Timer bell rings.) I'll tell 'em to go down to Chinatown. That's about all I can really say to you, you know, or go to a restaurant. And I believe that once we get the casino built, these people that come into Philadelphia, because 165 5.7.10 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE (2011 BUDGET) Philadelphia is the birthplace of the United States. It is so strong, it's unbelievable. People come in here and they look at Philadelphia, these businesspeople that I talk with, and they talk about Philadelphia. I'll say, Well, you can go down to the -- go down to Fifth and Market and see Betty Ross's house. Okay, you know. But I believe with the riverfront being built and those restaurants and all of this with the casino and those condominiums that are built there now, the tourists are going to come into this city like we never seen before. And I'm really giving you, you know, my honest opinion of it. I would say within the next --
I 166 5.7.10 - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE (2011 BUDGET) said you certainly have a wealth of knowledge.
-- years, you know, you have to sit and take it all in, Ann.
And I have great respect for you, Ann, you know, and everything.