Aye. The ayes are 15; the nays are zero. Two-thirds majority of all members of Council having voted in the affirmative, the Mayor's veto is overridden. That completes our regular Calendar for today. We now have special business, and the Chair recognizes Councilman Jones for a motion regarding special business.
Thank you, Mr. President. I now move that the rules of Council be suspended to permit consideration of special business at this (Duly seconded.)
The ayes have it, and Mr. Decker, would you please read the letter from the Mayor.
To the President and members of the Council of the City of Philadelphia, I am returning herewith, as requested by your resolution adopted today, Bill No. 130688-A, entitled "An ordinance amending Title 9 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled 'Regulation of Businesses, Trades and Professions,' by adding new rules and obligations pertaining to construction licenses and renewals of those licenses; creating demolition licenses and increasing fines for expediters that falsify information," the purpose of reconsideration by the Council of the vote by which said bill passed Council.
Thank you, Mr. Decker. The Chair recognizes Councilman Jones for a motion that Council reconsider the vote by which Bill No. 130688-A was passed.
Thank you, Mr. President. I offer an amendment to Bill No. 130688-A. A copy of this amendment has been circulated to all members of Council and I move the adoption of those amendments. (Duly seconded.)
The second "a" was a motion, not AA. Would you like me to read that again?
Hold on one second, Councilman, please. Just move for the reconsideration vote first and then we'll do the amendment.
I move for the reconsideration and retraction of the bill. (Duly seconded.)
All those in favor signify by saying aye. (Aye.)
The ayes have it and the motion carries and the vote by which Bill No. 130688-A was passed has been reconsidered. The Chair again recognizes Councilman Jones. Now, Councilman, do the amendment now.
Thank you again, Mr. President. I offer an amendment to Bill No. 130688-A. A copy of this amendment has been circulated to all members of Council and I move for its adoption of the amendment. (Duly seconded.)
Thank you. It has been moved and properly seconded that the amendment to Bill No. 130688-A be adopted. All those in favor indicate by saying aye. (Aye.)
The ayes have it, and Bill No. 130688-A has been amended. This bill will be placed on the Final Passage Calendar at our next session of Council. This concludes our special business. Now, are there any speeches on the part of the minority? (No response.)
There being none, are there any speeches on the part of the majority? The Chair recognizes Councilman
Mr. President and all members of Council, I want you to listen very closely. Did you hear that? That is the absence of a voice of one of our members, Councilman Bill Green, who out of all of the members here, none of them is going through more separation anxiety than Councilman Kenney. He is totally despondent about this, and I want you to pay close attention to him going forward. On a serious note, it is a voice that will be missed. Whether you talk about Councilman Green from his early days and authoring part of the Freshmen 15 that was dismissed by many and now implemented by most of government; whether you talk about his work with Maria Quinones-Sanchez, Councilwoman, on tax policy; whether you talk about his bold, often misunderstood comments as it related to public education; whether you talk about his idea; whether you talk about free WiFi for all or putting in a lawsuit to keep our libraries open during the dark crisis of our budget situation, this is a man, this is a Councilman who added value to this body and for me, he will be truly missed. We know he will go on to create great controversy wherever he goes, but he will be missed as value added in this body. And speaking for myself and the 4th District, which he also represented, we will miss him. Thank you, Mr. President.
Thank you, sir. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Tasco.
I'd just like to remind my colleagues that the Utility Emergency Services Fund will host a briefing today at noontime in the Caucus Room to discuss services for our veterans who are low income or who are homeless, and we invite you to come, and lunch will be served. The Utility Emergency Service Fund is an active fund that provides services to people who are in need of utility services. Thank you.
Thank you, Councilwoman. Very important issue. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Bass.
Thank you, Mr. President. I wanted to just take a moment today and recognize Temple University and a new initiative that they have, Fly in 4. And I know that, Mr. President, you and I share Temple University's campus, whether it be the main campus or the medical campus, and know how important it is to make sure that our young people have every opportunity to graduate in four years. Those additional years make it much more unlikely that some of our students will receive their degree from Temple or from any institution. And so I just really wanted to take a moment and say thanks to Temple and to all the other local universities that are pitching in and make sure that our young people really do have an opportunity to get their degree. What this program does is provides an additional $4,000 in annual grants that will be to 500 students who demonstrate need in each incoming class so they can focus less on working and more on finishing their degrees. So, again, I just wanted to applaud Temple. I know that Councilman Greenlee and I are the Temple University caucus here in Council, and they just do a great job and I want to encourage them to keep providing such resources for our young people. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. President. I too want to join my freshman colleague Curtis in saying that Bill will be missed. I caught myself cleaning his desk over here, wondering what I'm going to do over here without him. Bill is a very special person to me personally. I affectionately know him as Gedo, and over time learned to appreciate his energy. And as someone who debated him probably the most than anybody in this room, privately and in our discussions around policy, I really learned to respect his perspective and actually have come to count on it. He's taking on a big challenge as the SRC Chairman. His selection by the Governor and then his confirmation from the Senate has led to much debate. I want to congratulate him and wish him well and hope that with the appointment joins him, Farah Jimenez, we have a full SRC. Just this week and just yesterday Dr. Hite put forth his bold plan for public education and his public request for $320 million. There's a lot of discussion that will happen over the next few months, but we have just begun this debate around the plan and the money. So we know what the vision is and we know what the ask is. Bill will be charged with the fiscal oversight, the policy development, and the ensuring of a public transparent decision process from all stakeholders about the future of public education in the City of Philadelphia. But he is not the taxing authority. It is us here in this Council, the Governor, the State Legislature, and the federal government who have the responsibility, some of us will say the moral obligation, to ensure that we have adequate funding at the School District. many, many debates with my colleague and my friend, Bill Green, as this year we make critical decisions about the future of public education in the City of Philadelphia. Thank you.
Thank you, Councilwoman. The Chair recognizes Councilman Kenney.
Thank you, Mr. President. I'd first like to thank Councilman Jones for pointing out the separation anxiety issue, because I've been a bit teary lately and I couldn't put my finger on what it was. So I thank him for that. In all seriousness, I want to wish Bill Green, new Chairman of the SRC, well, along with Farah Jimenez and the whole body. They're going to have to do a good job in order for this to get done, and we're going to have to help them get that job done and Harrisburg is going to also. So I'm committed to doing that and wishing them all well. I really like Dr. Hite. I mean, I really have come to -- I tried to avoid him in the beginning because I didn't want to be disappointed again, and the more I got to know him and the more I got to talk with him, I really do think he is the perfect person for this spot. So since we have him there, the SRC in full, us here, I'm confident that we can get something really specially done for our kids in the coming years. So I wish them all well, and thank you.
Thank you, Councilman. The Chair recognizes Councilman Johnson.
Thank you, Mr. President. Just a brief announcement. On Tuesday, February the 25th, I will be sponsoring a senior citizens appreciation lunch working in partnership with State Representative 11:30 to 2:30 at St. Richard's Catholic Church located at 18th and Polack (sic) Street in South Philadelphia. This is part of our senior citizens outreach initiative where we're focusing on bringing quality not only constituent services to our seniors but also acknowledging them for their time and dedication to their families. I just want to make that announcement. Thank you, sir.
Thank you, Councilman. And the Chair recognizes Councilman Oh.
Thank you, Mr. President. I know I'm going out of turn, but I was thinking about what Councilman Kenney said and I just wanted to kind of air this thought. We are politicians. I know it's a bad word, but we are politicians. I think Mayor Street was very comfortable with the fact that he was a politician, ability and skills to advance the agenda that he had. There's a saying, it is better to be than to seem in Latin, and I think that for 60 years Philadelphia has had resign to run. It is the illusion that we as politicians are a step above everyone else in ethics when we are not, and in fact what it does do is, it makes us a step below everyone else in actual power and ability to get things done on behalf of the people that we serve. In this body I get schooled every day in the world of politics by people who are masterful politicians, and I appreciate what I'm learning. I think it is a shame that our city cannot harness the political abilities, acumen, and experience of these people as well as our District Attorney, our Commissioners, our Sheriff, and our Mayor. So at a luncheon a couple days ago or yesterday for the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, the all business people and all people in Philadelphia to go with him to Harrisburg. Well, all these people don't live in the districts of the people who represent the rest of the Commonwealth, and if we would elevate Philadelphia at least to the same level of every other political body in this state, I believe the Mayor would be more effective in Harrisburg in getting those funds, in getting the things that we need here in Philadelphia, and in our ability and our state representatives and federal elected officials to represent the people of this city. It is better to be and be good at what we are supposed to be than to carry an illusion that actually makes us less effective. Thank you.
Thank you, Councilman. And the Chair again recognizes Councilman Johnson.
Mr. President, I want to thank my colleague Majority Leader, that's why he's the leader, Councilman Jones for making the correction. So the event will be at St. Richard's Catholic Church, 18th and Pollock Street in South Philadelphia. Thank you, Councilman Jones.
Much needed correction. We'd hate to see people showing up at a place where there's no food. Thank you, Councilman Jones. Before we call for Councilwoman Brown to adjourn, I'd just like to concur with my colleagues about Councilman Green. He was a, some people will say, a very interesting Councilperson. He came to this body on fire, taking on the world, and realized it was a pretty big world. There was a significant challenge, and he learned over a period of years that his effectiveness would be more enhanced if he took on pieces of the world, and he did a pretty effective job. I want to say that the one thing that was interesting and one thing I actually liked about Councilman Green, that he refused to be pigeonholed in a particular place. Some people thought, well, you can count on his vote for this particular issue because he's a tax cut guy, and lo and behold, you know, he may not have gone that direction because in his heart and from his policy perspective he felt the need to go in a different direction. And I always think that's refreshing for a person to have flexibility. So that part of him we will sorely miss. But fortunately I guess for us and unfortunately in budget time we will see him again, and I would hope that leading up to budget time that we have the ability to interact, and I'm sure, as Bill has already reached out and said he would like to talk to this body leading up to budget time so it can be a as we talk about the significantly challenging issue with respect to coming up with the revenues and providing direction. So we look forward to talking to Bill, working with him. I found that having members in this body that actually worked in Harrisburg relatively recently has been extremely important to us as we interact with Harrisburg, Councilman Johnson and Councilman O'Brien, has been extremely significant and important for us to understand that. So I believe that having Bill having been a former member of Council, now working at the SRC, will be of a significant advantage of our ability to interact with the SRC. So I would like to say I wish him well. I look forward to having a conversation with him as soon as possible so we can deal with this much, much needed issue. Councilwoman Brown for adjournment, I'd like to recognize Councilwoman Tasco.
Yes. Thank you, Mr. President. I just want to say that I wish our colleague well as the Chair of the SRC and just remind him that when he came to Council, he was promoting the idea of a paperless society but during the first two budget sessions, he asked the departments to send him all of copies of things he wanted, and we ended up with piles of paper in our office. And I remember telling him if you're going to a paperless society, you can't ask for all those copies, and he looked at me and he thought about it, and that's our joke that we have between us. But remember the families and make sure that he is mindful that we have a lot of young people in our school system that need help and need his leadership and thoughtful leadership and be mindful that some changes will be okay Thank you.
Thank you, Councilwoman. At this time, I'd like to call on Councilwoman Brown for a motion to adjourn.
Mr. President, as we move to adjourn, I offer a friendly reminder to my colleagues, staff, and guests that next week on the occasion of the celebration of African American History Month we will once again partner with Valerie Gay, President of Art Sanctuary, and Florcy Morisset, an entrepreneur and young woman who owns her own art gallery in Old City, and participate immediately following City Council in literature, song, and food and art, all in the celebration of African American History Month. That's next week immediately following City Council. With that said, I move that Thursday, February 27th, 2014 at 10:00 a.m. (Duly seconded.)
It has been moved and properly seconded that Council stand adjourned until Thursday, February 27, 2014. All those in favor? (Aye.)
Council shall stand adjourned. Thank you all very much. ) CERTIFICATE I HEREBY CERTIFY that the proceedings, evidence and objections are contained fully and accurately in the stenographic notes taken by me upon the foregoing matter, and that this is a true and correct transcript of same. MICHELE L. ) A adjourn 101:16 43:6 Anti-Graffiti 28:2 Arts 27:23 74:17 AA 87:19 105:8,10 aimed 37:18 74:21 asked 104:12 AAAA 8:13,14,22 adjourned 106:2 79:14 anxiety 90:10 asks 59:4 9:7,15,21 10:9 106:7,15,17 air 98:21 96:15 aspect 59:19 11:5,6 adjournment Allies 37:17 79:13 anxious 72:15 assist 33:4 75:22 ABA 51:3 104:3 106:1 All-Southeastern anybody 82:9 Association 9:21 Abbott 14:2,7 adjusting 70:4 10:15 94:16 58:12 59:17 abilities 99:19 Administration All-State 10:9 applaud 93:17 attached 39:9 ability 99:2,12 25:11 56:3,21 Almighty 3:12 Applause 11:16 43:13 100:13 102:22 57:2 amen 4:23,24 12:9 14:8,11 attention 90:13 103:19 adopted 30:5 53:5 amend 31:10 applies 57:16 58:2 attorney 48:20 able 10:4 11:21 73:15 74:14 38:19 apply 107:20 99:21 13:9 57:4 93:2 75:17 76:17 amended 39:8 appointment 30:7 attorneys 58:7 absence 6:12,16 78:10 79:7 80:9 89:14 32:5,18 94:25 at-large 3:5 18:16 6:25 90:7 86:16 89:5 amending 17:5,14 appointments audit 58:25 59:2,3 accept 49:20 adopting 20:21 20:2,17 21:4,7 30:12 49:20 59:6 access 19:9 adoption 52:18 22:21 23:6 24:7 appreciate 94:14 auditing 67:17 accompanying 54:8 73:3 74:2 29:19 30:4 99:17 auditor 59:7 7:17 55:16 75:6 76:6 77:22 33:15 38:25 appreciation audits 58:22,25 accumulation 77:24 78:19 39:3,5 56:13 97:24 authoring 90:17 12:15 79:21 87:16 62:4 67:14 70:2 approached authority 15:18 accurately 107:5 88:24 76:21 86:18 48:16 16:3,15 24:21 accused 49:2 adopts 20:6 amendment appropriate 32:7 26:14 27:13 54:20 advance 99:3 31:11,12 32:3 45:19 28:17 36:3 acknowledge 75:3 advanced 9:7 32:13,20 45:9 approval 5:1,11 42:12,23 43:7 acknowledging advantage 103:19 53:8 54:2 56:25 53:10 56:8,12 55:25 73:19 98:9 advise 15:6 57:8,18,25 57:20 65:2 95:19 Act 27:5 Advocates 58:13 64:24 80:25 approved 5:18 authorize 55:20 action 7:8 56:14 Affection 4:19 87:12,14,25 6:2,10 32:2 46:4 authorized 30:11 active 92:4 affectionately 88:18,21,22,24 64:23 81:9 authorizing 16:13 acts 49:3 94:12 89:4 82:23 16:19 17:24 actual 99:11 affirmative 61:23 amendments approving 15:16 23:18 24:18 acumen 99:19 64:15 67:10 31:14 87:16 15:25 26:12 25:18 28:14 add 51:11 69:22 72:9 America 52:8 April 33:2 75:20 32:7 35:14,24 added 91:7,11 85:15 American 59:16 Arch 16:24,25 41:3,20 42:10 adding 17:10,17 afford 49:17,22 105:14,22 17:2 23:22,24 42:20 43:4 20:3,18 22:23 50:13 54:21 amount 58:4,11 23:25 41:11,16 45:18 23:11 33:18 affordable 26:5 and/or 107:22 42:3 Avenue 15:20,23 76:23 86:21 aforementioned anniversary arch-rival 8:19 15:24 42:16 additional 18:7 8:6 27:14,23 73:19 area 15:21 16:6 avoid 97:6 30:10 46:25 African 105:14,22 74:18 24:10 26:17 awareness 33:6 72:14 92:24 African-Ameri...