COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET - - - - Room 696, City Hall Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Tuesday, March 15, 2005 - - - - BILLS 040767, 040789, 050001, 050002, 050003, 050007, 050008. RESOLUTION 050022. PRESENT: COUNCIL PRESIDENT ANNA C. VERNA COUNCILWOMAN JANNIE BLACKWELL COUNCILMAN DARRELL L. CLARKE COUNCILMAN W. WILSON GOODE, JR. COUNCILMAN JACK KELLY COUNCILMAN JAMES F. KENNEY COUNCILWOMAN DONNA REED MILLER COUNCILMAN MICHAEL A. NUTTER COUNCILMAN JUAN RAMOS COUNCILWOMAN BLONDELL REYNOLDS BROWN COUNCILMAN FRANK RIZZO - - - - V A R A L L O Incorporated Litigation Support Services Eleven Penn Center 1835 Market Street, Suite 600 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103 215.561.2220 215.567.2670 635 I N D E X WITNESS PHILIP GOLDSMITH, Managing Director.. 636 MIKE NUCCI, MDO...................... 654 SHANE CREAMER, MDO................... 659 CLARENA TOLSON, Streets.............. 669 BERNARD BRUNWASSER, Water Dept....... 671 ROBERT SOLVIBILE, L&I................ 714 JAMES DONAGHY, MDO................... 723 ANTHONY TORRE, MDO................... 727 - - - - BERNARD BRUNWASSER, Water Dept....... 730 PHILIP GOLDSMITH, Managing Director.. 731 VIC RICHARD, Recreation.............. 746 DEBRA MCCARTY, Water Dept............ 758 CLARENA TOLSON, Streets.............. 762 - - - - PHILIP GOLDSMITH, Managing Director.. 775 JOHN LUTZ, Streets................... 782 CLARENA TOLSON, Streets.............. 785 SYLVESTER JOHNSON, Police............ 788 JOHN GAITTENS, Police................ 797 THOMAS DEWAELE, Police............... 800 DIANE REED, Budget Director.......... 804 CHARLES BRENNAN, Police.............. 813 BILL GRAB, Police.................... 820 JILL MILICIA, Police................. 825 PATRICIA GIORGIO-FOX, Police......... 840 636 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET
Good morning, everyone. This is the continued the public hearing of the Committee of the Whole regarding Bill Nos. 050001, 050002, 050003, 040789, 040767, 050007 and 050008, also Resolution No. 050022. Our first witness this morning is Mr. Goldsmith, the Managing Director. Good morning. Welcome. Please identify yourself for the record. I know that your testimony is rather lengthy. So if you care to summarize it, that will be fine and we will give a copy of it to the stenographer who will transcribe it in full.
Philip R. Goldsmith, Managing Director. I'm joined up here to my right by Loree Jones, Chief of Staff, and to my left by Anthony Torre.
I'm sorry, you're going to have to put the microphone on.
Good morning, Madam President Verna and Members of City Council. I'm Philip R. Goldsmith, Managing Director of the City of Philadelphia. 637 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET I'm here to preset testimony on the proposed Fiscal Year 2006 Operating Budget for the Office of the Managing Director. 4 million is in the Grants Fund. 3 percent from our Fiscal Year '05 General Fund estimated obligations, all of which comes from Class 100. 1 million decrease in the Grants Fund. Two years ago when you came before you for the first time as Managing Director, we had 20,618 budgeted positions for our operating departments. 7 percent. On February 23, 2003, the day I testified for the first time, we had 19,767 filled positions in our operating departments. Today, the number of employees is 18,747, a decrease of 1,020. Between now and the end of this fiscal year, there will be an additional decrease of 371 638 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET employees, for a total of 1,391 fewer actual personnel performing and supporting City services. While most of this reduction of personnel has come from attrition, including the DROP Program, we recently had to lay off individuals to comply with our budget requirements. While our initial layoff list was 200, we've actually been able to whittle the layoff list down to just under 100 individuals while still meeting our overall position reduction and financial targets. If it were not for some of the strong initiatives we took during the past year, we would have been required to take more drastic personnel action. I would like to review some of these actions. In fleet reduction, we successfully completed an aggressive fleet reduction program. We eliminated 330 vehicles from the use of various departments. In short, one out of every two cars we identified as potential targets has been eliminated. This action will 639 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET save $9 million over the course of the Five-Year Plan. We recognized, however, there are times when our employees need a vehicle for business purposes. After an RFP process, we partnered with Philadelphia Car Share which has established a system that allows employees to rent a car for as little as one hour. Philly Car Share, a local company, uses hybrid cars which further helps save money and protect environment. This innovative program was recently recognized by a local organization and featured in both Fleet Executive Magazine and Time Magazine. Overtime reduction. We have significantly reduced overtime in our operating departments. In Fiscal Year '04, we reduced overtime 10 percent from Fiscal Year '03. In the first eight months of Fiscal Year '05, we are down another 18 percent from the same period over Fiscal Year '04. 5 million in just eight months. Police court overtime has also been reduced. And I recall last year being here and there was some skepticism as to whether we 640 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET would be able to do that. 1 million in seven months. This is the first time in at least 5 years that we have seen a decline in police 6 court overtime. I believe it will drop even 7 further because of an effective working group 8 among the police, the First Judicial District, 9 the District Attorney's Office, and the 10 Managing Director's Office. The reimbursable police overtime program is much more aggressively managed than it was in the past. We have increased our rates to better represent our true costs. We no longer provide services to companies that are 60 days past due. We have aggressively worked with the Law Department to go after companies that owe us money. We recently received $37,000 from a major national retailer that was 180 days past due. We will continue to pursue our companies that use our services and then try not to pay us. The major special events we are much more strategic and tougher on assigning manpower. In Fiscal Year '03, we reduced our 641 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET cost percent.
This trend will continue into Fiscal Year '05 and '06. We have already taken an aggressive approach on charging and collecting monies for non-city-sponsored special events. At a time when we are eliminating positions, including layoffs, we can no longer give away our services for nothing or use rates based on 1990 costs. We have realigned and reorganized many departments to rid ourselves of unnecessary layers of government and redundancy of work trying to cushion the impact on direct services. In some cases, we have consolidated districts, pooled clerical support, and streamlined our command structure. Let me cite one example involving Fairmount Park and the Recreation Department. Aside from realigning swimming pools and recreation centers from Fairmount Park to the Recreation Department, we have clustered in one administrative unit functions like personal, technology, and finance. Fairmount 642 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET Park personnel has moved from Memorial Hall to One Parkway, which is on the same floor as the Recreation Department. It allows for better communication and coordination. Fairmount Park has assumed all responsibility for turf maintenance for both park and recreation. Whereas Fairmount Park's cutting cycle is every two weeks, the Recreation Department's was once every three weeks schedule. The good news is that the entire city will now be done once every two weeks for $300,000 less than when both departments did it separately. In addition, the Streets Department assumed responsibility for trash collection at our recreation centers this year with no increase in resources. Our Energy Management Office has also started a program to bring greater focus and accountability on departments to reduce costs. Our initial results are encouraging. During the first half of Fiscal Year '05, utility costs were reduced by $700,000 even though our rates are going up. There have been other 643 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET accomplishments this past year. I'd like to tick off a few. Global Philadelphia. As a result of our Global Philadelphia effort, we now have the ability to provide language access service, including telephonic interpretation, in-person interpretation, and document translation in over 150 languages. In generators, you may recall there was a large scale blackout in midwest and northeast August 14, 2003. While Philadelphia escaped the blackout, I instructed our commissioners to contact their counterparts in affected cities so we could learn from them. We learned that we needed more emergency generators. As a result, we did a thorough study of our needs. And with the help of Home Land Security dollars, we will soon be purchasing generators as our first installment. These initial generators will be targeted for critical police, fire, water and fleet management facilities. In the area of traffic safety, we've worked with the School District, Streets 644 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET Department, the Parking Authority and Police Department to improve traffic safety for our school children. We've done a comprehensive blitz of more than 1,000 school crossing sites. We've implemented a new parking enforcement plan for 234 elementary schools. We initiated daily roving speed enforcements in schools throughout the City and developed a new deployment plan for school crossing guards. Since our ramped-up enforcement, we have cited 2200 violators for school zone violations. Compared to last year, there's been a 30 percent decrease in the number of students involved in accidents. We also began cracking down on traffic grid by installing more "Don't Block the Box" signs and targeting certain intersections. Since we began that initiative, we have written over 5200 traffic violations.
But as the data from the red light violations indicate with the installation of first red light cameras on of the Boulevard, we have barely scratched the service in changing the traffic culture in 645 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET this City. We have inspected and licensed every honor box in the special area in Center City. It has helped make Center City cleaner. We are now working on installing new corrals. This work, I emphasize, has been done in cooperation with the publishers in the Center City District. I believe there's legislation before you to expand the boundaries of the honor box regulation. After more than years of trying, we have finally 12 secured a new location for the Youth Study 13 Center. Thanks to the leadership and 14 cooperation of Councilwoman Blackwell and 15 State Senator Vince Hughes. Aside from 16 providing a better facility for youth in 17 trouble, it facilitates the moving the Barnes 18 Museum to relocate on the Parkway. It's a 19 win/win for our youth and for the arts and 20 culture community. We have held a bi-weekly working group to find ways to meet our budget targets, avoiding the closure of recreation facilities. We have been developing strategic partnerships undertaking revenue-enhancing activities such 646 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET as leasing facilities and replacing all deep-end swimming pools with spray grounds which are less expense to operate, and I might add safer. Thanks to some members here, we will have at least four spray grounds available in time for the summer season. I'm sure there will a demand for additional ones as soon as Members see what these spray grounds can do for their communities. We have organized the Pennsylvania Intergovernmental Scrap Yard Task Force to get a handle on the number and location of both licensed and unlicensed scrap yards in the City. We developed a program to ensure compliance with appropriate federal, state and local codes and regulations and close down those operations that are either unlicensed or which operate out of compliance with various codes. One of the effects of this is that we've actually been able to collect $250,000 in back real estate taxes as we've gone about doing these inspections. After nine months of negotiation, we have reached a comprehensive agreement with 647 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET utility companies and others on bringing operationally rational and orderly and financially equitable approach to work being done in our streets, in our right-of-ways. This legislation is now before you awaiting action. Of course, as part of the Mayor's Neighborhood Transformation Initiative, we continue to work to improve the quality of life in our neighborhoods through our aggressive anti-graffiti efforts, our code enforcement quality of life improvement programs and scheduled vacant lot maintenance. Since the inception of CLIP, over 25,000 licenses and inspection violations and 9500 Streets Department sanitation violations have been issued. In addition to Clip, the West Philadelphia improvement Program continues to enhance the quality of life in West Philadelphia through education, enforcement, and beautification. There are many more achievements that I could cite in addition to the emergencies that we cope with every day, but I 648 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET know time does not permit. The Fiscal Year '06 budget is not gilded with major new initiatives, given our budget constraints. There will, however, be important work being done. The final implementation of a major automation initiative in L&I, a greater emphasis on revenue collection emphasizing interdepartmental cooperation, an interdepartmental effort called the Development Service Operating Committee to make it easier for developers to do business with the City, an interdepartmental task force between the Departments of Fire and L&I working on fire safety with a goal to reduce fire deaths to zero.
Of course, our current focus on improving our management practice, tailoring services, and saying no perhaps more times than people want will need to continue. I know my successor Pedro Ramos will bring his own style and sense of priorities to this mission. As I leave this position, I must 649 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET caution that our departmental staffing levels are already very low. I reject the simplistic notion too often repeated without rebuttal that the size of government has not decreased consistent with the decrease in population. That is not true of many of our operating departments. Police will be at its lowest level in 40 years. The Streets Department had 2700 employees years ago, and it will soon 11 be at 1820. Our health districts are being 12 asked to do more as we become the provider of 13 last resort, yet staffing of the Health 14 Department continue to decline and resources 15 are being diverted from the Department's main mission of public health. In 1976, the Recreation Department had 810 employees; now, 494. Yet the number of rec centers have increased. Fairmount Park has had a 57 percent decrease in personnel since 1985, though the number of acres and historic structures has remained the same. The acquisition budge in Fleet Management is now $3 million. It has been as high as $25 million. The result, down time on 650 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET our vehicles will significantly increase as their age increases. The practical impact may eventually be degradation of basic service levels and efficiency. We recently transmitted to City Council leasing legislation that will provide some relief. Yes, our prison staffing has grown. Unfortunately, so has our prison population, percent in the past four years. We cannot 11 turn inmates away. 12 The Department of Human Services has 13 already grown. We are required to have one 14 social worker for every 30 clients. 15 Despite shrinking resources, our 16 departments often by the Council have been 17 asked to take on more responsibility, inspecting our schools, repairing sidewalks, controlling noise or a host of other issues. I will readily acknowledge that I am not an economist. I do not know the impact tax reduction will have or on our national and local economies. Whether those reduction originate in our nation's capital or in this chamber, it may will be that they will 651 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET stimulate an economic boom and our tax revenues will grow exponentially. But for now, we as managers have shrinking resources to do the public's work. Moreover, we still don't know the full impact of the newly proposed state and federal budgets. But one thing is certain, the impact of federal and state budget reductions always flows downhill. Philadelphia, like other cities, is at the bottom of the hill. I am a great believer that there are always new ways to do things. We have demonstrated that. But I am not a believer that there are still easy answers or painless solutions as we are asked to accommodate the demand for tax reduction as well as meet the physical and social demands of our City and the high expectations of our citizens and their representatives. City Council scrutinizes, as it should, the way our departments do business. It keeps us on our toes. It makes us better, and we are. But there are other agencies that impact our city budget which also receive the bright light of legislative scrutiny on their 652 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET management practice and how they spend their monies. While they may have separate government structures, their revenues and expenses have a direct impact on our budget and consequently a direct impact on the level of core services we can afford to provide our citizens. Our operating departments have shouldered more than their share of the burden. I commend the men and women of the Managing Director's Office and our Commissioners and their staffs.
They have done a magnificent job during these difficult times. They've been given more to do and less to do it with. They have done so with dignity and diligence, while being both responsive and responsible. I feel honored to have had the opportunity to work with them, and I'm grateful for their support they have provided me. I'll be glad to answer any questions.
Thank you. I know how badly you must feel this 653 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET morning to know that this is the last budget hearing that you will be testifying. However, I just have a couple questions. On -14 of your detail, it reflects that your office will spend $75,000 in FY '05 and FY '06 for NTI inspection work-Controller's Office. Will you explain what this is for and why it is in your budget and not the Controller's budget?
That's a very good question. As we were doing our NTI demolitions, the City Controller's Office basically said they did not have the inspectors to do their work, and as a result, our work on doing demolitions, in many cases imminently dangerous demolitions, was going to come to a halt because they needed to inspect them. Rather than get in a fight with the City Controller and bring this to a halt, we agreed to pick up this tab so this firm could be hired to do the inspections.
I'm talking about an appearance perspective. It appears as though you're overseeing the work 654 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET of the Controller. Can you tell us who picked this consultant and who do they answer to? Do they answer to L&I? Do they answer to the Controller? Or do they answer to your office?
The City Controller's Office selected them and they do answer to City Controller. This is inspection work that the City Controller's Office does on NTI work.
I also notice that your office has received a number of law enforcement terrorism prevention grants. Why are they budgeted in your office? And can you tell us how these funds are used?
They are budgeted in our office because they really come to the Office of the Emergency Management which oversees those programs. I'll let Mike Nucci in my office talk about how these funds are being used.
Good morning, Madam President. 655 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET
Mike Nucci, I'm the director of the Office of Emergency Management as part of the Managing Director's Office.
The funds -- I believe you were talking about the law enforcement terrorism prevention program.
They're grants for planning and training that come through the State from the US Department of Homeland Security to the region. And then we open a grants receivable account to allow law enforcement to spend against those. They're for planning, training, most of it; and exercises.
It appears that a significant portion of these grants are for purchase of services. Can you tell us what services you were providing, the vendors you were contracting with, and the types of 656 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET contracts? Are they bid or non-bid contracts?
The training is listed under personal services contracts. We hire instructors, sent law enforcement officers to various schools across the country, and that's listed under personal services.
Okay, thank you. Mr. Goldsmith, -28 of your detail lists a grant William Penn Foundation for $98,000 in both FY '05 and FY '06 to facilitate grassroots entrepreneurship and neighborhoods based business development in diverse communities. Can you tell us how you use these funds and what your accomplishments have been to date?
Yes. We're very proud of this grant from the William Penn Foundation which is part of the Global Philadelphia effort. And this is to hire someone to, in this case, work primarily with the agent community in helping to develop businesses and helping serve as a liaison between businesses or start-up businesses and 657 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET working their way through the L&I process and other governmental bureaucracy. We've just gone through an extensive hiring process, and we recently hired a women to fill this position, so her job is just really getting under way.
Again, I would ask why are these funds in your budget when the Commerce Department is the economic development agency for the City?
Well, I think they're in our budget because that's who we were dealing with, William Penn Foundation. They gave us some money, but we work closely with the Commerce Department on this program and other programs along those lines. I might also say that I think we have found, I think, 30 percent of our business applications or business licenses coming into L&I are coming from people that speak another language rather than English. So L&I is an important sort of cornerstone between the economic development and getting the appropriate city services. 658 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET
Thank you. I have a number of questions that I'd like to ask; however, there are other Councilmembers that want to be recognized. Mr. Director, you mentioned in your testimony that you have reviewed 1200 school crossings, yet the Police Department has only 1,037 crossing guards. Does that mean 163 crossings are covered by police officers, if anybody?
I don't know the answer to that. Maybe Shane Creamer can step up here. What we've done is there's 1037 school crossing guards now. What we've done, we've just completed a thorough review of all those intersections and trying to prioritize with different criteria where we think the most important areas are. That review is almost complete. You're question is, are we short on school crossings. We may be, but there are also some that are, our study is showing, that perhaps we don't need people there and it may 659 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET be at some, particularly given our budget constraints that we may want to shift people around if Councilpeople are so willing to do that.
Good morning. Shane Creamer, Assistant Secretary of Education. There are about 1022 locations covered by 1037 crossing guards. The additional crossings, there are 183 what we call wish list locations that have been requested to have a crossing guard by the community. We included these in our evaluation. That explains the 1200 number.
What we have done is we developed a database where we analyzed every single one of these crossings on 20 different criteria points and we can rank them 21 all. So what we can do with the new crossings, as more money becomes available for new guards, we'll be able to identify where our priority crossings are.
When will 660 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET this study be completed?
So in reviewing it, do we need 1200 school crossing guards?
Well, that becomes a policy question for us, which we are now trying to determine. The database gives us information about these locations. Now we need to make decisions about what level of coverage we believe we need. We have found that the evaluation supports, nearly all of the existing crossings we believe that we can support and we need crossing guards at the existing locations. And there are uncovered crossings that, frankly, have a higher need than some of the existing locations. For example, we know that there are 18 locations that cross more than 100 students and rank very highly on our criteria, yet we have about an equal number of an existing crossings that have fewer than 30 students being crossed at those locations. We're now at a point where 661 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET we're trying to figure out whether we should attempt to reassign some of those guards to the higher need locations or whether we should give a preference or priority to the existing crossings and attempt to increase the number.
But 163 that are not covered, I assume they have been approved, have they not?
We asked the community, we asked the Police Department, and we asked schools to identify crossings that they would like to evaluate as part of this database effort, this evaluation process. And going forward, we now have the ability to objectively compare all these different crossings. So as new positions become available or if we're an able to identify new funding or if we're able to reassign guards, we know where we would like to have those guards assigned to.
We'd be glad to share with you -- the study was just done, but share it with you and show you the methodology we went through and where it's stacking up. I 662 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET think every Councilperson should see.
I think we would all appreciate that because this is not a financial issue, but a safety issue.
It's also a financial issue too if we go beyond 1037 guards.
Each Councilmember will be given a five-minute recognition on the first go-around. The Chair recognizes Councilman Rizzo.
There's a few questions I have. I want to go right to your testimony in reference to the police reimbursable overtime program. I appreciate the Administration's effort to get a program that I'll characterize that was out of control under control, but I'm still concerned that here we are, we're allowing police officers to 663 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET work on their days off and we're allowing people -- and this is what's confusing me. We have increased our rates. I'd like you to provide to the Chair -- it would be nice for us to know what now we charge because we communicate with business and we suggest this program so I think he we should be informed about what we charge a person. Could you tell me?
I don't know off the top of my head, but we'll be glad to provide that. I think what we really did also was there was an administrative charge which we've never charged for before, and we've done that. We'll get you all that information.
I'm glad that the program wasn't eliminated because I know you were considering and the Police Commissioner was considering eliminating it. There is a place for it, but I'd like to know what exactly it costs to hire a police officer off duty. The part that gets a little confusing to me here is we no longer provide 664 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET services to companies that are 60 days past due. You mentioned in your testimony that a national company owed us 37-plus thousand dollars, that they were 180 days. And here's the part, "We will continue to pursue companies that use our services and don't pay." You say you're cutting them off, and then you're saying something different.
They may owe us the money for 60 days where we provided it and then we've cut them up from actually receiving the services, but they still owe some money. So we have a receivable on our books and that's what we're going after. In this case, we've had some success. Whether this company was actually -- this doesn't mean that the company was receiving services for 180 days. It probably was cut off after 60 days.
Okay. The point being, for the record, this program -- and you'll agree, and I want to thank you personally for taking the lead and also the Police Commissioner. Again, I know busy people sometimes rely on 665 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET subordinates to make sure programs work and work with work well, but this was one that was not working well and there was a significant amount of money off the street that I know much of it was written off. But going forward, again, I think this is a valuable program and I hope that we run it like a business and that we collect the money that's due the old fashioned way; if you don't pay us, you get a collection action. You don't pay us, you don't get the police officer, all the things that are associated with that program. So I thank you on that. The other issue is communications. We have, from what I understand, a number of programs, Streets Department, Water Department, and one of the areas that people say to me constantly is we don't communicate well. We are about to undergo -- and I understand that we've got some projects up especially in the north section of the City, Northwest. It was brought to my attention that we have a major project that will affect Kelly Drive, one of our major arteries in the 666 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET City of Philadelphia for people that come from the suburban communities to work in the City of Philadelphia and commute home, those that drive. Could you bring me up to speed? As far as I know, we've got a project that possibly is going to take a bridge on Bells Mill Road that is in trouble, a little bridge between the creek and Germantown Avenue. We've got, I understand, two projects on Kelly Drive that could take that roadway down to one lane in each direction. We've got another potential project on East Bells Mill Road between Stenton and Germantown Avenue. If all of this isn't coordinated and coordinated well and communicated well, we could have total gridlock in the Northwest section that affects my constituents, it affects people coming in from Montgomery County. You know the nightmare that we had with the Germantown Avenue Bridge, seven years plus to get that back open. Could you have somebody come to the table and talk to me about these Kelly Drive projects, the Bells Mill Road project, 667 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET and the impact that it's going to have on our City if all of this stuff is not well communicated? I mean, I had a fight almost with the Streets Department to get them to put signs out in the suburbs to work with PennDOT to alert people when the bridge went out on Bells Mill Road. This is what I'm talking about, communicating, letting people know that we've got a project that's coming, that they need to start to find alternatives, whether it's SEPTA or whatever. Could you just enlighten us? I only have five minutes so I'm going to come back at you at the next go-around, but I would like to talk about the various projects. Councilwoman Miller has worked so hard to get the issues resolved with Cresheim Drive, but now we've got Kelly Drive, we've got East Bells Mill Road, both sides of it that are going to be in overhaul. So I'd like to speak on that, if you would, please.
I would ask the Streets Commissioner, if she's here, to come 668 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET on up.
I'll ask the Streets Commissioner to talk in general terms. Let me just state that I think the communications issue is a major issue we have. We have tried the past several years to be more aggressive in this. We have a program in the Streets Department, the swift streets where we're able to call on affected neighborhoods over the telephone and so forth. But it's a continual problem. Obviously, we frequently have to rely on the media to communicate and so forth. But I think it's also important that our departments also be meeting with each other. And I think on of the, frankly, landmark pieces of legislation today is the right-of-way legislation which really got all the utilities in the room with Streets Department and Water Department and so forth to really say we've got to take a much more comprehensive approach when we're doing work in our right-of-way. So I agree with the 669 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET assumption that we have to do a better job of communicating. Not just to work; we have an issue during the summertime which we were trying to address when Kelly Drive and now Martin Luther King Drive are closed down for recreational use and regattas and right in front of the Art Museum. It can create major traffic grid, and I think we're trying to curtail some of those closures to make it more manageable. I'll ask the Streets Commissioner to talk, if she will. COMMISSIONER TOLSON: Clarena Tolson from the Streets Department. Councilman, whenever we had major construction to our roadways, we spend a significant amount of time trying to inform the public. There are detour signs if detours are required, detour signs that are placed strategically around the locations to route people to appropriate routes away from the construction site. Additionally, as the Managing Director mentioned, we will also use telephone calling systems, if appropriate, in 670 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET the community if we can kind of localize or identity the group that is of major impact or major users of the route. In locations where we have problems with the detour signs because people do not adhere to them, we also have support from our Police Department in having to come out and sometimes wave people away from the detours or cite them with traffic violations. We do have a significant problem with people who sometimes do not see or choose to ignore signage. And the signs are put in place for obvious reasons, for their safety. You mentioned one street where people were blowing through the detours and it was a very unsafe road ahead, but we struggled with getting people to stay off of that road for their own good. So we did wind up having to use additional signage and police support.
You mean Bells Mill Road. COMMISSIONER TOLSON: And ultimately it was police support that was the winning ticket there, because people were choosing to drive around the detour signs and driving the 671 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET wrong way and bucking traffic. So we will use all of those to our advantage in addition to posting the information in our weekly community papers and as well as providing information to our radio stations and daily papers.
Since our time is limited, could you address the major project.
It's more limited, Councilman. Your time has really been up. This will be your last question
No, I've asked all my questions. I'm waiting for answers. I need to know about the projects on Kelly Drive. COMMISSIONER BRUNWASSER: My name is Bernard Brunwasser. I'm the Water Commissioner, and I'd like to address the Kelly Drive question that the Councilman has. Councilman, you are correct, there is a major job contemplated which is a major storm water relief job called Dobson's Run. That job has not yet been bid, but we hope to get a notice to proceed out as early as this 672 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET June. Our people have already worked with the Police Department, Fairmount Park, in coordinating what this job is going to look like and minimizing the problems with traffic.
Could you describe that? COMMISSIONER BRUNWASSER: I don't have great detail on it right now.
The impact on traffic? COMMISSIONER BRUNWASSER: Obviously, they're going to try to minimize what is taken out at any given time. I don't have any detail with me.
When is this supposed to happen. COMMISSIONER BRUNWASSER: Well, the notice to proceed could go out as early as June. And depending on how the contractor approaches the job, I'm not sure exactly when it's going to hit East River Drive. We can get that information for you.
Here's what we'll do, because I've taken more time than I 673 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET should, I want to come back at this when it's my turn again because I want to talk about East Bells Mill Road. I want to talk about West Bells Mill, the bridge there, what impact that's going to have on it. So we'll come back at you and I'll let the Chair know that we'll come back at my next round.
Fine. Thank you. The Chair recognizes Councilman Clarke.
Thank you, Madam President. Good morning. On the first page of your testimony, you talk about more than $3 million decrease in the Grants Fund. Where are the decreases coming from and what departments will it affect?
One is the Jackson v. Hendrick lawsuit which was, I think, a $2 million settlement fund. Up until now that money has not been spent, and there's a Committee I think that's been court appointed that talks about how this money gets spent. 674 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET Some of that money has been -- I think $1.1 million have been spent down already, so that grant has been what we term --
Jackson v Hendrick was a lawsuit that went on for many years involving prison overcrowding. And as a result of the settlement -- and if anyone here wants to correct me on this. As a result of the settlement, there was a $2 million grant put aside to help with the issue of prison overcrowding and so forth. And there's been a Committee with defense lawyers set up and so forth. That money is starting to be spent out so that the size of that grant is coming down. So that's one reason for the grant. We get you more information on that.
Wait a minute. Before you go on. So there's $2 million set aside to support prison overcrowding, i.e., the budget, and we've been spending down on that $2 million?
Yes. Actually this 675 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET is the first year that the money has been spent down, and that's why going into next year the size of that money is smaller. I think it was about $2 million. I think this past year it was $1 million. So it's now just down to $1 million.
I don't know. I'll have to get that. It's obviously a lot larger. But this was a result of a court settlement that as a result of the settlement between, I presume, the City and the defendants that this money was set aside to try to come up with programs to help.
And you don't know the prison's budget, but I'm assuming that $2 million is a small percentage.
In the overall scheme of things, that $2 million is really not relevant.
What is the 676 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET remaining?
The remaining was a domestic preparedness grant that has been discontinued, and that money has really gone -- the government has terminated that type of grant, and money is now coming through Homeland Security and it comes in through the region, so that grant is no longer --
The money is now being allocated through Homeland Security?
It comes into the whole homeland security area. The homeland security money comes to the State down to the Southeast region. So that grant, they've just done away with that grant to consolidate it into Homeland Security, so we don't get that money anymore. We get money through Homeland Security
Probably more money. 677 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET But it comes through the region as opposed to a direct grant to our office.
No, it's just a consolidation. But it doesn't show up on our books.
The graffiti unit is reducing its projected law enforcement block grant by $204,000, and that's because that block grant has been significantly been reduced by the federal government so all the agencies that were getting a piece of that block grant are getting less money. And in this case, the Managing Director's Office is taking its share of less money of block grant.
No, it's not CDBG. It's called local enforcement law block grant. It's different than CDBG, but it's sort of basically the same thing where we're getting cut back significantly; I mean, Philadelphia 678 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET and every other City. So this has been money that has been shared by the DA's Office, the First Judicial District and so forth, so everyone has been taking a reduction in those funds as that block grant --
That block grant comes directly to the City of Philadelphia?
I don't know. We'll get you that amount. The other reason for the reduction is the Municipal Energy Office. As we experience a reduction of $500,000 in its Grants Fund, and this is really a shift of money coming into the Managing Director's Office for that purpose is now going to the Public Property Department. So it's not necessarily reduction to the City, but it's a reduction in our budget and should be shown in the Public Property budget. And this is to help us audit our energy costs. We'll give you more detail on all of those. 679 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET
I'd appreciate it. My time is up. I'll have to come back.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Good morning, Mr. Managing Director. How are you.
I just want to touch on one of the major topics that I have, and that's the mini City Halls. It is my understanding from what I read recently that you're anticipating the closing of the mini City Halls, both in North Philadelphia and Northeast Philadelphia. Now, I'm more familiar with Northeast Philadelphia since I live up there. There's over 107 people that use that service within one year. And I just want to know if you are anticipating closing these facilities, what are you going to offer the people, specifically in the Northeast, who 680 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET at this point they always assume they were third class citizens. And I think by doing this, it's feeding that frenzy, feeding that atmosphere. What steps are you going to take to initiate programs that will take care of the existing programs that they've been used to up there?
Thank you. I want to separate out what I would call the distinction between closing a particular facility and taking away services. In both of these cases, you're correct that we are terminating leases on those facilities as we continue to go through our budget and finds ways to reduce cost and so forth. We feel like this is something we have to do. But we have stated from the outset that our objective was not to take away services but actually expand services, not only to the Northeast, the North Philadelphia areas, but other parts of the City which have not had the benefit of a separate office. We've done an enormous amount of planning and work. We're looking at other City-owned facilities that we can 681 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET provide some of these services in so we do not have to incur the operating cost. We are also looking at different ways to provide the services when you really do a good analytical work, what these mini City Halls are being used for. There are ample alternatives in many of the cases for people to be able to do things. But we've identified six senior citizen centers throughout the City. We think that there will be an opportunity to have some of these services delivered. We've identified some libraries that we think could potentially be used to provide some of these services. L&I has five offices throughout the City. Again, we believe that they can provide these services. So we are still going through the process of going through these plans to see what makes best sense. But again, our effort is to expand services throughout the City and in some cases to make it where people do not have to come into an office if they don't have to. And obviously, we're going more on-line. And I understand that doesn't always work for senior citizens, and that's why we're looking 682 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET at some of our senior citizen offices. We are also aggressively in negotiations -- I should say aggressively in discussions with one of the banks to see if they can provide some of the payment mechanisms that we could use to help people throughout the City so they would not necessarily have to come downtown. Having said that, from a payment perspective, about 83 percent of our payments are done by check. Only 4 and a half percent are done by cash.
And I agree with that, but one of the things that I know is that people -- the reason why they like to do it in person is because they get a receipt proving that they did pay it and pay it or a timely manner which would enable them to collect the 1 percent discount. If they just mail it in, they have no idea of whether someone's going to say, "We didn't receive it in time," and therefore they don't get it. Another problem that I have with that is that I believe if they pay it on-line now there's a 1.9 percent transaction fee that 683 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET have to pay, which means that they not only loss the 1 percent discount but cost them almost another 1 percent to use that service. And I would like to know who receives that transaction fee? Is it the City of Philadelphia or is it a vendor supplying that service?
I don't know. I will have to get you that information as to how that actually works and whether there can be an adjustment to that. In this day and age -- and I understand receipts and I understand the need for senior citizens who often want the receipt, but it's not the way business is done anymore and there's no legal reason for a receipt. Person's check is a receipt. A money order is a receipt. If you come downtown, you can only pay in cash downtown where you would want a receipt. We do not take cash payments in the mini City Halls. And so it's really no receipts up there. I understand it's somewhat of a comfort level for people. From a legal perspective, they're 684 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET really not a reason for that.
Could you tell me what your time frame is to put these new programs into -- or at least the new facilities that you're going to be using, whether it be the senior citizen locations or whether it be the bank or banks that you're anticipating of using for payments? And the payments, are they just going to be real estate payments or are they going to be payments for other City services?
Hopefully, they would be payments for other City services. And we're looking for basically a three-month transition period, so by the end of this fiscal year.
Would you be willing to keep open those facilities until you've completed most of the work or the relocation process?
I would have to look at the terms of our lease. If we're able to do that, we would certainly consider that. I'm not sure what the terms of the lease are 685 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET and whether we would have that ability. We will look into that.
Around the same line as the mini City Hall. I support Councilman's Kelly's request just now to keep the facility open until all these other alternatives are put into place. Plus, you know, it would be nice if someone communicated to us what's going on in terms of the alternative services and locations. This is the first I'm hearing about senior centers, banks or anybody being involved in helping to provide services out in neighborhoods for people that actually pay their bills. In North Philadelphia, they have about 500 clients a day, customers a day, coming in paying their bills. And it's not so much -- I mean the receipt is important, but it's the convenience, it's the parking issue. Some people just like to pay their bills in person. They're not accustomed, they don't -- 686 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET particularly seniors. They're not people that mail their checks in. And some of them don't even have checking accounts. So this has been -- I get petitions every week from the North Philadelphia residents. And that center not only serves people from North Philadelphia, but people come from a variety of neighborhoods because of the convenience and it's right there and they don't have to come and double park outside of the Municipal pal Services Building in order to pay a bill. So this has really been a priority to neighbors that live in that around that Municipal Services Center. I think that's what you call it. We call it mini City Halls, on 22nd Street. And we really want to advocate -- we wanted to look at alternatives. We found a couple other locations where the rent would not be as much as it was at the present location. But we also would like to see it kept open until there's a real alternative in place. And we really want to hear more information about this alternative.
We'll be glad to 687 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET share those with you. One of the things I feel obliged to put point out, and it gets back to my testimony about the decrease in personnel that we have in our departments. When the mini City Halls were opened in 1985, the Revenue Department -- and the staffing is really out of the Revenue Department. The Revenue Department at that time had or 27 cashiers 11 in the City. The Revenue Department today has 12 nine cashiers for the entire City. Up until 13 recently, four of those cashiers were -- two 14 of them were in North Philadelphia and the 15 other two were in Northeast Philadelphia. And 16 only four or five were left down at the MSB. 17 This is not simply an issue of occupancy, it's 18 an issue of staffing. And what we have found 19 is that the productivity, the number of 20 transactions done at the Municipal Services 21 Building is twice what they're done in North 22 Philadelphia in Northeast Philadelphia. It 23 has nothing to do with the quality of the 24 workers just the number of people. 25 So, again, I wish I was managing 688 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET director at a time when we were being able to add programs and add people and revenues were shooting up and so forth. But we are forced to figure out how do we allocate the workforce that we have. But you'd think when these two offices were established, we had cashiers 8 in the Revenue Department; and today, we're 9 down to 9 or 10. And the same thing with the 10 customer service representatives and the 11 abandonment rate on telephones is way too 12 high, and these were some of the actions that 13 we're forced to be taken. And I would prefer 14 not to be doing it and I don't find them 15 particularly pleasant to take. 16
Councilman 17 Kelly, your time is up. And I know 18 Councilwoman Miller had a point of 19 information. 20 Are you finished with your line of 21 questioning. 22
Councilman 24 Kelly, you have 30 seconds left. 25
Thank you. 689 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET I just want to follow-up. One of your alternatives, of course, is to use the libraries. Now, of course, what I've been hearing, what I've been reading about is that library hours are being reduced. So I don't know if that's going to be an effective way of providing these service. I'm just questioning that.
Well, Councilman, I've heard that same argument. I think it's made more as an argument against what we're doing with libraries. To the extent that we would use the library, for example, maybe -- and I'm just throwing this out -- it will be Northeast Regional Library which is a great library which is open seven days a week, has enormous hours and so forth.
Now, Councilwoman Miller just mentioned about the noise level in libraries. Is this going to be one of the hazards that they have to face?
These are the alternatives that we're looking at. I think right now we do have the five or six L&I 690 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET centers where people can do the L&I --
With the cost, of course, of your savings, I don't know if your savings can justify that because you're looking at the cost of -- I know the Northeast facility is somewhere around $45,000 for the building and, I guess, the electric and the overhead costs. Would you be willing to provide or put a transaction fee on all the transactions that occur in that facility? For instance, there's 107,000 people that use that, and I'm sure that -- I know there are a lot of businesses that use that for permits and a lot of other services that they acquire from the City. I was wondering if you would put a transaction fee of just a dollar on that thing, you'd probably end up making about $150,000 in that one facility alone.
I mean, they would pay for it. The convenient that they have up there, I think it's almost a quality of life issue because they don't have to come 691 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET down here, they don't have spend at least three to four, maybe five hours at the MSB Building, they have to pay a parking fee, they have to spend or $15 for parking. Not only 6 that, a lot of people up there probably don't 7 drive that well or that long distances and 8 they would probably find it very difficult to 9 come down here. 10
I understand your concerns. When we look at the numbers, our numbers -- because it's just not occupancy, it's people. It's $800,000, and that's obviously a much different number than --
Personnel costs, but that's a big deal. I'd be glad to share with you the way we look at the costs. Again, I want to separate out -- there's different things that go on in these mini City Halls. You've got the payments. And then, to me, the issue that's most serious with the closing of the mini City Halls are people that have to make payment arrangements, 692 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET which is different than someone putting a check right in the mail or using a money order or using on-line and so forth. This is the issue that, frankly, troubles me the most because it's harder to -- you don't want necessarily to have people to come down make those payment arrangements and so forth. The payments themselves, the vast, vast majority of people in this City pay by mail, they pay by check. But when it comes to payment arrangements, I will acknowledge that's an issue that I find troubling and that's the issue that we're working diligently to figure out how we can handle it. So we will, obviously, keep you informed. We understand the concern and certainly the perception. And I think the perception here is perhaps louder than what the reality of what we're doing.
Thank you. The Chair recognizes Councilman Kenney. 693 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET
Thank you, Madam Chair. Mr. Goldsmith, would it be possible for you to provide -- I don't think you have it with you -- to provide the Chair with the overtime numbers for Operation Safe Streets from its inception through today?
I'm not sure what their codes. We'll get you the overtime. I'm very proud of the overtime reductions we've had.
It's not a critical question. It's an informational question. I would suspect, as Managing Director, you probably would have the ability to get those number from the year it started 694 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET until today.
You've been around government for quite some time. You're leaving, and I wanted to know if you can give me some perspective. In my opinion -- you can disagree -- I think the largest single problem the City of Philadelphia faced and has faced over the past few decades is the continued loss of its population without replacement of those people. The reduction in the tax base, inability to have enough money to provide the services that we need for an increasing needy population because as the people who have more mobility have less need to use the government; the people who remain always have an expanding to use the government. How do you see us attempting to reverse that population loss trend? And what would you do if you could change things to get people to either stay here or to come back?
I think there's a number of things. I don't think one single thing. Frankly, I appreciate the fact that 695 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET you've asked me. I think a lot of people have left the City of Philadelphia because the quality of education or the perceived quality of education in Philadelphia. I would say if I had to rank them I would say that's probably the No. 1 reason. I find that people generally don't make decisions so much on economic terms when it comes to themselves. They're concerned for their children and their families, and I think education is certainly a major concern and I would put it right at the top. I think crime is always an issue or the perception of crime is an issue. Quality of life, to me, would be the three major ones. And then I think certain people make decisions based purely or largely on economic terms, and certainly the taxpayer structure would have a play in that. But I also think that we can't escape the global world that we live in. And I think we had a major exodus in this City back in the '60s and '70s when people fled to the southeast portion of this country and fleeing to the southwest because of climate, 696 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET because of union issues, a whole bunch of reason. We're part and parcel of the world we live in. I think we sometimes think we can fix it ourselves by doing this or that, and I'm not sure that's always the case.
The top three things that you mentioned, schools, crime, and quality of life, I guess the real conundrum here is that in order to improve those areas of City services, we need to have the tax base and the money to provide the revenue to pay the bills for those services. It's almost like a self-fulfilling prophesy. We won't be able to do it if we continue to lose population. And I know if I had the answer to this, you could probably run for president of the United States if you desired. It seems to me, though, that if we continue on the path we're on regardless of how much we try, regardless of how much we try to do economies of scale, to work cleaning and smarter, we're still going to continue to lose people. And of the two major cities in the country that lost population would be Philadelphia and 697 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET Detroit in the '90s, every other City either leveled off, did not lose or gained population. And I'm not comparing us to the south or southwest, I'm talking about comparable cities like Chicago, Boston, New York City. It just seems to me -- I don't know where we're going to find people to fill the houses and neighborhoods and pay the real estate taxes to help the schools and to pay the wage taxes to help the crime and quality of life issues. I just see not too bright a picture in the next couple years. Do you have a comment?
Well, I think we have a great city. One of the things I've learned going around this city is there's absolutely great parts of it and great potential to it, and then you go into some areas and it breaks your heart to see what people go through. And I don't have a quick solution to it. But I also think we're sort of geographically constrained. We've drawn a border around this city. I always laugh when people talk about Dallas and Phoenix and so 698 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET forth. They simply annex their neighboring counties. And I think, to me, the issue on the whole debate of where Philadelphia goes, I think what's important is that we look at the facts and we try to keep out the personalities and politics and just really do a good analysis of the facts, because I think if you look at facts, eventually it will lead you to a solution. Last year, I went through every census track. The vast majority of census tracks in this city are either stable or growing. It's a handful of census tracks that have gone down. So the solution to that would take me to a different place than if I were just thinking that the entire population was going down and so forth. And I often get upset because I see things written and so forth which I think distort the public policy debate. There was an editorial in the Inquirer on Saturday; I almost choked on it. It was talking about the whole issue of pay-to-play and tax reform and so forth. And then it says at the end, "Look at Paul 699 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET Vallas," who I happen to be a fan of and like, "he's done more with less." That's absolutely nonsense. This Council has given the School District $130 million out of our budget, has given the School District $130 million. The School District has gotten $100 million more from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania because of some of the negotiations that were done. They just got $30 million from the federal government. And God bless them; they need it. Bit let's not distort the debate by saying, "Well, they're doing more with less and the City is doing less with more," because that's simply not true.
I, again, are appreciative of your office relative to some of the issues dealing with translation of documents for foreign residents and some of the other things. But don't we at some point need to do what Boston and Chicago and New York have done, and that's step outside just those areas and really begin to market Philadelphia to legal immigrants who are either coming here or are already here? I 700 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET mean, I can't imagine we couldn't make a better argument to a new New York resident that the housing stock and value is here is much, much better than it is in New York, that the City has as much culture and diversity, that it's walkable, that it's fun. What efforts do we make in that area?
Well, I think it's going to happen whether we want it or not or like it or not. It's going to happen because it is happening. We're going to have more immigrants, and I think --
Well, we're getting some. And I think as families come in and so forth --
We're only getting percent of all legal immigration in the country.
I don't disagree with what you're suggesting, having a more aggressive marketing campaign. And I think the whole issue on immigrants in this City is 701 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET a terribly fragmented process and we've got a lot of different players out there and so forth. I think to the extent that we could have a comprehensive and cohesive strategy would be helpful to the City.
I don't know. As I think you know, we have focused more on the service side and people that are here or are coming here, how do we the services. But there's a whole other side to it which is the target marketing and how do we attract people to the City, of which I'd say that's certainly a segment that should be explored. And if that's a segment that's going to be explored, then we need to have a comprehensive plan to do it.
You're welcome. The Chair recognizes Councilman Nutter. Are you ready, or would you like me 702 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET to come back?
Madam Chair, it is actually not my turn. It's Councilwoman Miller's turn. I was not here when my turn was called, and I relinquish the floor to my colleague.
Thank you very much. But it's Councilwoman Brown next, then Councilwoman Miller. Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I was bracing myself for Councilman Nutter's answer. Good morning. On the bottom on of of your testimony, you give some discussion to the realignment and reorganization that the Administration has made a priority over the past -- at least during your tenure. And you cite Fairmount Park and Recreation as one of the success areas. For sure, saving dollars through administrative efficiencies continues to be a priority, especially during dwindling tax 703 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET dollars. Let us know, if you will, what is next for these two departments.
Well, I think there's still more to be done in terms of assimilating the change that's already taken place. And I think that there's natural functions that should be done. We recently completed a strategic plan --
You're talking about the Fairmount Park Strategic Plan?
Well, I think it's strategic planning for the park system. We're focussing primarily on Fairmount Park, but I would say for the entire park system of the City. And I think there's steps that gives a pretty good blueprint of some of the things that have to be done by both departments and, hopefully, those things will get done over the next many years because there's a lot of stuff to be done. But if you're talking in terms of consolidation, we still have some issues. I think up until a few months ago, we had trashing being picked up by the Recreation Department and trash being picked up by 704 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET Fairmount Park, trash being picked up by the Streets Department. Seems to me to be a lot of duplication there. We're trying to sort those issues out. They're not always easy to sort out once you get into the details of it, but hopefully we'll have the wherewithal to start to sort some of that stuff out. We've got parks on stop of each other; one's managed by Fairmount Park, one's managed by the Recreation Department. There's got to be a better alignment of those things. Again, I think we have a great park system. I think it can be better and I think it can be made much more part of Philadelphia and it's something unique to Philadelphia that most cities don't have, a park system 9200 acres that extends everywhere in the City. I think there's more that we can be doing to really reach its greatness.
You said an awful lot there, and I tried to take notes. You mentioned national functions that should be done much. You say that there's a lot to be done and then you said "hopefully." If you 705 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET had to ID 1, or priority natural things that need to be done, what would they be? I mean, when it's clear on paper that you have three different departments picking up trash and we know what that yields in term of dollar amount, and the goal is to greater efficiency and working smarter, then I'm at a lost as to what the impediment is to make that happen.
Well, we are doing it. We've done a lot over the past several years. You know, for years there was talk 13 about moving swimming pools from Fairmount 14 Park to the rec center and rec centers from 15 Fairmount Park. Well, that's been done. So 16 there's been a lot of work that's been done, 17 but you can't -- I always compare things to a 18 rubber band; when you let go, they snap back. 19 And we've got to make sure we're holding onto 20 that rubber band --
-- and assimilate the type of stuff that we can be done. But I think that stuff is really common sense. I 706 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET mean, that stuff is going on all over the country and trying to say, you know, let's get rid of the duplicate functions and so forth. I think Fairmount Park can be much more of a marketing force in this City. And for a whole bunch of reasons, it isn't. I think the Rec Department has reinvented itself in the past year. I think it's enormous when you sit back and you see what the Rec Department has done. And Fairmount Park has done some of the same. But in terms of partnering rec centers, in terms of leasing some rec centers -- I think when those spray grounds hit in June, you're all going to be rushing and say, "We want our own spray grounds." I'll tell you that right now, that's what's going to happen. So I think that there's a whole bunch of things that under the leadership of the Rec Department that have taken place. And while we've had our tussles and fights on it, I think by and large they're really reinventing themselves and I think they should be commended for doing that.
With regards to 707 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET the Rec Department, Managing Director, I've paid close attention to that because I felt I had to, Chairing the Committee on Recreation, Parks and Cultural Affairs, and visited more rec centers than I can count, openings of teen centers. So I would agree with you 2,000 percent on how that department has thought out of the box and moved to work smarter and, as you say, reinvented itself. Let's move, if we could, to discussion of the Youth Study Center on 4. What I don't clearly understand is will the Youth Study Center we currently have close and move to house the young people at some of other location while the new Youth Study Center is being built, or will the young people stay where they are until the new Youth Study Center is built?
The new Youth Study Center, the target for completion is October of '07. But what we are trying to do is to accommodate the Barnes Foundation getting to its new center as quickly as possible. And the only way that can be done is to do an 708 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET interim arrangement with the Youth Study Center, and we are actively working on a transition plan to move the people at the Youth Study Center to 17th and Cambria where there's a facility there and the people there have got to be moved back to the prisons, and then people at the prisons have to be moved elsewhere. So it's a complicated transaction that we are just beginning to do. But we think it's important to really get the Barnes Foundation here to open up the space at the Youth Study Center as quickly as possible.
I see. Thank you for your testimony. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I notice someone did ask you questions around the school crossing guards deployment plan, the new plan. Did anyone ask for a copy? 709 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET
I said we will provide you a copy, yes. That was just completed, and we will be glad to do that. It's obviously important to get your feedback on it.
How many staff people are we down to with the lot clean up crew? I think initially it was 100. What are we down to now?
Because in the beginning of NTI, I can't remember quite how many lots they were projected to clean each year. This year we're going to clean 11,000, right?
We'll get you the precise number. We're doing less lot cleaning because we've stabilized a lot of the lots. I think it was 35,000 initially.
Okay. This next question is in regard the Scrap Yard Task Force. When did this task force get formed? I remember reading this before, and I know 710 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET you've been in operation, but when did it actually start? Because I'd like to know the successes. Our experience has been -- and we have two yards now in Equity Court. Our experience has been that the City can only enforce the Municipal Code violations. And once we had to use the two state laws, the Clean Stream Act and the Solid Waste Management Act. So how are you or how is the task force figuring out how to take the next step to get these violators into some court action where they violate these two state laws which are more powerful than the City's Property Maintenance Code? We had to end up going to the DA's Office when we were dealing with a yard on Hunting Park Avenue, and that was the Hawthorne property. And I think if there's no 21 way that taking this to the next level is being addressed, then the enforcement and the goal of the task force and our goal actually is to shut of some of these yards down, won't be accomplished. 711 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET
If you have particular yards in mind, you let us know. This has been going on, I believe, since October of '03. And this includes the MDO's Office, the Fire Department, Police, Water Department, L&I, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, USEPA, Commerce Department, Law Department, DA's Office, Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission. It's been very successful. Actually, a couple of people are in jail because of this.
Yes. There's been yards closed. We had one scrap yard with over 100,000 tires that was cleaned up. But the important thing is that we've done training programs for the Scrap Yard Dealers Association and they're cooperating and we're seeing a lot more self-compliance as a result of these efforts because I think they realize that we're serious. If you have specific sites you want, please get them to our office and we will make 712 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET sure that they get looked at.
We do have specific sites. And actually, I believe both of them at this time are scheduled for Equity Court, but it's so much he can do because he can enforce the City Code, it's the State Code that actually gets these people shut down. So that's what I'm saying.
And that's why we created this task force. And sometimes federal action also.
Right, right. Because that is a bit quality of life issue out in neighborhoods. I mean, we're trying to do development and we have this awful scrap yard sitting right in the middle of what we're trying to do. It certainly impacts our ability to bring good projects to the district. I just wanted to get an update on -- last year we talked about it and I do think there's one happening in my district -- the CLIP Program expansion into other parts of the City. 713 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET
I was hoping I could avoid that, but I guess can't. As you know, we really had plans to expand CLIP. We reached out probably, I guess, during the summer or late spring teaching the Councilmembers to ask you what particular areas in your councilmanic districts you would like, but our best intentions are not going to be carried out right now because of the budget cuts. Our department is down 9.7 percent. As I said, we've laid off people. To now think about expanding something at this point in time is a hard thing to do it, as much as we hoped we were going to do it and would like to do it.
Just one more question, Council President. A week or so ago when you were here testifying on some budget, which I can't remember. I asked you to look into the clean and seal program that L&I used to have where the City purchased the wood, the community came out and did the hard work of sealing and cleaning. And I just don't you or someone in 714 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET the Administration to forget that. It was a very good program, and we do have people in the neighborhoods that are willing.
Is Commissioner Solvibile here? COMMISSIONER SOLVIBILE: Good morning. Bob Solvibile, acting Commissioner of Licenses and Inspections. It's a program that we operate from spring to fall, and we have every intention of having it again this spring, summer, and fall. It's a program that was never effective in the wintertime because people don't like to work outdoors. At one point it was year-around, but in the wintertime people wouldn't show up, bad weather and such, so we just eliminated it. But there's a phone number that I'm not really sure of that we'll get to the Chair and have it for every Councilperson that people can call to make an appointment for us to deliver the material and work with them on treating a property or a lot this spring, starting probably mid-April.
Thank you. 715 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET Thank you, Madam President.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Mr. Goldsmith, I want to go back to an area just to make sure I'm clear on the response. -14, I did not completely understand the response on this NTI inspection work which is listed in your budget but is designated somehow under the control or direction of the Controller's Office. I didn't completely understand your response to the Council President with regard to why it was in your budget as opposed to the Controller's Office in the first place.
The program is they have to do inspections -- as I understand it, they have to do inspections on work that we have done to make sure that the work has been 716 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET done appropriately and --
We do the work, yes and we inspect it ourselves. It's a checking control issue.
And when you say "we," are you actually talking about City employees, or are you talking about people under contract to NTI? What is this work that's being inspected?
No, it's being done by contractors. I think the issue is to make sure that the contractors have performed the work appropriately. And as part of the process, the Controller's Office does its own inspections to make sure that whatever we're presenting for payment has been appropriately done.
So let me make 717 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET sure I understand this. We hire companies to provide the demolition services. Does L&I make an inspection of their work?
So we hire somebody under contract to do the work, then L&I inspects the work, and then this other company on behalf of the Controller inspects the work?
Yes. For the Controller's Office to authorize payment, they do the inspection.
I don't know. We can get you that information. The issue we had with the City Controller was that basically, to be as blunt about it as I can, they weren't going to do the inspections because they said they didn't have the money. We saw a program coming to a halt and probably went along and said, we'll pay for it, we've got to get the work done. 718 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET
That's what I thought. So we don't know anything about Exodus Solutions?
I don't personally, but we'll get you the information. If they were paying for it directly, we wouldn't know anything about it. We may know something. We'll find out for you.
Let's go to 35-73. Can you share with us what exactly is going on. First from a budget standpoint, in FY '04, we had the Police Advisory Commission at 335,000. In FY '05, they're at 363. And now it's projected in FY '06 about 109,000 reduction.
What is going on -- isn't there an appointment situation 719 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET over there?
My understanding is that there have been new commissioners named.
Because I know there had been an extended period of time.
There was discussion either last budget round or the before that -- but maybe it was last budget time. The CLIP Program, is that still in operation?
And my 720 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET recollection is last budget hearing, there was discussion -- more than a discussion, I think a proposal in the testimony that the program was going to be expanded City-wide.
Yes. We had, I think, reached out to each of the District Councilmanic people to ask what areas of the City you were interested in. I think in your case you were interested in, I think, Parkside and Overbrook. We were putting our plans together, and unfortunately we have not been able to expand what we had hoped to do because of our budget situation. It's just a question of dollars and cents at this point in time. The Managing Director's Office is down 9.7 percent and there's just the question of not expanding something when we didn't have the funds to do it and we were laying off people.
Okay. Well, two things. One, I think I may have given you some additional areas on that, but if it's not 721 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET being expanded -- so did the expansion not happen City-wide?
Mr. Director, on of your testimony you mention overtime reduction and made a reference to the police court overtime being reduced and expected to go down even further in FY '06. Can you explain the statement in the context of the Police Department's FY '06 budget for uniformed officers overtime increasing by 19 percent or $7.9 million?
I don't know. I could not explain that because we're just looking at in my testimony it was focussing 722 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET on --
So that should be a question to be asked of the Police Commissioner?
In '06, what do you anticipate the police court overtime will be?
I'm not sure. We'll have to get you the exact number. It depends. We're looking at some technology. If we're able to get this technology, we think we will be able to bring it down some more, but it depends on whether we're able get the technology, more importantly the timing of getting the technology.
I know. This is an issue that has been brought up year after year after year.
And I'm glad to hear that progress is being made. Director, on -65 of your 723 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET detail, you're requesting $150,000 in FY '05 and FY '06 for emergency standby generating planning, and the vendor is to be determined. Do you really plan on spending the FY '05 funds if you haven't even at this time selected a vendor?
Good afternoon. John Donagy, Deputy Managing Director. Yes, we do plan on spending the FY '05 funds for the planning. To be honest, I believe that that has been identified, the contract to be begin doing that planning work.
Now, that is out of the General Fund and not Home Land Security funds?
I believe that the initial planning work was done out of General Funds to eventually to be transferred from the 724 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET Home Land Security funds because it is eligible for the grant.
Well, the question is then do we really need the money if it's coming out of Home Land Security grants?
My question is, why would it be in the General Fund when, in fact, we are receiving Home Land Security grants for this?
Madam President, Mike Nucci, Director of Emergency Management for the City of Philadelphia. It is eligible to come out of the Home Land Security funds. We designated $200,000 to come up with specifications for the installation of those first generators 21 in City facilities. 22
So in 23 essence then, are you saying that we really 24 don't need $150,000 for FY '05 in our General 25 Fund and 150,000 in FY '06 if we're being 725 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET reimbursed by the Home Land Security grants?
The money is actually sitting in a grants receivable account, the $200,000. We can use it, and we have used it, I think. The contract is already in place as I understand for the engineering studies. The State -- the way the equipment on Home Land Security works is that we have to provide specifications to the State. The State does the procurement. So we have to provide them with a complete set of specifications for each site.
Mr. Nucci, just say yes or no. Do we, in fact, need 150,000 in the FY '05 and 150,000 in FY '06 in our General Fund?
We'll check further on that that to make sure. This project, I think, is critically important.
I want to make sure. 726 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET
I want you to understand, when this blackout happened, we found out we have a water supply here that we've got about hours of water supply in 8 this City. And if our electricity goes out, 9 we're in trouble. Our fleet is fueled 10 electronically. In our electricity goes out, 11 we're in trouble. What we've identified is 12 about 65 generators needed in this City to 13 make sure that this City can sustain itself if 14 there were a blackout. So this is an 15 important issue. If it can be funded by Home 16 Land Security, we'll do it. 17
I 18 understand that. The question is, is it 19 funded by Home Land Security or is it funded 20 by Home Land Security and the General Fund. 21
Thank you. 24 I would like you to explain why your list of positions scheduled for the vacant lot 727 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET cleaning program or -38 has expenditure transfer of L&I for well over a million dollars; Fairmount Park, $380,000; and MOCS for $1,631,000. Can you tell us why these funds are not in the respective departments' budgets?
Councilwoman, this money is used to reimburse the departments for the services that they render to this program. The employees are actually in those departments and we reimburse those departments for their services. You find this department in the Controller's Office, we want to have the positions in the department in which they work, shown in which they work, so the positions will be shown in the respective departments and we show the money in the Managing Director's Office.
The positions are shown in the departments in which these individuals work. The money is reflected in the Managing Director's Office, and we reimburse those 728 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET departments for the services.
Because the Finance Department and the Controller's Office prefer it that way. Because the expenditure is actually in the department where it occurs.
The $1,631,000 that goes to MOCS, is that from City revenue sources?
I don't remember them mentioning these funds at their hearing. Can you tell us what types of services MOCS actually performs with those dollars? Is it just vacant lot cleaning? What is it that they do?
This will be my last question and I'll take a five-minute break. 729 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET On -89, the vacant lot program is budgeted for $2.5 million for repair and maintenance charges. Can you explain what these are for?
Yes. Madam Chair, that 2.5 million is for tree pruning and stump removal throughout the City of Philadelphia. We've had a program ongoing for four years now where we have been pruning and removing stumps of dangerous trees throughout the City.
It's very confusing $2.5 million is for repair and maintenance.
That's the classification that it's placed by Procurement when you bid those kind of services out.
I believe that our witnesses are asking for a five-minute break, so we will recess for five minutes. (Recess taken.)
We're now back in session. At this time, the Chair recognizes 730 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET Councilman Rizzo for the second go-around.
Thank you. I'd like to have the Water Commissioner back. I'm going to keep my question brief so we can stick to the schedule here and get the answers to the questions. Commissioner, before we get the answer to your question, I just want you to explain. I understand during the break that there are two significant projects that could affect Kelly Drive. Could you tell me is there one or two COMMISSIONER BRUNWASSER: Good afternoon. I'm Bernard Brunwasser, Water Commissioner. Councilman, I'm only aware of the one project at this time. I'm not sure -- perhaps the other project is not a Water project.
Then when I'll finish up with you, maybe the Managing Director knows. Is there one project or two, Mr. Managing Director?
I don't know. We'll 731 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET find out for you.
Could you tell us -- I think you've had some time to maybe talk or think about the Kelly Drive issue. This is a storm water job. Could you just briefly maybe now explain the project? COMMISSIONER BRUNWASSER: Well, it's a large project, and it runs through different parts of the City. The piece concerning Kelly Drive may be a relatively small part of the entire project. What we are trying to do is relieve a combined sewer overflow problem in some sections of the City and also address storm water. And in order to do that, we do have to go under Kelly Drive in an area near the twin bridges. We are working very closely with Fairmount Park and the Police Department to have a good plan in place for what happens to Kelly Drive during that period of time, which may be four months or some when part of Kelly Drive will have to be taken out of commission. What we're hoping to be able to do is to keep three lanes active at any given time so that two would be available for 732 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET rush-hour traffic in the direction that's appropriate. In other words, southbound during the morning rush and northbound during the afternoon rush-hour period.
Commissioner, if you're saying that this is not a major -- I don't want to quote you. Maybe you can restate it. You said this is a little piece of this big project. What other impact will this project have? Could you just describe the project? I mean, what neighborhoods? What Councilmanic districts? I'm a Councilmember-At-Large, it's all my area. So could you -- is this a secret, this project? COMMISSIONER BRUNWASSER: Not at all. It's been on the drawing boards for quite a while. Again, we have not yet sent this project out for bid. So the timing of exactly when it effects --
I don't want to hear about the timing right now. I want to hear about the project. Where is it going to start? Where is it going to end? If you're going under Kelly Drive, it must start 733 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET someplace and end someplace. What's the impact on the City of Philadelphia, our roadways, our neighborhoods? What is this project about? Please, just tell us. COMMISSIONER BRUNWASSER: I don't have all the details. It does affect a lot of places. But as with all projects of this nature, we try to minimize the impact on streets.
Commissioner, you know, I really am fond of you, but I don't know why you're hedging here. If you just don't know, say it. COMMISSIONER BRUNWASSER: I don't know all the details.
Does anybody in your department know about this project? I mean, it sounds like a zillion dollar deal here, and for no one to know what's going on is troubling to me. It suggests that somebody doesn't want to tell. It's like another project that I have an interest in, in the northwest that nobody wants to tell. It's starting to get old. 734 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET
Councilman, we'll get you the details on the project. In all fairness to the Water Department and certainly to the Commissioner, he's got an enormous number of projects. For us to come up here and be able to say chapter and verse of an individual project -- we'd be glad to get you the details.
Mr. Managing Director, I'm not asking for the microscope analyzing this thing. I'm asking about a project that you're talking running a pipe that's going to run from Point A to Point B. All I want to know is where is Point A, where is Point B. That shouldn't be a big secret.
It's not a secret. We just don't have the information here. You can fault for us not being bright enough to have the information, but it's not a secret.
This can't obviously be a real big project if it's not -- if it was this big a deal, it would be the tip of my finger.
Well, we will get 735 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET you have the information.
Thank you. The Chair recognizes Councilman Clarke.
A couple of quick questions. One as it relates to the "block the box" program and the other question I have about the Youth Study Center and its move. First, on "block the box," in your testimony you indicate that there were 52 traffic violations written. I'm excited to hear that, but with in all due respect, I don't recall ever seeing police officers or any law enforcement out giving tickets, particularly on the area in my councilmanic district where we have "don't block the box." Can you kind of give me a sense of where and how that's happening?
We'll be glad to give you the actual details of the types of tickets written by the month and so forth. 736 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET But the Police Department generally selects three intersections on a weekly basis where they're out there during rush-hour traffic in the morning and rush-hour traffic in the afternoon. Those intersections sort of rotate, and I would say the concentration has basically been downtown.
I don't know South Street. Could be Broad and Chestnut, 21st and the Parkway and so forth. And they're continually rotating it. In all fairness, in all candor, we don't have enough presence out there. I mean, we're really dealing with three details, three intersections when we know that there's a lot more intersections we wish we could grab. But it's done on a rotating basis. The Police Department decides that. We can certainly show you from a historical perspective what intersections they've been at since we've started the program.
So you have a designated team? 737 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET
They strategically select. And if you have a particular intersection you're interesting in, let the police know. We try not to advertise where we're going to be.
I wouldn't want you to, unlike the red light camera program where we tell people where the camera is and show a picture of it on TV, which is kind of interesting. I'm just perplexed when I look at this number, and having traveled the Parkway, particularly in rush hour, I don't ever see anybody out enforcing it. I'm kind of amazed that we have such a number. So if you can kind of give me some information on where this is done.
We'll be glad to give it to you. I get a report from the police every week on where they've been, where 738 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET they're going to be, and the number of violations by the particular type, whether it be red light, improper turn, blocking the box. But frankly, we have such a culture in this City, people just sort of do what they want when it comes to traffic. We need to step it up. We need more people. We need more intervention out there. And I think to have three details, frankly, isn't enough. But it's one of the predicaments we find ourselves in now between fighting homicides and fighting "don't block the box."
I don't equate those two. Homicides is higher up on the chain.
So not to belabor the point, 5200 violations for "block the box," not no turn on red, but block the box?
If you can give me that information. 739 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET Youth Study Center. I understand that after years and years of attempting to find another site we have found a site. Where are we in this process? Have we actually gotten a site and done an arrangement with the property owner to purchase the site?
Yes. We have purchased a site. I forget precisely when. Several months ago we actually signed a deal after extensive negotiations, and we're now in the process of selecting a design team and going through the actual process now of getting that constructed. There will be some financing actions that will come before Council shortly for financing the transaction. As I said, we're now also in the interim process of moving the Youth Study Center to another location so we can make way for the Barnes as soon as possible so they can start their construction project. So it's sort of a two-fold --
So the phone call and subsequent conversation that I had with -- I'm not bring their names up -- with 740 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET the individuals about locating the Youth Study Center in an area in close proximity to Family Court is a rumor? Why am I getting calls about them locating there?
That's because I think there's a desire of -- we probably all have a desire to move the Family Court Center. The issue is to where and when and how it gets paid for. I don't think we have a resolution 11 to that. In the process of those conversations, people say, well, it really would be nice to have the Youth Study Center adjacent to wherever the Family Court goes. But we don't know where the family court is going. So right now we have a place for the Youth Study Center and we're getting ready to build it. But that's probably where you're getting those phone calls for people that have an active interest in saying, let's get another place for the Family Court so it provides another opportunity on the Parkway and also gives us a modern Family Court.
The opportunity for the Family Court is, I think there's some 741 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET sense of concurrence on that. But the question is how can there still been discussion about having the Youth Study Center in proximity to the new proposed Family Court location if that deal in West Philly os already done?
I don't know how. There's some people who, obviously, are interested in that.
You have a sense of who? Is the judicial system involved in that?
I've heard it from the judicial system. I think its the judicial system, but if we did that, what it would mean is that we now have a piece of land in West Philadelphia that we would have to obviously sell, which we might be able to do, but I think we run the risk of going another 20 years talking about the Youth Study Center. But I think that's where that conversation --
Who makes that decision? Is it the judicial system, is it the Legislature, or is it the City of 742 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET Philadelphia in terms of where the Youth Study Center is going to go?
The Youth Study Center was a decision made by the City of Philadelphia.
And we can make that decision without input and we can't overridden by the state or judicial system?
I don't want to go that far. But, no, I think this is a local decision that we have made that this Council has blessed.
I don't think it can be undone unless we agree to undo it; we, being the Council and the Mayor.
But it may well be that someone comes up with a business plan and says, "Boy, it really makes sense to have the Youth Study Center here where we're moving the Family Court," and everyone says, "Wow, that's really true, let's do it." 743 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET
Thank you, Madam Chair. I just want to go back to a topic which the President alluded to, Mr. Goldsmith. That is the police court overtime. Let me tell you, that's been a problem since Day One.
I remember you saying that last year. I wasn't going to mention your name, but you were skeptical whether we could do it.
That's been going on forever, and I want to commend you. If you 744 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET have a solution to that or you can have a substantial cost savings in that area, I want to be the first one to commend you. I believe that the Police Commissioner could give us the information as to how they're going to do it and what type of savings they're going to give us, is that --
Actually, the person that -- I mean, a lot of people deserve credit. Richard Glazer from my office who actually work for our dollar a year has really headed this project, working with the police and the DA's Office and the courts and so fourth, and it's just a question of working through it. So we can get you a plan on how that's being done. In many ways, it's a bunch of little steps, but it's happening. And as I said, there's some technology we're now looking at which we think may be able to even reduce it further.
That's good. Another point I would like to bring up is in your testimony today on Recreation, you mention that you're going to convert at 745 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET least four playgrounds into spray grounds, I believe.
From swimming pools to spray grounds. Do you know, No. 1, what the cost is going to be on that and if it was included in the Capital Budget?
Yes. There is money in the Capital Budget for that. I do have the cost. I don't have it off the top of my head. If the Recreation Commissioner can provide that. I do know from an operating cost, it will cost us 30,000 less a year with a spray ground than it will with a swimming pool.
Good afternoon, Commissioner. Please identify yourself for the record. COMMISSIONER RICHARD: Thank you, 746 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET Madam Chair. Vic Richard, Recreation Commissioner. Councilman, it will be three new spray grounds that eliminated three pools, and the fourth one doesn't previously have a pool on it: Ferco, Smith, 48th and Woodland, and Waterview are the four facilities. There's $200,000 that has been appropriated, and we're looking at about $175,000 with a $25,000 contingency and that includes the demolition and also the reinstallation of the new spray ground feature.
But there would be a cost savings per year of over $30,000? COMMISSIONER RICHARD: Yes, sir.
Would this eliminate the amount of personnel required at these facilities?
Yes. And I might also add, which you can't put in dollars and 747 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET sense, but the safety factor. You don't have to worry about drowning or anything like that. We think it's the way of the future, and I think other cities have gone this way. Up in Bucks County they have some. Anyone that wants to convert a swimming pool, we're eager to do it.
The other item I want to touch upon -- and thank God you're still keeping the CLIP program, because, in fact, just recently I've had a couple of people just commend that program, and I just want to thank you for continuing it. I think it's a good program and it is working, I know, in certain sections in Philadelphia.
Thank you, Councilman. And let us note, having one those being converted, we've had the community meeting and we found out that it's within a mile of a full scale pool and also that the it's a cost savings also in terms of energy. 748 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET It can be open at longer hours, these spray pools, and more people can participate because the water comes on as kids go under it, but it allows the community ability to use it longer hours and a longer span of time than just a few weeks in the summer as pools are being used. Albeit, a community is always upset to hear that they could lose their swimming pool. It has a lot of other positive features as well as energy saving, cost saving, community being involved in the designed, and the way these pools look and more age appropriate facilities because you have all sizes of equipment that are using these spray pools. And again, they can be used in a longer span, from spring to fall, and longer hours in a day. So there are a lot of good features involved, too. We learned, once you're kind of forced to get involved, you find there are a lot of good things about spray pools as well.
That's a good point. And there are other things too, there's security and other problems that we 749 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET have experienced around those pools with different factions of kids not getting along very well, and there's all sorts of disputes. I think by converting that sometimes could be a very, very right thing to do. I just want to touch on another subject, too. You don't have to bring back Commissioner Brunwasser for this, but I'm speaking as a motorist. When you're closing an area such as Kelly Drive, is there any way that the entire Drive could be shut down rather than parts of it? By that, I mean that if it takes four months to close it off partially, I think as a motorist I would prefer you shut the entire Drive down in a matter of a month and a half and get it over with rather than constantly -- no matter what you do, how you shut down one lane or two lanes, it's always going to be backed up. I'm just throwing that out. I don't know if it's feasible, I don't know if it's doable, and there may be other problems connected it to it. But as a motorist, I just wanted to give you my two cents what I think should be done. 750 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET
I can assure you we'll look at the logistical problems and how to minimize the pain to everyone when we get there.
We talked a lot about Walnut Street and have spoken to the Commissioner of Streets about it and have said that we're asking Councilman DiCicco to bring it back on the agenda so we can return Walnut Street, I understand, back to its old way. Some problems that just go on and on and on and on, you'd like to just deal with them and get it over with. So I understand your concern, Councilman.
I might add that Walnut Street is an issue. It's a state road, and we have recently met with a representative from PennDOT and asked them. It's one of our top priorities this year for money for repaving that. It was supposed to be done last year. It got pushed aside, as a lot of Philadelphia projects did. It's got to be 751 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET done. It's a major artery for us and it's in bad shape. I think we got a good hearing on that, and, hopefully, we will get that done.
With PennDOT involved in this thing, what year can this be completed? That's what I would like to know.
Thank you, Councilman. Thank you, Mr. Managing Director. Councilman Nutter, are you ready?
Yes, Madam Chair. Just a couple last items, Mr. Managing Director. There was a commercial corridor signage program that we were asked to give some recommendations for a while ago. Do you have any update what's going on on that?
This is taking down illegal signs, I think that's the one you're talking about. 752 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET
We asked each Councilman for particular streets that they wanted special attention to. And I forget, frankly, which areas you have selected. But as far as I'm concerned, it's an active program. Frankly, I plan to spend my last couple days in office on that and taking some of these signs down. For some reason, they really get to me, including the ones on Wynnefield Avenue and Lancaster Avenue. And they just seem to keep on popping up and popping up. But it's an active program.
You have a good memory. I appreciate it. Any other information you might have would be helpful. Two last things. The BIA report and the implementation of the recommendations, can you give us a status report on that, please.
Well, I think the BIA report is actually one that started out in the Managing Director's Office under my predecessor, Estelle Richman. And if you look at it, there's a whole bunch recommendations 753 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET that cut across all City government, including some zoning changes and so forth. One of the things that we've started to do and the Managing Director's Office is focus on some of the large developments going on, which I think we've classified as 50 units or more. And we have a task force now and we invited developers that have -- these are approved projects. They're now working in the bowels of the bureaucracy. And we have the Water Department down there and Streets Department and Fairmount Park, whatever, and allow these developers to really come to one meeting and for us to understand what their issues are try to get them a resolution and so forth. So this has been going on for about three months now. We think it's sort of a protocol the way we should be doing business.
John Elfrey from the Managing Director's Office is doing that.
Elfrey, E-L-F-R-E-Y. 754 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET
Back in the fall of 2004, the Managing Director's Office applied for a grant from DCNR to fund an open space plan for the City. There was a citizen involvement component required as a part of that application. Do you know the status of that particular proposal and how will citizens participate? And who's in charge of this?
I know that your time is drawing to a close, but I know you to be a person who likes to bring a certain sense of completion to a task. If we could have some follow-up with regard to the Daggett Street situation, both the application, which I know has been completed, but also there will be a subsequent action needed by the Redevelopment Authority with regard to some of those properties out there and I think we're awaiting a decision or the Redevelopment Authority is seeking direction by the City with regard to their role in this process.
That's on my to-do 755 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET list. I think we are waiting back for some information from GPUAC, but it's on my list.
Here we go again. Again, I don't want to -- Mr. Managing Director, if the information is not available about this major project, I prefer not to embarrass anyone. I prefer that you say we're not prepared to discuss this project that apparently is a very significant project, which I would think that we could at least have a thumbnail on what is going on here, what neighborhoods does this pipeline impact. I would think that we could answer that question at least to give us a little idea of what's going on. I don't know need to know that it's going to start in July and end in November. I just need to know what is this project about and what neighborhoods does it impact. 756 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET
It cuts under Kelly Drive in the area of the twin bridges. To me, this isn't just a piece of conduit that's feeding some street lights. COMMISSIONER BRUNWASSER: Good afternoon. I'm Commissioner Bernard Brunwasser of the Water Department. Councilman, I have found where this project begins, and it's approximately 32nd and Allegheny and it begins behind a Pep Boys store in that region. The run is only about 4,000 street to the outfall which is on the Schuylkill River right off East River Drive. It's there to relieve a combined sewer overflow problem that we have and also to relief storm water flooding in the business district in that region of 32nd and Allegheny. I don't have any additional details, but someone is coming over to fill me in.
That's fine. You suggested that it was going to have an impact on a lot of neighborhoods, and now it's only 757 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET 4,000 feet so it's obvious that the impact is not going to be as significant as I first thought. The significance is, what does it do to a major or artery? This is obviously a pretty big piece of pipe and it's probably a very expensive project, correct? COMMISSIONER BRUNWASSER: Yes, it is.
Let's move on now. You're telling me that we only one project that will impact Kelly Drive, or was there a potential of two? I'm led to believe that there are multiple projects that could be in your area of responsibility. COMMISSIONER BRUNWASSER: Right. I checked that out a little bit, and it appears that you may be thinking of another project around Fairmount Avenue and Kelly Avenue. And it's my understanding that that particular project which is, I believe, a sewer project should not impact Kelly Drive.
What is it? COMMISSIONER BRUNWASSER: I think I'm going to ask my Deputy Commissioner for 758 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET Operations, Debra McCarty to come up and explain that. She's a little closer to that project.
Good afternoon. There's a sewer, a big relief sewer that runs underneath Fairmount Avenue and across Kelly Drive and back behind the Art Museum. And we've got a gummite job that is basically filling in some of the holes that have occurred over the many years that sewer has been in existence. So that's the work you probably see or maybe see on Kelly Drive.
I'm familiar with that project where they have the equipment parked taking out one of the lanes on Fairmount Avenue. I'm talking about another job that's not actually in progress. So maybe the information I have is not correct. As you know, we'll get back to you if I learn. But I think it would be really good to know what the impact and eventually what the schedule is for this job that you describe that's going to impact Kelly Drive. Because again, we get criticized by our suburban -- we 759 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET always tell people, come to the City, we want you to work here. But when we don't adequately prepare and publicize a job that's going to impact people's commute to the City -- you understand where I'm coming from, right? COMMISSIONER BRUNWASSER: Absolutely. And we will provide you and the rest of Council with a fact sheet concerning the Dobson's Run project.
May I add that we would, as we always try to do, make sure that the radio stations and news and traffic control would be aware of any disruptions. We had one some months ago and we had signage and things like that.
But, Commissioner, not the morning of. We're talking about a good plan here.
Right, I understand that. We have the forewarning on this. That previous job was an emergency job. We could plan for it and we would do that. That was all I was trying to say. 760 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET
Mr. Managing Director, I think I've asked the Water Department; I think they've responded appropriately about this project. There's another project that -- and again, I don't want to discuss it here because you have a formal presentation about Cresheim Valley Drive, so I'll let that one pass. But there's another big project that I assume the Water Department, since they're here, could comment on, is the East Bells Mill Road. And also we have the bridge that will be taken out. Commissioner, is the Water Department somehow involved in this piece of road between Germantown Avenue and Stenton Avenue that the neighbors do not want to see improved, but there's someone insisting, whether it's at the State or the City level to put sidewalks on, to straighten the roadway out. I understand the roadway is not desirable. They put a guardrail there and that's shredded to pieces. Are you familiar with the piece of road I'm talking about? COMMISSIONER BRUNWASSER: 761 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET Councilman, I am not. I'm not sure that it really is --
It does involve the Water Department, I understand. COMMISSIONER BRUNWASSER: It does?
It's what I understand. There's storm sewers and things like that required there. I guess we'll have to ask the Streets Commissioner or Managing Director to talk a little bit about East Bells Mill and also an update on the impact again, the closure of the small bridge on Bells Mill that crosses Wissahickon Creek. COMMISSIONER BRUNWASSER: Councilman, for our part in the Water Department, we will research that and get back to you.
Thanks. Here comes the Streets Commissioner. Madam Chair, do I have another minute to do this?
762 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET Commissioner, identify yourself for the record before you make your remarks. Thank you. COMMISSIONER TOLSON: Good afternoon. Clarena Tolson from the Streets Department.
Commissioner, talk to me please about the project that is experiencing some community resistance, Bells Mill Road between Germantown and Stenton, that apparently there's some need to make improvements, which I agree, but to the extent of those improvements is what the neighbors are a bit concerned about. I'm sure you're aware of that. COMMISSIONER TOLSON: We have a project which allows for the reconstruction of East Bells Mill between Germantown and Stenton Avenue. It's presently in its design phase. The problem at that location is that there's a limited drainage or no drainage. The street's not in good condition. Then at times we have the creek running over the roadway. What we have planned for that location, it's presently a one-lane, one-way street and we plan for it 763 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET to stay that way but also complete reconstruction of the street and adding inlets to support the drainage problem.
What about, though, straightening out the roadway. You have people there that made investments of their homes, a country lane kind of an atmosphere where they're going to take part of their property, put sidewalks in. Is all that necessary to complete your goal? COMMISSIONER TOLSON: We can continue to have community meetings, I believe, to talk with the neighbors about the design and some of their concerns. I think to the extent that we can keep the roadway safe and make sure that it has its proper drainage and that turns in a way that's appropriate to make it safe, we're willing to do that. I don't think that we would be willing to make it overly curvy because that makes it unsafe. So to the extent that we can discuss and talk about the concerns further, we would do that.
Well, they claim that they've been trying to do that but it 764 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET doesn't appear there's any room to negotiate. The neighbors there have come to me to express the fact that we have issues with -- and you know they in many cases don't understand the process. We've had the roadway on Cresheim Drive closed a long time and they wanted you to spend the money that you were planning to spend there to make these improvements on opening Cresheim Valley. And I understand we're close to having that done. But the issue is, they're all for making the roadway a better roadway that drains better, but I understand some of it is taking property, et cetera, that's what the concern is. If you're willing to talk to them, I'm willing to facilitate that conversation. I'm going to come back at you, unfortunately. I want to give my colleagues all an opportunity. I'm going to come back at you to talk about the project on the Bells Mill Bridge crossing Wissahickon Creek. Thank you, Madam Chair.
You're welcome, Councilman. 765 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET Councilman Clarke.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Ms. Tolson, I really want you to stay here so I talk to you about the elimination of my trash day in a substantial part of my district, but I'm going to wait until you come up next week. COMMISSIONER TOLSON: I'll say it's tomorrow. No, it is next week. I'm teasing.
I'll wait. There was a question about a program -- I know that the City of Philadelphia used to contract with organizations for violence prevention, intervention, and it was a group that I know we contracted with called PAN. And I understand we know longer have that contract. What entity in government or what entity outside of government is taking the responsibility of that violence prevention and intervention programs? Is it the Managing Director Office?
Yes, it's Managing Director's Office. I'd like Anthony Murphy to 766 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET answer that question, if you don't mind.
Good afternoon. Anthony Murphy from Town Watch Integrated Services. Town Watch Integrated services replaced the PAN organization last year to address intervention in the City of Philadelphia. Through the Managing Director's Office, we have been able to hire additional staff members, approximately six members, to begin to address neighborhood and youth violence and try to develop coalitions with adults throughout the City of Philadelphia in order to bring adults participation in addressing the level of violence in our City.
What was PAN's budget versus the cost associated with the additional hires in the Managing Director's Office, do you know
I don't know PAN's budget. That would either be the Managing Director or Deputy Managing Director Frankie Hughes that could answer that.
Tony, do you know 767 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET the answer?
We have eliminated part of that cost. Part of that money went to Anthony's program to fund the additional people he brought on, and the remainder of that money was savings.
No additional cost. We actually saved a couple thousand dollars.
The individuals that are picked up through Town Watch, are they City employees or are they --
They were former members of the PAN staff that we were able to bring on board and begin to develop Town Watch Integrated Services. It's integrated services because it allows us to work full circle in addressing neighborhood situations, not just going to gain information because the police 768 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET are first responders so they would generally gain the type of information that they need. But what we need to do is begin to work with responsible adults to begin to address neighborhood issues that are their issue. So it becomes a basis of developing that neighborhood agenda, developing coalitions in neighborhoods where there are coalitions and strong leadership to try to impact on that leadership and get them more involved and spread the impact of our activity or broaden it. What we're doing at Integrated Services is to take all the staff members, those who were formerly Town Watch trainers and recruiters with those who are now intervention and develop a common job to where they all can begin to interface with each other and, therefore, give us a stronger impact on the neighborhood.
What relationship do you have with the police? Do they have some interaction with your agency on an ongoing basis?
Yes. We enact with the 769 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET police, one, through ever Thursday meetings that we attend. I interact with the Police Commissioner and many of the inspectors and the deputy commissioners on a regular basis. For example, they will establish a priority corner in the City. And one of the things that they request from Town Watch Integrated Services is that we begin to work in that neighborhood. So we take it and call it a priority neighborhood to develop community involvement and thereby assisting removing the priority corner by having adults willing to take on that corner responsibility; and, therefore, frees up officers from being there permanently on a 24-hour, 7-day-a-week basis. So our relationship is very good there.
Is the traditional Town Watch activity still take place, you know the folks out there with the walkie-talkies?
I know it's little dicy now in terms of being out there as visible. 770 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET
That type of activity continues to take place. We are continuously training people not just for that type of Town Watch activity, but also for safe corridor activities. We realize that violence in our City is not necessarily a phenomenon. There are times when things are outbreaks. That Faheem's case was an outbreak, not the norm. The situation at Strawberry Mansion was an outbreak, but not the norm. So what we want to do is begin to impact on our community to get them more involved. So yes, traditional Town Watch activity goes on, that type of training for safe corridors goes on, and then we have involvement in the School District so that we can begin to interface and learn more about what's going on in the neighborhoods through things that takes place inside the schools.
Normally, at the least traditional process was that you actually have walkie-talkies. Do you still do that?
We still do. We now 771 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET have repeaters throughout most of Philadelphia for our walkie-talkies for the groups that are patrolling Town Watch groups. We have over 710 trained and certified Town Watch groups in the City of Philadelphia and 57 trained and certified safe corridor groups in the City of Philadelphia mall of which that are patrolling use walkie-talkies. So in order to address that need, in West Philadelphia we have a 500 megahertz repeater system so that the groups can communicate with each other and communicate over larger distances. We did the same thing in South Philadelphia, the same thing in North Philadelphia at the hospital. I think it's at 17th at Girard. They allowed us to put a repeater there for groups in North Philadelphia. So we're beginning to create the type of communication system so that we'll also be backup system for communications in the City just for the City residents. We have repeaters in the Northeast as well. So, yes, we still do that.
Okay. Thank you. 772 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET Thank you, Madam Chair.
You're welcome. The Chair recognizes Councilman Nutter.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I'll be very brief. I want to try to make sure that there's some clarity on the record about these different projects. Is the Water Commissioner still here? I want to make sure that there's some clarity about the different projects. Commissioner, the project that you responded to Councilman Rizzo just a little while ago, I believe we have had some discussion about 32nd and Allegheny. I didn't recognize that project as it was possibly being described earlier as a Kelly Drive project. Can you give us a sense of when you go 32nd to Allegheny this 4,000 run, where does it take you to? COMMISSIONER BRUNWASSER: This run will actually go under a grave yard, I understand, and in a tunnel under Ridge 773 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET Avenue, I believe, and then eventually to East River Drive and to our outfall which is on the Schuylkill. Unfortunately, because of the depth, it would have to effect Kelly Drive, but in other parts there shouldn't be a surface problem.
And for these different projects, you'll give us the timelines as well as the disruption points and how long you think these different roadways might be disrupted? COMMISSIONER BRUNWASSER: Correct. I did mention to Councilman Rizzo that we would be putting a fact sheet together for City Council. Now the question mark in all of this is, we plan to advertise this job very shortly, and I think we have to work with the winning contractor or contractors to determine better how they want to approach the job and if it's compatible with what we want.
Okay. Well, to the extent that it doesn't interfere in the process for any of these projects that are in the area that I cover, I'd be glad to 774 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET participate in those discussions, make sure we get maximum information out to the public, alternate routes and that kind of information.
I would ask -- because I think you have your testimony coming up, the streets Commissioner, when they do appear that they come with a list with all their significant projects so you know what's on the drawing boards.
That will be great. And I'll ask you about another project later. Thanks. Thanks Madam Chair.
You're welcome. Are there any questions by my colleagues, other Members of Council? Any questions? (No response.)
Seeing none, we will recess for one hour. So at 2:30 we will come back to hear testimony from the Police Department. Thank you very much. 775 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET Thank you, Managing Director. Thank you, everyone. We'll see you in an hour. (Recess taken.)
This is the continued public hearing of the Committee of the Whole. I would ask the Managing Director to please take the witness table. Councilman Rizzo, it is my understanding that you have a line of questioning.
Mr. Managing Director, you were, I think, also interested in an issue that I have an interest in. It has to do with DROP. And it has to do with people that were laid off that were in the DROP. You told me you were going to look at that, and you told me you did. Could you give me a feel. Because there are some people out there that when they entered the DROP felt as though they were going to serve their time and leave the City employment. How many people 776 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET are affected by that?
Seven people. We sent our answers over to the President of City Council. The number is seven.
Could you explain for the record the process? Even though they don't finish up their time, they still get what?
They would get what they would be entitled to at that given point in time.
So seven people out of the total layoff, which was how many people?
Initially, I there were think 200 on list. I think we whittled that down to about a hundred. So approximately a hundred, give or take a few.
And of the hundred, seven of those folks were in the DROP for some period of time or another that were laid off?
I would say certainly of the 200, 7 were once that list 777 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET got whittled down to one a hundred. But I think the answer we said was seven, yes.
Well, we'll eventually catch up to those. The other issue is, as you may have read this week in the newspaper that during the budget hearings in Harrisburg, the State Police Commissioner was asked about the reimbursement or and the State Police patrolling the City roadway. And again, the State Police Commissioner said he had no 17 knowledge of that. And as you know, we were told that in the near future, which I'm honestly not in favor of, of the State Police patrolling. I would rather get the 6 million a year or close to it and have our people continue to do it because they do it well. But what do you believe as the Managing Director -- and if you want to suggest that I ask that question of someone else, I will. 778 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET But with all this bad information, our Budget Director says one thing, the Administration says one thing, the State says another. There's a lot of confusion. What do you know about this?
I do agree with you on one thing, I'd rather have the money because I think to have the State Police come in and do it is just going through transition and so forth I think our men and women are quite capable of doing it and they have been doing it. I'm not sure. It's always hard to tell when budget discussions are going on what really is being said and so forth. And I think it's sometimes like making a hot cup of tea. You've got to let it brew a little bit and I think it's probably still brewing.
The problem is that we're going to be short close to $6 million in the budget is a concern, I'm sure.
Yes. I can't imagine that at some point we won't get that 779 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET money. I know the Governor when he was Mayor advocated in every budget and he certainly understands the issues. I realize that they have their own budget issues in Harrisburg, but for us to be the lone jurisdiction to be doing what we're doing doesn't seem to me to be particularly appropriate. So I think in the end this will work out.
I don't know if the Streets Department is coming back. I'll get them, but I just wanted to ask one last question, take advantage of you being here. You know that the red light cameras have captured almost 2500 violators at the intersection of Grant and the Boulevard. And you're also aware that there is 120-day period where those violators will not get a fine, they will strictly get a warning. Since the Insurance Institute has pointed out that that is one of the most dangerous intersections in the United States, I understand that the Police Department has taken a proactive approach at that intersection and has some selective enforcement in process there. Could 780 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET you report on that?
Yes. We have assigned police at that intersection. I think from February 28th to March 13th there were about 260 tickets written. I think 190 of those were for running the red light. I forget what they're called, hazardous tickets or something like that. And the other 90, I think, were tickets for people who didn't have registration or things like that. So there is a presence out there. I think clearly what that indicates, as I said in my testimony, is that we have a culture in this City where people simply do what they want to do. And people are going to end up getting killed; they already have. I hope that we will be able to step up enforcement. As soon as that law really takes effect and we can really do the full impact, I think we'll be better off and hopefully we'll get people's attention.
I know that you'll be leaving during this period of when the 120 days starts to wind down. Has the Police Department given you a commitment that 781 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET they'll continue until the actual process begins?
I'm sure they will continue. This isn't simply my request. I think they're very much aware that there's an issue there, as elsewhere, both on the Boulevard and other areas of the City s. As I said, we're somewhat strained for manpower, but when you see those statistics, they're alarming. It's just amazing.
I think the last numbers I have now is now like 2900 violators, and that technology believe me is as foolproof as you want to be. And 2900 people have run red lights both north and south on the boulevard, east and west on Grant, and some people observing the intersection tell me at very high rates of speed. As you know, the worst intersection accident there is is getting broadsided. If you're not killed, you're paralyzed for the rest of your life. So I want to thank the Police Department for that, and the folks in the community appreciate it because they didn't realize how 782 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET bad it was until we started to activate the cameras. Thank you. Madam President, I'll wait for my next go-around for the Streets Department to talk some more about some issues in the Northwest.
Well, if the Streets Department is here, perhaps we can address it now, because I only have one question I want to ask the Director. Do we have someone from the Streets Department? Councilman Rizzo, we have people here from the Streets Department.
Good afternoon. My name is John Lutz. I'm the chief bridge engineer.
Good afternoon. I'm Bob Wright, transportation engineer manager.
Thank you. There's an issue that I'd appreciate 783 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET you just responding to, Mr. Lutz. And by the way, what a great job the Bridge Division did on the Germantown Avenue Bridge, the bridge that was out for so many years. Every time I travel over it, I realize how beautiful it is. I'm so happy we made it through the winter without any significant dings in it. It's a beautiful piece of work. But we recently had a failure of a small bridge that crosses over the Wissahickon. And I know that you've done some temporary repairs. As you know and we all know, that's a major roadway for people to come from the suburban community and also that live in the Northwest section and I know that we'll be addressing the Cresheim Valley Drive so I don't want to do that here. But could you tell us about your plan? Will the road have to be totally shut down? Will you make an effort to keep it one way? What exactly are you going to do? And is that project absolutely going to happen or is this just bad information? What exactly is the situation with that bridge on Bells Mill. 784 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET
I can't hear you on that microphone. Could somebody tune that up a little?
On Bells Mill Road Bridge, we have effected immediate emergency repairs about December or January 2004. And that restored automobile traffic to the Bells Mill. That will stay in effect until we're able to go with an arch strengthening process that we envision happening in a year or two.
That reminds me, and I'll take advantage of the Water Commissioner and also the Streets Commissioner. I believe there's a three-ton load limit on that bridge. That's what the signage says.
But also there's still tonage signs there. And I know that there was an exception, which the hospital appreciates, for the emergency medic units. I 785 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET believe they've been allowed to traverse that bridge.
But I've noticed that the sanitation vehicles that are coming from Domino that collect in the Chestnut Hill area are using Bells Mill Bridge. Also, I saw -- it looked like a big vacuum truck just the other morning crossing that bridge. So I hope we could put the word out to City vehicles that that means them. Would you agree that a loaded sanitation vehicle certainly is not a desirable vehicle for traveling over that troubled bridge? COMMISSIONER TOLSON: Those occasional City vehicles are being allowed through.
Commissioner, please identify yourself. COMMISSIONER TOLSON: Clarena Tolson from the Streets Department. The occasional City vehicles are being allowed through.
Well, I've talked 786 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET to some people that live there. They say that they're more than occasional and they just can't understand how a fully loaded compactor could be allowed when other trucks are receiving tickets. I don't know if that's appropriate, Commissioner. COMMISSIONER TOLSON: We have some control of the City equipment and we know the frequency of when they're going to go through. And if we have a problem with them, we'll stop them.
It's your bridge, but it's not a very good public relations effort to say that City vehicles can go but other vehicles can't. So you're going to have to help me maybe talk to some of these people that are complaining about that. And I guess that is it. So there's no trucks allowed, but the load limit signs that say three ton are not relevant?
A stone masonry bridge isn't an exact science. What we try to do is lengthen the life of the bridge by limiting the amount of frequent truck traffic going 787 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET across that particular stone arch bridge.
You through that frequent in there, okay. Thank you. That's it for me.
Thank you, Councilman. Mr. Director, I just have one question. On of your testimony, you mention Recreation right-sizing and that you have had biweekly working groups to find ways to meet budget targets while avoiding the closure of facilities. Who was or who is on that working group?
The Recreation Commissioner, a couple of his deputies, we have someone from Budget, someone from Capital Projects, several people from the Managing Director's Office on that Committee.
Can you tell us what the target budget of the Recreation Department is and how it was arrived?
It's whatever was 788 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET passed last year from City Council. I think while we went in a $4 million reduction, I think we came out with a $1 million reduction. So it's meeting that and also preparing for what we have to do in '06.
What is the current ratio of program staff to program participants and how does that compare to national standards?
Thank you. Are there any other questions from Members of the Committee? (No response.)
Seeing none, I thank you. Thank you very much for your patience. Is the Police Commissioner here? Good afternoon and welcome. COMMISSIONER JOHNSON: Good afternoon, Council President.
Commissioner, we do have copies of your 789 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET testimony, so if you would like to summarize, we will give a copy of your testimony to the stenographer and it will be transcribed in full, whichever you prefer doing. COMMISSIONER JOHNSON: I think I'd better read it. It's not that long. I can basically summarize if everybody has a copy of it.
Yes, we all have a copy. COMMISSIONER JOHNSON: You can see in the summary, the first thing, Commissioner Sylvester Johnson, Philadelphia Police Department. And I'm up here with Giorgio-Fox who is our First Deputy Commissioner and Commissioner Gaittens who is on my right. I'm also here with Commissioner Charles Brennan and Deputy Commissioner Charlotte Council. I think basically what our testimony is going to share is that there are new initiatives that we've done. And I'm just going to read the budget and strength allotment basically. For the Fiscal Year General Fund 790 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET request will provide for 6,424 sworn personnel, including 371 recruits, 860 civilians, 1,037 school crossing guards. With this addition of 150 sworn officers funded through the Aviation budget, the total sworn strength of the Police Department in Fiscal Year '06 will be 6,575. The decrease in personnel was necessitated by the City's stringent economic constraints, 35 civilians were laid off earlier this year, and all police recruit classes were cancelled. However, the Police Department has worked hard to ensure the reduction in personnel with no 15 inference with our ability to meet our mission. Since Fiscal Year 2003, redeployment strategies have enabled the department to reduce senior command positions, the number of personnel and off-street assignments. These actions result in a new organizational structure which can operate effectively while meeting budgeted and personnel level. The new structure will not severely impact upon our street manpower level. The budget provides no 25 additional funds for equipment or supplies. 791 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET It remains constant or less than the budgeted amounts in Fiscal Year 2005. There's a number of initiatives that we've put in place. One of the questions was asked about Operation Safe Streets. Operation Safe Streets was an initiative we started in May 2002. And it was really to go after open-air drug corners. I think the fact that we've eliminated most of open-air drug corners in the last couple of years because as we've changed the drug dealers changed. But we come up with new initiatives. We now have what we call -- and Deputy Commissioner Fox put this in place -- priority corners. And they are corners where a person has been shot. There's a police officer put on a corner for anywhere from to hours. But in addition to that, 19 we contact the License and Inspection and 20 other people to go out there in the different 21 neighborhoods. We bring additional personnel 22 into the neighborhood. We try to do 23 everything, we send a message that we believe 24 in the good quality of life. You know, even with the Operation 792 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET Safe Schools, that was an initiative we put in place to make sure that we're being a lot more proactive. I know in the last week and a half we've had numerous amount of shootings here in the City of Philadelphia. As a matter of fact, in days we had 43 shootings and 8 homicides. I believe it might be 21 homicides 9 at this point. It is a concern of ours, a 10 real concern of ours. And we're doing 11 everything we can to change that. 12 One of the things, at least that we 13 believe in, I think Members of City Council 14 also agreed with us, is that we need some gun 15 legislation. The facts are that Philadelphia 16 has the most lenient gun laws in the entire 17 country. Compared to New York and New Jersey 18 where you just can't get a gun, in 19 Philadelphia, not only can you buy a gun, but unless you have a criminal record or a record of mental illness, you can not only get the gun but you can also carry that gun. Eighty percent of our homicides here in the City of Philadelphia is by handguns. I think we have to do that. I just used the example a little 793 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET while ago, of a person who buys a car.
If a person buys a car and has a car and that car is stolen, anything happens with that car and it's not reported stolen, then the owner is responsible for it. If the car is reported stolen to the police, the owner is not responsible for it. You can have a person here in the Philadelphia can buy guns and 10 those 10 guns can be used in 10 different incidents, and we've traced back to the person who bought that gun, and that person has absolutely no responsibility or accountability at all for that gun. I think we have to put some legislation to make sure that that law changes. There is a fear of incidents we really have to look into. I met with the Mayor earlier today, along with our command staff. And what we're basically going to do is come up with some new ideas and bring down to the Mayor on Monday and discuss these things. Right now, I think the Managing Director has already pointed out, the Police Department is at its lowest strength that 794 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET we've been in 40 years. We've done a lot of things and put a lot of things in place by reducing the command level so we can keep the same level of police officers on the street which are 911 responders. I think we will continue to do that. But at the time, we're concerned about what's happening in our streets. We're doing different things with the community to make sure that we do other things that are beneficial to the citizens of Philadelphia. I constantly say that law enforcement by itself will never be able to change the quality of life, that has to be a holistic type of approach that everyone has to get involved. And I say it today. I think the community, the business people, the politicians, the clergy, everyone has to get involved in this to make sure that we change here in the City of Philadelphia. As far as drugs is concerned, and drugs was one of our major issues in the last four or five years and we're doing everything we can to go after the drug problem that we 795 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET have here in the City of Philadelphia. But again, it's not statistics, it's about quality of life. And I say thanks to the hard work of the police officers we have on the street and going out there every day risking their lives that we in the law enforcement or we in the administrative staff is constantly day by day doing things that are totally different and totally in the areas that we make sure there's good quality of life. What I've basically done is just not talk about all our accomplishments. One of the things I heard mentioned earlier today was our overtime. 1 million in court overtime.
But isn't that for court-related overtime. COMMISSIONER JOHNSON: Yes, ma'am.
That's something we talked about for years COMMISSIONER JOHNSON: Overall overtime we're down $3,611,383, and that's just up to today's date. 796 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET
But isn't regular overtime increasing by percent for 4 uniformed personnel? That would come to 5 approximate $7,901,000. I believe that's on 6 Section 36 in the detail budget, and it's 9. 8 COMMISSIONER JOHNSON: I apologize. 9 I don't have a . 10
Perhaps a 11 member of your staff or somebody from Finance 12 has it, Section 36, . 13
Uniform 16 forces, General Fund. It's an increase, 17 Commissioner, of $7,901,000. 18
Well, that's what we're talking about, the budget. COMMISSIONER JOHNSON: I apologize for that. I think the reason that we're projecting that, and we're still trying to reduce it, it's just a projection. Our 797 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET manpower is down and our manpower is down approximate or 500 police officers than we 4 had this time last year. Right now, we're below and have reduced the overtime. We have every intention on doing in the next year. So we're going to do everything we can to make sure that the projections do not be a fact.
The projections of the staffing level will be another decrease of 120 uniform officers. And as our manpower level goes down, for certain details, the overtime will go up.
I'm sorry. I'm Deputy Commissioner Jack Gaittens, Administration and Training.
I don't want to dispute this, but you could pay 124 new officers, and it would not come to this figure.
That is correct. That's just a projection. What I can tell you, based on today's figures, as of today's 798 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET date for this fiscal year, our uniformed overtime is down $3.6 million. And we are doing everything we can to keep that number low.
That's total overtime for uniformed forces is 3.6 million. Court-related overtime for the first eight months is 2.999 million.
It was just being pointed out to me. This year you're spending $41,455,000 in overtime.
I'm being told by my fiscal officer here, Mr. Tom DeWaele, that is the actual overtime minus abatements. We get 799 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET certain amounts of overtime that we get refunded through the services hiring program. We also get some grants to do overtimes, different initiatives that we do where we get reimbursement for.
So then the overtime would be more than $41 million, is that what you're saying?
I don't quite understand. You keep saying $3 million. Where is the other $38 million being spent?
We have five more months to go in the year. I'm sorry, I don't understand the question.
And I don't understand what you're talking about because according to your schedule, not anybody else's, the overtime, the estimated obligation for regular overtime is $41,455,000.
Okay. 800 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET Let's go from there.
Maybe you can explain this a little mor clearly, please.
Our actual overtime, we're expecting to spend $54 million, less abatements and grants that we are getting from the state and federal government. It brings it down to $41 million.
Now, is there a breakdown between court-related and regular overtime?
Not in our budget, not 801 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET on , no. 3
Well, we projected the increase in '06, but it's possible that we could save money and not spend that amount. Plus, there's a 3 percent wage increase.
That's not the way they normally budget, but we'll take that as your answer. You don't normally budget like that. Commissioner, I didn't mean to interrupt you, but you got on the overtime and I interrupted you. If you want to proceed with your testimony. COMMISSIONER JOHNSON: I'm fine, Councilwoman. You have a copy of our testimony, then --
And it will be given to the stenographer so it will 802 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET be transcribed in full. Commissioner, you mention in your testimony that the Police Department laid off 35 civilians. COMMISSIONER JOHNSON: Yes, ma'am.
Can you give us a breakdown by the unit as to what the 35 positions were? COMMISSIONER JOHNSON: Yes.
The Chair recognizes Councilman Kenney for a point of information.
Thank you. I was have trouble following the questioning about the overtime. Maybe you can correct me if I'm wrong. It seems that after the end of the conversation, there's $16 million in budgeted overtime that we don't know if we're going to spend or not; is that fair?
It's a projection. COMMISSIONER JOHNSON: That's correct.
It seems like an 803 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET awful lot of money to have in abeyance just in case you need to spend it, especially if I look at what we're doing at the Fire Department. That's $16 million or a portion of it could perhaps restore some or all of those cuts. While I understand unanticipated need, it seems that $16 million maybe a bit much for an unanticipated need. Can you understand why -- and I'm not being critical of you. What I'm curious about is that we would budget $16 million additional and not have any plan how we're going to spend it when other departments we're cutting services and companies and other things. It just seems kind of strange. COMMISSIONER JOHNSON: I think one of the problems we have is we have to really plan for the unexpected. Just like what happened to us in the last week, week and a half. And also I believe that the fact we have no classes scheduled and the fact that we're going into summer programs. There's a lot of things that we have absolutely no 25 control of that we're going to have to deal 804 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET with.
I don't discount or say that that's not the case, but how did we arrive at a number 16? Have we ever kind of front-loaded the overtime in past budgets? Wouldn't we just go back and get a transfer ordinance somewhere if you ran out of money? COMMISSIONER JOHNSON: I'm not really sure.
Maybe some from -- I don't know where you guys can answer that question. Perhaps the Budget Office or Finance. Can we have someone from Budget or Finance? These people are law enforcement people for the most part. I guess the question is have we ever done this before? I don't remember ever seeing this done this way before, as Council President said.
I'm Diane Reed, Budget Director. I actually am too new to be able to tell you what happened in the past, so I will find that out for you and we can get back to you and Council President with that 805 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET information.
And perhaps maybe there's some way to utilize some of that money to do some things that we're eliminating, and if we have to go back to transfer money later on, we can always do a transfer ordinance process.
Well, it's worthy thing about, but we have taken approximately 324 positions out of the Police Department. We have a homicide wave right now. This is the beginning of the year. The summer is yet to come, and we really rather be safe than sorry in terms of a funding base for police.
I guess if I was a firefighter, I'd like to say the same thing that I'd like to have a couple extra companies coming into a burning dwelling while I'm there alone. And I'm not saying that one is more important than the other, but it just seems that -- is there a formula? How did we come to the place of $16 million extra or unanticipated? Was there a formula that we followed to come up with $16 million that we 806 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET think we might spend?
Well, we usually take an average for overtime per pay. Our average overtime this year has been the best ever. It's been going down and going down.
We're running out of money. That's a good reason for overtime to be down. We're running out of money in the government.
But it looks like right now we're probably going to have extra money for next year because we're controlling our overtime so well.
Is there a way we can utilize that money to do something with our Fire Department or Rec Department or whatever? It just seems that it would be a shame to have that sitting there and not utilized while other departments are suffering. If you need it, you need it. And if you spend it, you spend it. We're not going to argue with your decisions on deployment, spending in overtime. But if you 807 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET think we're not going to use it, it certainly would be nice to have it back for another department. COMMISSIONER JOHNSON: Well, I think, Councilman, we can look into that and we're amenable to doing things that's best for the City, not just for the Police Department.
I know you do. I have no complaints with you because I know this a process that is involved with Budget and Finance and it's not just the Police Department making decisions. So I appreciate your cooperation and the effort. Thank you.
Thank you. The chair recognizes Councilman Rizzo for a point of information.
Thank you, Madam President. I just want to make sure that I heard this correctly. I'm asking this question of the Budget Director. You've budgeted money in the Police Department for 808 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET contingencies, and we're laying people off?
The amount budgeted for overtime is a request from the Police Department, which the Budget Office agreed to based on the arguments that were made to us.
I'm sorry. I don't know if the Councilman could hear you. I doubt that the stenographer could hear you. I know I couldn't hear you at all. Would you mind -- is that my microphone on? Can you speak into the microphone, please.
What I said was that the amount for overtime in the Police Department was request from the department which the Budget Office agreed to based on the arguments that were made to us.
So the answer to the question is you budgeted 16 million?
And we're laying 809 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET people off, right?
We aren't laying any police officers off. We did not go forward with any new recruiting classes in '05.
But we've laid civilians off. COMMISSIONER JOHNSON: Well, I think one of the problems -- maybe I can clear this up, as best I can, Councilman. Our overtime just didn't go down just to be going down. Our overtime came down because a lot of initiatives that we had put in place. We didn't know whether these initiatives were going to work or not work. We set up basically a task force with the District Attorney's Office, with other people, with the court overtime. The Deputy Commissioners can only call their command staff on a continued basis that are COMSTAT talk about overtime. Sp we're reducing overtime because of the initiatives that we put in place to make sure overtime is being reduced. Now, those things can possibly change. If we go by past years, they didn't change. We went after overtime 810 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET for a long period of time and there was no 3 change. But I think the fact that the new initiatives that we have in place, the new things that we were doing, the things that we are doing in conjunction with other people, knowing that there's a fiscal responsibility that we have, and I think this was probably established based on what our four or five years were. So, again, as arrests go up and other things go up, then our overtime is basically going to go up. But we will keep those initiatives in place. This was just a projection. And we went to the Budget people with the idea based on our past what we felt as though would be the amount of overtime that we would need based on our past, not knowing whether these initiatives would work or not work.
But you can understand the situation we're in, Commissioner. And no disrespect to you're planning ahead, thinking maybe the worst scenario possible on what it would cost you. But here we are, like Councilman Kenney said, 811 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET we're talking about closing firehouses, doing all these things, and then we hear we've got money put aside that most managers -- and I hate to say this. You'll figure a way how to spend that, whether you need it or not, in my opinion. And I don't mean you, I mean the Police Department. I don't think that we're going to hear anybody returning anything that they don't spend. I would kind of bet that. But again, it seems like a stretch for us to sit here and hear about contingencies when you just said something troubles me, that we're going to be at the lowest -- and I want to ask the Deputy Commissioner that runs the radio room to talk a little bit about response times because of some of the things I'm hearing.
Councilman, when it's your turn, we'll be happy to.
I'm sorry. I forgot it was a point of information. But I just wanted to understand, and you answered the question. 812 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET COMMISSIONER JOHNSON: Let me ask the Council President's question earlier about who we laid off. Actually, we laid off 5 people. 6
I thought 7 it was 35 civilians. 8 COMMISSIONER JOHNSON: These are 9 civilians. 10
You said 11 there were 21 civilians. I thought your 12 testimony indicated 35 civilians. 13 COMMISSIONER JOHNSON: We actually 14 laid off 21. We laid off one store worker, 15 one automobile driver, one administrative 16 support specialist, eight police communication 17 dispatcher trainees and 10 clerk typist 1's. 18
So I 19 assume now that the police officer has to do 20 the work of the clerk typist? 21 COMMISSIONER JOHNSON: No, ma'am.
We have enough clerk typists that -- COMMISSIONER JOHNSON: I think what we basically did is looked around and found 813 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET out -- we didn't want to replace police officers with civilians. These are the positions that we felt as though, based on our budget restraints, that we can eliminate without replacing them with anyone else, and that's what we did. All these positions that were eliminated were not replaced by uniform police officers.
Commissioner, what has the impact on the 911 dispatch system as a result of the reductions been? COMMISSIONER JOHNSON: I'll let Deputy Commissioner Brennan answer that.
And how many dispatch officers were -- we talk about the civilians that were laid off. How many of them were in the dispatch room?
My name is Charles Brennan, I'm a Deputy Commissioner. The radio room comes under me. Presently we have 259 dispatchers as of today. Between what was laid and our attrition rate -- our attrition rate is about 814 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET three a month. Our top number used to be 277, and we are now 259. I believe that we laid off -- I think the Commissioner said eight.
So before the end of the year, how many dispatch officers do you think we'll have?
What we'll do, Councilwoman, as we get low, we put classes in. So depending on what I'm permitted to hire, we'll drop down so many -- we usually 10 or and then we'll put a class of 15 in. It 13 takes us eight weeks to get a class through. 14
So when 15 did you anticipate putting in another class?
As soon as I can find out from Commissioner Gaittens when I can hire. It depends upon -- we have a staffing level of civilians, and I believe it's 860. And those numbers are juggled. So, for example, we might lose some maintenance people, we might lose some programers, we might lose some dispatchers. When I get to a certain level, what I would like to do is put the classes in when we are 10 below our number 815 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET so I can -- I'll put the classes in more frequently.
You know, this is such a safety issue. How many 911 dispatchers do we need to truly assure that the calls will be handled in a very expeditious manner? What is the minimum that you think would really be safe? COMMISSIONER JOHNSON: In my opinion, talking to the Deputy Commissioner, talking to other people, I think the numbers we have. Before we did these numbers, we sat down and went over every single thing. The numbers that were given to me are the numbers we feel as though are safe. One of the things we have to put in place right now is -- dispatchers, at least in my opinion from what was told to me, probably take sick time than other any place in the entire Police Department. I think the numbers that we have right now are the numbers that would give us at a safe level. We have put something in place to try to control the sick time, to try to control the people taking off. 816 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET And I think, and Deputy Commissioner Brennan can verify this, is that the dispatchers use more sick time take off more than any unit in the entire Police Department. Is that correct.
For the most part, how many years of service have they had.
It ranges really conservatively. We've had people in the room 18 over 20 years. And then we have, of course, we hire a lot of new ones. The problem is, as the Commissioner alluded to, is the sick abuse sort of coupled with a high attrition rate, which is three per month. So even when we put a class in, while the class is being trained, we'll lose six people. And that has been pretty constant, that three per month has been 817 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET pretty constant.
I'm sorry, did you indicate how many are in a class?
We try to hire about 15. Maybe out of 15, we might graduate 12. And then in the first couple months, we'll get rid of another two or three. So out of a class of 15, we might end up with 9 or 10. And, of course, two months later, six are gone.
Yes, I heard what you said and you're right, we're back to where we were. That's correct.
Commissioner, are you aware that there's somewhere in the contract a provision that could really affect your staffing? I believe that somewhere in the last contract there was a provision that 818 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET would allow employees that work in the radio room to go off sick and collect a percentage of their pay. Have you heard or are you aware of this at all?
Councilman, I read that provision in the new DC 33 contract. As a matter of fact, I read it three times.
Could you explain to the body what I'm talking about here?
Well, first I have to tell you that I think I must be reading it wrong, because I don't believe -- there must be something that I'm misunderstanding about what it says. From my understanding, it indicates that a civilian DC 33 worker can somehow transition to a program where they can be off, I believe, up six months a year and get 65 percent of their pay, I believe.
There's something in there that I'm missing. I don't believe that that to be as it is. 819 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET
I'm sorry. Is that long-term disability? What is that? This is the first I'm hearing it.
Well, one of the problems, Councilwoman, is when someone was a sick abuser, pretty much when they ran out of sick time, we could get rid of them. When FMLA kicked in, that really killed us. It allows someone to take an extra 12 weeks a year off over and above the 20-some sick days that they get a year. That is killing us now. So the DC 33 contract, it appears that people can transition to six months a year off at 60-some percent of their pay if they run out of sick time. And I told the Councilman, I think I'm reading it wrong, but I don't know.
I'm pleased that you know about this, because it was brought to 820 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET me by a person that works there that indicated to me that they plan to take advantage of this provision that's in the contract because they're not feeling well and they're going to go to 65 percent of their salary for -- is it six or eight months?
Well, we should really get an interpretation so you know what you could potentially face with that provision of a contract.
I'm told that Mr. Grab is in the audience. Perhaps he could shed some light on this issue. This is the first I'm hearing it. Good afternoon. Please identify yourself for the record.
Good afternoon. My name is Bill Grab, that's G-R-A-B. I'm the Director of Labor Relations. The new contract with civilian employees has a new clause on sick leave. 821 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET Currently, employees hired before 1992 earn days a year of sick leave. They can accumulate up to 200 days of sick leave, and that's at full pay. Employees hired after 1992 earn days of sick leave a year and can 7 accumulate up to the 200 days a year. 8 The new contract provides that the 9 City will go out and purchase what's called 10 short-term disability insurance for employees. 11 Initially, employees will earn 12 days a year 12 instead of 20 days or the 15 days, so there's 13 a reduction there. Employees will only be 14 able to accumulate up to 90 days, so there's a 15 reduction there. And employees will have to be qualified to get short-term disability pay after a 30-day window in the beginning.
Family medical will always be there, yes. Family medical leave can always be paid or unpaid leave.
Isn't it 822 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET normally unpaid?
In the City, if I get sick today and be out for three months and be on paid status because I have the accumulated sick leave, mine would be in pay status. If I did not have accumulated sick leave, it would be in unpaid status.
I'm not sure that you -- you probably answered the question and it went right over my head here. You heard the question I asked of Deputy Commissioner Brennan. Could you just restate the change in the contract which allows someone to take off for six months? Let's just talk about police radio room right now. The employees that work there could do what for how long?
An employee who has a short-term disability, if approved, if that disability is a covered disability, will be able to have up to six months to recuperate, yes.
At two-thirds salary. 823 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET This is a typical program that you would find in private industry. This is a private industry program.
I know. Now, you can get up to get up to 200 days at full pay on your sick leave.
No, this is not AFLAC. We are putting together the RFP. Right now we have not contracted with anybody. AFLAC, I know, is a company that sells it. We have not contracted with anybody yet.
Does the 824 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET employee pay for this extra disability, or is it part of the contract
Does anyone else have any questions on this very issue? If not, I thank you. I think we'll go on to something else. Commissioner, you state in your testimony that all police recruit classes were canceled. Yet on your performance measure impact statement you are showing 301 new recruits in FY '05. Can you please explain? COMMISSIONER JOHNSON: FY '06.
This is Deputy Commissioner Jack Gaittens. I was just informed some of them were holdovers from FY '04 who graduated in FY '05.
This says new recruits, not current. It's the last of your testimony. It's the last page of the Commissioner's testimony. 825 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET
Yes, ma'am. They graduated in FY '05, but they came in FY '04, they were hired. As far as the current classes go, we have canceled three classes so far, June 28th of '04, October 11th of '04, January 3rd of '05. We also intend to cancel the class which we're supposed to start June 6th of '05. At this point in time, we are hoping if the budget goes right and the attrition rate is as we project, we would like to start a class October 10th of this year.
Are you looking at the performance measure impact statement? It's the last page.
Can we go to '03. We had 557 new recruits. In '04, you take it from there.
Good afternoon. My name is Jill Milicia, I'm the Executive Assistant for the Police Department. 826 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET
Thank you. Basically, I believe that the FY '04 classes graduated in FY '05. And the classes that were scheduled for '05 were canceled. What I'd like to do is get back to Council and verify this and I can tell you at a future date.
Commissioner, you state in your testimony that the FY '06 General Fund request will provide for 6,424 sworn personnel. While the budget detail, -9, shows a position level of 6,355. Can you please explain what is the right number? COMMISSIONER JOHNSON: The right number is 6,424. And I think prior to that, they were anticipating that the State Police would be taking over 76 and 95. I was in constant communications with the Police Commissioner of the Pennsylvania State Police. 827 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET And this came a little bit above us. Talking to him, he said he could not possibly take over the expressway. But I think there was communication between other members of City government above us that said they were going to try to talk to the Governor about get it paid. So the number that we agreed with was 6,424. Now, if the State Police took over the expressway, it would be 50 police officers short, but at this point the State Police has not taken over the expressway.
Section 36 , Commissioner, that shows 6,356. COMMISSIONER JOHNSON: I understand that. And what I'm saying is that that was the idea that if the State Police took over the expressway, they were going to reduce our department by 50 police officers. We would have to lay them off. This is based on the fact that they had some communication with the Governor. But that is not the case; the State Police has not taken over the expressway nor are we getting paid the money at this point. So the numbers that we have is 6,424 sworn 828 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET police personnel.
Commissioner, I don't think we're understanding each other. According to 9, you're only budgeted to 6,355. COMMISSIONER JOHNSON: And I apologize, but that's what the budget people prepared this for. They prepared this with the idea that we were going to be budgeted for 6,300-something with the idea that we were going to lose 50 police officers because they were in communication --
But you're not going to be losing the 50 now; is that correct? So you should be budgeting then for 50 more police officers. COMMISSIONER JOHNSON: I understand what you're saying. Maybe I'm confusing you. I don't know what communications that the City government had with the State at all. I got a memorandum yesterday from the City staff indicating that the State Police were not taking over the expressway. The budget people prepared their budget. I didn't agree with 829 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET that then.
Hoping that they would take it over and you would loss 50 police officers. COMMISSIONER JOHNSON: Yes, ma'am.
However, as I understand you, they are not going to be taking over. Consequently, you're going to have to add to your budget 50 more police officers. COMMISSIONER JOHNSON: That's correct.
That's what I'm trying to say. But you're still less than what you should be. This has to be adjusted. This definitely has to be adjusted. COMMISSIONER JOHNSON: Yes, ma'am.
Madam President, I think Budget Director is trying to get your attention.
Diane Reed, Budget Director. This issue, what's going to happen with the highway patrol going back and forth, the exact wording of the information that I recently got this week is that we will find out what the State is going to do when the State has finished its budget cycle. So that what we agreed to do was for the Police Department to hold to its bottom line on its total expenditures, and if they can make adjustments in their total budget, they can have the higher number of positions.
I'm not even going to go there. I think this is going to have to be adjusted. We'll deal with that another day. Commissioner, can you tell me, please, how many bicycles your department has? COMMISSIONER JOHNSON: 299 total bikes and 222 riders.
With that being said, Commissioner, what type of repairs 831 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET do they require for $85,293 that is reflected on -31 of the detail, if we have 222 bikes? COMMISSIONER JOHNSON: We have 299 bikes but 222 riders.
I know, but I have 222 riders. So I assume that the 222 bicycles are being used. What kind of repairs would cost $85,293?
Deputy Commissioner Jack Gaittens. For the bikes out there, everything from including tires, tubes, rims, spokes, brake calibers, derailers, gearings, the regular maintenance. The bikes have to go in for tune-ups regularly.
But I would think it's almost cheaper to buy a new bike.
To buy a bike is 832 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET about $2500 a piece.
I'd love to see that breakdown. I can't imagine what a tire costs.
I don't want to take anymore time, but I have two more questions I'd like to ask. Commissioner, you talked about drugs being a main issue in some of your comments today. On -23 at Line No. 38 reflects that you're reducing the number of police officers within the Narcotics Bureau by 146 positions. Can you explain this reduction and the impact that it will have on the narcotics Bureau. COMMISSIONER JOHNSON: Let me look at the number.
That's , it's Line Item 38. COMMISSIONER JOHNSON: I don't think that's accurate. And I apologize again. I'm going to have to look into that. Because if 833 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET we lose 140 people in Narcotics, it would be a major impact.
I'm just going by what the budget that was submitted to us reflects. As I said, it's Line No. 38. COMMISSIONER JOHNSON: I'm going to have to get back, to you Council President.
Very well. One of my colleagues had asked me this question when we broke earlier. The individual is not here at the moment, but I am told that recently she received a call regarding the Police Department's policy for the return of recovered stolen vehicles. As she understands it, if a person has their car stolen and it is recovered by the police, the person has to pay a recovery fee, towing fee, and a storage fee. In fact, after a week, the storage fee increases. How is this policy fair to our constituents, especially our seniors, when they have just suffered from a crime and still feel invaded and violated? Is that true? COMMISSIONER JOHNSON: It is true. 834 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET
They have to pay for recovery fees, towing fees and storage fees. And after the first week, the storage fee increases they're the victims. COMMISSIONER JOHNSON: And you're correct.
Both ways around. COMMISSIONER JOHNSON: I'm in disagreement with the policy.
Who makes the policy? COMMISSIONER JOHNSON: The City made the policy.
Who in the City? Is i the Parking Authority? Is it the Administration? COMMISSIONER JOHNSON: Well, I think it was a combination of a lot of people. And I am totally in disagreement with that. I think if a person is victimized, has his car stolen, I think they shouldn't have to pay anything to get it back. As I said, we've been looking into this for the last three or 835 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET four months. The person you're talking to, I'm not sure, but I know I got a call from Councilwoman Krajewski one time about one of her constituents that had that problem. And it is a problem. It's my own personal feelings that I don't personally think that a person who has a car stolen should have to pay to get their car back, and we're going to try to change that.
How much revenue is realized as a result of this ridiculous policy? COMMISSIONER JOHNSON: No, I do not know.
Commissioner, I have an interest in the same issue. People that have insurance, I believe the insurance providers will cover that. But what the 836 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET President is addressing is the older people that might have a very old vehicle where they only have liability coverage where they wouldn't be covered. So I think you could develop a plan where insurance is involved, get a brand-new Mercedes stolen and recovered, it's an obvious that the people has all the overages that are required. But we're talking about the old retired senior that lives out in the neighborhood that '91 Buick got stolen, that's who, I think we're focussing on. I believe a policy that would address that issue would really be appreciated. COMMISSIONER JOHNSON: I agree with you, Councilman.
And how about the damage that's done to the car, between towing and storing and being stripped? The Chair recognizes Councilman Kenney.
Thank you, Madam President. 837 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET Hello. Commissioner, I know you've had a tough weekend. And I know it's particularly tough on you and your people because I know how committed you are to our public safety and you take all these killings personally because I can see it affects it. It drains the energy from you. I know you're doing everything you can to investigate and to stop it. Some of the concerns I have relative to our approach -- and I don't know all the elements of our approach -- is that of the legislative efforts in Harrisburg to try to get the gun laws changed state-wide or nationally. It's sad to say it's probably not going to happen in the State of Pennsylvania. And as probably as long as this person is President and the Republicans are in charge in Washington, it's probably not going to happen nationally either. Is there some way we can utilize their opposition to gun control in an effort to acquire some additional monies with some type of proactive plan or proposal to utilize 838 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET our department, the FBI, ATF, even military intelligence, if necessary, to really make Philadelphia a pilot program in the interdiction of illegal weapons and their sale? I know the end user of the illegal weapon is the poor kid who either shoots somebody or get shot themselves. But somewhere along that track has got to be people, unless you correct me, that buy in large bulk, that sell on the streets, that are the kind of kingpins similar to the drug trade where the large moneymakers need to be investigated, tracked down and prosecuted. And I would think that this federal government with our United States senators, for example, one running for election in a year or so, the federal administration that is not in favor the gun control but might want to do som kind of innovative project through the Justice Department, I would even argue that the NRA would be likely to put up money for a program of illegal gun interdiction and prosecution in a holistic approach, using all the 839 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET intelligence we can gather, all the personnel -- I mean, I look at our military and how they operate day. They're interdicting guns and trying to from terrorists in overseas. I mean, we have our own terrorists at home that are selling these guns to kids on the street and to drug dealers. Is there some way we can go after in a large chunk of a grant from the federal government or from other sources that could put together this large task force of intelligence and enforcement and prosecution to really send a message to these gun dealers that we're going after them? COMMISSIONER JOHNSON: I think there is. As a matter of fact, there's approximately six people over at the ATF just for straw purchases.
I don't argue that we're not doing it now. I'm talking really going down to Washington saying, "Look, whatever the budget is, whatever we need to put together and whatever resources we need outside the department, help us. If you don't 840 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET want to curtail the sale of guns nationally or state-wide, then help us get the bad guys who are selling the guns to kids." COMMISSIONER JOHNSON: I think that's good idea.
One of the things that we started to do with juveniles is it became apparent to us that last year 136 juveniles were arrested for nothing other than VUFA violations. They didn't shoot the gun, they just had the gun. And it would seem to me that in order to fire a weapon, you have to have one first. So this year we have gotten some money from the State, and part of our project with this money is to get those juveniles who were arrested with those guns and try to convince them to help us determine where the supplier came from. Whether it's an organized supplier or not, it's still a felony to supply that weapon. We'd like to do that type of program with adults. We have an adult Gun Court now, but the ability to get in there and leverage that defendant so as to find out where they got that gun, I do believe that the 841 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET DA's Office is interested in helping us prosecute the supplier. You're absolutely right. If we can't supply of them, then we have to find a way to stop those individuals that are --
Because I think that regardless of how hard you try -- and I know you try. I know you're committed to keeping people safe. And I know when they're not safe it drives you crazy and you need to try to fix it. But I think maybe the problem is hi bigger for us to handle just at the DA's Office and the Police Department alone. And you've done a great job along with Commissioner Timoney before you in kind of lacing together different levels of law enforcement from a federal level, state level, and local level. And I think you've created a great environment and reputation for our Department in dealing with other jurisdictions. I just think we're going to need a lot of money and a lot of high profile effort, because I think that people -- some the legal gun dealers who are selling illegal, 842 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET I think if they know we're looking and we're coming with a national force, with national intelligence, that they'll maybe curtail their own activities on their own, being afraid getting caught. Because I don't know if they're really afraid of being caught right now. Because I've got to believe that in addition to kids taking legal guns from their home to the school, which is one of the ways kids get their hands on guns because parents don't lock them up or deal with them properly, in addition to that method, I'm sure there are people selling out of the trunks of their cars that have acquired those guns from another source and a bigger source beyond that and perhaps even a bigger source beyond that. Maybe that kind of effort -- I would have Senator Santorum and Senator Specter on the phone. I'd have the NRA on the phone. If they're not going to do any good in helping us to curtail of them, maybe they can do some good in providing money to help us curtail the use of them and the illegal procession of them. So I just make that recommendation 843 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET COMMISSIONER JOHNSON: I think it's recommendation, Councilman
Thank you. By the way, just one other issue on the sick time issue in the radio room. I think we need to reach out, if we haven't already, maybe some of the larger companies in the City, Independence Blue Cross, for example, comes to mind. They really helped us out a lot in the radio room after the Eddie Pollack tragedy with training and training operations and that kind of thing. Perhaps there's a corporation that would be willing to deal with handling and management of our sick leave issues. Because I know companies, I'm sure, have these problem and probably have good ways of figuring out how to monitor the sick leave use and to really crack down on some of the abuse. I'm not speaking for IBC, but a company like that may have a good policy or training in place that we could take advantage of it try to get the sick leave down. Thank you.
Thank you. 844 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Miller.
Thank you, Madam President. Good afternoon, Commissioner. COMMISSIONER JOHNSON: Good afternoon, Councilwoman.
We've been getting calls and questions around the Safe Streets Program. In reading your testimony on under the Operation Safe Streets category, you said that the primary strategy has been modified in response to the changing characteristics of the drug trade in the City. Can you tell me what has changed? It sounds like you're going to do more of deployed officers for priority corners or by GRRIP rather than what we're used to seeing. COMMISSIONER JOHNSON: Again, Safe Streets was an idea that we identify 300 of the worst drug corners in the City of Philadelphia because of violence and because of open-air drug sales. By putting the officers out there, we most eliminate all the 845 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET open-air drug corners. As we eliminate the open-air drug corners, drugs start to go indoors more so. Have we eliminated all drugs? No, we haven't. But have we eliminated most of the open-air drug corners? I think that we have. Priority corners are the corners Deputy Commissioner Fox put in place. She can explain it, but the fact is that priority corners are corners where there's been violence, there's been a shooting. We investigate it. We determine who the cause of this particular homicide and we put a police officer there for to hours a day to make 16 sure that there's no retaliation. In addition 17 to that, we put extra manpower into those 18 communities. And at the same time we bring in 19 Licenses and Inspections and other city 20 government to make sure that the whole 21 neighborhood has changed. We try to make the 22 neighborhood as safe as we possibly can make 23 it. By making that safe and give them a safe 24 environment, we bring people in to try to inform the community to go out there and get 846 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET involved to keep the community safe. So Safe Streets is still in place. There's certain Safe Street corners, there are certain priority corners. It depends on what captain does. If we didn't eliminate the Safe Streets corners and we still needed 600 police officers out there today as we did before, then we would have been a total failure. Safe Streets was a success. Some people want Safe Streets corners, just the idea. I took numerous amount of phone calls, they don't see the police officers there. My question is, do you see the drug dealers out there? "Well, no 16 I don't, but I don't see the police either." We don't put police offices on the corner and we put in in the areas where the problems at. And what Safe Streets basically did was go out there where the corners were identified where there was violence and there was open-air drug sales.
I'm not advocating that you should have police on the corners. I just want to be very clear on what 847 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET it is actually happening. If, in fact, there is still people on a corner doing open-air drug sales, should we call the district captain or what should we do? COMMISSIONER JOHNSON: Well, you can call the district captain. Most of the times, the majority of Councilpeople normally call my office directly, and they still can. I don't have a problem with that.
We used to call the officer that was in charge of the narcotics. COMMISSIONER JOHNSON: Chief Inspector Sadler is th Chief Inspector there. They have Inspector Sullivan. But there is a number you call, 215-685-DRUGS. I believe that's one of the numbers. You can call my office. What we try to do, because we have narcotics strike force and narcotics seal units out there. I would rather for the Narcotics Bureau themselves to handle those type of tings. Now the open-air drug corners, sometimes the district has its own task force 848 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET or own narcotics enforcement team that handle these type of things. But quite naturally they're still corners out there. As long as you have a buyer, you're going to have a seller.
All right. Thank you. COMMISSIONER JOHNSON: Yes, ma'am.
Thank you. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Blackwell.
Thank you, Madam President. Certainly, we know the Commissioner's work with One Day At a Time or ODAAT and what he does with prison reform AND visiting the prisons. I simply would like to say if we have to live through a time where we have so much crime in our communities, we're glad that Commissioner Johnson is at the helm, and certainly we want to thank him and the Police Department for their service. COMMISSIONER JOHNSON: Thank you, Councilwoman. 849 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET
Thank you. I have two questions. One is -- and I appreciate, Commissioner, you and your commanders taking it real seriously the police reimbursable overtime program. As you know -- I don't want to beat it to death -- that program needed some help, and I believe you gave it some help. So could we get a brief report, whether it's from you or one of your subordinates to talk a little bit about where we are with that program and the controls and the Managing Director's Office involvement in it or not in it at this point? We learned today -- I wish we would have known about it -- that there's been some adjustments made. And it would be helpful for, at least this Councilmember to know because I constantly recommend to business people that police officers are available to work on their days off. But I understand there's been some adjustments in the rate and the policy. So I'd like to know a little bit 850 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET about of that and I'd like to know a little bit about that we've got it under control, that people that aren't paying are being cut off and we're going to do everything we can to collect the monies we're owed. COMMISSIONER JOHNSON: Yes, sir.
Tom DeWaele, Fiscal Officer. In the past year or so, the directive has been past, Directive 62, Police Directive 62. After three months, if the company does not pay, they are cut off and sent to legal. Basically, we've strengthened our controls on the reimbursable overtime program.
Tell me about the program. What's the difference? We paid X-number of dollars for an officer?
That was increased. The overhead rate was increased approximately 4 percent to 10 percent.
So what's an hour? What does it cost to get a police officer per hour? 851 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET
Costing a police officer now about 38, $39 an hour for overtime.
Okay. My next question is, Commissioner -- and I think maybe Deputy Brennan can help me with this if you agree. Every Commissioner, I think they really look at response time for crime in progress as one of their most important gauges of the services that they're providing. So what I'd like to know, with the decreased number of police officers -- and I did some arithmetic and you back out the cadets, 371 that are going graduate, we're looking at about 6,000, just a few more, 852 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET police officers on the street. Sometimes it's difficult to know how many radio patrol cars we have in any given district. But the officers that talked to tell me that the majority of their activity is riding from one end of the district to answer a radio call to the other. The days of the police car coming up the back alley flashing the light around is pretty much over because they just are constantly answering radio calls. Could I ask Commissioner Brennan the question to talk a little bit about response time. I understand we're abandoning a tremendous amount of jobs that never get dispatched. That concerns me that even significant calls seem to be delayed. I know one particular job that I'm very aware of where it was significant that the car had to come from one end of the district to the other. That car was the first one at the scene of this particular incident. So could we talk a little bit about response time? Do you keep statistics on how many call never get dispatched because of the priority system? 853 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET With things so violent out there, priority 1 calls, it's tough to get down to less significant calls. And I know there was a time where if a person called to report a disorderly crowd at 11:00 at night, there was cases where the police officer knocked on the door at 5 o'clock in the morning asking if they could be helpful, from o'clock until 10 5:00 in the morning. I think we stopped doing 11 that and just erase those calls because people wouldn't want you to knock on their door at 5 o'clock to ask them about a disorderly crowd that they called 10 or 11 o'clock at night. Let's just talk a little bit about how well we respond and how many calls we may be abandoning.
Councilman, for priority 1 calls, our response time is, even with the lessening of manpower, stayed pretty much the same, about 6 minutes 20 seconds.
Usually a crime in progress, rape in progress, robbery in 854 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET progress, the most serious crimes. So we've been doing a pretty good job on priority 1 calls. But response times are the reason -- the reason we don't publicize those numbers, they're very soft because in order to get a response time, I need a couple times. And the one time I always have, I have the time when the time was entered by the 911 call taker. I always have the time the car was dispatched. I always have that time. The time that we almost never have or we have about half the time is the time when the officer arrives on the scene. Although by policy they're supposed to say "I'm here," usually about half the time they don't say that. So about half the times we don't have. That's why we really don't put a lot of stock in those figures. And that problem is really country-wide. That's not just us; that's everywhere. There's a lot of reasons why they can't say they're there. A lot of times it's busy. If it's a priority call, they're jumping out of the car. Someone else is on the air. So there's a whole lot of reasons. 855 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET We do have a policy, and you're right, years ago we actually used to dispatch every single assignment and we did instances where many hours later we would be knocking on someone's door for a disorderly crowd which happened six or seven hours before. And what we do now is after two or three hours, I can't remember exactly, the supervisor on the street has the ability to cancel the very lowest priority assignments, most of them which like disorderly crowds. Home many are there of those types of things? Again, we don't have a good number of those because they're not all canceled. Some supervisors will say, "Look, Radio, just assign them all to me." And I've heard that and I know that they do that. I used to do that. When I was a sergeant years ago, I did that because the you didn't want those numbers to reflect in your district that you were doing that. So we really don't have a good handle on that. I know it happens and you know it happens, but I really couldn't tell you how many there are.
Commissioner. 856 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET Let's get away from priority 1 now. Let's talk about like a burglary. I'm hearing stories where there's some cases where an alarm company calls radio and says there's a burglary in progress, we're talking about a half hour response time.
That is actually somewhat calculated, Councilman. We had actually something very wrong with the 911 system for many, many years. We corrected in about 2001. It was this. I'll tell you what it was, and I think you'll agree with me. We had reports of burglaries above domestic violence calls. So we had domestic violence calls at priority 3 and reports of burglary were priority 2. So essentially we had to report stolen property before we had reports of really quite a few women getting beaten up. So essentially flipped those. So domestic violence calls, we actually broke those out now. They are priority 2, and we are actually responding to those faster than we have ever in the history of the department because it's really a crime person, and we've had quite an 857 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET impact on domestic violence that way we are arresting a lot of people for domestic violence. Burglaries are pushed back because it's a crime against property. And could it happen a half hour? Yes, it could.
But there could be people in the home that's being burglarized at o'clock at night or o'clock at night. 10 Lots of people go to bed, Commissioner, with 11 their alarm on. Again, I don't mean to be disrespectful. I have had stories documented to me where a person's burglar alarm went off. They were in the neighborhood at a party. They went home, shut the burglar alarm off, thinking that the police where there and left. They're leaving and the police were pulling up in their driveway an hour later.
I guess I can answer that by saying we keep very good track of the burglar alarms. For as long as we've been keeping track of those, between 98 and 99 percent of all the alarm calls are unfounded. Now, is that percent -- I know what you're going to say, the percent and a half that 858 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET could be founded, and that's true. But I think what we do is what everyone in this room 4 does, is we prioritize what we by what we think is most important. And the crimes against people like -- for example, you gave a good example. If you are in your house and you say, "There is someone breaking in my home," we treat that much differently than a burglar alarm. A burglar alarm usually comes to us from a burglar alarm company. And we treat those alarms even differently. For example, some of the burglar alarm companies know -- they have sensors inside the building and they know someone's in the building. We can raise the priority on that and actually there faster, and we do.
Yes, they do. And they do tell us that. But those, again, tend to be the more rare calls. And even with fines, we started fining a few years ago. You get so many free ones and then you're fined. We saw when we started to fine companies, the 859 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET burglar alarms dipped. But apparently what happens is the companies get used to paying the fine. It becomes part of doing business and they don't care anymore. Well, those burglar alarms ar coming back up again. And it's a tremendous strain on us.
Many of our senior citizens especially, that alarm to them means that if something goes wrong, that somebody's breaking into their home and they're asleep and they don't wake up, they believe that other than just a siren going off that the police are minutes away. And unfortunately -- and I agree you should have flipped the domestic violence with the burglar alarms. But when you hear that burglar alarms -- a dispatcher saying to a police officer on the street -- I was standing on the corner next to a police officer with a radio and he told the officer that the job was 20 minutes old. For a burglar alarm? That, to me, something needs to get done because people pay their registration fee, they buy an alarm system because they belive that somebody 860 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET that's burglarizing their home is going to get caught, not just frightened off. So to have a job not get dispatched for minutes to a 5 half hour, to me as a Member of City Council 6 and the constituents that I represent, that's 7 unacceptable. 8
Councilman, I 9 sympathize with you. And you know I'm 10 brutally honest here. I doubt that that is 11 going to change. Those priority and 12 priority 2 calls -- 13
But if we had 14 more officers, there would be more officers to 15 deal with the priorities below -- 16
The Commissioner is 17 not kicking me under the table, so I'm sure if 18 we had more cops we could handle them faster. 19
My point, 20 Commissioner, is that if the small police 21 force we have is only able to put fires for 22 priority 1 and we don't get to priority 2, 3, 23 and I don't even how many priorities there 24 are, that in a big city like Philadelphia, if 25 your burglar alarm goes off at midnight, you 861 1 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET expect the police to come promptly. And that should be the case. And Commissioner Johnson, I know you know that. I think that something has to be done to give a better response to that. COMMISSIONER JOHNSON: Let me look into that, Councilman. Thank you.
You're welcome. The Chair recognizes Councilman Nutter.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Good afternoon, Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner and the gentleman there. If anything I ask has already been asked you'll tell me and I'll read the notes of testimony or get it in a response. But just for historical purposes, let me ask, to the best of your knowledge and information, how many open-air drug corners do we have in Philadelphia? 862 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET COMMISSIONER JOHNSON: Well, the open-air drug corners that we knew as before, I guess anywhere 40, 50 possibly, but they fluctuate day by day. We can eliminate a drug corner and then they come back the very next day. As far as I'm concerned, the open-air drug corners that existed prior to Operation Safe Streets, I don't think there's no more 10 or 20. When we get the reports of those 11 corners, we try to go right out on those 12 particular corners. When I talk about 13 open-air drug corners, I'm talking about a 14 corner that they used to line up like car 15 washes where kids sold their drugs. But I ride around the City quite often, so does the other deputy commissioners and we make sure during our COMSTAT that those things are addressed. Again, I know people are out there selling drugs. As I said, as long as you have a buyer you're going to seller. But the open-air drug corner that existed one or two years ago, I don't think exist that much. So the number fluctuates. And as we get the reports of those corners, we try to eliminate 863 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET those corners.
Now, let me make sure I'm clear, because I thought you earlier in your response mention 40 to 50 and then I thought I heard you say later to 20. 7 COMMISSIONER JOHNSON: Well, 8 originally I said 40 to 50 with the idea that 9 -- and I think that was a high number. And 10 then also put into mind that when I talk about 11 open-air drug corners, I'm talking about the 12 corners that were like Eighth and Dauphin, 13 Eighth and Butler and Ninth and Indiana. I 14 don't see those corners no more. I do see 15 corners sometime with maybe one or two people out there selling drugs. So I says maybe 25, 30. I'm not sure of the exact number. But the open-air drug corners where you see 25, 30 people out there, I don't see those in the City no more.
What then -- give us your perspective then on how has the drug trade changed or what is the current method of conducting that business? COMMISSIONER JOHNSON: I think the 864 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET open-air drug corners have -- drugs have now went indoors. I think they went indoors not just because of the police, but because of the community. We've gotten more calls now then we've ever to report drug sales on the corners and drugs in houses. I think as we change, the drug dealers change. We went from having police officers on the corners to police officers on bikes. Then we went to police officers changing the different corners, changing the different hours. But as I said, I think we're still changing. In my opinion, drugs has now went indoors more than has ever been before.
And yet even with the indoor activity, I mean, we just experienced an apparent weekend of murder in this City. And it would appear, you'll correct me if I'm wrong, that the homicide rate appears to be escalating as well as the level of violence in the streets in general. If the bulk of the activity is now inside, which I seem to recall Operation Safe Streets started, I believe, May 1, 2002. 865 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET COMMISSIONER JOHNSON: Yes, sir.
Part of the goal was to drive people off of the corners, make the streets safer, hence the name. The second phase was to drive it inside. Why are we still experiencing what appears to be an escalated level of violence out on the streets? COMMISSIONER JOHNSON: As of yesterday -- and I don't have to a count for today -- we had 71 murders. Based on our investigation, only 7 of those were drug related.
How many? COMMISSIONER JOHNSON: Seven. Three were domestic, 29 were arguments, was sexual, were residential robbery, 1 was child abuse, and we have 19 undetermined. I don't see, based on our experience base on -- because every single homicide that happens and every single shooting, the Deputy Commissioner has a meeting with our people and with people from the federal sector, from the District Attorney's Office, from some of the other 866 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET people, and they go every single shooting and every single homicide --
Let me stop you right there, though. We have 71 murders. Today is March 15th, so -- I was never particularly good at this, but I think January has 31 days? COMMISSIONER JOHNSON: Yes.
I know about February. That's 74 days of the year and we've got 71 murders. COMMISSIONER JOHNSON: That's correct. A week and a half ago, we were 10 homicides down. In the last week, we're now 9 homicides up in 8 days.
What's going on? COMMISSIONER JOHNSON: I don't know what's going on. And the reason I don't know what's going on is because if you look at the different homicides, the happened in not just one area of the City, they happened in like eight or nine different areas of the City. You had a mother who killed two children. You 867 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET have a pool hall argument. You had homicides happened. There's no rhyme or reason. I can't pinpoint that they were narcotic, I can't pinpoint that they were gangs.
The 29 that were arguments, through the course of the investigation, it's been determined that none of those 29 people were arguing either about drugs or money or both? COMMISSIONER JOHNSON: It seems most of the time, from going over them, it's normally money or girls or women.
Let me ask this question. Maybe there's something in the air. I don't want to talk about air. What's going on in the rest of the country in the major cities? COMMISSIONER JOHNSON: Well, I go to the Major Chiefs Conference. The major chiefs are police chiefs who have a population of the city of over a half million and law enforcement over a thousand. It's basically the same that's happened here in the City of Philadelphia. The violence has increased. 868 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET I'm not sure whether it's because of the economy or because of everything that's happened in Atlanta. I know last year what happened is that our homicide rate went down, I think, 6 or 7 percent. New York's went down 4 or 5 percent. Chicago went down a little further than that. Atlanta's went up. New Orleans went up. A lot of places in the west coast went up.
On the 71 murders, what was the weapon used? Or what the manner of death? COMMISSIONER JOHNSON: Eighty percent were by handgun.
I'll come back to this area. Commissioner, how many uniformed/non-uniformed police officers are there on the street on any given day versus uniformed or non-uniformed police officers who are working either in the district, in a 869 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET district building, or at some other kind of headquarters-type location? I don't know all the facilities or locations that you have, but obviously we have districts we've got -- COMMISSIONER JOHNSON: We have 7 police districts. 8
There was a 9 Police Administration Building. What is it 10 now, Police Headquarters? 11 COMMISSIONER JOHNSON: Police 12 Headquarters. 13
I grew up as the 14 Police Administration Building. 15 And then I assume that there are 16 some other facilities somewhere where there 17 may be uniformed and non-uniformed police 18 officers. But of the total number of sworn 19 officers, how many are actually out on street 20 duty whether they're wearing a uniform or 21 working undercover. 22 COMMISSIONER JOHNSON: I would 23 probably have to estimate. We do three different shifts. We cover 23 police districts. And I guess in the districts -- 870 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET and I'm just estimating. Maybe some of my deputies can clarify this. In the area of maybe 250, 300. It's about 250.
What's 250? COMMISSIONER JOHNSON: That are working. I think the question you asked me is how do we have working in the street.
How many are working the street, how many are out doing regular police patrol kinds activity, whether they are marked car in a uniform, in an unmarked car in a uniform. I know some officers work that way. And then you have an unmarked car not in uniform. You've got traffic. Everybody who is outside engaged in police work. Maybe we can start the other way. How many sworn police officers do we have? COMMISSIONER JOHNSON: 5,834 are street people.
So that would not include yourself or deputy or any of those folks? COMMISSIONER JOHNSON: That's 871 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET correct.
5,834 police officers out on the street? COMMISSIONER JOHNSON: Yes, sir. And 858 inside.
So the total number of sworn police officers in the City of Philadelphia is 6,692? COMMISSIONER JOHNSON: That's correct.
Now the 858, I don't necessarily expect you to do it here today, but could you break out where all of those people work or what do they do? I don't know if that's a high number or a low number, but why are all those people inside? COMMISSIONER JOHNSON: I can give you a breakdown probably by tomorrow.
Okay. That, of course, leads into the issue of civilianization. I think there's been a consistent or coordinated effort to deal with 872 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET the civilianization issue. Can you give us an update on how that is progressing. Is there more work to be done? How do we get -- again, I don't know who these 858 police officers are. I'm assuming that would even include yourself and deputies that are here. COMMISSIONER JOHNSON: Right. One of the problems that we have out of those 800, we have 127 are on limited duty personnel assigned inside and we have another 130 who are restricted duty personnel assigned inside.
170 and 130? COMMISSIONER JOHNSON: Right. We have a total of 257 uniformed police officers restricted because they're either on restricted or limited because of injuries that are working inside.
Are they within the 858? COMMISSIONER JOHNSON: Yes, sir.
So 257 are limited duty? COMMISSIONER JOHNSON: Well, limited duty and restricted duty. 873 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET
Councilman, I think there's an awful lot of misunderstanding here. Did you understand the Commissioner to say that there are 5834 officers working on the street?
However, if you look at of the departmental summary, you will see that budgeted positions are 6355. And in the Commissioner's testimony, he indicated that we have 6424. Commissioner, I think we really have to get a true picture of what the numbers really are.
The 6424 is for Fiscal '06. We are higher than that 874 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET currently, and we have 151 officers in the airport which is the Aviation budget.
That would be in the Commissioner's testimony. However, on of the detailed budget --
Commissioner, we're trying to help you to be funded properly. COMMISSIONER JOHNSON: Well, the 6424 is in the '06 budget. I think he's asking be exactly what we have today.
Right. But I guess where the President is going, the problem is if you're at the moment telling us that we have 6692 and your budget detail is showing 6355 for FY '06, are you anticipating the loss of a 343 police officers? 875 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET COMMISSIONER JOHNSON: I know we had this earlier. We never agreed to the 6355. That number was anticipated with the idea that the State was going to take over the expressway. From our information -- and as I said, I'm not sure what's going to happen in the future. They might take over the expressway. At this point they have not taken over the expressway.
Would that result in the reduction of 343 police officers just because they take over the expressway? COMMISSIONER JOHNSON: No. 15
Deputy Commissioner Jack Gaittens. Councilman, I have a printout from this morning. As of 3/15/05 we have a total number of 6,692 uniformed employees. That is the number we currently have. We anticipate an attrition rate and our targeted number for positions that we are going to be budgeted for was 6424 by July of this year. I don't know if we're going to reach that through attrition. We will probably be in the area of 876 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET 6450, in that number.
I remember reading a story about you. Your father had a little saying that he used to tell you.
Yes, he did. Either it is or it isn't; you do or you don't.
But the problem is, even if you were to get to the 6424 number, the issue that's being raised is in the budget in front of us you're only authorized for 6355.
That's correct, Councilman. What had happened, we were going back and forth with the Managing Director over 877 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET our staffing level. Commissioner Johnson and all the deputies had agreed to 6424. When the final budget was given to us, it said 6355. That is unacceptable. We won't don't it. 6424 is our number.
With that being said, the budget has to be corrected so you have enough money for 6424.
I bet you would, but if that's your number and this is the budget in front of us, then do you have a request? What would you want us to do here? COMMISSIONER JOHNSON: What we're going to do is we're going to -- I think the Council President asked us to come back and redo these numbers, and we will.
Commissioner, as I said, I didn't mean to make it difficult today, but the figures just do not coincide. I do not want to see the Police 878 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET Department shortchanged. We don't want to see them shortchanged.
And if you don't get it now, it ain't going to happen.
Whether it 6692 or 6424, that has to reflect in the budget so that you, in fact, are going to be able to afford that amount of personnel. COMMISSIONER JOHNSON: Yes, ma'am.
I'm sorry, Councilman. We dealt with that for about a half hour and now we're finally coming to agree on figures.
I like that. Lastly, on this particular point, even with that, what's that about? That's 268 lower than what you have today.
The difference will be 151 out of that 6692 are assigned to the airport. They come out of the Aviation budget, not out of General Fund budget. So that number would be ducted. So take 151 off of that 6692, and we get 6541. Now, we are we are supposed to go through attrition from 879 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET 6541 --
Before you do that. So maybe in the future when we're talking about this, because I think what I'm hearing you saying, the 6692 number includes the airport.
You didn't tell us that. Then you go to 6424 which apparently doesn't include that.
So if we're going to have the discussion, you've got to give us the numbers to the numbers. Either give us the number with the airport present to the next or give us a number without the airport to the next FISCAL YEAR without the airport. But we're not doing the apples to apples comparison here. So then you're at 6541 without the airport.
As of today's date, yes, sir. 880 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET
Right, 117. MR GAITTENS: We were expected to lose from attrition from today's date until July 1.
The Chair recognizes Councilman Rizzo for a point of information.
Could you also include -- because I'm pretty realistic to know that the police officers at the airport don't answer 911 other than maybe at the airport. What I'd like to know is how many of the officers actually respond to 911 calls.
Councilman, I 881 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET would argue that of the 5800 that we have on the street, we have a number of approximately 3650 that are assigned to patrol. They primarily respond to 911. However, as Councilman Nutter pointed out, we have other units that are on the street as well. We have narcotics, we have highway, we have traffic. Those officers will respond to 911 calls within the geographic area in which they're working on that given day or night.
They might respond to a holdup in progress, but they won't meet a complaint.
At this time, they're not put into the geographic computer database so that they can. We've had so discussions among the executive staff about the ability to handle 911 over the summer, and that may become the case.
So you could get a narcotics officer with real long hair show up.
No, no. A uniformed narcotics officer. That I do 882 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET promise, they would be in uniform.
That's all I wanted know. So you're telling me we have 3650 police officers that respond to 911 calls?
Just for the record, the long-haired undercover officers should be respected as well. They are welcome in their service. Let me make sure that now that we've gone through all this, the 5834 number may not be correct because that, plus the 858 led to 6692, which included airport police officers. So can you give me the corrected number on the number of police officers out on the street? I don't think any of us would debate whether airport officers should be considered out on the street as we know "out on the street" to mean. I think we're going back to where Councilman Rizzo was, regular police officers who are responding to things going on in the neighborhood. You're never going to have an airport officer respond to anything other than 883 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET the airport.
I think you've got to get back with us with genuine numbers, because this budget as presented to us is really not anybody's benefit, certainly not the Police Department.
If I could, Madam President, I just have a couple other areas.
Commissioner, I have been concerned for some time -- and I've looked at statistics provided by your office with regard to the issue broadly as domestic violence and specifically the issue of rape. It's my recollection that over at least the past four years, the rape statistic in our City has consistently been about 900-plus rapes every year in Philadelphia. Is that 884 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET accurate?
I understand. Can you give us any sense of, one, that sounds like a large number. And second, it seems to be consistent year to year. Why?
I can tell you why the number may seem large. If you remember several years ago, there was an issue about how we investigated and coded incidents of sexual assault. And so as a result of that, the protocol that's used in the Special Victims is extremely stringent. And if in doubt, we're going to code it rape and then we'll reclassify it.
I appreciate that and respect the fact that we're at least coding them properly and we're categorizing them correctly. 885 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET What I'm now concerned about is what are we doing to make the numbers go down because, they have been so consistent at least over the last four years and possibly further back? Why are there so many rapes in the City?
I would have to do a much large analysis. As of right now, we have 196 as of last Friday for this year so far.
How does that compare to the two and a half month period last year?
196. So the difference probably isn't that great. But I will tell you this, that weekly, just anecdotally at COMSTAT, we go over every one of them. AND there are a large number that are non-stranger rapes. Not that they're acquaintances, there are individuals WHO recognized to the female. And I guess one of 886 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET my thoughts is we have victims who are more willing to come forward now because of the professional treatment that they're getting by us. So if there are or in a given 6 district in a given month, there maybe or 7 what we would stranger assignments. But the 8 others are women who are coming forward. 9
Well, what are 10 we doing from a public information and 11 education standpoint to reduce these 12 incidents? What messages are we delivering? How much information are we giving to potential victims or women in general as to either how to protect themselves, what to look out for? We had a recent series, was that Feltonville or maybe the lower Northeast.
A man, five different incidents. What has concerned me about that in the past is that it seems -- I'm not saying that it is -- it seems that only after a series of these incidents, and I have 887 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET no idea what it takes to investigate these matters and try to connect the dots, but it seems like the individual in some situations gets to go almost a spree for a while before there's any public announcement that there's something going on. And obviously, in the last situation I think almost within a week of the announcement, the person was caught by, I think, two police officers who kind of figured it out pretty quickly, observed something and grabbed him. But all during that time period where the investigation is going on or whatever else is going on, we have women in a very dangerous, vulnerable, and suspecting mindset with no information out there. How do we improve that?
Well, I hate to admit this. I would say that one the reasons that the dots get connected more quickly in some assignments than in others is our ability to have DNA analysis. Prior to this, and this is Deputy Commissioner Brennan's bailiwick, but just in general terms. Those six jobs 888 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET that got connected got connected because of DNA. In none of the cases could the women have identified the perpetrator.
Because of the methodology. In some cases, however, where the identification is clear and we're able to get some kind of a picture drawn, certainly that would be put out much more quickly. But I can tell you that when Commissioner Brennan gave us those six, we had not connected those dots at all investigatively. So while it's upsetting to get them that way, certainly 10 years ago we wouldn't have gotten those connections. So there is a positive bend to this. And what happens is, when the DNA come back as a match, every once in a while he really hits a home run gives us the individual's name as well. And then he really had a royal flush because he gave us the individual in jail in another jurisdiction. But the truth of the matter is 889 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET because of the methodology of a lot of these sexual assaults, it's often very difficult for the female to provide us with any information, and that's why the rape kits and the DNA analysis and the clothing that's gathered, which in some cases is process, is so important. The second piece of your question, which I think from a Police Department standpoint we can answer in a very positive way, is that our relationship with the women's group, with the Women's Law Project and Women Against Rape, has been absolutely incredible since the time of the complaints. The Women's Law Project still regularly goes up to Special Victims and randomly reviews cases. At then Commissioner Timoney's approval and now with Commissioner Johnson's, they are extremely pleased with the manner in which the assignments are handled. They've never produced for either of us any assignment that they felt wasn't handled properly. Because of the positive relationship with them, we now have many of the women shelters who share 890 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET materials with us. The Commissioner put together a Victims Services Division primarily to deal with incidents of domestic violence and sexual assault, and the relationship, if you were to check with any of these groups, is extremely solid. It's very cooperative. And I think that this is the best treatment that I've seen for female victims in this City since I've been around.
Lastly in this area, is there any programmatic activity through the City? In addition to whatever th women's groups might be doing, is there any active programmatic activity on our part seeking to deliver messaged to both women and men on this particular issue? For the most part, I assume, through the statistics, I mean, if men aren't engaged in it, then it's mostly not happening. What are we doing on that side?
The Police Commissioner and Carol Tracy from the Women's Law Project are co-chairs of a task force that the Mayor put together. And on that task 891 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET force is every City agency that involves themselves with domestic violence and sexual assault. And so we have DHS represented, we have probation and parole, but we also have groups like Menergy which is a somewhat City-funded private group as well who deal with males that have anger issues and with sexual assault issues. And this Committee has gotten together, put together their first report for the Mayor, which took approximately six or seven months. Every group that's involved in this has done a presentation, and they've put together a series of recommendations, the purpose of which is to ensure that our victims get holistic treatment. The term they keep using is it's a one-stop shop. They want to be able to go any one of these groups, whether it be the police, DHS, one of the women's groups, and get exactly the same treatment because of the relationship that we all have together. So I can tell you from a City perspective, they really raised the bar.
Madam Chair, I 892 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET have one other question, but I'll wait.
Thank you. The Chair recognizes Councilman Rizzo.
I got some interesting statistics from the Fire Department. We talk about the homicide rate and we talk about the murders in the City of Philadelphia. After reviewing the information that I got, I think that the murder rate would be so much higher -- and the reason I tell you this is I asked for information from the medics, the paramedics, which you'll have to agree 15, years ago they did not have the 16 technology to save lives the way they do 17 today. Hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of 18 victims of crime, and I'm talking drug 19 activity against drug activity, the lives of 20 those individuals, these, for lack of better word, these people that involved in the business of crime are killing each other, but our medics are saving their lives by the hundreds every day in the City of Philadelphia. So I think that some day we 893 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET really need to know not how many people are dying as a result of gun violence, but I think we need to know how many people are physically being shot every day and being saved by the wonderful paramedics that we have. They don't care whether it's a bad guy or a good guy; their job is to save the life, and they do. So I would love to hear the numbers of not about how many people die as a result, I'd like to know how many people have been shot violently, seriously, but have been able to be saved because of the -- I mean, I see on occasion where police officers put people in the back of their patrol vehicles and race them to hospitals, don't even wait for the medics. So I think some day all these numbers have come together so we really know how bad the situation is in our City. COMMISSIONER JOHNSON: I agree with you. The fact is that shooting victims as of March 13th, we had 322. I was at 17th and Dauphin last week, and I agree with everything you say about the paramedics. I think they're outstanding. We 894 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET had one person who was shot six times who was pronounced. We had a 15-year-old boy who was shot three times, and they actually saved his life and then went to the hospital. Not only did the paramedics do a great job, but our hospital in the City of Philadelphia have done an out standing job. So again, the things you say about the paramedics and the fact that police officers -- our directive basically says that you're not to move a person who is shot because you might damage them. But an enormous amount of police officers take shooting victims, to save time, take them right to the hospitals and eventually save their lives.
Also, it amazed me the number of how much violence is with knives. Not just shootings, but I got some statistics from the Fire Department, the medic side, on the number of -- I just asked them for crime related with guns and knives. And that is significant. What would you say, Commissioner, the number ws so far this year 895 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET of shootings in our City? COMMISSIONER JOHNSON: As of March 13th, 322 people have been shot.
Well, all I can tell you, I've than told by a few doctors that work in these trauma units that if it weren't for those firefighters and police officers, a lot of that number would have dead. COMMISSIONER JOHNSON: I agree with you.
I can tell you this, because I work with YVRP. Years ago, it would be for every three people shot, one would die. And nationwide the numbers are now one in five. For that for every five people seriously injured, but shot is what they're talking about, for every five gunshot victims, one will die. There's no question it's because of medics, it's because of the increased emergency rooms. 896 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET
I'll wait for the Fire Department for that one. Do you have any stats on stabbings? COMMISSIONER JOHNSON: We don't have them with us at this point.
I'd just be curious just to see how bad it is out there the real number. Did you hear that, President Verna, 371 shootings in the City? So we need to do something about the guns. Thank you.
Thank you. Councilman Nutter, your light is on. Did you want to be recognized?
Thank you, Madam Chair. Commissioner, I want to lastly talk about police radio and get from you information regarding staffing levels in the police radio unit. How many people presently work as dispatchers? COMMISSIONER JOHNSON: I'll have Deputy Commissioner Brennan, but I believe the number he told me was 255. 897 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET
There's 259 dispatchers presently in radio civilian dispatcher.
259 civilian dispatchers. Is that in the detail somewhere?
Do you know whether there's a line in some of the budget detail that lays out the number of dispatchers?
That's all right. Now, I was honored to be asked but it was certainly a tragic circumstance. In my first term, we had the well-known tragedy of young Eddie Pollock. And so I had an occasion back at that time to be a participant on a task force to spend some time down at the now police headquarters in the dispatch room and the consoles and the workforce. Now, there 898 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET are people who take the calls and then there are people who dispatch the calls. My recollection is that either they sit at separate terminal areas -- this is going back over years -- or maybe in different parts 7 of a larger room. Is that the case? 8
So there's a call-taker and a dispatcher. And through technology the call-takers call in information, then gets sent to the dispatch room. I know some of doesn't transmit because we don't want the officers going to people houses under circumstances. Is that still the case?
So you've got 259 dispatchers. How many call-takers do we have?
I'm sorry. The term "dispatcher" is generic. They're all police communications dispatchers, so some work as call-takers and some work as dispatchers. So 899 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET they're not two separate job classifications, they're all the same. So that's 259 --
How many are call-takers and how many -- are you going to take me back through what you just said?
It varies every four hours of the day. And what we do is we staff radio by a formula, Councilman, and the formula is based upon the number of calls that we received in that four-hour block of time for the last three years. And we do adjust. Like, for example, if we were going to have the Greek Picnic and it wasn't the same day last year, we'll staff up. If the weather changes, we'll staff up, things like that. Then we have a certain number of calls that we expect them to answer. We divide that by the number of calls received. That becomes the staffing level.
I understand. Let me ask a couple other questions 900 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET in this area. We have 259 now. Do you know how many we had or so years ago at the time 4 of that incident? Obviously, there was a lot 5 of attention around that 6
Before Pollock, it was 7 the 195, 196 range, and it was raised from 8 195, 196 up to about 258 or 259, just about 9 what is today. 10
Councilman, we were told earlier in testimony that the high point, and correct me if I'm wrong, was 277.
That's correct, Councilwoman. The 277 number came because between 1998 and 2001, the number of 911 calls jumped by a half million during those couple of years. In addition, in radio we added two consoles and a few other things we added to radio which increased our staffing. That half million calls has not dropped. We've gone from about 2.8 million in 1998 to 3.3 million today, and it's pretty much leveled off at 3.3 million.
So the 901 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET high point was 277, they presently have 259, and their attrition rate is 3 a month, correct?
Thank you, Madam President for that. Now, deputy Commissioner, I have to ask you, if the result of the bump from 258, 259 up to 277 was caused as a result of a half million increased calls and that level has now stayed the same, is what you're saying, don't we have fewer dispatchers? 14
You staffed up 20 at one point to deal with the half million 21 jump -- 22
In all fairness, that 277, you never actually get there, ever. You never get there. I explained to Madam President that I would get to say 258, 259. I 902 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET might hire to people, but by the time they get out of training, I've lost 6. So the 277, you never got there. Probably highest we would ever be would be 270, 271, 272, in around there.
But in any 8 event, lower than what it was, which was the 9 reason that you increased it in the first 10 place? 11
So the call 13 dispatchers have gone down, the calls have 14 maintained pretty much a high of 3 million 15 something? 16
The pickup time has so far since we've dropped to 250, we were actually down to 255 and they called layoff people back. In the cold weather, we've been pretty good. We answer 98 percent of the calls within 2 seconds. That has remained pretty steady over the years. The State 903 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET mandates that we handle 90 percent of the calls within seconds, so we are well within 4 what the State requires us by law to answer. 5 I could probably tell you the effect of this 6 when the weather gets warm. 7
Okay. But I 8 guess the other question is, are we at the 9 right level? 10
I think the Commissioner answered that earlier, and he said that we were.
Tell me a little bit about -- I know there's been discussion in the industry about the increased volume of cellular calls and the inability, I think at the moment, to still identify by location as compared to land line through the enhanced 911 system.
Cellular calls now make up about 35 percent of our business, so over a million calls a year we get with cellular. Within a last about 30 days or so, the Police Department and the Fire Department are what's called phase compliant. We have 904 1 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET done the soft work necessary to identify a cellular caller. The cellular phone companies -- I think there's about six, Councilman. They've been notified by law in December that we were going to do this. They have six months to comply with the law to send us the phone number and the cell location from where the phone is coming from. So anytime between now and May when we get a cellular call, we will get in fact the cell number of the person making the call in most cases. And I say in most cases because there are a couple types of phones that present a problem for us. One is those phones that are rented, you know, you buy them and you really don't know who owns them. They have caused, in some cases, a lot of havoc for 911. The other ones are the phones in which service has been disconnected. You know when you get rid of your own phone, 911 still works, by law. So if you happen to throw it in the trash and someone picks it up, they can dial 911. Those phones also cause us a lot of havoc.
So six months 905 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET from now the companies are going to -- it will come up on the screen in live time the name of the person to whom the phone is registered?
It will be the cell phone number and the cell cite tower that they hit. And from the cell number, we'll be able to find out who owns the number.
Well, I understand that, but that's not telling you where the person is.
That's correct. That's called Phase 2 of FCC. We don't have the equipment and neither does the Fire Department. We are in a joint project now with the Fire Department. We expect to be Phase 2 compliant by about January of '06. We have the money for that. The project is moving. And right after that, we will notify the cell companies we're Phase 2 compliant. And some of them will actually send us the data now, we just can't use it. What they send you, Councilman, is longitude and latitude. At that point in time, we will be able to figure out where someone with a 906 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET cellular phone is calling from within maybe a hundred feet or so.
Okay. Last question. Given the challenges that the department continues to face, this is still in the radio room, number of calls, cellular calls, variety of other new services whether it's Live Stop or any other number of things that will come up from time to time, it's your position that with the current number of 255 civilian communications dispatchers --
Police communications dispatchers, that there is no 17 decrease in service to the citizens of Philadelphia based on your current complement of personnel? COMMISSIONER JOHNSON: I don't think there is. Deputy Commissioner in charge of it, he can answer himself. I think there's other things that are involved in this. I think one of the things that is involved is the amount of sick time the dispatchers have 907 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET been using that we're trying to resolve. But I'll let the Deputy give his own opinion.
I suspect that what will happen is that the time it takes us to answer a 911 call will go up slightly.
Our statistics have 10 been 98 percent. We answer 98 percent of the calls within 2 seconds. The State requirement is 90 percent within 10 seconds.
Councilman, if I can interject. Currently, in anticipation of increased workload over the summertime, we are in negotiation with District Council 33 about a shift change in police radio and certain give-and-take about the sick leave regulations to try and help reduce the amount of sick time so that in all actuality, we'll be able to staff more personnel during those peak times of activity, so that is ongoing now.
Let me go to Deputy Commissioner Brennan for a second. We are 98 percent in 2 seconds. The State 908 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET standard is 90 percent in 10 seconds.
You said that there might be some decline in service. So do we have a range or do we have an upper limit both on percentage of calls and time within which they must be answered?
I understand that. Are we going to adhere to that or are we going to set our own?
Well, the regulations about 911 and how we answer phone calls, a lot of it we comply with a law there. So that is what the law says. I'm just telling you what our stats were.
I understand that. All I'm asking you is if we're presently at 98 percent in 2, and the State is 90 percent in 10, and given all the activities going on, if there was a decline in service, would you have some number between 98 percent and 90 percent and 2 and 10 that would be the 909 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET absolute limit that the Police Department would be able to accept for the citizens of this City, notwithstanding whatever the state guidelines are?
I actually haven't thought about that, to be honest with you. I imagine we would hear from the citizens fairly quickly if service degraded that much. So far, we haven't gotten any complaints. I average less than 1 complaint per 250,000 calls. I'm not saying that's all the people who do complain because I know you get complains and Councilman Rizzo said gets complains. But official complaints to the Commissioner about 911 service average; less than 1 per 250,000 calls. So I can tell you that we're keeping a very good eye on it. Even today, if we spike of calls, which can happen for a whole lot of reasons, we actually yank people on the dispatchers if there's two on a console, and we'll throw them up to the 911 call-taking positions until it calms down. And the supervisors will pitch in too, so we're doing what we can. 910 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET
Maybe you'll gently walk them up to the new location as opposed to throwing them. Thank you Commissioner. Thank you, Madam Chair.
You're welcome. The Chair recognizes Councilman Rizzo.
I want to end at least my participation in this by thanking the Police Department. Two initiatives that I had, which I want to thank Deputy Commissioner Brennan. And Councilman Nutter touched on it, but it was to give the Police Department the ability under exigent circumstances to not need under Homeland Security, the Patriot Act, to be able to fax a document to all of the cell phone providers even though we weren't Phase compliant, to be able to get the name within minutes under most circumstances of where a threatening call came from a cell phone provider. So we met with all the cell phone providers, and Commissioner Brennan 911 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET immediately implemented that program. And from what I understand, many attempts to make arrests, and we're just hoping that eventually the Police Department and the detectives will be able to make some arrests and send a message out there that it is not a good thing to call in a bomb threat or some other call that would be disruptive to our City. And then we expanded it after the Commissioner implemented that. We just met this week with Verizon and their executives to talk about the similar threats that come in via telephone to our schools. And we learned in that meeting that the School District is set up to trace these calls that would come in. The reason I'm making it public is I hope if anyone is listening, and media is listening, we want to get the word out there that if you call in a bomb threat from a land line telephone and think you're going to get away with it or a cell telephone, very, very soon you're not going to be able to get away with that. The Police Department has gotten 912 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET very aggressive go after the people that make these types of threats to empty an airport, to empty a train station, a school, a business. Their days are numbered. Again, I want to thank personally Deputy Commissioner Brennan for pulling all of these people together on two occasions to address this issue. More important, many times in this business we talk about things but they never can implemented. It has been implemented, and I thank the Commissioner for that.
Thank you, Councilman. Commissioner, I certainly want you to know that we are extremely grateful to you and your entire department for all the wonderful work you do. You may not have thought that today with our line of questioning; however, as I said, I think that whoever prepared your budget should definitely go back, review it and certainly submit better figures so that your department will not be hurt by the figures that were presented to us 913 03/15/05 - FY '06 OPERATING BUDGET today. COMMISSIONER JOHNSON: I appreciate that, Council President. Thank you very much.
You're welcome. Have a good evening. This Committee will stand in recess until tomorrow morning, Wednesday, March the 16th at 10:00 a.m. And the first department that we will hear from will be the Fire Department. Thank you all so very much. (Council adjourned at 5:20 p.m.) 914 C E R T I F I C A T I O N I HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing proceedings of the Council of the City of Philadelphia of March 15, 2005, were reported fully and accurately by me, and that this is a correct transcript of the same. RE: COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE _________________________ Lisa C. Bradley, RPR