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.