Aye. The ayes are 14, the nays are zero. A majority of all members having voted in the affirmative, the bill passes. The Chief Clerk will please read the title of Bill No. 060621.
An ordinance to amend the Philadelphia Zoning Maps by changing the zoning designation of certain areas of land located within an area bounded by 57th Street, Market Street, 56th Street, and Chestnut Street.
This bill having been read on two different days, the question now is, shall the bill pass finally? 11/2/06 STATED - 2ND-READING CALENDAR The Chief Clerk will call the roll.
Aye. The ayes are 14, the nays are zero. A majority of all members having voted in the affirmative, the bill passes. The last bill to be called for 11/2/06 STATED - 2ND-READING CALENDAR consideration is Bill No. 060695.
An ordinance amending Section 22-310 of the Philadelphia Code entitled "Deferred Retirement Option Plan."
This bill, having been read on two different days, the question now is, shall the bill pass finally? The Chief Clerk will please call the roll.
Councilman Kelly 11/2/06 STATED - 2ND-READING CALENDAR voting aye. Councilman Kenney?
Aye. The ayes are 14, the nays are zero. A majority of all members having voted in the affirmative, the bill passes. That completes our calendar for today. * * *
Are there any speeches on the part of Minority? (No speeches on the part of the Minority.)
Are their any speeches on the part of the Majority? The Chair recognizes Councilman Goode.
Thank you, Madam President. As we all know, Tuesday is 11/2/06 STATED MEETING - SPEECHES Election Day. In addition to electing three new colleagues to City Council, I would like to briefly outline other things on the ballot. There are three ballot questions; two of them are Charter changes, and I'd like to outline the purpose for Charter change number one. The Philadelphia Home Rule Charter will be changed related to the powers and duties of the Finance Director. The amendment will require the Finance Director to file with the Mayor a brief report on disadvantaged business enterprises at least 30 days before the start of each fiscal year. The report shall include: 1. An up-to-date study that analyzes the participation of disadvantaged business enterprises in City contracts for the purchase of goods and services compared to the percentage of qualified disadvantaged business enterprises available to participate in 11/2/06 STATED MEETING - SPEECHES such contracts. The annual disparity study shall be performed either by the Office of the Director of Finance itself or by contract. 2. City contract participation goals for disadvantaged business enterprises for the upcoming fiscal year. To devise the annual participation goal, the Finance Director shall consider: 1. The present availability of qualified disadvantaged business enterprises; 2. The participation of qualified disadvantaged business enterprises on past contracts; 3. A forecast of eligible contracts to be awarded within the fiscal year; and 4. The latest disparity study. The purpose of this Charter change is to create more diversity in 11/2/06 STATED MEETING - SPEECHES city contracting by employing a data-driven method of determining the underutilization of qualified disadvantaged businesses and requiring annual participation goals based on an up-to-date disparity analysis. It should become a Charter mandate duty at the cabinet of the executive branch. In the last fiscal year, the City did about $600 million in contracting for goods and services with taxpayer dollars. This Charter change is necessary and is a step forward in ensuring fairness in that process and in expanding contract opportunities for Philadelphia businesses. I'm pleased to say that both Chairman Bob Brady of the Democratic Party as well as Vito Canuso of the Republican Party are strongly encouraging voters to vote yes on the ballot question. Unfortunately, that's not the 11/2/06 STATED MEETING - SPEECHES case in the editorial offered today by the Philadelphia Inquirer on the ballot questions. That editorial states: "Neither of the two City Charter amendments before Philadelphia voters next week would ask to the City's costs, but one requiring the City Finance Director to provide annual data on participation by racial minorities and women-owned businesses for City work hardly meets the criteria for amending the Charter. " First of all, the ballot question refers to disadvantaged businesses, but the Inquirer editorial refers to minority and women-owned businesses. The ballot question explicitly states that disadvantaged businesses can be categorized by Council ordinance, but the Inquirer chooses not only to define 11/2/06 STATED MEETING - SPEECHES it for us but to exclude businesses owned by the disabled. Secondly, the Inquirer editorial only refers to an annual report of participation rates and says nothing about comparing those rates to the availability of qualified businesses and setting new participation goals based on the underutilization of qualified businesses. But, of course, the ballot question does. Third, the Inquirer editorial says that ensuring that the $600 million in annual contracts of goods and services is done fairly, and expanding contract opportunities to Philadelphia's businesses hardly meets the criteria for amending the Charter.
Fourth, the Inquirer editorial refers to the City contracting with qualified minority and woman-owned businesses as assisting these businesses as opposed to utilizing these businesses who are qualified. 11/2/06 STATED MEETING - SPEECHES Lastly, the Inquirer editorial says that every city administration should do it but not by Charter mandate. If I didn't know better, I would think that we were trapped in the last century. That's like saying that women and people of color should have the right but not by law or Constitutional amendment. That's like saying that neighborhoods and schools should be desegregated but that there's no need for anti-discrimination laws. So we urge the voters of both the Democratic and Republican parties to vote yes on the ballot questions. It's the right thing to do. After all, it is the 21st century. Thank you.
You're welcome. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Blackwell.
Thank 11/2/06 STATED MEETING - SPEECHES you, Madam President. I certainly would like to associate myself with the comments made by Councilman Goode. I rise again today, as I do every week to, speak about housing reorganization and how it affects people who live and work in our city. I thought about the group we honored in Council who talked about planning their retirement and wished that this group of people had the opportunity to do the same. One of the individuals who's the vice chair of the second-in-charge of the labor union had to opt to get benefits, the five-year benefits individuals can get, and so he's no longer with us today. And people are really torn. You know, it's union against union, employees being bumped against employees being bumped, and people who have to decide that for the sake of getting 11/2/06 STATED MEETING - SPEECHES long-term benefits, they're forced to take a drop, in spite of the fact that they're stuck in between retirement age, they're too young to retire and to collect Social Security, and yet in the work world, they're 40 and 50 and 53 and 54 years old and certainly don't know where they will go and where they will be able to be employed. As we've said before -- only last week, it was two people that we knew of that were reported who had positions and albeit I know that the Mayor and other members of his administration have contacted others, but we're really, really stuck in terms of people being able to fairly receive other jobs in exchange for their, in many cases, 36 years, 35 years, and 34 years of service to our city. So we will be meeting again. I'll be meeting with Kevin Hannah and another member of the board, the RDA Board, this afternoon. 11/2/06 STATED MEETING - SPEECHES We're hopeful that, as always, that as we speak out for people, that you would do your best to certainly continue to support the fact that people deserve a right, given their lives of service to the city, to be treated fairly, to have a place to go to, and to not feel that the city that they served and the City Council that they served so well is a part of pushing them out on the street so that they don't know what to do to support themselves and their families. So we will keep you posted. We'll come to the podium again at our next session. And thank you very much.
You're welcome. Are there any other speeches on the part of the Majority? (No further speeches.)
Seeing none, the Chair recognizes 11/2/06 STATED MEETING - ADJOURNMENT Councilwoman Tasco for a motion to adjourn.
Madam President, I move that Council stand adjourned until November 16, 2006. (Motion seconded.)
It has been moved and seconded that Council stand adjourned until Thursday, November 16th at 10 a.m. All in favor will please say aye. Those opposed? The ayes have it. The motion carries. Thank you very much. * * * C E R T I F I C A T E I HEREBY CERTIFY that the proceedings of the 11/2/06 Stated Meeting of the Philadelphia City Council are contained fully and accurately in the stenographic notes taken by me on Thursday, November 2, 2006, and that this is a true and correct statement of same. __________________________________ JOSEPHINE CARDILLO Registered Professional Reporter (The foregoing certification of this transcript does not apply to any reproduction of the same by any means, unless under the direct control and/or supervision of the certifying reporter.)