Aye. The ayes are 17, the nays 00. A majority of all members of Council having noted in the affirmative, the bill passes. 12/20/01 STATED - 2ND READING - BILL 010690-A
The next bill being called the for consideration is Bill No. 010690-A.
An ordinance amending Title 9 of the Philadelphia Code, entitled "Regulation of Business, Trades and Professions," to require the sponsors of a planned event held on any premises to obtain a permit for such event, all under certain terms and conditions.
This bill having been read on two different days, the question now is, shall the bill pass finally? The clerk will please call the roll.
Councilman Kenney? 12/20/01 STATED - 2ND READING - BILL 010690-A
Aye. The ayes are 17, the nays are 0. A 12/20/01 STATED - 2ND READING - BILL 000505 majority of all members of Council having voted in the affirmative, the bill passes The next bill to be called for consideration is Bill No. 000505.
An ordinance amending Title 20 of the Philadelphia Code, entitled "Officers and Employees," by adding a new Chapter 2800, entitled "Campaign Finance," providing for the limitations of contributions to municipal election campaigns, all under certain terms and conditions.
This bill having been read on two different days, the question now is, shall the bill pass finally? The clerk will please call the roll.
Aye. 12/20/01 STATED - 2ND READING - BILL 010694 The ayes are 7, the nays are 0. UNIDENTIFIED
Oh, 10, I'm sorry. Sorry, sorry, sorry. The motion fails. The next bill to be called for consideration is Bill No. 010694.
An ordinance authorizing and approving the execution and delivery of a service agreement between the City of Philadelphia and the Redevelopment Authority relating to a comprehensive Neighborhood Transformation Program for revitalization, renewal, redevelopment, and transformation of blighted areas within the City of Philadelphia and other activities to promote the health, safety, and welfare of the residents of the City of Philadelphia, all under certain terms and conditions.
This bill having been read on two different days, the question now is, shall the bill pass finally? The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Blackwell.
Thank you, Madam President. May I be heard on this bill? 12/20/01 STATED - 2ND READING - BILL 010694
Thank you very much. Madam President and colleagues, as you know, we've had much discussion on this bill, commonly refereed to as "the NTI bill." And I rise today to request that since there is some question with regard that -- that if there be an issue with regard to the cost of bonds and borrowing, that we be willing as a group to come together and discuss it, that we consider that as an issue, the program statement as an issue. And finally, this project review team that we had so much debate about -- at least I did -- in our committee hearing with regard to two words "or disapproval," that we, on these three issues, have the President commit to our willingness to work out these issues and to have further discussion irrespective of this vote today, so that we can as a body, since we all agree with the concept of NTI, work out our differences and hopefully move forward together. I'm sorry. Shall I repeat it?
I'm sorry, I 12/20/01 STATED - 2ND READING - BILL 010694 didn't hear.
Oh, that's all right. This morning, we rise to support the bill but certainly to ask that we as a body commit to, and you as the President, commit that we can have further discussion with the issues, for example, that we debated in the hearing: One certainly about the project review team; the second on the program statement; and the third, certainly on the bond issue and their cost, should it prove to be an issue in the new year. We're requesting that we keep the lines of communication open so that we as a Council can kind of all be comfortable and satisfied that we're moving forward together as a body to accomplish it.
Councilwoman, the lines of communication are always open.
Thank you. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Brown.
Thank you, Madam President. 12/20/01 STATED - 2ND READING - BILL 010694 Let the record show that I vote for this bill with reservation. As an at-large member of this body, I am one who fundamentally respects the protocol and honors and privileges that come with being a District Councilperson. I am not, however, confident that this bill in its current form squarely and sufficiently addresses a District Councilperson's concerns. So I state for the record that both sides have acknowledged and informed me that this is not a perfect bill, it is not the best bill for what we know is overdone in fixing up our city. I have also been assured that there is a willingness to, and I quote, "recall the bill" to get it right. I have every expectation this "avenue of recall" -- and that is in quotes -- in this legislative process will be exercised so as to reap a true compromise that gives District Councilpeople fair and equal standing to approve, disapprove, not approve, whatever the language is. I have every expectation that a compromised bill at the end of the day does not limit a District Councilperson's privileges.
Thank you. 12/20/01 STATED - 2ND READING - BILL 010694 The Chair recognizes Councilman Clarke.
Thank you, Madam President. Madam President, this morning, as I woke up, I was fully prepared to vote against this particular bill in its currents form, but after a conversation that I had with you this morning -- and I thank you for giving me that opportunity to sit down with you and talk about my concerns about the bill, particularly with respects to the disapproval and the review team, and your willingness and I genuinely believe your commitment if in fact there is a need for us to revisit this, and I do genuinely believe that there will be a need, that you have committed to do the right thing to ensure that we are at a comfortable level, that we will end up with a bill that we can all be proud of and ultimately be in a position to help the citizens of the City of Philadelphia to truly transform our communities. As a result of that conversation, I will be voting yes on this particular bill today, and I want to thank you for that opportunity to meet with you this morning.
Thank you. 12/20/01 STATED - 2ND READING - BILL 010694 The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Miller.
Thank you, Madam President. I pretty much support the statements from my colleagues. As you know, we've talked, and I still have some concerns or reservations around the language and the word "disapproval" being left out of the project review team. And I too look forward to the continued discussion and, you know, with the desire of becoming more comfortable and clearer about the role and who will be a member of the project review team. As a District Councilperson, I feel it is my responsibility to make decisions that impact our constituency. And I will be voting aye on this bill. Thank you.
Thank you. The Chair recognizes Councilman Nutter.
Thank you, Madam President. Madam President, I just -- this is really more a point of information, or even clarification. I listened very closely to my colleague Councilwoman 12/20/01 STATED - 2ND READING - BILL 010694 Reynolds Brown and the concerns that she raised, and I fully understand her concerns and appreciate the commitment that she has made, and I understand also the nature of her reservations. The one thing I wanted to make sure that I was clear on -- I did participate in all of the hearings. I've not been in every possible meeting that could have taken place in this building. I do take very seriously, though, the use of the language. And the Councilwoman made a specific reference to a commitment, I think, that the bill would be recalled. In our language, "recall" has a certain meeting, and I just think I want to better understand where that issue is, or had some commitment been made about that specific issue of which I was not aware?
Councilman, I think it was discussed yesterday, and when the Councilwoman came into my office today, I had a conversation with her. I said I really felt very strongly that I made a commitment to the Mayor that we would in fact give him an NTI bill by December 20th. 12/20/01 STATED - 2ND READING - BILL 010694
I think we worked long, hard hours on this. People do have questions, including the Mayor, on this bill. And I said that if in fact, between now and January 29th, Council gets together along with the Mayor, and both the Mayor and City Council reach an amenable agreement, the bill could be recalled. And it's only under those conditions that we both agreed it could be recalled and reintroduced.
So I think that was the understanding that I think that Councilwoman Brown was told about.
Okay. Thank you for the clarification, Madam President.
Because, apparently, there is some confusion among a couple of the Councilmembers, and if you want to clarify that now, you could do so.
Well, I appreciate the opportunity. I will decline under the circumstances. 12/20/01 STATED - 2ND READING - BILL 010694 I just wanted to make sure that I more clearly understood, because generally, a recall is done at the request of the sponsor of the bill, and i just wanted to make sure that I understood what had actually been said. Obviously, I was not a part of that conversation. Thank you, Madam President.
You're welcome. The Chair recognizes Councilman Ortiz.
Madam President, I rise because I just want to make very clear that there are no two tiers of Council folks, one with more power than the other or more authority. I give the District Councilperson every right to be able to decide about several issueS that pertain to the District Councilperson. But, however, there are issues and -that's why the Councilpersons-at-large were created within its charter that pertain to the citizens of Philadelphia overall, that may be placed in one district -- the Convention Center, the Simon Center down at Penn's Landing, the stadium, other issues that impact all of the citizens of Philadelphia. And those issues are issues that everybody has a 12/20/01 STATED - 2ND READING - BILL 010694 right. Councilpeople do not have a -- the at-large folks in terms of dealing with several of the local issues in terms of District Council folks. But let us be clear that we are elected, 17 people are elected in this Council by the citizens of Philadelphia, and each and every one of us has the right in this body to be able to talk, to discuss, and to vote on every issue that comes before us. And no one has, by the Charter, any rights greater than anyone else. So I just want to say that, I want to make it very clear. And I also want to make very clear that the bill that we are passing today is a much better bill in terms of this City Council and in terms of oversight and in terms of being able to act as a check and a balance between the executive and the legislative than the one that was sent down by the Administration. Because in that bill, no Councilperson -- at-large or district -- really had any say in terms of how the money was going to be spent and what the priorities were going to be. There might have been private arrangements, there might have been private 12/20/01 STATED - 2ND READING - BILL 010694 arrangements, but in the body of the law, there was no role for this City Council to act up and review and act as a balance and a check on anything that went down. So the bill that is being passed is a better bill because it sets up a review system and it sets up a system of checks and balances and gives us as a body an authority to be able to see if the money that we are going to appropriate is being spent in a manner that benefits all of the citizens of Philadelphia and not just people from one district.
Thank you The Chair recognizes Councilman Mariano.
Thank you, Madam President. First of all, I'd like to thank Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown for at least being concerned about District Councilpeople. That's a very positive step in this direction. I think we're all trying to get to the same end, just through different means. Not having had the privilege to have been able to be involved in a couple of these meetings 12/20/01 STATED - 2ND READING - BILL 010694 here, I just needed this -- it's probably a technical question, and it was brought on by what Councilman Nutter said. If this was passed today does that -- it sets everything in motion. Now, if we recall the bill or if we all get together and happily recall this bill, does the clock still go? I mean, does NTI start working and we can fix it later? if you catch what I'm saying.
The Mayor would have up until, what, the 29th, Charlie, to sign the bill?
The Mayor would have up until the 29th to sign the bill
With that being said, since there seems to be some concern by some of the members of Council, we would be willing to meet with the Administration, and if we can all come to an amenable decision, then the bill would be recalled. And if it doesn't, the Mayor could either sign or veto the bill or not sign it and let it become law. 12/20/01 STATED - 2ND READING - BILL 010694
Okay, so the wheels start in motion after it becomes law.
Thank you. That clarifies my question. Thank you, Councilman Nutter.
It's something like our redistricting bill. That would be the same process. (Laughter.)
I'm still confused on that one, though, Council President.
Oh, okay. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Blackwell.
Thank you, Madam President. Being that I was distracted, I wanted to respond to the issue of -- you know, this whole project review team, I believe, is a Council issue, not a Council-versus-Administration issue. And certainly, I am sure that I speak for every District Council when I say, you know, we're one body. The District Councilperson does not in any way feel 12/20/01 STATED - 2ND READING - BILL 010694 offended or in competition with our at-large colleagues. Much like we have the Vacant Property Review Committee that defers to the District Councilperson, this bill, with reference to the District Councilperson having a say in properties, is kind of in concept an extension of the same. So, you know, the issue for the right to determine what happens in one's district is not meant in any way as any disrespect or in any way to undermine an at-large colleague. It's just a way of trying to deal with projects, potential projects in one's area. Thank you, Madam President.
You're welcome. The Chair recognizes Councilman Clarke.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I'll be brief 'cause I know we have other business to take care of. I just wanted to respond to the issue of District Councilperson versus at-large, and I'll be very brief. While I agree that there are 16 equal members of Council, and then there's the Council President, who, as Councilman Cohen refers to as 12/20/01 STATED - 2ND READING - BILL 010694 "the super councilperson," at the end of the day, if something goes wrong with Schuylkill Falls, they're going to look at Michael Nutter, right? Or if something goes wrong with Jefferson Square, they're going to look at Frankie DiCicco. Or if something goes wrong at Richard Allen, they're going to look at Councilman Darrell Clarke, all right? A District Councilperson will ultimately be held responsible for the development in their district. As it relates to the bill that I introduced, the alternative NTI bill, there were simple attachments that spoke of the Council's role. While it may not have been enough for some members, and I actually think that there could have been some changes to it, which we had attempted to do in the hearing, there were a number of instances in that legislation that it showed where Council action was required to access NTI financing and to do development. So I want to clarify that, that there were in fact controls in place in that particular bill, as there currently is in the development process. So I just want to thank you. 12/20/01 STATED - 2ND READING - BILL 010694
Thank you. The Chair recognizes Councilman Nutter
Oh, no, Madam President, I have nothing else to say. (Laughter.)
Thank you, Madam President. I just want to be clear and just get some information. When you stated earlier that we will meet with the Mayor, do you mean all of Council?
We will have our technical staff meet with the Mayor, if that is his desire. Once they have met and there have been some concerns or agreements made supposedly, then we will get Councilmembers together with our technical staff and review them. You could then have your input, you could let us know beforehand exactly what it is that you would like us to discuss.
Council President Verna, during the hearing in Finance Committee on NTI, I asked then that all of Council be given an opportunity to meet with our technical staff, the 12/20/01 STATED - 2ND READING - BILL 010694 Mayor's technical people and the Mayor so that we could all begin to become a little bit "unconfused," a little bit more clear on what some of the issues are here in this bill.
Well, this was a very, very hectic week, Councilwoman. I think there were many issues that I know that I was dealing with and many other Councilmembers were dealing with, and I'm sure that the Mayor had a much more important agenda than this.
Well, this is really important to the citizens of Philadelphia and I wanted to -
I didn't mean that the meeting would have to take place this week, but I would hope that we could use the time between now and January 29th to have that meeting. I think it's an important meeting to have so that we could all end up, hopefully, on the same page.
You're welcome. 12/20/01 STATED - 2ND READING - BILL 010694
Thank you, Madam President. I want to make it clear. I vote for this bill because I think it's an excellent bill. Many of the provisions in the bill came from someone I worked with very closely for many years, and that's the current mayor, who was always, when he was in City Council and was President of City Council, during both periods of his service, he always was insistent upon Council being able to meet its obligation on fiscal matters. He felt it was wrong for Council to go along with any mayor on financial matters. Council had to have the opportunity to make an independent study and come to an independent conclusion because he felt the main responsibility of Council lay in the budgetary field. And that is something that I agreed with him at that time and I agree with him now. I know of no items in this bill in its present form which dispute in any way the specifics that President Street and Mayor Street worked out on the Convention Center and on the Criminal Justice 12/20/01 STATED - 2ND READING - BILL 010694 Center, where he wanted to make that Council was held to a responsibility on fiscal matters. As always, whenever we pass the bill, if between the time of passage of the bill and the signing by the Mayor or the bill otherwise becoming law or being vetoed, there's always time to discuss things. And if anybody has good improvements for the bill, I guess we'll be willing to listen to it in the NTI area as well as in all other areas. But with respect to the bill, this is an excellent bill. It protects the taxpayers, it enables us in City Council to meet our obligations. And it does that in a way which makes it possible for Councilmembers-at-large to really fulfill their obligation. When -- after serving one term in the District -- as a District Councilman, I decided to come back to City Council, or at least make an effort to do so, in 1979. I did not think I was running for a less important position to run for Councilman at-large. Actually, though, I've kept it a secret from all but my wife. I really thought I was getting promoted, because I thought now I would have a total legitimate interest in everything going 12/20/01 STATED - 2ND READING - BILL 010694 on in the City, and that is the responsibility of a Councilman-at-large. During campaign time and other times at committee meetings, I make it a point to say one of the great things about Philadelphia is that every citizen has eight Councilmembers they can go to: First and foremost is always the local Councilperson who is closer to them, who was directly elected only by that district; but in addition to that, there are seven other Councilmembers that every citizen in the City of Philadelphia has a right to vote for and to (indiscernible) on and to pick five of those for Council at-large. And when you have a right to vote for somebody, you have a right to call upon them for services. And so the role of the Council-at-large is a very important role. It's to look at the City as a whole, in addition to giving support to the District Councilmembers. And I think what Councilman Ortiz said was absolutely right: Every Councilman votes on every bill, nothing can become law without the opportunity of each Councilman voting on every issue, and each Councilman is equally involved -- the 12/20/01 STATED - 2ND READING - BILL 010694 Councilmembers-at-large from the point of view of fairness and equity citywide and the District Councilmember from the point of view representing that particular group of citizens that elect them. But I just wanted to make very clear that I don't think this is a weak bill; I think it's an excellent bill.
I think it would move the City forward, I think it would represent a tremendous step forward in everybody's desire to fight blight, and I would hope that the Mayor would see to it that this bill is a bill that he can support fully, recognize City Council as a partner, and we can move ahead in all of our activities, including the redistricting blight, health matters, and all of the other important matters -- the public schools -that are deeply our concern this weekend. Thank you, Madam President.
Thank you, Councilman. The Chair recognizes Councilman Clarke.
Thank you, Madam President. Madam President, as we move ahead in the development process, I will be extending an 12/20/01 STATED - 2ND READING - BILL 010694 invitation to some of our at-large members the next time I have a controversial community meeting. So they can stand there with me. (Laughter.)
No problem? All right, okay. Somebody said sinking homes? Sinking homes? All right. Madam President, first, I just wanted to say, with respects to Councilwoman Miller's question, could we meet prior to the -- meet with the technical staff prior to the meeting with the Mayor's staff so we can give them some concerns we have and then that could be as a part of the discussion, and then afterwards also?
Madam President, I'm not trying to pick a fight, but I'd like to point out that I've been at meetings when I was the only Councilperson and there were no District Councilpersons. 12/20/01 STATED - 2ND READING - BILL 010694 Thank you.
Thank you. Are there any other comments? (No further comments.)
Aye. The ayes are 17, the votes of 0. A majority of all Councilmembers having voted in the affirmative, the bill passes. (Applause.) 12/20/01 STATED - 2ND READING - BILL 010543
The next bill to be called for consideration is Bill No. 010543.
An ordinance amending Chapter 16-400 of the Philadelphia Code, entitled "Vacant and Surplus Properties," by adding a subsection on the Philadelphia Association of Community Development Corporations.
This bill having been read on two different days, the question now is, shall the bill pass finally? The clerk will please call the roll.
Councilwoman Krajewski? 12/20/01 STATED - 2ND READING - BILL 010543