So they're 7 position that are vacant and have -- you're just 8 going to fill them. 9
I'm sorry. You 15 testified and you didn't identify yourself for the 16 record. The stenographer must have your name. 17
Most of the time our overtime is driven by the courts carrying our -- requiring our deputies staying over into the evening hours. So even when we add more people, we still generate -- they generate overtime.
Fine. And these 2169 COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - SHERIFF'S DEPT. TESTIMONY positions are civil service?
Thank you. Are there any questions from Members of the Committee?
I was mentioning how cooperative the Sheriff's Office is, and I hope the Council partly repaid your cooperation with us. Weren't their Sheriff's employees involved in the recent settlement along the delayed wage increase? I know there were Register of Wills employees, and it's my understanding that there were a number of Sheriff's employees involved. Council felt it was a real injustice.
Yes. I thanked the Council earlier for its assistance in that matter. Your resolution went a long way in revolving that matter.
Well, we're happy too. And all of us in Council, I think, appreciate the work of the Sheriff's Office.
Thank you. 2170 COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - SHERIFF'S DEPT. TESTIMONY
Are there any other questions or comments from Members of the Committee? (No further questions at this time.).
Gentlemen, thank you very much. SHERIFF GREEN: Thank you.
Clerk of Quarter Sessions. (Members from the Clerk of Quarter Sessions panel come forward.)
Good afternoon, Madame Chair. My name is Vivian Miller, Clerk of Quarter Sessions. I have with me Charles William, my First Deputy; and Tom Christian, my Budget Director. It's a pleasure to appear before the Members of this distinguished City Council for approval of my final fiscal budget of the current century, Fiscal Year 1999, totaling $4,016,920 for personnel, purchase of services, supplies, materials, and equipment. 2171 COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - CLERK OF QUARTER SESSIONS I am grateful for the efforts of the Administration in attempting to meet our needs. However, they fall short of some necessary growth in critical areas. City Council can recall the lean times we endured as you and Mayor Rendell labored to put the City financial house in order. During those lean years, the Clerk of Quarter Sessions, without hesitation, accepted across-the-board reductions. 44 percent over a four-year period, which caused us much hardship. The Fiscal Year '99 budget will not eliminate all of our hardships as the Clerk of Quarter Sessions strives to perform the mandated functions, especially in the area of revenue collection, disbursement by our fines and costs, and bail service units, which have experienced tremendous growth in the amount of revenues collected and disbursed through the General Fund, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and non-General Fund agencies, such as Traffic Court and Family Court. See attachment A-1 and A-2 for all funds collected and disbursed for calendar year 1995 to include calendar year 1997. 7 percent increase over a three-year period. Revenue collection growth did not just occur; it was accomplished by utilizing overtime at the expense of other Clerk of Quarter Sessions divisions such as Prison Liaison, Disposed Records, Notes of Testimony, and Data Entry, and working in cooperation with other criminal justice agencies. I find it difficult to continue to deprive those units of needed overtime required to execute ongoing projects, which have been delayed in the areas of county records, file destruction as dictated by the Commonwealth's retention schedules, shifting of Common Pleas Court and Municipal Court records, filing of motions and petitions posted by inmates from County and State institutions, filing and retrieving the notes of testimony for Appeals and Post-Conviction actions, and data by Bail Services. The Fines and Costs Unit is overwhelmed with new payments such as funds from a private collection agency, increased collections by the 2173 COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - CLERK OF QUARTER SESSIONS Probation Department, payments resulting from an agreement with the State Department of Corrections, Community Correction Centers, and Act 27. Pennsylvania law, which mandates that the Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole cannot release an inmate until verification is received that the mandatory costs of at least $30 has been paid through the Clerk of Quarter Sessions. I have addressed the need for two additional employees in a letter to Mayor Rendell dated January 23, 1998. On February 27, 1998, I received a response from Mr. Dean Kaplan, Budget Director, and he has agreed to get together with me to discuss the issue. Our staff will meet with Mr. Kaplan in the very near future to review the need to increase our funding to more detail. The increased funding amounts to $45,731, covering both of the new positions. Mr. Kaplan has been responsive to our needs in the past, and I feel comfortable that upon review, he will again be helpful. While revenue collection is important, 2174 COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - CLERK OF QUARTER SESSIONS it is not the sole responsibility of the Clerk of Quarter Sessions as its staff must record, index, and file bills of information and Municipal transcripts, issue commitments or discharge for defendants, provide services (telephones, over-the-counter and mail) to judges, attorneys, the public, and numerous inquiries from other criminal justice agencies from all across the United States.
In addition, we maintain Juvenile Court case files, including sending subpoenas to witnesses and informing attorneys of trial dates. The Clerk of Quarter Sessions is a multifaceted operation and is a vital division in the criminal justice system. With your financial support, I will continue to see the Quarter Sessions remains a viable and useful agency. Thank you.
Thank you very much. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Miller.
Thank you, Madame Chair. I have one question. 2175 COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - CLERK OF QUARTER SESSIONS Under where funds are collected and disbursed to the Commonwealth, you mean you're paying the Commonwealth money in relation to domestic violence? What is that? I mean. . .
My name is Charles Williams. I'm the First Deputy of the Clerk of Quarter Sessions. The funds we collect for the Commonwealth are mandated by the legislature in terms of -- for example, the one that you alluded to, the domestic violence goes into fund that's in the General Fund for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. They use those funds in different programs throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
So it's money that helps support domestic violence programs.
Okay. I was just wondering about that one. Under "Unclaimed Money," is that money that people -- bails that they don't come to pick up or --
That's correct. Under 2176 COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - CLERK OF QUARTER SESSIONS Pennsylvania statute, after seven years, the money lying there and not being claimed, once the surety has been informed that they should come in and get their money, the money is then (unintelligible) as abandoned funds and goes to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Thank you. Are there any other questions for the Clerk of Quarter Sessions? (No further questions.)
Philadelphia Prisons will be next. (Members of Philadelphia Prisons panel comes forward.)
Good afternoon. Please identify yourself for the record and 2177 COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - PHILADELPHIA PRISONS TESTIMONY proceed with your testimony. COMMISSIONER COSTELLO: Good afternoon. My name is Tom Costello, I'm the Commissioner of Prisons in Philadelphia. With me today, to my left is Debbie Raddock, Director of our Options Program; Edward Syzmanski, our Fiscal Officer; and Gary Henderson, our Contract Administrator. Councilwoman Verna and Members of City Council, I want to thank you all for the opportunity to present testimony regarding the FY '99 operating budget request. At the PPS, our greatest challenge is to provide the most cost-effective service possible for the taxpayers of the City of Philadelphia, while providing a safe, secure, humane correctional environment that adequately contains persons who are accused or convicted of illegal acts. In FY '98, we've been challenged to provide these services to a large inmate that at times has exceeded 5900, well above the 5600 average originally projected and budgeted for this year. As a result of these temporary fluctuations 2178 COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - PHILADELPHIA PRISONS TESTIMONY in population, through the first half of half of FY '98, the PPS provided a safe and secure habitation for an average of 56,077 inmates. The $112,422,927 operating budget request for FY '99 is based on a projected average of a population of 5600. 390 million from 722 in FY '98 to 736 in FY '99, most of which will support the 3 percent negotiated wage increase that goes into effect 12/15/98. The FY '99 General Fund Class 200 request includes a net increase of $223,744. The decrease in FY '99 results from the transfer of 987,000 in funding from PPS to the Mayor's Office of Information Services to support contract and maintenance of our MIS system. In connection with the suspension of the prison cap, the City developed innovative pretrial release guidelines to manage our population. We've replaced the Holmesburg facility with the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility (CFCF), with another new facility currently in the planning stages, and is now implementing a new information and technology 2179 COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - PHILADELPHIA PRISONS TESTIMONY system designed to improve operations and security. As part of the City's efforts to provide the highest value for every tax payer dollar spent, we have instituted significant cost-reduction and quality-enhancing initiatives over the past few years. 7 million annually. We are currently in the process of developing new requests for proposals for commissary, food services, health services, and we will be renegotiating these contracts for FY '99. PPS has also made a significant investment in comprehensive MIS systems that is introducing state-of-the-art technology in every major prison function. This also greatly enhances our ability to maintain a secure environment. FY '99 funding will also allow the PPS to continue providing for many service our 2180 COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - PHILADELPHIA PRISONS TESTIMONY population requires, including education, drug treatment, and employment programs. Beginning in calendar 1998, the PPS instituted a no-smoking policy for staff and inmates. This program was gradually phased in between November 1997 and February '98, with comprehensive Nicotine Withdrawal Programs made available to all those in need. PPS provides in-house drug treatment services throughout the prison system for our population via the Opportunities for Prevention and Treatment Intervention for Offenders Needing Support, known as"OPTIONS," our drug abuse treatment program. In FY '98 and '99, the program will serve approximately 700 inmates each month. PPS also provides over one thousand vocational training slots for inmates, including 400 for food service trainees, and 1200 inmate work positions in areas such as grounds, maintenance, and cleaning throughout our facilities.
In FY '99, vocational training programs will cost approximately $515,000, up from 315 during FY '98. This will increase the number of slots from 129 to 197. 2181 COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - PHILADELPHIA PRISONS TESTIMONY Last fiscal year, to control the prison population, PPS housed inmates in other Pennsylvania county prisons. Although out-of-county housing did assist the City in managing the inmate population and its facilities, the program was extremely expensive. To avoid the problems and associated without a county housing during FY '98, we have developed over 250 temporary beds in CFCF and the Detention Center. Whenever the population spikes above 5600, newly-admitted inmates are housed in the short-term temporary housing. Like all public entities, PPS is faced with limited resources. The most serious problem facing the prison system over the coming years is the possibility of further growth in the inmate population and its resulting financial impact on the City. Ultimately, the number of accused and convicted individuals sent to the PPS by the local courts is outside of the City's control, although the City has developed strong population management initiatives, these initiatives can only partially mitigate the demand for prison capacity. 2182 COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - PHILADELPHIA PRISONS TESTIMONY All participants in the criminal justice system will need to do their part in order to prevent the PPS budget from expanding beyond what the City's tax base can support. This concludes my testimony, and I'm available for any questions you may have.
Thank you very much. I just have a few questions. Can you tell us what are the professional services that cost over $9 million? COMMISSIONER COSTELLO: All of the professional services for the PPS includes all of the drug treatment counseling, social service, educational, and vocational programs within the overall program that we provide to the inmate population.
Bear with me a minute, please. Last year, I questioned about the need for $144,000 for new trays. And at that time, I believe it was indicated that every six months, every six to nine months, we have to get new trays, but that you were looking into alternatives that would be much less expensive. 2183 COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - PHILADELPHIA PRISONS TESTIMONY Have you looked into that? Because I notice you are again asking for $144,000 for trays. COMMISSIONER COSTELLO: Yes, we have Councilwoman.
Are they the plastic-type trays? COMMISSIONER COSTELLO: Those are the plastic trays that we initially -- that was part of the initial start-up for the operation of the food service for that facility. This is strictly for the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility food service delivery system. I have with me today our Contract Administrator, Gary Henderson, who is head of the task force to address those issues, and there been a number of initiatives that we have taken on concerning the tray issue, including hiring an expert in the area of food service to assist us in deciding how we're going to present our food services in that facility in that future.
Because, as I said, I note that we spent over $322,000 in '97, and 140,000 for this year and 140,000 for next 2184 COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - PHILADELPHIA PRISONS TESTIMONY year. Are we going to be asked to spend $140,000 every year for trays? COMMISSIONER COSTELLO: I don't anticipate that.
There has to be some alternative. COMMISSIONER COSTELLO: There has been a number of issues concerning the trays, Councilwoman, and we do have a couple of options and we do have a plan of action for the upcoming year. Gary.
I'm Gary Henderson, I'm the Contract Administrator for the prisons. Madame Chairwoman, the issue is what the cost of each of the alternatives are for the different methodologies for feeding the prisons. Although you look at the cost of the trays --
Excuse me, Gary, you're going to have to speak closer into the mike.
Okay. Although you look at the cost of the trays, you have to look at 2185 COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - PHILADELPHIA PRISONS TESTIMONY it also in terms of the cost of the meals. One of the things that having pre-plated trays gets us is a lower cost per meal. One of the studies that we have done indicates that even though we have this cost and we're trying to reduce the cost for trays, we're in fact getting a lower cost per meal out of the contract as a result, and that cost more than offsets the cost of the trays.
So what did it cost us in '97 when it cost us $322,000 for trays? How much did it cost us for the food?
If we had had to run a total cook-serve operation, as opposed to the cook-chill operation, we'd probably be paying 5 to 8 percent more for the cost of the food than we are now out of an $8.2 million budget.
It's a very simple issue, but it bothersome to see this in the budget year after year. 2186 COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - PHILADELPHIA PRISONS TESTIMONY
Okay. What happens, Madame Chairman, is as they the trays go through the rethermalization, like a microwave tray, they start cracking. Right now, we're getting approximately 250 uses out of a tray. We're looking at getting up to 400 uses out of each tray, which is what the manufacturer says we should get. That number will come down in future years.
All right. Also, on -35, I notice that we have almost doubled the allocation for shoes, from 23,000 to 49,000. And yet, it would appear that we're saving on uniforms. So I don't understand that at all.
I'm Edward Syzmanski, Fiscal Officer of the prisons. This is all related to the source for the supplies. It's depending on the particular vendor. In some cases, we can get a very good deal on a particular item; other times, we don't. 2187 COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - PHILADELPHIA PRISONS TESTIMONY This year we had to pay more for shoes. And since the year isn't over yet, we projected that at about 49,000. It may not be that much. And as far as the, let's see, the clothing, we had a large inventory of clothing left over from the previous year. Therefore, we didn't have to buy as much this user.
Thank you. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Fernandez.
Thank you, Madame Chair. Good afternoon. COMMISSIONER COSTELLO: Good afternoon, Councilwoman.
I had a couple of questions. One, I think when the Managing Director was here, I raised some questions about the use of electronic monitoring, like how much is it used, and how much do you feel this is saving the prisons? And I think I was told that you'd have 2188 COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - PHILADELPHIA PRISONS TESTIMONY the person who knows about that. COMMISSIONER COSTELLO: Yes, we do, Councilwoman. This is Diane Granlund, Deputy Managing Director for Population Management, who just ran over here from across the street. And she would be glad to answer that question concerning the monitoring unit. Diane.
Thank you, Madame Chair. Councilwoman, the electronic monitoring in the City of Philadelphia is under the administration of the First Judicial District. I can tell you roughly that they have, over the last, oh, I would say two, two and a half years, purchased approximately 200 electronic monitoring units that are currently in use for various periods of time, depending upon the offender. In addition, there has been an indication from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania that they may be interested in doubling that equipment for the First Judicial District, and we have to sit down with certain State representatives to discuss that and discuss the resource implications of that offer, and we intend to do that. We have had two meetings scheduled, 2189 COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - PHILADELPHIA PRISONS TESTIMONY which, unfortunately, had to be cancelled. But we expect that the electronic monitoring will be doubled in the near future. The computer system that monitors the electronic monitoring equipment has the capacity to monitor twice what it is now monitoring.
And what do you estimate the savings is to have someone under surveillance with the electronic monitoring as opposed to having to incarcerate them?
It would actually depend on the number of days that are saved, so it might vary. They are presently averaging 90 days on an electronic monitor. If they were in custody for that amount of time, it would be 90 times our per-day rate for housing prisoners.
There is a cost to that, but I frankly don't know what that is, but it is much less. It's probably under $10, I'm told, $10 2190 COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - PHILADELPHIA PRISONS TESTIMONY a day.
My second question is regarding the City Controller's report on prisons, his FY '96 report. It said out of $6.4 million in assets for which a value could be readily established, only $1.2 million or percent were both 13 inventoried and physically identified. And I 14 think there was a sense that you feel you'd made 15 some progress in expanding that number. 16 Could you tell us where you are now and 17 what your plans are to make sure all of that 18 equipment is both inventoried and identified? 19 COMMISSIONER COSTELLO: We've addressed that issue, Councilwoman. And Ed Syzmanski, again, our Fiscal Officer, is one of the key administrators in implementing new procedures.
It's not like we lost the equipment. It was actually there. It was our procedures for finding it. 2191 COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - PHILADELPHIA PRISONS TESTIMONY A lot of the -- most of the equipment in the prisons, it's all identified with little property tags, which, you know, everyone has seen throughout the City of Philadelphia. With the inmates and the correctional officers and a large amount of staff using the equipment, the tags, you know, become removed after a period of time. And when we go out to inventory the equipment, if a tag is missing, it's extremely difficult for to us identify that particular item and tie it to an item on the inventory list. This year, we've sent computerized spread sheets to all the division heads, with a good description of the item, and they are going to report items back to us anything over $500, whether it has a tag or not; that way we can associate that with the item on the inventory. Hopefully, our success will be a lot better this year. COMMISSIONER COSTELLO: I guarantee you it will be better this year, Councilwoman.
So that's a "This Year's" project; it hasn't been done yet? 2192 COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - PHILADELPHIA PRISONS TESTIMONY
We're in the process right now. We hope to have it finished in about two weeks. COMMISSIONER COSTELLO: It was implemented earlier this year, Councilwoman.
Okay. And my last question was around your smoking policy at the prison. My understanding is that there's no 11 smoking any longer for inmates, and I assume it's for staff in restricted areas. How is that going and what's actually happening? COMMISSIONER COSTELLO: Actually, the smoking policy is very simple: there's no smoking anywhere in any facility by either staff, inmate, or visitor. It was implemented officially -- or came into effect officially on January the 1st of this year. And we spent a long time, several months, planning and phasing this into the prison system when it became effective on 1/1. The OPTIONS Director and many other key staff members spent a great deal of time meeting with the inmates, communicating with them what's 2193 COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - PHILADELPHIA PRISONS TESTIMONY going to be available as far as treatment. And we even went as far as a hotline for the -- the smoking cancer hotline that we implemented for the population. There has not been any significant incidents within the prison system since that time. The last pack of cigarettes was sold on December the 8th of last year. And we have evaluated the program to be a tremendous success, thanks to both the inmate population cooperation and the initiatives of the administration.
But what would happen with a staff person, would they have to go outside? COMMISSIONER COSTELLO: That's correct. They would have to go outside the building.
Well, it's a major achievement to have that happen. And, hopefully, it will save both the City some health costs and some of the inmates and guards from not dying a horrible death of cancer. COMMISSIONER COSTELLO: That was one of our initiatives to address, but the main motivation for myself was fire safety. Last year 2194 COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - PHILADELPHIA PRISONS TESTIMONY we had 49 fires throughout the prison system. And at the facility that contains 40 percent of our population, we had 1.
Wow. COMMISSIONER COSTELLO: And that's a problem. As you know, we lock our fire exits in the Philadelphia prison system.
How many inmates availed themselves of the program? COMMISSIONER COSTELLO: There has been a number of inmates who have taken advantage of the programming. However, we find that most of the inmates do not want assistance; they stop on their own. And through -- after meeting with Dr. Robinson on several occasions, the Deputy Public Health Commissioner and the smoking cessation expert in the State, he feels that this is probably the most effective way to stop smoking. And that message has been conveyed to the population.
Thank you. The Chair recognizes Councilman Cohen. 2195 COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - PHILADELPHIA PRISONS TESTIMONY
These trays we were talking about before, Councilwoman raised the question. Are they special kind of trays? COMMISSIONER COSTELLO: Councilman, these trays are not your normal type of tray. The reason that we've had so many problems with them is due to the fact that they're actually a baking fan as opposed to a regular food service tray that one would think would be used inside a prison system. The trays are heated. The food is pre-plated on the tray, it is stored, it is refrigerated, and it is sent to the housing area at meal time. The meal is then taken out of the refrigerators and stored in the various housing areas, and then rethermed to a -- I believe it's 350 degrees.
In the tray? COMMISSIONER COSTELLO: In the tray. And that's been some of the problems that we've had with the trays. In many cases, the trays were -- had to be destroyed because they did not hold up to the heat of the retherm ovens. In some cases, the 2196 COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - PHILADELPHIA PRISONS TESTIMONY heating was not adjusted properly, and it was overheated, and the trays could not stand the temperature degree for that particular meal. So we feel that the tray delivery service at CFCF is the most efficient method that we have in serving the inmate population. Out of 5700 inmates, almost 5700 inmates today, almost 2,000 inmates are fed every day, 3 times a day, with this system. It is not only the most efficient and effective system, it also the most economical system, as Mr. Henderson said. We would actually save maybe up to 10 percent if the entire system would be served with this cook-chill tray system. However, we do need to address, and we have addressed them, the problems of keeping the trays in service and getting almost 400 uses out of them instead of less than 250. And that's been our problem. And we are addressing it and we are making progress on it.
Mm-hmm. Where does the food basically come from? COMMISSIONER COSTELLO: The food is 2197 COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - PHILADELPHIA PRISONS TESTIMONY prepared at one facility, the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility in our factory, and they prepare 20,000 meals a day for the entire prison system.
But only some of it is cook-chill? COMMISSIONER COSTELLO: All of it is cook-chill -- or most of it is cook-chill.
And that's 20,000 meals a day? COMMISSIONER COSTELLO: Yes, sir.
And that should be enough to accommodate a little under 7,000? COMMISSIONER COSTELLO: Well, it's also -- we also feed the staff as well as the inmates.
Maybe I misheard before. I thought you said you feed 2,000 inmates a day. COMMISSIONER COSTELLO: Yes, but there's three meals a day.
Then that would be 6,000. COMMISSIONER COSTELLO: That's only at the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility. We 2198 COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - PHILADELPHIA PRISONS TESTIMONY feed the rest of the population through normal cook-serve operations. The food is prepared in plastic bags and it's sent over this and warmed up at the facilities.
And you have comparative costs where you use the trays and where you don't? COMMISSIONER COSTELLO: Yes, sir, we do.
Why don't you have all the -- why don't use cook-chill all the way, throughout? COMMISSIONER COSTELLO: Well, the reason we do not use the pre-plated trays throughout is that we're still trying to work out some of the problems with the current tray that we have. There are some alternatives such as disposable trays, but they're more expensive. We could go tomorrow to a disposable tray, and if we were to purchase retherm ovens for the rest of the facilities, we could feed the entire population with that type of food service delivery system.
And these are the 2199 COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - PHILADELPHIA PRISONS TESTIMONY options you're considering? COMMISSIONER COSTELLO: These are the options. And, eventually, I'd like to be at that point, Councilman.
The basic food, do you buy the food separately? COMMISSIONER COSTELLO: The food service is contracted out to Aramark.
I'm not getting that name. COMMISSIONER COSTELLO: Aramark.
Aramark. And do we know where that food comes from, does it come from the surrounding areas? COMMISSIONER COSTELLO: I couldn't answer that question. Maybe Gary could .
Aramark uses four or five wholesalers, three of which are in the five-county region.
All right. I'd certainly like to see more. I think we ought to be favoring strongly local producers of food. The 2200 COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - PHILADELPHIA PRISONS TESTIMONY five-county areas begins to sound quite reasonable. I'm not sure whether it is, but the closer to Philadelphia the better. But what percentage do these three producers produce of the food? The three of them, do that produce three-fifths of the --.
I have the statistics back in my office, Councilman. We could provide that to you.
I would like to see that because I know I was very concerned some years ago when we kind of put a lot of pressure on a lot of Philadelphia producers, I think mostly in South Philly, who used to produce the food for the prisons. And I think most of them lost their contract. And I don't know whether they went out of business or not, but they had long tales of woe as to what was going to happen by losing this business. It was a significant part of their regular business. And I think we ought to be kind of supporting Philadelphia and the immediately surrounding area businesses. Let me ask you another question. But 2201 COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - PHILADELPHIA PRISONS TESTIMONY you will send me the material? To the Chair? I don't know if everybody is interested or not, but send it to the Chair, and it will come through. Secondly, what happened to that problem where the union was concerned about the number of guards in a corridor, I think?
Very good. Is that still a live dispute? COMMISSIONER COSTELLO: It is not. We went to arbitration.
Right. COMMISSIONER COSTELLO: We won the arbitration, the Prison System Administration won the arbitration. And we met -- I met with the union officials, and we worked out a plan where they were actually given eight additional posts to 2202 COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - PHILADELPHIA PRISONS TESTIMONY cover the void that they felt they had. And after evaluation, I felt it was justified. So there is a staff deployment plan in place CFCF that is agreeable by both management and union.
All right so everybody seem satisfied right now? COMMISSIONER COSTELLO: Yes, sir.
That may be why there's been relatively quiet on the matter. They got some additional -- you said eight additional spots covered? COMMISSIONER COSTELLO: Yes, that's correct.
You're welcome. Any other questions from Members of the Committee. (No further questions.)
Thank you very much, gentlemen. COMMISSIONER COSTELLO: Thank you, Madame Chair. 2203 COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - REGISTER OF WILLS TESTIMONY - - -
Register of Wills is next. (Members of Register of Wills panel comes forward.)
Good afternoon. Please identify yourself for the record and proceed with your testimony.
Good afternoon, Mrs. Chairperson. I'm Ronald R. Donatucci. To my left and to your right is Anthony Derose, my Finance Officer; and Don Watson, my Administrative Officer for the Register of Wills. We submitted a prepared text that was submitted several weeks ago. I'd like to point out this that budget request does not reflect -- and I just got done talking to our Finance Director for the City and our Budget Director and our Class 100. As you know and I want to publicly thank City Council for your great help in getting our pay raise. That's been long overdue for the past six years. Especially you, Councilwoman, and Councilman Cohen and DiCicco and everybody. I 2204 COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - REGISTER OF WILLS TESTIMONY want to acknowledge the job you've done. The bonuses finally have been given to our employees. The pay raise, the percent, 5 which has been retroactive to April 1, 1997, which 6 is 5 percent, and 3 percent, which took effect on 7 December 15, 1997, for a total of 8 percent is, I 8 understand, in the process of being given to the employees, retroactive. The employees still not have received it. Now, this Class 100 number does not reflect --
Were you given any indication as to when they would be receiving it? Because I know several of them come into my office on a daily basis to inquire.
Maybe Mr. Kaplan can answer it. (Dean Kaplan, City's Budget Director, comes forward.)
Hi, I'm Dean Kaplan, the City's Budget Director. 2205 COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - REGISTER OF WILLS TESTIMONY All of the -- I know all of the pay raises and adjustments and retroactive payments are in process. I don't know exactly when they'll hit the payroll, but it should be soon. We can find out and let you know and the Register know as well.
Many of these have already spent the money that they haven't received.
I know that, as the Sheriff pointed out, because we know the Sheriff said -- sometimes, as you know, there are two different pay weeks. There's an A group and a B group, and they're on offsetting weeks. So if Sheriff has already gotten theirs, my suspicion is that it's the next pay. But we'll investigate and let you know.
Thank you, Dean. I would just like to point out, our 2206 COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - REGISTER OF WILLS TESTIMONY Class 100, according to my estimation, this figure's approximately maybe 230 or $240,000 light because it does not include the percent, which 5 is in effect now, and the percent, which all City employees will be getting, I believe, December 15, 1998. So I'd like to point that out for the record. And the Finance Director and Dean were kind enough to assure me that the budget has been closed officially, but they will address this. And this way, I'm putting everybody on notice that I'm staying in my budget. And if there's any transfers, it's not a result of my overspending; it's a result of this pay raise.
I'd like to point out that we've stayed within our budget and with additional duties. As you know, the Supreme Court has been mandating additional duties for our office, in both divisions, the Register of Wills and the Orphans' Court Division. We're constantly being required to do further bookkeeping. An example, now our Marriage 2207 COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - REGISTER OF WILLS TESTIMONY License Bureau, we are required to take Social Security numbers. I was one of the few Registers that -- that initially balked at this because the initial federal law required the Social Security number be put right on the marriage license, and I really felt that that was an invasion of privacy, and we started to keep an additional set of books, which now I understand, that's the guidelines. The law has been amended that you can keep an additional set of records. So when anybody in to get a marriage license, which is a public document, it will not have that person's Social Security number. That's for our keeping, and anybody else that wants to inquire, any official agency. But that does require additional help, additional staffing. We're trying to devise a computer program with security codes so we can program and computerize. The reason I mention this, last year, we promised that we are going to continue within our budget constraints to computerize. We computerized one aspect. A lot of our operation is being computerized, but we did one further 2208 COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - REGISTER OF WILLS TESTIMONY computerization. We went out and bought a simple bookkeeping program, and now we are (unintelligible) attorneys and the public that do not pay additional fees. And to give you an example, Councilwoman, in the last five months, we've collected an additional $67,000 compared to last year, over. Now, we intend to try and computerize our probating so when you come in, instead of having a probate clerk take the application, the letters and then go over it manually, check to see if there's an existing file, all of this will hopefully done by computer and tied in to other departments, the Department of Revenue, the Board of Revision of Taxes. If there's a property that's, say, on the list of inventory that's an asset, you know, to make sure that the proper value is put down instead of the City of Philadelphia waiting for the additional fee, that this will be indicated immediately, that when they list the property on the 1800 block of South Broad Street, they can't underestimate the value because this will be 2209 COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - REGISTER OF WILLS TESTIMONY picked up immediately. This is our ultimate goal, and these are some of the things that we'd like to do. But, again, I would like to thank the President of City Council and every Councilmember for the help you've given us in the past. As I stated earlier, not to be repetitive, our duties have totally expanded, and we're still working with a reduced staff. And I thank you once again for your past help.
Would it help you any to make some of your part-time employees full-time employees?
Would it help? They still have a certain service like -- I'll give you an example, Councilwoman. We're in the process in the next, I believe, 90 days of moving our entire archives once again to 30th and Market. We will be bringing part-time employees in and, you know, every summer, we try to get summer interns to do this type of, you know, we like to --
I never got one. How does one go about getting a summer intern? 2210 COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - REGISTER OF WILLS TESTIMONY What are the qualifications?
Councilwoman, you're the teacher, you're asking me? I'm pretty sure by the time I get back to my office, I'll have the name. But I'm pretty sure you have a very capable applicant. But I'll make sure that we address that seriously. But we usually hire them in July. This year, we may have to bring them in a little bit earlier. When is our move, Don?
We're at 401 North Broad, and we were asked -- I mean Dick Cermele called me one day and said to me, Would you be willing to help us occupy the space at 30th and Market? It's more feasible economically. And I said, Sure, we'll move over. But, again, we're going to have another massive move. And this is like, what, the third time in eight to ten years? I hope this is the 2211 COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - REGISTER OF WILLS TESTIMONY last one. But this takes a number of employees to catalog and index files which go back to 1682.
Just to make a comment. It was much easier to work on the problem of your employee because of the well-known efficiency. I was surprised when I began and others were doing the same thing, talking to the Administration. Everybody admitted the efficiency of your office and the cooperation of your employees.
And it made the job much easier for those of us in Council, practically all of us, maybe all of us were working actively.
So I wanted to congratulate you. You've got a very good record for efficiency. 2212 COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - REGISTER OF WILLS TESTIMONY
I think it makes it easier when we do raise our fees along with other departments. There's not much balking because when they do come in, the whole office is user-friendly. And, you know, a lot of them are people that participate in community activities, and I believe that's what makes it work.
Thank you. Any other questions from Members of the Committee? (No questions.)
Very well. And I'll be sure to send it to you, too. This Committee will in recess until tomorrow morning, at 9:00 a.m. (Adjourned at 4:30 p.m.) - - - 2213 C E R T I F I C A T E I HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing proceedings of the Council of the City of Philadelphia of Tuesday, March 3, 1998 were reported and accurately by me, and that this is a correct transcript of same. RE: RECESSED HEARING COUNCIL COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE BILL NO. 980003, FY '99 OPERATING BUDGET __________________________________, JOSEPHINE CARDILLO, RPR