I think we probably, since it was 1.5, and we got to 125, then we probably could double that and get to 500 -- we could probably get to 300 programs at the rec centers, which would substantially -- I believe we would then be creating another 10,000 slots. There is private philanthropy that's very interested in this as well. And if we bump up ours, they will bump up theirs. The William Penn Foundation is putting a major initiative together. We can be, as other cities are becoming, a city that says that supporting families and kids is important and, in fact, is economically attractive as well as good for children.
I think it's the biggest public safety measure that we can take.
And it would 2038 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE probably give us more safety than adding -- even though we are for more police, I think if we do this, it will increase the safety in our neighborhoods immeasurably.
Right. From the US Attorney General to the police all over the country, they say the most vulnerable hour for juvenile offenses is between 3 and 6.
I just really wanted to make an observation, hoping that somehow we could deal with the situation. The mayoral candidates, all of them, seem to have adopted the mantra of the main qualification to be mayor is to be able to say no to worthy causes, which seems to me to imply that you only say yes to unworthy causes. And many people studying governmental activities might say that seems to be pretty accurate. But I think we've just got to get people to understand that human values are at stake, the issues raised by you, the issues raised by the folks who just spoke before you, the 2039 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE victims of crime. In every area, somehow something has happened in this country which tends to say, They're all worthy causes but, you know, we've got to be tough, we've got to be really fiscal conservatives. And if it's a worthy cause, the answer's got to be no 'cause that shows how tough you are. And I think it's just such a bad public policy. Government ought to be out in front in leading the way to better lives for people and ought to accept that responsibility. That's what government's about. That's why we have government in the first place. So I think if your message can get out and the message of those who testify on all human areas, I kind of think in the long run, if we put one one-hundredth or one one-thousandth of the money into these human projects, that we're talking about putting in stadiums and river front casinos, I think we would really bring about a major improvement in life for everybody. (Applause.)
Thank you, Madam Chair. 2040 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE
Thank you. I just wanted to add one piece, and that is that there are a lot of wonderful programs going on right now, but we will not reap the benefits citywide until we get enough of them in every neighborhood -- that's enough home visiting, it's enough child care, it's enough after-school care. And then we will see the decline in juvenile delinquency, and then we'll have increased safety and then we'll have the human values supported. So we're moving in the right direction, but we've got to beef it up. Thank you.
Good afternoon. My name is Dr. Michael Danjczhek. I serve as Executive Director and President of the Children's Home of Easton, Pennsylvania. And I'm down here this afternoon at my 2041 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE own request to the Department of Human Services to say a few words as Council considers the budget process, perhaps to realize that dollars that have been well-spent in the past might indicate a good reason to consider spending more dollars in the future. And also to thank the Council for the work they're done in the past on behalf of children who need out-of-home care. The Children's Home of Easton, in partnership with the Department of Human Services, and specifically with Commissioner Reeves and Deputy Commissioner Tucker and funding from this City and this Council, have been able to accomplish several things over the last few years. But I want to go back a little further to 1885 and tell you that we were founded because of problems in Philadelphia. And there's a region around Philadelphia, outside the city, who understand city problems and from day one, did not view things in a parochial nature but rather in partnership with our neighbors, and we were founded in 1885 for inner-city orphans and specifically Philadelphia. So we have a 113-year history of working with the city. 2042 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE I only arrived -- I was not there in 1885; I just look like it. But I did come in 1974, and so the first class that I worked with graduated in 1975. Since that time, we have put 97 of our residents from the City of Philadelphia through public schools and with diplomas. Our students have gone on to public job training, private trade schools, military service, business schools, and on to higher education. In terms of higher education, we've had at least one student graduate from the following: Indiana University of Pennsylvania, West Chester University, Kutztown University, Moravian College, the Katherine Gibbs School, Allentown College of St. Frances DeSales, Villanova University, and the United States Naval Academy. 85 cume, and did it in three years, not four. In terms of jobs, our students have gone on to be: a supervisor for Bell Atlantic under customer service; we have a police chief in the Commonwealth -- these are all Philadelphia children. Into the marketing department for CBS; 2043 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE Executive Assistant at Lucent Technologies; a professional football player who today is a professional wrestler; an Assistant Director of Hospital Admission; day care teachers, etc. I want you to know that the dollars you've spent on children and those that have been wisely monitored in a partnership in the Department of Human Services -- and, therefore, agencies like the Children's Home of Easton, and we are not so unique, the Department uses many similar homes -- does not stop the day the Philadelphia dollars stop. Any student who graduates from our program in good standing in high school is welcome back in our program at any point in his life, provided that they've left in good standing and a place to come back to. Home is home, and we agree to be home long after your dollars stop. Just in a way of saying good-bye and in a way of show and tell you that might enjoy, I have with me Private First Class Isaac Cameron. Isaac came to us in 1997, graduated from Philadelphia, would have needed at least two more years of high school as an 18-year-old, asked us 2044 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE if he could consider GED training instead and get a job. He did that, he finished that. He just finished six months active duty and has now finished his training Wednesday. Today's Friday. Two days ago, he came home. There's no more funding from Philadelphia, but he's with our children's home.
I want you to know that's the sort of work supported by the Department of Human Services, that they are not just cranking through dollars and living up to regulations; they show a true caring nature for the children of this city. I work with lots of counties, and I have no 15 prouder partnership than I have down here in Philadelphia. Thank you for your support in the past. Continue to support them in the future. Thank you. )
Good afternoon to members of the committee and Madame President. My name is Melvin Buckman. I live on Addison Street. I've lived there for ten years. 2045 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE My business is out of the city, it's in Radnor, but I live in the city. I grew up in Philadelphia and attended the public schools and graduated from Overbrook High School. I am very much committed to Philadelphia and its future. And as part of that commitment, I served as President the Society Hill Civic Association from 1995 to 1998. I am here today on behalf of the East Philadelphia Coalition for a Free Library Branch, which is a consortium of neighborhood associations in the portion of Center City lying east of Broad Street -- specifically Chinatown, Old City, Society Hill, South Street Neighbors, Queen Village, and Washington Square West. In the 1990 census, this area had 25,380 residents -- 2300 were children and 2550 roughly were senior citizens 65 years or older. But the despite the important and central location of these neighborhoods, they do not contain any Free Library branches, and our residents have, therefore, been without local library service. We are, therefore, most pleased that the proposed City budgets provide for a branch 2046 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE library in our area. We thank all who have made this possible -- Councilman DiCicco, Mayor Rendell, Director Shelkrot, and all the others who have worked with them in this effort. We are very much looking forward to our new library branch. We understand that the location presently under consideration is a portion of the building of the Balch Institute in the 100 block of South Seventh Street, a location which is near the center of the entire area. We think the location is ideal, and we are also pleased that if it is located there, the new library branch will be able to benefit from the Balch activities in the balance of the building, particularly the Balch's own private library, its large collection of documents from other organizations, and its own large volume of materials and programs relating to ethnicity in our society. As residents of the city, we are especially interested in attracting and keeping young families in Center City. Adequate library facilities are an important factor in achieving that goal, especially when the lack of a library 2047 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE in East Philadelphia is contrasted with the extensive library facilities in the suburbs adjacent to the city. But this will not be a facility only for children; residents of all ages will use it, and it will become an important part of our community. I appreciate this opportunity to address you. And once again, we thank everyone who has made this new library a reality. Thank you so much.
Thank you for coming in to testify. Friends of the Free Library. And then the Tabor Rams Youth Association will be next. Are they here? (Roseanne Gill comes forward.)
All right. We will certainly make your entire testimony part of the record, so I ask that you abbreviate.
Certainly. It's short. My 2048 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE name is Roseanne Gill, G-I-L-L. Good afternoon. I would like to thank you, Madam President, and the Members of City Council for allowing me to speak here this afternoon. As I said, I'm Roseanne Gill, a member of the Board of Directors of the Friends of the Free Library of Philadelphia. My involvement with the Friends began at my neighborhood library, the Roxborough Branch. The Friends of the Free Library of Philadelphia are glad to have this opportunity to support the proposed operating budget for the Free Library for Fiscal Year 2000. The items in the budget that the Friends considered to be so important to the citizens of Philadelphia include funding for full staffing at all of the 53 branches, and expansion of the LEAP Program, and continued support of the new technology of the branches in the Central Library. I think what you'll be hearing are some common themes with some of the earlier people. The Friends have also supported -- excuse me, have always supported high levels of service to the public. Currently, all of the 2049 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE branches not being renovated are open six days during the school year, and the Central and Regional libraries are open seven days a week all year around also during the school year. As the Library works towards its goal of renovating all branch libraries by January of the year 2000, it will face the prospect of having all of its branches operational at the same time. Naturally, these branches can only be opened if there is sufficient staff to serve the public. The current budget includes funds for staff salaries at the renovated and reopened branch libraries, but it is important to note that the amount of the appropriation covers staffing at those branches for only thing the last half of the fiscal year, that's the reopened branches for the last half of the fiscal year. As the renovation process moves towards completion, additional funds will be needed to fund positions at all of the branch libraries for the entire budget year. Another of the line items in the proposed budget will allow the Library to expand the LEAP After-School Program. And for people who aren't familiar with it, "LEAP" means "Learn, 2050 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE Enjoy And Play." Currently, this program operates the 37 branch libraries three afternoons a week. The additional funds will allow the library to expand the program to five days a week at of 6 these branch libraries. 7 This program is so important for the 8 children of the neighborhoods that serves -- 9 Councilman Ortiz was talking about this. The 10 libraries provide a safe, welcoming environment 11 for the children, while at the same time offering 12 them help for homework, instruction on computer use, and cultural and craft enrichment programs. I heard the buzzer there. We're talking about technology. With the support of City Council over the last year few years as well as the support of many foundations, the Library has upgraded its technology. Of course, when you upgrade technology, it changes frequently. We definitely need additional support both in money and manpower to support that technology and get the latest. Also, with this new technology, we have increased our number of patrons in the Library, which means greater circulation, which means greater materials, non-technical materials 2051 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE -- other books, magazines and so forth. We feel and I think many of you feel that the Free Library of Philadelphia is one of the greatest assets to our city. Our public libraries welcome everyone, no matter what their background and give them access to a world of knowledge in many different forms. The Friends would like to thank the Mayor and City Council for their past support of the Free Library and urge the passage of the Library budget -- both the operating and the capital budget for the upcoming fiscal year.
Thank you, Miss Gill. We appreciate your coming in to testify.
Thank you. I'm Karen Talarico, the Executive Director of the Friends of the Free Library, and I think that Ms. Gill has really said it all about the Friends. Thank you very much.
Thank you very much. 2052 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE (Applause.)
The Tabor Rams Youth Association. (Joe Torres comes forward.)
Your written testimony will be made part of the record, so if you can abbreviate your statement, we will certainly appreciate it. Okay, Councilwoman. I was looking forward to reading my statement, but I know that we are lacked for time so I'll try to abbreviate it. My name is Joe Torres, and I'm the Vice President of the Board of Directors of the Tabor Rams Youth Organization. We are located at Whittaker and Louden Streets and are currently operating on Fairmount Park grounds. The reason why we are here today is to ask for funs for a capital budget for our facility on improvement. On an average, we serve yearly about 800 children in different activities -- baseball, football, cheerleading, after-school programs, etc. Though we have never come before the Board, I guess it's because this youth 2053 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE organization was run differently in the past. The neighborhoods have now been changing, and now we were left with an organization who had no capital budgeting, and we did all of our own budgeting. It was all a nonprofit organization. And our building is deteriorating, and we really need funds to help bring it up to par so that we may be able to continue the services that we provide to all the young children in our neighborhood. I just want to take in text out of the statement that brought in an event that happened at a Peewee football game that was taking place. A young man decided to ride an all-terrain vehicle on the field. One of the opposing coaches was an off-duty police officer who attempted to stop the individual, interrupting the play. When the officer engaged this person, a gun was drawn, putting all the football players, cheerleaders, families, lives in danger. The ignorance shown by that young man on that day when he drew his gun directly affected each and individual on the field that day. It is an incident that will never be 2054 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE forgotten. We believe we can prevent this from ever happening again by enclosing our fields with 3-foot cement wall and a 12-inch high fence. That is one of the things that we were asking for. And repair to our roof and to our gym floor, which is termite-infested. Like I said -- not to go all the way through our statement -- we are on Fairmount property, we are a nonprofit organization, we help our children in the community a great deal. And we would just like to ask to be supported in some type of a capital budget for our building.
Have you ever spoken to your District Councilperson about this?
We are engaged with Marian Tasco, we've had meetings with her. We've also meetings with Angel Ortiz, we've also spoken State Senator Shirley Kitchen. So we are is getting engaged. Like I said, this neighborhood is going through a transitional period but being that this facility never came, I mean, we're not under the Department of Recreation, but the Fairmount Park Commission. I mean, we are on their property, so 2055 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE we have been talking to them. They have a need and assessment that we are going to bring to City Council showing the need for the Tabor Rams facility.
I see that Councilman Ortiz would like to be recognized. Maybe he could add something or give you some information on this.
Thank you, Madam Chair. As Mr. Torres says, it has been a transitional period, and this Council previously has had great support for that recreational facility. But when an organization and an institution begins to go through transition, certain things start going through the cracks. And I think, just as the previous boards were not taken care of because they were leaving, a certain sense of deterioration took place. And it is probably one of more effective recreation centers that we have up in the East Division. And I think over 800 kids play football, basketball, baseball during the summer. And I think at this point, and Marian 2056 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE Tasco is very much involved, but the key is to persuade the Fairmount Commissioner and the Mayor that these are monies that are very well spent now rather than later, because we all keep talking about engaging the youth to take them away from criminal activity in the street, and this is a place where the youth is engaged. And I hope that as we sit down to deliberate as to the capital program, that we're able to find the monies to be able to fix this recreation center in this capital period. Thank you.
I would suggest that you continue to work very closely with your District Councilperson and Councilman Ortiz.
Harold Boing, Miss Clausing, James Tayoun, Marje Dugan, David Acosta, and Jerry Mondesire. 2057 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE (Access Cable Television Passage panel members come forward.)
Good afternoon. Please identify yourself for the record.
Certainly. My name is Gretjen Clausing. That's G-R-E-T-J-E-N. And Clausing, C-L-A-U-S-I-N-G. And I'm here with the Philadelphia Community Access Coalition. If I -- I would just like to make a couple corrections. ) and Lauren Townsend, and they be making brief statements. We will try and make this as pithy and interesting as we can 'cause we're here to talk about television, we're talking about America's favorite pastime. And we have been before Council before, but I believe that we are here to make some very persuasive arguments that we have not be able to make in the past. Television is, without a doubt, the most powerful medium in our society today but most 2058 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE of us have no say in what is broadcast, and public access cable television puts that power in the hands of ordinary citizens by providing free training and equipment to any individual, nonprofit, or community group that would like to make their own shows. The focus of our testimonies today is to show you that the establishment of public access cable TV in Philadelphia would significantly improve the quality of life in the city by providing citizens with an affordable, accessible, and powerful means of communicating with one another, and that public access would also contribute to the economic interests of the city by bolstering the outreach possibilities of nonprofits, thereby increasing their reach and effectiveness, resulting in an even more vibrant and interesting Philadelphia to live in and visit. Before I continue, I would just like to note that on Monday, when Commissioner Perez was speaking, he made the point that it was his opinion that there wasn't sufficient interest or demand for public access television in Philadelphia. And really I would just really like 2059 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE to counter his belief in that. There's most certainly a demand. The Coalition represents over 50 organizations, and at this point, we have over 10,000 signatures of individuals who are interested in seeing public access television established in Philadelphia. So as I continue, I just want ask you at this point to please, as Councilmembers, institute the -- submit the papers for incorporation so that the independent nonprofit corporation could then be set up and the Public Access Corporation could begin operation. And at that point, you could then ask the cable companies to turn over the capital monies, and then you could begin taking money out of the franchise fees that are paid each year to the city's General Fund. So in looking at this year's budget, I think it's very important that you decide what percentage of that 5 percent -- which is $8 million -- that comes to you from the cable companies is going to be earmarked for public access. We've been waiting for 15 years for this. So, anyway, that's what we're asking for today. 2060 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE I want to just quickly dispel a myth. People do watch public access television. There are over 70 million people across the country that have access to this programming, and 73 percent of those people are aware of it. Chicago is a really stellar example in that in individuals and 8 out of 10 nonprofit organizes polled in Chicago are aware of public access programming, and 92 percent of these people in Chicago see public access as valuable to their community. I just want to make the point that every single organization that testified here this afternoon could use public access. We see this as being an incredibly important way that nonprofit organizations can use it for outreach and saving on marketing and advertising dollars. I'd just like you to think about this a minute. There are roughly more than 4,000 nonprofit organizations in Philadelphia qualified to use public access. And if -- let's just say for argument 'cause we've done research on this that it cost them about $800 to make a low-budget one-hour program for here at present.
Under public access, they would be able to do that free 2061 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE of charge. And so in a sense, if you think over the past years what forfeited in not having 4 public access TV, it's at least $1,600,000. 5 So you know, I just see this really as 6 a win/win situation for everyone. And, again, 7 we're not asking for new money. This is money 8 that has been promised and set aside for the past 9 15 years, and we think it's time for us to get 10 public access TV. 11 So, again, we really want to work with 12 you on this, and I'm going to sort of stop my 13 testimony here. And would you like me to then 14 introduce the other people that are going to be 15 coming up?
Before you do that, I notice there are several commissioners in the audience. I don't see any need for them to have to sit here. I think if the Commissioner of Public Property is here, he would probably be the only commissioner that may be required to stay.
I would really like to urge Commissioner DiBerardinis -- and I don't know who some of the other people who are here, but I really see that this issue pertains to 2062 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE commissioners in many departments. You know, if I may, in looking at recreation and looking at being able to do things with young people, this is a no-brainer.
Will the Commissioner of Recreation stay, Public Property could stay. I don't see the need for Mr. Moy to be here and several of the other commissioners.
Public Health should stay here as well. Again, public access television would be --
Before she testifies, can we see who is here in support of 2063 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE the public access table TV? (Applause.)
There are approximately or people who are here. The 8 record will so indicate that. 9
Good afternoon my name 10 is Lauren Townsend. I'm the Executive Director of 11 Citizens for Consumer Justice a statewide consumer 12 organization. I'm here today to talk about why 15 13 years of consumer-funded public-access money 14 should be restored and why public access should be 15 a line item in the budget of the City of Philadelphia. On Access Tucson today, the community is watching Abilities and Disabilities, Arizona Rural Human Services, Better News (a news program reporting on positive news), Blue Collar Speaks (a labor perspective hosted by Iron Workers Local No. 22 75), Church Services, Chamber Music Sounds, Community Action Network, Find the Children (a program to help find missing children) -- I think Ms. Yanoff would appreciate that program, 2064 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE Kaleidoscope (children's stories and songs), Orgoyo (a live talk show targeted to Tucson's Spanish-speaking community), and Open Door (a show for teens, produced by teens, about social and cultural issues). We could have this programming in Philadelphia. In Chicago, as was mentioned before, they're very enlightened. Viewers can watch neighborhood news, community views, teens, seniors, Haitians, motor sports, SCUBA diving for Councilman Ortiz, jazz, hip-hop, and labor issues. On week nights, they can watch live call-in programs covering health, education, domestic violence, economic development, and local issues. They also have an educational bulletin board service, a Chicago public schools program, and other educational information, religious and spiritual programming, and daily French and Italian news. I could go on and on about what's happening in Houston, what's happening in Milwaukee, my birth place of Long Island where viewers are today watching African-American news 2065 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE networks, African-American news. Again, we could have this programming in Philadelphia. And we should be the leader of public access television. We should have years of 6 experience and programming under our belts. 7 Aren't you embarrassed? Aren't you enraged? I 8 know that I am, and I know that the people in this 9 room are today. 10 It's 15 years of squandered 11 opportunities. Public access in Philadelphia 12 could give people GEDs, save lives, stimulate 13 minds, create jobs, help neighborhoods, help 14 fledgling small businesses, and serve as an 15 incubator for emerging artists and a stepping stone for audiences who are not apt to patronize live arts venues in the community. It might foster more people attending internationally renowned Philadelphia Orchestra, which is always struggling for audience participation. We could subsidize and establish arts infrastructure, allowing the local arts industry to go and better complement other economic development strategies such as tourism, which we heard about earlier, and the Avenue of the Arts. 2066 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE And we could offer a head's start with the Commissioner of Parks and Recreation for young people and program targeted at preschoolers and elementary-school-aged children and opportunities for young people in the rapidly growing field of communications. Today's youth are media-savvy and they're comfortable with using technology and they can readily adapt to expressing themselves via public access video. I realize we don't have very many people here, and it's all the more like the Twilight Zone. I actually wrote that into my testimony today. It's ludicrous. You can't accuse public access of being an unfunded mandate; we've paying for it through our cable bills for 15 years. We've had the funding. Where's the money and why has it not been used for its original intent? Each year, we have, as we heard earlier today, over a city budget, and who and what is going to get how much of the pie?
Since so much of what we spend is on education, outreach, and information for the community -- we've heard this 2067 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE over and over again -- think of how much easier this process would be if some of that money could be saved because we would have a free nonprofit venue in public access to reach the community. Citizens for Consumer Justice is a statewide consumer organization. I think back to the last year and a half of our work. Recently, we led the fight for preserving over 100 years of accrued charitable assets throughout the demise bankruptcy of the now-infamous Allegheny Health System. With more community education and awareness, the patients -- not profits coalitions -- might have been able to establish a foundation, a safety net of funds at our local hospital infrastructure earmarked for delivering health care to the uninsured. And now we have to rely on and forever negotiate with Tenet to provide this care. If we had public access, CCJ could have programming about our justice and jury system. We could work with the Victim Services folks to talk about the justice system, which is the envy of the world, and might through education raise awareness and consciousness about the importance of serving 2068 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE on juries. This could help to diversify and sophisticate our jury pool. And finally, through public access, we could do programming on volunteerism, foster a sense of community pride, spirit, and participation that's critical if we are to enrich and improve our quality of life. We musn't squander any more time or money. We must restore the last years of 11 funding and make public access now a line item in 12 the City budget. 13 Thank you. 14
Good afternoon. I'll keep my comments actually very, very brief. You also have had a very long day. Good afternoon City Council President Anna Verna, members of City Council and citizens of the Commonwealth. My name is David Acosta. I am a writer, poet cultural worker, and for the past ten years, I've been involved in the area of 2069 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE public health, working in HIV education and prevention through the GALAEI Project, an organization I founded ten years ago and where I currently am the Executive Director. I am here today to ask City Council to make public access TV a reality in Philadelphia. The benefits that can be derived from allowing community-based organizations and citizens access to noncommercial channels for public use will have a tremendous impact upon the exchange and sharing of information among Philadelphia's diverse communities and institutions. For years, the City of Philadelphia 15 and its political leadership have lacked the will to make public access a reality for Philadelphia and its citizens despite the fact that public access make sense in three very important ways: Economically, public access will lead to the creation of jobs and training for the community. It will also save millions of dollars in outreach and advertising costs for portions of City government, like the Philadelphia Department of Public Health, the Department of Recreation, Arts and cultural institutions, and nonprofit 2070 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE organizations like mine to better serve our constituencies. I'm testifying at this budget hearing because I believe, as do others, that public access would have a positive effect on the annual City budget debate. Each year, we see different departments of the City vie for a piece of the pie. We believe that many City entities, such as the Health Department, who must outreach to advertise important information, could be saving money if they were able to use public access, a free venue to get their message across. More importantly, however, public access will allow us to reach Philadelphia's diverse communities with live-saving information regarding health issues of importance to our well-being. Traditionally, public health education is an issue that mainstream TV ignores. Public access would allow us to reach ethnic communities who are oftentimes at highest risk for health problems and have the lowest access to culture and language-appropriate information. Public access would help to rectify that fact. Public access 2071 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE can carry a public health message that is culturally language-specific, bypassing cultural stigmas surrounding the discussion of health issues. In closing, at a time when HIV AIDS continues to cut a path of destruction among us, when the incidence of STDs, hepatitis, and other communicable diseases threaten our public health, public access can become an important vehicle for the examination of frank and factual information giving organizations like mine and the Department of Public Health a fighting chance to counteract the irresponsible messages about sexual behavior found in commercial television. TV messages from the community itself are the most effective at changing behavior in the community. The AIDS service system would have much more City funds for its issues if the City met many of its communication outreach needs via public access. More importantly, however, public access will allow us to reach individuals so that they could participate in the planning process for the allocation of AIDS dollars, as mandated by the 2072 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE Center for Diseases Control and the Health Resources Service Administration. The latter has been a difficult task to undertake and has led to many problems within the AIDS services system due to the fact that communities have felt excluded from the process.
This, despite efforts to disseminate information about consumer participation in the planning and location of services and money for AIDS by the Philadelphia Department of Public Health. Public access will allow for greater consumer participation in the design, implementation, delivery, and allocation of funds with which to provide health care and special services to people living with HIV AIDS and their families. In closing, I want to make -- I want to ask you to make public access to be a reality in Philadelphia. For 15 years now, money paid by Philadelphians to cable companies earmarked for public access have been stolen from us. It is time to give us back what is rightfully ours. We have paid for public access. Put the interest of the citizens who elected you before those of the 2073 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE cable companies, who are the only ones opposing the creation of public access TV in Philadelphia. Public Access makes sense, and the time for it to happen is now. I urge City Council to honor its 1983 vote and make public access TV a reality in our city. Thank you.
Next is Gerry Givnish from the Painted Bride Art Center. (Gerry Givnish comes forward.)
Good afternoon, Council President, and good afternoon, Councilmembers. My name is Gerry Givnish. I'm the Artistic Director of the Painted Bride Art Center. And I'm here to advocate for public access cable television and Bill 1963. Television has gradually over the past 20 years limited access to the variety of community voices and interests. In the world reflected by television, there are no artists or 2074 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE poets or dancers. Cultural organizations, large and small, are mentioned so occasionally that they're exotic creatures in the world of television. Similarly, other important public services are absent from what is currently being offered. The public owns the right-of-way that cable TV uses. We are placing our faith in our elected representatives to protect public interests in the use of cable. This ordinance was established in 1983. It was signed by Mayor Bill Green in the final days of his administration and left to Wilson Goode for implementation. Sidetracked by the incident on Osage Avenue, it was forgotten when Mayor Rendell and the current City Council were pulling the City out of financial difficulty. It was perhaps in good civic spirit that media activists did not raise the issue then. But now is the right time to return to that founding ordinance. We are enjoying a modest economic revival, and there are many more channels than in 1983. We seem to be swiftly recovering 2075 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE from amnesia about Ordinance Bill 1963. We are lucky to have this City Council led by Councilman Ortiz and Cohen who are turning City government's attention back to public access cable television. The Painted Bride wants to add its voice to this coalition and courage and urge the City to implement this ordinance. I want to tell you what public access would mean for my organization. We present some of the most exciting work in contemporary performance in visual arts, work that is culturally diverse. Our challenge is that these artists lack name recognition. Without the immediate potency of cable, our marketing budget is too small to gain the visibility we need in this market. Through a public access station, the Bride could increase earned income and develop audience interest. Philadelphia-based artists are too often ignored by television. Their potential audience and their careers require that their talents be more widely known. Public access would provide this exposure. The City's energy and diversity is 2076 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE captured by contemporary artists -- rappers, poets, dancers, jazz and Latin musicians, performers in theater arts who could create a new and different kind of television programming that would make us proud to be in a city of such talent. Television has become commercially driven and averse to taking risks. It has consequently limited access to the medium to a variety of community interests. In the new world reflected by television, information about nonprofit arts, as well as information from the public health department, from the Philadelphia School District, from the consumer interest groups all need to be present. The public's interest and ownership need to be represented and advocated for by City Council. Now after years of forgetfulness, it is time to act on Bill 1963.
Three. I'd like to 2077 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE introduce Wendell Young. (Wendell Young comes forward.)
Wendell Young, President of the United Food & Commercal Workers, Local 1776. We have 26,000 members, 10,000 in Philadelphia. And I'm glad to see Frank Rizzo's still here, my competitor on another channel -- as long as he's there. He doesn't have as good a show as I do, but we'll put up with it. (Laughter.)
One of the things that I was involved with over the years, years ago, 14 when Bill Green was mayor and we proposed this 15 under, we weren't one of pioneers in this business, but we were one of the cities that developed this program. Mr. Wade used to sit on PCDC with me. We had to recuse him when we were doing the cable recommendations. And one of the big issues at that time was the fact that the cable companies were supposed to give something back for what the City was going to do for them. There were bids -- one bid had to be a minority, other bids -- it was a lot of 2078 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE controversial over what was happening with the bids. And one of the issues that everybody brought in in Council and the Mayor was that they would give back to the community. And the money, as one of the previous speakers said, was going to go to a good cause, it was to provide access. You can go up to Allentown, you can go to Bethlehem, you can go to most of these counties -- even Montgomery County, where I now live -- and the access television is there. It's a shame that a big city like this, which is the freedom capital of the world, does not have access television. We should have it. I think the organizations here, including labor, would benefit by it. Even Councilmembers would benefit by it. All the people who testified here would benefit by it. Senior citizens would benefit by it. Senior citizens have issues that are very rarely talked about, and these kind of issues only are available where access public television is involved. So I would urge the Council very strongly -- and I'm going to present this at our 2079 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE AFL-CIO meeting Monday -- that this Council should exert the efforts empowered to Council bipartisan, to bring that percent back, to set up a 5 committee that's going to be community-based that will implement the access that we were supposed to have 15 years ago. Thank you very much.
I just want to take this opportunity to submit for the record statements by Thomas Paine Cronin, president of AFSCME District Council 47; and Marjorie Dugan, who is an education advocate. So I would like to submit those for the record along with my complete statement. Next is Tim Siftar from Liberty Net. (Tim Siftar comes forward.)
My name is Timothy Siftar. I'm a business librarian currently working on Internet Websites that promote Philadelphia as a destination for high-tech workers and businesses. The projects are funded by local an State economic development agencies, 2080 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE though I offer my statement to you as an unaffiliated information professional. In the interest of brevity, I will submit the preliminary economic research I have done on paper and offer you only a summary. That's here. I submit that cable public access is part of the public service infrastructure that permits both businesses and community groups to reach audiences that they would otherwise be unable to reach. I'd like to correct the figure quoted by Gretjen Clausing earlier that the value of the public access subsidy to Philadelphia's 4 to 5,000 is commercially equivalent $1.6 million per year. The value in the last 15 years would amount to over $20 million, assuming each nonprofit made a one-hour video per year. When you consider that there's a nine-month waiting period to get programming on in the Brooklyn cable public access station, that's not unreasonable to think that we'd all be making videos. If all five cable channels were fully utilized for the potential 10 hours per nonprofit 2081 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE possible per year, the value raises to over $200 million for the past years that inaction 4 has cost the local nonprofits in a lost 5 opportunity. 6 I suggest that the continued inaction 7 will result in even grater opportunity costs when 8 consider the following fact: in many cities 9 across the USA, cable public access studios are 10 incorporating Internet technology to this free 11 public infrastructure, where the public can use 12 cutting-edge technology to reach audiences both on 13 the Web and on TV. This phenomena is called 14 "convergence," where within two years, TV will be 15 -- interactive television will be widely accepted. I find it a bit ironic that the Mayor and business leaders have declared Philadelphia will be developed as a center of commerce when this obvious resource of community technology centers is being overlooked. I will just close with the point that I've learned in examining this market as compared to other economic development markets, and I will mention today's Philadelphia Business Journal 2082 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE article which places Philadelphia as 44th among the country's 50 largest metropolitan areas as a place to start and grow a business, according to a demographics consulting firm. My primary point is that the City is operating at a competitive disadvantage without this public infrastructure. It's costing business associations, it's costing nonprofits, and it's costing the community. So I would be concerned that we not only look at this as a freedom of expression or a free speech issue, but the cost to the local economy in terms of the jobs that will be developed in these new industries as well as the old. Thank you very much.
Good afternoon, Madam Chair. My name is Keith Brandt. I'm an adjunct professor of communications at Ursinus College and Temple University. I'm also a broadcaster -- the host and music programmer of Sleepy Hollow on 2083 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE WXPN-FM. I've made it my career to study the media. I came to the struggle for public access eight years at the suggestion of one of my professors and have since that time written and presented a number of papers on this topic. In that same period of time I have witnessed a public that is increasingly at odds with the content of mainstream television. A recent study of Chicago residents stated that less than percent felt that commercial television 13 was doing a good job of serving the local 14 community. 15 Political debate is increasingly 16 focused on personal issues, violence is out of 17 proportion to its occurrence in society, 18 irresponsible portrayals of sexuality in a news 19 media that seems unconcerned with some of the 20 positive things that are going on in our neighborhoods. In 1983, you, the City Council of Philadelphia, passed an ordinance establishing a public access cable television in Philadelphia. This is a system that has worked with an 2084 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE astonishing degree of success in nearly every other city in the United States. It's based on a simple idea: the cable companies are allowed to use public utility poles and streets in order to string the wires that deliver their programming rights-of-way, which belong to the public. In exchange for this, the City negotiated for five channels to be turned over to the public. There's nothing revolutionary about this quid pro quo. It's the absence of this system that is incomprehensible. Why, after nearly years, 14 have you chosen not to act on this ordinance? My 15 reading of the Home Rule Charter does not grant City Council the right to veto by inaction. It's time to clean up this mess and get this project moving. The reasons are simple. Every single group that has testified here before City Council today can benefit from public access. Every community can benefit from the kinds of programming and stories that are generated by the people of those communities. Arts and culture in Philadelphia are a 2085 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE significant economic generator in terms of jobs and tourism. These cultural groups have ready-made programming. Public access has a ready-made audience of more than 700,000 people within the City. In addition to strengthening the economic foundation of these organizations, public access can also save money for outreach. Public health is a vital concern to all people here in Philadelphia, and education is one of the most important aspects of what do. We are here to tell you that with public access cable television in this city, these groups can reach an audience of at least 60 percent of the people of the City of Philadelphia. There is no medium that has that potential to reach such a large and audience. Can we save these organizations and ultimately taxpayers in this city we're allocating for these precious resources? Well, I can't responsibly answer that in terms of a dollar equivalent; I can say that public access will strengthen the outreach efforts of labor, cultural, social, educational, and the public 2086 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE health organizations. Why do we need to do this now? I'm reminded of a report that was released by the Consumer Federation of America just a few weeks ago. They warned of a growing divide in American between the information haves and have-nots. We're under the delusion that new technologies and public policy have increased access to services that are being touted as being indispensable to job growth and the foremost economic generator for the future. But instead of becoming more competitive, the telecommunications and cable industries have become highly concentrated.
We have only to witness here in Philadelphia with Comcast to know how true that is. We have witnessed sharp increases in cable and intrastate long-distance, and the deployment of advanced technologies are benefitting only those who make intensive use of that network. If we are to build an infrastructure that is to support the training and socialization of young people in this city to the jobs that will be at the forefront of this 2087 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE information revolution, we have to do everything we can now to provide access to those technologies. " Our schools are trying to do a valiant job but it's not enough. Libraries are trying to offer access, but it's not enough. Public access centers are a vital piece of what we must do to build a vibrant and vital technological base for the future of our economy and the future of our children. It's been over 15 years since you passed the original legislation establishing a Public Access Corporation here in Philadelphia. What do we need to do to get the job done? Perhaps you should consider withholding from the general budget the over $8 million that you collect yearly from franchise fees from our cable companies and transfer it into your 2088 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE discretionary accounts. This way, it would be less likely that those funds that are collected from cable companies would be used on unrelated projects. We contend that funding of public access is not a battle between competing interests in a shrinking public pie. Do not tell us that if we fund public access, children in the city won't get vaccinated. A mechanism has been in place since its inception about how to fund this system. It should be and always has been from the cable franchise fees. It should be clear to you now that this is a potential public good. I quote to you something that was said in the meeting with former Council President John Street. He said, "It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that this is good for the City. " This struggle has been going on for 15 years, and you have the power to make it happen. Thank you for your time.
Thank you. (Applause.) 2089 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE
Madam Chair, I'd like to thank you for this opportunity this afternoon.
And I urge you to please share these testimonies with your colleagues.
They will all have the notes of testimony given to them.
It will be made a part of the public record and we'll give them to the stenographer.
My question would be, Madam President, if public access were available, would it be useful to the work that the commissioners here are doing. I'm not going to ask them to get involved in any of the technical questions, but both departments have the need for outreach, as I understand. The Health more than maybe Recreation, because you have so many services that are apparently not being utilized -- vaccination, cleaning up of lead paint poisoning, all kinds of things that we keep hearing at 2090 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE different Council sessions, people are not utilizing, even though the programs exist. (Estelle Richman comes forward.) COMMISSIONER RICHMAN: I am Estelle Richman, Commissioner of Public Health. I think that public access television would be very helpful but I'm not sure -- and we obviously do a lot of outreach to the public, but I'm not sure that our programs aren't being used. At this point, 82 percent of the children in Philadelphia are immunized, but that's reaching to 90 percent. So while it would help, I'm not sure that it's, you know, we aren't reaching out and getting to many of the people who need to have this information but it gives us another resource to do that. And reaching the population with as many ways as we can is obviously helpful.
All right. And then the Commissioner of Recreation. (Mike DiBerardinis comes forward.) COMMISSIONER DIBERARDINIS: Yeah. My name is Mike DiBerardinis. I'm the Recreation Commissioner. And I would essentially agree with 2091 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE Commissioner Richman that anything -- any instrument to sort of get more information to the public relative to what our department or my department does would be obviously a benefit to the citizens -- as well as any kind of programming that can sort of carry the values that we're trying to present in our programs and in our centers. We would also think that will also be important to us.
All right. 'Cause I understood from -- maybe I misunderstood the years of testimony given by City officials that there are various programs that people not utilizing, although they're available. When the Water Department, for example, failed this past week -- or, no, I guess it was earlier last month to deduct the payments, you know, they carried on a campaign to get people to authorize the bank to deduct water bills. The Department failed to do so. They've been put to enormous expense to try to reach everybody, you know, who is affected because those people for whom the City failed to deduct the water bill are now being threatened with water 2092 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE shutoff through no fault of their, but because of a own breakdown of a computer system. If we had public access, it would be a very simple way to reach people to notify them that there's been a breakdown of the computer system. There's so many health programs where women particularly are not getting the benefits of legislation that already exists and because of lack of knowledge. And in the welfare-to-work program, we're told there's constant failure of communications, that many welfare recipients are still not aware of all of the procedures they've got to follow. Would the availability of these means without having to pay advertising costs be helpful. I think that's the question that we're raising. COMMISSIONER RICHMAN: I think it would be helpful but, at the same time, I mean, there are so many other issues. Part of the issue with welfare-to-work is that it's our belief that the State is not passing out clear information. It doesn't make any difference what your medium is; it's what people are being told, if it's 2093 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE inaccurate. So you know --
Well, we could at least make it clear that the problem that exists is a problems in the State's failure to put out clear information. COMMISSIONER RICHMAN: I think any way to reach as many people as possible is helpful.
I'm sorry, if I could ask for Madam Chair's indulgence. One of our other testifiers has just arrived, Jimmy Tayoun.
Only if he promises to be very, very brief. Yes, he's going to be brief or else he will find that he's going to find that he will be sitting there by him.
I got the picture already and understand what's happening. 2094 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE I just want to reiterate the fact that each and every Councilperson who begins to understand that the citizens of this city have been shortchanged by our own dereliction by our passing the buck, by permitting the Administration to take the ball and not carry it all the way, by Council not checking its oversight on this situation, by all of us feeling that the powers that be who were given this great largesse, this great wealth of money through this media would do the job that they were supposed to do for our citizens. By being aware of that now and by picking up the ball and finally moving toward public access, you'll be doing us all a favor. In New York City, it's amazing. I've watched their television. And I'm looking at neighborhoods doing their own thing, and it was really interesting. And I said, How come they get on television in this big New York City area? They said, That's public access. And I always thought always, me, a suave Philadelphian, that public access meant Channel 66. Little did I realize that while they gave us Channel 66, they were also taking away 2095 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE five whole channels from us. So whatever you can do for us in this area, I would appreciate it very much.
This concludes our public hearing. The Committee of the Whole will stand in recess until Monday, March 1, 1999, at 9:00 a.m. (Adjourned at 4:01 p.m.) - - - 2096 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 Friday, February 26, 1999, were reported fully and accurately by me, and that this is a correct transcript of same. RE: COUNCIL COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE BUDGET HEARINGS BILL NO. 990023 __________________________________, JOSEPHINE CARDILLO, Registered Professional Reporter