Thank you. The Clerk will please read the title of the resolutions.
A resolution authorizing the Commissioner of Public Property to execute and deliver to the Redevelopment Authority of the City deeds located in the 38th Ward of the City of Philadelphia.
Madam President, I move the adoption of the resolution. (Duly seconded.)
It has been moved and properly seconded that the resolution be adopted. All in favor will say aye. (Aye.)
And a resolution authorizing the to execute and deliver to the Redevelopment Authority of the City Deeds located in the 4th, 34th and 52nd Wards of the City of Philadelphia.
Madam President, I move the adoption of the resolution. (Duly seconded.)
It has been moved and properly seconded that the resolution be adopted. All in favor will say aye. (Aye.)
The ayes have it and the motion carries. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Brown.
Thank you, Madam President. I offer one bill this morning.
Thank you. The Clerk will please read the title of the bill.
An ordinance amending Chapter 19-500 of the Philadelphia Code, entitled "Taxes and General," by providing for time limitations on examinations and assessments, under certain terms and conditions.
The bill will be referred to the appropriate committee. The Chair recognizes Councilman Goode.
Thank you. The Clerk will please read the title of the first bill.
An ordinance amending Chapter 19-2600 of Philadelphia Code entitled, "Business Privilege Taxes," by making permanent and expanding the pilot program under which a credit against business privilege taxes is given to certain businesses that contribute monies to community development corporations.
The bill will be referred to the appropriate committee.
And an ordinance amending Title 20 of the Philadelphia Code, entitled "Officers and Employees," by adding a new chapter entitled "Campaign Contributions and Expenditures," under certain terms and conditions.
This bill will be referred to the appropriate committee. The Chair recognizes Councilman Ortiz.
Thank you, Madam President. I have no bills or resolutions today.
The Chair thanks the gentleman. The Chair recognizes Councilman DiCicco.
Thank you, Madam President. I have no bills or resolutions today.
Thank you. The Chair recognizes Councilman O'Neill.
Madam President, I offer four bills, the first of which has many cosponsors.
Thank you. The Clerk will please read the title of the bills.
An ordinance amending Chapter 13 of the Philadelphia Code, entitled "Water and Sewer," by revising and adding certain requirements regarding maintenance of water and sewer lateral connections, under certain terms and conditions.
The bill will be referred to the appropriate committee.
And an ordinance to waive certain conditions, covenants, and restrictions affecting the use and development of a certain area of land situate at 58th Ward consisting of 20 acres on Red Lion and known and assessed as 300 Red Lion Road.
The bill will be referred to the appropriate committee.
And an ordinance to amend the Philadelphia Zoning Maps by changing the zoning designations of certain areas of land situate in the 58th Ward of the City of Philadelphia.
This bill will be referred to the appropriate committee.
And an ordinance to amend the Philadelphia Zoning Maps by changing the zoning designations of certain areas of land located within an area bounded by Academy Road, Morrell Avenue, Black Lake Creek, Berea Street and Presidents Street.
The bill will be referred to the appropriate committee. The Chair recognizes Councilman Clarke.
A resolution authorizing the Commissioner of Public Property to execute and deliver to the Redevelopment Authority of the City deeds located in the 28th, 29th, 32nd and 42nd Wards of the City of Philadelphia.
It has been moved and properly seconded that the resolution be adopted. All in favor will say aye. (Aye.)
And a resolution authorizing the Commissioner of Public Property to execute and deliver to the Redevelopment Authority of the City deeds located in the 28th, 32nd, 37th, 47th and 49th of the Wards of the
It has been moved and properly seconded that the resolution be adopted. All in favor will say aye. (Aye.)
The ayes have it and the motion carries. The Chair recognizes Councilman Rizzo.
Madam President, I have three resolutions today. One of the resolutions is cosponsored by Councilman O'Neill since the Lieutenant Colonel that we're honoring returning from Iraq is returning to his councilmanic district.
The Clerk will please read the title of the resolution.
A resolution honoring and commending Lieutenant Colonel Scott E. Rutter upon his return from Operation Iraqi Freedom and upon his 20 years of distinguished service to his country in the United States Army.
I move for the adoption of this resolution. (Duly seconded.)
It has been moved and properly seconded that the resolution be adopted. All in favor will say aye. (Aye.)
And a resolution honoring Cardinal Anthony J. Bevilacqua upon his retirement after 15 years of faithful service and leadership as Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.
I move for the adoption of that resolution. (Duly seconded.)
It has been moved and properly seconded that the resolution be adopted. All in favor will say aye. (Aye.)
And a resolution authorizing the Committee on Public Safety to hold hearings regarding the billing and collection process for the Police Department Reimbursable Overtime Program under which off-duty uniformed officers provide private security services for merchants, nightclub owners and other private entities.
I move for the adoption of that resolution. (Duly seconded.)
I'm sorry. Are you referring that to a committee?
All of those in favor of the adoption of the resolution will indicate by (Aye.)
The ayes have it and the resolution will be referred to the appropriate committee. There are no reports from committees. Therefore, our next item of business is the consideration of the Calendar. There are no bills on the First Reading Calendar. The Chair now recognizes Councilwoman Blackwell for the purpose of calling up bills on the Second Reading and Final Passage Calendar to be considered.
Thank you, Madam President. Today, Bill No. 030335A and Bill No. 030342 are being called up for second reading and final passage as well as Resolution No. 030359.
Thank you. The Clerk will please read the title of Bill No. 030325A.
An ordinance authorizing the Commissioner of Public Property of the City of Philadelphia on behalf of the City and in cooperation with the Philadelphia Municipal Authority to undertake a project to promote the health, safety, and welfare of the residents of the City of Philadelphia, all under certain terms and conditions.
This bill having been read on two different days, the question now is, shall the bill pass finally? The Clerk will please call the roll.
Aye. The ayes are 15, the nays are 0. A majority of all Members having voted in the affirmative, the bill passes. The Chief Clerk will please read the title 030359.
A resolution proposing an amendment to Section 8-200 of the Philadelphia Home Rule Charter providing for the use of cooperative purchasing agreements with other public agencies and providing for the submission of the amendment to the electors of Philadelphia.
The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Brown for a motion on Resolution No. 030359.
It has been moved and properly seconded that Resolution No. 030359 be adopted. Since Resolution No. 030359 proposes an amendment to the Home Rule Charter, it does, in fact, require the approval of two-thirds of the Members of this Council. The Clerk at this time will please call the roll.
Councilman Cohen, I'm afraid we cannot hear you.
Well, since it's not an ordinance, I believe I have the right to abstain and will abstain at this point. I ask that the Clerk of the Council to describe the resolution just to refresh us after a long summer vacation.
Councilwoman Brown is more than willing to do that, sir.
Essentially, the bill will allow the City to work smarter when it comes to procurement contracting opportunities. And I'll explain that by way of example. Houston may buy widgets for $50, but the same company currently will only sell them to the City for $55. By entering into a cooperative purchasing agreement, which is what this bill permits, Philadelphia can now join Houston and save $5. So the bill allows Philadelphia to engage in these kinds agreements with now counties in the area and counties around the state and across government entities. So now, for example, the City of Philadelphia can come together in the purchase of vehicles and, in doing so, save taxpayers dollars at the end of the day. And we have to take it to the voters of the City because right now it's not part of the City Charter.
Aye. The ayes are 15, the nays are 0. A two-thirds majority having voted in the affirmative, Resolution No. 030359 has been adopted. The Clerk will please read the title of Bill No. 030342.
An ordinance providing for the submission to the qualified electors of the City of Philadelphia of an amendment to Section 8-200 of the Philadelphia Home Rule Charter providing for the use of cooperative purchasing agreements with other public agencies and authorizing the appropriate officers to publish notice and to make arrangements for the special election.
This bill having been read on two different days, the question now is finally? The Clerk will please call the roll.
Aye. The ayes are 15, the nays are 0. A majority of all Members having voted in the affirmative, the bill passes. That concludes the Calendar for today. Are there any speeches on the part of the Minority? (No response.)
Are there any speeches on the part of the Majority?
Thank you, Madam President. I think the beginning of a decent precedent was set yesterday when the two candidates for Mayor appeared but at different times before the same audience. the Condominium Association, but at least that represented a much higher level of civility than what we were told by the media occurred during an alleged firing bombing attempt and it's a move in the right direction, but it's not nearly enough. I think the people of Philadelphia are entitled to a full, all-out debate. I don't think that people ought to spar with each other about the issues confronting Philadelphia. We know the City and the State and all the states as well as the federal government has serious problems. I think the best way for the people to learn about them and to make an informed judgment when it comes to election time is by having the greatest and widest public discussions, and I think that requires not tenderly boxing with each other at great distances, but really mixing it up in the ring with the candidates having a chance to criticize each other. So I'm urging that there be an increased level of debate in the City on all of the issues. There are many issues that confront us in Philadelphia. And if the election is to be meaningful on November 4th, I think it requires that the candidates stop shadow boxing and really get involved so that the people of Philadelphia get involved. This is not an election, nor are any in to be the kind of elections that people can afford to sit out. I think the public's got to get involved in talking about issues and then in voting. That's the way we're going to increase the voter attendance and make voter registration meaningful. Too often we have voter registration drives that are supported, but voters who register often don't vote. The way they vote is by getting involved. The greatest benefit any citizen can give to his City is by getting involved. So I'm urging the two candidates for Mayor to really get serious about the whole thing and mix it up. And, of course, they've got to be civil to each other, but there's nothing wrong in boxing with some force and some effect and with having the issues raised. So I hope this move of both candidates appearing before the same audience but at different times is just a step in the beginning of getting a real debate going. Thank you very much, Madam President.
You're welcome. The Chair recognizes Councilman Ortiz.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Over the last 10 months and 6 months of the beginning of this year and for a few years before that, spent a great deal of time talking about minority participation in the construction trades, in the building trades and in other contracts that the City gives out and is supposed to give out to minorities. And those policies that the City is instituting to be able to integrate the majority of the people of this City into the program that they have to make them accessible and integrated into the contracting aspect of the City government. We passed legislation, it was historic legislation with a unanimous vote from this Council. Ninety days after we passed that legislation, I wrote Ms. Janice Davis, the Director of Finance, to have a meeting with City Council and those of us who were still around in the summer because we wanted to have a briefing as to what the Administration was doing to implement, to put into place, the regulations and the policies that would make that legislation and Executive Order 04-03 an effective piece of legislation. I wrote that letter on July 14th asking for a briefing; a briefing, just to be informed, just to have City Councilmembers informed, just to have information as to what, if anything, the Administration was doing. It is today, September 11th. We have not received a response to that letter. I asked for a 10 days, by July 25th. There was no response by that date. There still hasn't been a response. I think it's very important that we understand what is going on in terms of integrating the majority of the people in this City into the contracting aspect of the business that we do with companies. There's been a lot of talk during the last few months about integrating minorities into the building trades. In fact, just before I left and just before we ceased having sessions in June, there was a press conference announcing that we were going to have a hundred minorities -- by the way, minorities in this City are no longer minorities; we are the majority, the majority of the people in this City. In fact, we're a City of minorities now and the majority of this City are black, Latino, Asian -- that we were going to have, there was going to be an attempt to have and integrate and get and recruit a hundred minorities into the building trades during the next year. During the year. Now, we had legislation and that legislation required hearings. In those hearings, it was very well stated that we had over a hundred minorities, individuals, men, women, who had passed the apprentice training programs, who had the skills to be able to move trades. They were ready. We didn't need to wait a year to get a hundred individuals in apprentice. We had a hundred individuals already. And they came here and they testified and they said that they went through the training program and they then sat by the phone and did not get any calls. In 1970, when the Philadelphia plan was done, created by federal mandate, the building trades held a press conference with the then Mayor of this City. " That was 35 years ago. And then in the year 2003, those same building trades come before with the Mayor of this City and give us the same line that they gave us in 1970. You know, during that press conference I was watching -- it just happened that the same day that press conference took place, there was a movie on cable and I was up late and it was the story of Adam Clayton Powell. And Adam Clayton Powell at that time in New York in the 1940s was organizing a boycott against the Transport Workers Union of that City because blacks were not being hired as bus drivers and being allowed to enter into the transport workers.
And they had a scene in that movie with Mike Quill, legendary Mike Quill -- I see Tom Cronin -- one of the individuals that's a legend in the trade union movement of this country. And Mike Quill sat down and the Reverend Powell came in and they said to the reverend, "Reverend, we hear you. We understand your concern. We're going to be able to do something about that. " And Adam Clayton Powell said, "You ain't setting up no training program. We want the jobs. " We have people in this City, African-Americans, Puerto Ricans, other Latinos who belong in the building trade or they belong in the construction industry, getting the jobs that are now part of this City's future. We've asked those unions for a list of their membership. They refuse to do it. And now the only thing that they have to offer after 1970 is the same line that they gave us 30-some-odd years ago. " It's going to take 20, 30 years to get 20, 30 percent because of those apprentices that go in, 80, 90 percent of those individuals drop out. They never make it to journeymen. They never make it above apprentice. The good faith effort has to begin. enough. We are not a minority in this City. We have taken lip service and we get the press conferences. But we have legislation that we put into place. And all I asked was for a hearing and a briefing for this Council. And since July 14th, we haven't been able to get that briefing to find out what is going on. And I'm telling you, we'll get verbiage, we'll get words, but after election time comes and goes, blacks and Latinos will be in the same sort of position in this City: In the back the bus, not having the good jobs, and we'll get the same promises. It's about time we got that briefing. So I ask the Administration to comply with the letter of July 14 and give this Council a briefing as to how we're going to be implementing that legislation. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Madam President. Councilman Ortiz, I think, is absolutely right and on the ball, but it's not just blacks and Latinos, it's everybody and it seems to be a steadfast policy of not only giving Council or Councilmembers any information, but not even replying to phone calls. On June 4th, several days after it was revealed that this current Administration -- that during the time of the current Administration, jobs for minorities had dropped by 15 to 20 percent and entrepreneurial contracts had dropped by 15 to 20 percent, there also appeared the story of a person employed by the City to eliminate discrimination having allegedly participated in the discriminatory attack on Jewish people by referring to Jewish lawyers and Jewish architects in a negative way in connection with business matters conducted by the City of Philadelphia. As the only Jewish member of City Council, I was obviously very concerned by the story that appeared on the morning of June 4th. Councilman Ortiz, notice a month earlier than your complaint. And I called the Mayor's Office at 8:30 in the morning immediately after reading the article in the Inquirer. I told the Mayor's Office it was very important that I speak to the Mayor. I needed information. It was urgent. Not having heard from him by 10 o'clock in the morning, I called again and said it was very urgent a very important matter and we needed information. To date, I have not heard or received any phone call from the Mayor. It is true after the passage of two months, the Mayor apparently told his staff he did not know that I had called and he was going to rectify it immediately. On his way to a convention down in Miami, he had his staff member call my office to find out whether it was true that I was seriously ill in the hospital -- I was very healthy at the time and still have been; it's been quite a while since I've been in a hospital -- and that he would be in touch with me. But nothing has happened. I've not heard from the Mayor. I have not had a return call yet, and this is September 11th, three and a half months after June 4th. I think the record with respect to the treatment of minorities and all minorities and the persistent information indicating that there may be discriminatory practices that are lightly punished if punished at all and the fact people perpetuating the discriminatory conduct are promoted to the highest positions in the City all add up to a very unpleasant future for all Philadelphians, because, you know, is nobody that escapes discrimination if there is a policy. Therefore, I add my voice to that of Councilman Ortiz and request that the Administration take the action to not only respond to my phone call but to submit to the briefing. It may be if people don't submit to a briefing, one begins to wonder what are they hiding. Why doesn't the Mayor return his call to a Jewish member of City Council who obviously gets many calls from the Jewish community in Philadelphia as to what's going on in the City in view of the action taken, the statement made by that member of the MBEC staff who is supposed to enforce a non-discrimination policy if he himself is enforcing discriminatory thoughts. So, Councilman Ortiz, thank you very much for raising it. But they're the kind of issues we've got to clear up because Philadelphia has got to become a City that is united and not divided. Thank you, Madam President. (Applause.)
Are any other speeches on the part of the Majority? (No response.)
Welcome back to City Council. Madam President, I move that Council stand adjourned until Thursday, September 18 at 10:00 a.m.
It has been moved and seconded. All in favor say aye. (Aye.)
The ayes have it, and Council will stand adjourned until Thursday, September 18, 2003. Thank you. (Council adjourned at 11:19 a.m.) C E R T I F I C A T I O N I HEREBY CERTIFY that the proceedings, are contained fully and accurately in the stenographic notes taken by me upon the City of Philadelphia City Council Stated Meeting, taken September 11, 2003, and that this is a true and correct transcript of same. _________________________ Lisa C. Bradley, RPR (The foregoing certification of this transcript does not apply to any reproduction of the same by any means, unless under the direct control and/or supervision of the certifying reporter.)