COMMITTEE ON FINANCE, December 3, 2025

COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA COMMITTEE ON FINANCE Room 400, City Hall Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Wednesday, December 3, 2025 10:31 a.m. PRESENT: COUNCILWOMAN KATHERINE GILMORE RICHARDSON, CHAIR COUNCILWOMAN CINDY BASS, VICE-CHAIR COUNCILWOMAN NINA AHMAD COUNCILMAN MICHAEL DRISCOLL COUNCILMAN CURTIS JONES, JR. BILLS: 250574, 250951, 250953, 250954, 250981, 251018, 251019 - - -

Good morning. I now note that the hour has come to begin today's hearing. Clerk, will you please call the roll to take attendance. Members that are in attendance will please indicate that you are present when your name is called.

Councilmember Jones.

Present.

Councilmember Ahmad.

Present.

Councilmember Driscoll.

Present.

Councilmember Thomas. (No response.)

Vice-Chair Bass.

Present.

Chair Gilmore Richardson.

I am present. Thank you. A quorum of the committee is present and the hearing is now called to order. This is a public hearing on the Committee on Finance regarding Bill Nos. 250574, 250951, 250953, 250954, 250981, 251018 and 251019. Clerk, will you please read the title of the bills.

Bill No. 21 250574, an ordinance amending Chapter 19-1700 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled "Finance, Taxes and Collections" to allow for refunds of the realty transfer taxes to victims of deed fraud, all under certain terms and conditions. Bill No. 250951, an ordinance amending Title of The 6 Philadelphia Code, entitled 7 "Traffic Code," by revising certain 8 definitions; adding a new Section 9 12-926, entitled "Fee for Use of 10 Bus Loading Zones and Facilities," 11 to impose a fee on certain 12 activities by intercity buses; authorizing the installation and use of camera-based monitoring systems for administration of the fee system; and authorizing an agreement with the Philadelphia Parking Authority for enforcement and collection of certain fees for intercity buses; all under certain terms and conditions. Bill No. 250953, an authorizing the Procurement Department, on behalf of the City of Philadelphia, to enter into an agreement with the Philadelphia Energy Authority for implementation and evaluation of energy conservation capital measures designed to reduce energy, water, wastewater, or other consumption or operating costs at specified City properties, under certain terms and conditions. Bill No. 250954, An Ordinance authorizing the City Treasurer, on behalf of the City, to enter into a provider agreement with Citizens Bank National Association for provision of payroll banking services to the City, under certain terms and conditions. Bill No. 250981, an Ordinance authorizing and approving the execution and delivery of a Service Agreement between The City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and The Philadelphia Energy Authority relating to the financing of the construction, equipping, installation and implementation of energy conservation improvements and other measures designed to reduce energy, water, wastewater, or other consumption or operating costs at specified properties owned or leased, and operated, by the City; approving the issuance by such Authority of bonds, notes or other evidences of indebtedness in one or more series to finance or refinance the costs of such project and authorizing and approving the obligation of the City to pay in full when due the Service Fee and other amounts payable under the Service Agreement; authorizing certain City officers to take certain actions required to issue such bonds, notes or other evidences of indebtedness; covenanting that the City will make necessary appropriations in each of the City's fiscal years to provide for, and will make timely payments of, the Service Fee and other amounts due under the Service Agreement; and authorizing City officials to take other necessary or appropriate actions to effectuate the purposes of this Ordinance; all under certain terms and conditions. Bill No. 251018, an Ordinance approving the amendment of the Fiscal Year 2026 Capital Budget providing for expenditures for the capital purposes of the Philadelphia Gas Works (including the supplying of funds in connection therewith) subject to certain constraints and conditions and acknowledging the receipt of the Revised Forecast of Capital Budgets for Fiscal Years 2027 through 2031, as amended. And finally Bill No. 3 251019, an Ordinance amending Bill 4 No. 250103, (approved June 13, 2025) entitled "Authorizing the Procurement Commissioner, on behalf of the City of Philadelphia, to enter into an agreement with the Philadelphia Energy Authority for coordination of a guaranteed energy savings contract for implementation and evaluation of energy conservation measures designed to reduce energy, water, wastewater, or other consumption or operating costs at specified City properties, all under certain terms and conditions," to clarify the scope of the guaranteed energy savings contract and make related technical changes; all under certain terms and conditions.

Thank you. Thank you very much. Prior to hearing and calling the panels and witnesses for Bill No. 250574, I'd like to thank my colleagues of the Finance Committee for your presence this morning and all of you here for this hearing. First, we will hear testimony on my bill that I sponsored, 250574, which builds on the work that we've been doing together with Community Legal Services to preserve generational wealth by helping victims of deed fraud here in the City of Philadelphia. We know that cases of deed fraud continue to grow in Philadelphia. On average, in 2013 we had about 72 cases a year. And by 2024, we now have around 111 cases per year. We know that it's a nightmare for victims of deed fraud. And while we can't necessarily improve the situation, we can help to ease some of their financial burden, and that's what Bill No. 250574 aims to do. All property owners, including perpetrators of deed fraud, must pay a transfer tax to record a title with the City of Philadelphia. However, once a deed fraud case is successfully completed in court and the rightful owner once again has title to their home, it is as if the transfer never happened. And as a result, the scammers can request the refund themselves, exploiting a loophole that allows them to commit deed fraud and then receive a refund on some of those costs. And today, this legislation aims to stop that. We are ensuring that the realty transfer tax section of the Code makes it so victims of deed fraud could request the refund on any transfer taxes paid to the city by the fraudulent party. If enacted, this legislation will send a clear message that we support victims who have suffered emotionally and financially, and that protecting our residents here in the city of Philadelphia, helping them to preserve generational wealth and close any legal gaps that allow for exploitation to continue, and we must make sure that they continue not to go unchecked. And so, we look forward to hearing testimony today. I want to thank our Records Commissioner, I think I see him back there, Jim Leonard and his team, Tracy and all of you from the Records Department. We appreciate you for being here and we thank you for all of your help and work. And particularly to Community Legal Services, we look forward to hearing from you all. So, Clerk, will you please call the first panel we have to testify on Bill No. 250574.

First panel, James Leonard, Commissioner of Department of Records. (Witnesses approached witness table.)

Please state your name for the record and proceed with your testimony. COMMISSIONER LEONARD: James Leonard, Commissioner of the Department of Records. Good morning, Majority Leader and Chairperson Gilmore Richardson and members of the Committee on Finance. I am James Leonard, Commissioner of Records for the City of Philadelphia, and I'm here today to testify in support of Bill 24 No. 250574 on behalf of the Mayor's administration. This bill addresses a gap in how we've helped victims of deed fraud. The Department of Records has been working to combat this issue for years. We see these cases regularly. They devastate families. They undermine confidence in our property system and they impose significant costs on victims who must fight in court to reclaim what was always rightfully theirs. Here's how it works: A fraudster forges documents or uses other deceptive means to steal someone's property. They record a fraudulent deed. In many cases, they actually pay the City's realty transfer tax. Why would a thief pay this tax? Because it helps legitimize the theft. It makes the transaction look real, and the fraudster expects to profit enough from flipping the stolen property, that paying the tax is worth their while. The victim then faces a long legal battle. They must file 6 what's called a quiet title action in court. They must prove that the deed was fraudulent. They must pay attorney's fees often. They must often continue paying a mortgage while fighting to get their home back. The emotional turmoil is overwhelming. The stress of losing your home to fraud takes a tremendous psychological toll. When they finally win, they get their property back, but they're often financially and emotionally devastated by the process. Under current law, the city keeps the realty transfer tax that the fraudster paid. This creates an inequity. The city would never have received this money but for the crime. The victim paid enormous costs to undo the crime. Yet the city retains the revenue at this point and the benefit of the fraudsters tax payment. This bill would correct the inequity. It allows a victim who obtains a court order voiding a fraudulent deed to petition for a refund of the realty transfer taxes paid. The refund goes to the victim even though the fraudster paid the tax. This helps offset the substantial legal costs victims incur to reclaim what's rightfully theirs. We estimate the fiscal impact to be modest. I believe there would likely be at most approximately to 50 cases per 23 year, perhaps less. Community 24 Legal Services has estimated an average of $4,000 per case. This is a small amount relative to overall city revenue. And frankly, these are funds the city never would have received, except for the criminal activity. From an equity standpoint, this bill is the right thing to do. Deed fraud victims are often vulnerable homeowners. They're elderly residents, they're families dealing with an estate, they're people who've worked their entire lives to own their home. When fraud strikes, they face financial ruin just trying to restore their rightful ownership. The bill includes appropriate safeguards. It requires a court order voiding the fraudulent deed. It requires the court to specifically direct that a refund be issued. It requires a certified copy of the court order. The victim must file within three years. These requirements ensure the process will not be abused. This bill also supports the Department of Records' broader mission to maintain the integrity of Philadelphia's property records. It sends a clear message that our city stands with fraud victims, not fraudsters. It provides meaningful relief to people who've suffered tremendous harm. I urge the Finance Committee to support Bill No. 15 250574. Thank you for your time. I'm happy to answer any questions.

Thank you. Thank you very much for your testimony. Thank you for being here and for your continued work on this issue. We certainly appreciate you very much in your partnership. Are there any questions for our Records Commissioner? The Chair recognizes Councilmember Jones and then Councilmember Ahmad.

Good to see you again, Commissioner. COMMISSIONER LEONARD: You as well, Councilman.

And I know you can't do that at this particular hearing, but what would be helpful is a proposed continuum of how this happens. We today -- and thank you, Madam Chair, for closing one of the loopholes. But there are many of them and it takes a cooperation interdepartmentally to figure that out. But what we often don't have is the kind of process it goes through, because there's the Register of Wills. There's the Deeds Department. There's people who do the notary. There are so many different places that we could put stopgap measures in to stop this. So the question I have is can you help us working with other departments to create that proposed continuum of here's where it starts, here are checkpoints, these are logjam points that we can create to stop this process? You mentioned that it's like cases a year. Was that in 13 your testimony? 14 COMMISSIONER LEONARD: 15 We estimate that we would receive 16 between about 25 orders for 17 refunds. We get more reports of 18 deed fraud per year in our 19 department, as the Chair mentioned 20 earlier. 21

22 Because I kind of get 25 of them in 23 my office a year. And so, I'm 24 thinking that those are the ones we caught. These are the ones that come to mind. But how many just are now living off of the equity of others and that we didn't catch? So what I'm asking you to help us with is to create a timeline, a process chart that would allow us to look at some of the other doors that we need to close and I think that would be very helpful. COMMISSIONER LEONARD: We can do that.

Thank you so much, Commissioner. Madam Chair.

Thank you so much, Councilmember Jones. The Chair recognizes Councilmember Ahmad.

Thank you, Chair. Good morning. Thank you for your testimony. Following up on my colleague Councilmember Jones' statement around creating a plan, a sort of outline of where we can intervene to stop this, I had a question about what categories of people are targeted. And you mentioned estates, right. And I wondered if there is a way to cross-reference a death certificate with property ownership so that we already can anticipate who the heirs will be and how that property will be passed along, if there's a way to intervene at that intersection to have an awareness so this does not occur at least in that category of who experiences deed fraud? COMMISSIONER LEONARD: Thank you for that question, Councilmember. So in -- I mean, you hit it on one of the most common ways people steal properties, which is they steal properties where they know the owners are still on the deed but are deceased. So in September, we created the first of its kind program in the country, where we check at the counter now whether the grantor or what's commonly called the seller was actually deceased or alive at the time the deed says they signed it, because you can't sign a deed if you're not alive, simple idea. But it's one where the thieves -- as Councilmember Jones pointed out -- had figured out this loophole a long time ago. So using getting access, we were able to get access to basically vital records, as you said, death records. And our team with the help of the Revenue Department, who was just a great partner on this, helped us build a simple interface for our team to use at the counter. So that if -- and we have a regulation that implements this. So that if you present a deed and it says Jim Leonard signed it a week ago, but we check it and it says Jim Leonard died and we use a Social Security number check. So it's a high degree of reliability, very high. And if it says Jim Leonard actually died five years ago, we will not accept the deed. Now, you have an opportunity to come back and show that we were wrong. Given the database's accuracy, it's not very likely, but you do have that opportunity. And what's so important about that and what's so novel about it is that it actually prevents the fraud from ever getting on the public record. A lot of the measures we've been able to take over the years, which are important and which other jurisdictions around the country have sort of followed suit on, are mitigating the effects of the fraud after the fraud happens and gets on the public record. But it's on the record, everything I described in terms of the cost of the victim to reclaim it and the court actions, those all have to happen. So by this new program, the idea is that it doesn't get on the record.

That's great. So my point was, is there now some sort of education process for those who are going to be inheriting property to understand this in conjunction with what you just explained? COMMISSIONER LEONARD: So since 2023, we've had a citywide outreach program that has focused on areas where we know the fraud reports are most commonly coming from, which is areas like Southwest Philly, West Philly, South Philadelphia, but it's citywide but with a focus on those areas in particular. We've done almost 200 events since then, seen that by our count almost 13,000 people at those events. I go out and talk regularly as much as I can and do sort of educational seminars. And if any of you want me to do that at any of your events, I'm happy to. But we're always happy to have a table, a resource table, and educate people about these programs.

Thank you. This is essential in our wealth-building scenario in our city. So I thank you all for being so proactive and I hope the public is listening to know you are doing a lot of things to help in the wealth-building space. So thank you so much. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you. Thank you so much, Councilmember Ahmad. Any additional questions for our Records Commissioner? (No response.)

Seeing none, thank you so much. Commissioner Leonard, we appreciate your continued partnership. COMMISSIONER LEONARD: Thank you.

May you please call Panel 2.

Will Kate Dugan and Vincent Gilliam please approach. (Witnesses approached witness table.)

Thank you so much. Please state your name for the record and proceed with your testimony.

Good morning, members of the Committee. My name is Kate Dugan, and I'm the Divisional Supervising Attorney of the Property Tax Team in the Homeownership and Consumer Rights Unit at Community Legal Services. I'm here today to strongly support Bill No. 250574, Councilmember Gilmore Richardson's bill, to address deed fraud in our city. As this committee certainly knows, CLS provides free legal assistance to low-income Philadelphians. Like many legal services organizations, CLS has seen an increasing number of clients who are victims of deed fraud. In 2023 alone, the Office of the Recorder of Deeds received 132 reports of deed fraud, and that isn't counting the homeowners who have not yet realized that their homes have been stolen. Right now my colleagues and I at CLS have multiple clients in active litigation to reclaim their family homes. Deed fraud prevents homeowners from getting property tax relief and repairs. Often deed fraud happens when a home is a tangled title and is owned by a deceased person, making it even harder than usual for families to access preserve and protect their generational wealth. Unfortunately, the problem is expensive and complicated to fix, even when free representation is available, which is normally not the case. Victims are stuck paying for costs like repairs, changing locks, filing fees, process server fees out of their own pockets. In most deed fraud cases, bad actors do not show up in court so any monetary judgments we would get against them mean very little. It's rare for a deed fraud victim to collect any meaningful money damages or restitution. That's why we strongly support Councilmember Gilmore Richardson's bill, which provides a measure of relief to victims of deed fraud. Much of the time when a bad actor commits deed fraud, they pay transfer taxes when recording the fraudulent deed. Since most bad actors turn around and sell that home to an investor or another third party, they recoup their money and more pretty quickly. Under the current Realty Transfer Tax Code, the Department of Revenue may issue a refund of taxes following a mistake of law or theft. In deed fraud cases, it's the bad actor who would have standing to request that refund right now. This bill would allow victims to obtain a court order following a successful quiet title action directing the Department of Revenue to issue that refund to victims instead. Because of deed fraud, victims must obtain a court order to access that refund, the risk of others abusing this provision is exceedingly low. Neither the Department of Revenue nor the Tax Review Board will ever need to make the determination about who is entitled to the refund. The courts will be doing that. While the monetary benefit to victims will be significant, the cost to the city will be low. As the Committee knows, the Philadelphia portion of the realty transfer tax is 3.578%. That means for a stolen home worth $100,000, a victim stands to receive a refund of about $3,500. Given the low number of stolen homes relative to the number of deeds recorded in Philadelphia and given the even lower number of victims who are going to get court orders quieting title, this is a low cost to Philadelphia. But even a refund of a few hundred dollars to a family or victim of deed fraud is going to be meaningful and valuable to that family. We are so grateful to Councilmember Gilmore Richardson and Commissioner Jim Leonard for working with us to make this bill 3 happen. I'm happy to answer any questions the Committee has.

Thank you. Thank you so much for your testimony. Mr. Gilliam, would you like to give your testimony now?

Yes.

Would you like to sit down or do you want to stand up?

Mr. Gilliam is going to remain standing and with his sunglasses on due to some medical issues.

That's okay. Received. You can state your name for the record and then proceed with your testimony.

Good morning. My name is Vince Gilliam and I wanted to specifically come today -- thank you. Let me start again. Vince Gilliam and I wanted to make it a point to come today to at least offer my testimony associated with a real direct situation as far as property theft and what happened specifically with my family and even the support that we had got from CLS associated with an ordeal that's been going on the past six years with regards to, I think it's called, entangled title, falsifying records and fraudulent signatures. In short, as they asked me to give a synopsized version, the Wilson Group took my property or my family's property and changed the title, and they had receipts and checks from my mother who sold them the property. The situation was that they did all this six years after my mother was deceased. And they took the property and then sold it again to Martinez, who also took the property and got $50,000 loans from companies in New York. And of course, this is the short version. But I wanted to make it a point to show today and express to the Community Legal Services, because my family had ran at wits' end being, I guess, detectives or Sherlock Holmes trying to track down the Wilson Group. And CLS actually stepped in and helped us out and we were able to track them down and find out all the fraudulent deals that they were doing associated with stealing the property. And it was a long drawn- out process. And certainly when I heard about the aspect of the bill 23 today, I asked what could I do, how can I support and they say, come down and make a testimony. That's the short version.

If I could ask Mr. Gilliam very quickly, would receiving a cash refund into your pockets help your family after you had to do all that work getting the deed back into your family's name?

Oh, absolutely. We're in deep I guess you want to say wits' end with some other family members, money we had to borrow and what have you, as it stands. So haven't gone totally bankrupt yet, but that would be a tremendous help and support us, as it stands.

Yes. Thank you. Thank you very much for your testimony. And thank you, Mr. Gilliam, for coming to Council chambers to give us a synopsis of your family's story. Just wanted to ask you if you could highlight for us the total financial costs and burden this was for your family?

I'm just trying to calculate. That would be hard because it is a combination of things between an inordinate amount of time spent, money that we paid additional people, property, papers that we filed, tools that were stolen out of the property. In fact, we actually caught the people at the property emptying all of the belongings out of the property. We called the police. We followed all the steps. The police came. I think it was the 16th District, 16th and Montgomery, what have you. And they told us there's nothing in place that they can do to stop them because I didn't have the papers, I didn't walk around with deeds, and the police let them drive away with trucks, with everything inside the building. But the amount that you asked for has got to be in excess. If I picked a number, I would say 4,000 to 5000, probably more than that. I couldn't account for the time, but I would say 4,000 to 5,000 easy.

Well, thank you very much for being here. We certainly appreciate the time that you have given to us and to the committee today to explain what happened to you and to your family. And we thank CLS for being here. I'd like to recognize Councilmember Bass, Vice-Chair Bass, and then Councilmember Jones.

Thank you, Madam Chair. And I wanted to thank you, sir, for coming down today and for your testimony. And I appreciate that. When you heard about this piece of legislation, you reached out to CLS and said, how can I help because I have that lived experience. And it's so important for people to hear from someone like yourself who has actually gone through this unfortunate situation and how you've come out on the other side. So I just really wanted to thank you and really send it out as encouragement to other folks that we need to hear from the public. You know, we hear from a lot of other folks, the subject matter experts and the attorneys and so forth. It's so important to hear from the actual folks who are going through that. I wanted to say thank you for coming down. And thank you so much to CLS because I think that they're there in my district and I think that they're awesome. So great job as always. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you very, very much. The Chair recognizes Councilmember Jones.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I mentioned to the Commissioner a timeline or a process chart of how these things occur. My question is what happened? Were there any charges filed against some of these unscrupulous actors? Did we ever catch them? And what I would want to know is if we're just now stopping them from getting a rebate, that's one thing, but there should be damages. Somebody's title company, some processor is culpable in this crime. And until we make everyone on that step, if that got sold, your property got sold to an investment group, then the investment group is liable. Somebody needed a deed clearance, a warrant. Somebody put their signature on that deed insurance and said that this was clear, that this was a clear title, that there were no liens, there were no -- and so, they put their name and reputation on a document that was false. And so, I'm asking CLS to help us figure out who are the other people that need to be kind of held accountable. Because if we do not up the penalties, if we do not up the risk, then there's no 21 financial incentive for them to stop doing this. Because if it's a $3,500 crap shoot, and I'm getting $100,000 worth of property, where's the incentive for me not to do that. So whatever bank that finances, whatever title company that signed off on it, whatever person that did the notary, we have to kind of go up and down that food chain and hold people accountable. So in your experience, how does that work? Did we catch anybody? Did we sue anybody?

That's a great question. So to your question about do we catch these people, the answer is sometimes. So occasionally, the DA will investigate and find somebody who is involved in deed fraud rings. We do see those new stories come out. One of the things that makes this challenging is a lot of times bad actors use fake names, fake LLCs, fake addresses on those transfer tax forms and then sell to, as you pointed out, a third party investor, right. They leave town with the money and we're left without recourse. The advantage of this bill is that even if we are able to get money judgments against the bad actors, often those bad actors aren't in town, are not findable. Perhaps do not even have the money anymore or it's just so extraordinarily hard to find them. So this bill puts a couple thousand dollars in people's pockets. But to your point of should we be doing more work to ensure that these fraudulent homes are not transferred, I would absolutely agree. I think when we're litigating and we have a third party purchaser as part of the litigation, which is often the case, often a title insurance company will agree to quiet title back to a victim. But that does not mean the victim gets damages or money put back in their pockets. You know, that $5,000 that Mr. Gilliam estimated that it cost his family to do the work of getting the title back, that's what this is aimed at. But I would absolutely agree that this is part of what needs to be a bigger effort to address deed fraud.

Excuse me. That $5,000 is just on my personal tool --

Can you come closer to the mic?

Pull the mic closer and state your name.

He was saying that's probably an underestimate.

I was saying excuse me. That $5,000 was an estimate on my personal tools. The actual cost, I would have to sit down and sum up the amount of money we paid to lawyers. Just on presenting the situation to lawyers, they charged us money just to hear the situation and didn't take the case. The only ones that came in on, I guess you'd call it the white horse, was Community Legal Services.

So again, I just think title insurance companies should be liable for their work and liable for your damages. And I can only say that during that time that $5,000, that's direct costs. Indirect costs is you could have had a tenant, you could have done other things. You lost revenue that way. And so, until we make it prohibitive for a title company to falsely affirm that this title is good, then we're missing an opportunity to stop the profitability of this thing. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you. Thank you so much, Councilmember Jones. And thank you again to Kate Dugan from Community Legal Services and Mr. Gilliam for being here today. We appreciate your testimony. Are there any further questions for this panel? (No response.)

All right. Seeing none, we will now proceed with the first panel we have to testify on 251018.

Will Gemela McClendon and William Gallagher please approach. (Witnesses approached witness table.)

Thank you for being here. Please state your name for the record and proceed with your testimony. MS. McCLENDON: (Inaudible).

Hold on one moment. Try it again. MS. McCLENDON: (Inaudible).

No. 16 MS. McCLENDON: Okay. My name is Gemela McClendon. I'm the Executive Director of the Philadelphia Gas Commission. Good morning, Chairwoman Gilmore Richardson and members of the committee. The gas commission appreciates the opportunity to testify in support of Bill No. 251018, which embodies its recommendations to City Council regarding the amendment of the Philadelphia Gas Works Fiscal Year 2026 capital budget unanimously adopted by the Commission. PGW's testimony to Council will provide the details of the requested capital budget amendment endorsed by the Gas Commission. This testimony will supplement PGW's testimony and we respectfully request this committee to report this bill with a favorable recommendation together with the suspension of the rules so that it may have its first reading at the next Council session. On August 25, 2025, the Philadelphia Gas Works filed its Fiscal Year 2025 capital spending forecast for the fourth quarter and authorized spending reports for April and May 2025. Within this filing, PGW requested the amendment of a 10-line item for reauthorization, which would affect line items from its Fiscal Year 2023, 2024 and 2025 budgets. All of these line 7 items only require additional time 8 for project completion and do not 9 require the approval of additional 10 funds. After completing its standard due diligence review of PGW's requests and the submission of a joint proposal by PGW and the public advocate as represented by Community Legal Services, the Gas Commission's professional staff found that PGW's request to amend its FY2026 capital budget was reasonable and the Gas Commissioners agreed and voted to approve the same. The Commission's specific recommendations to City Council are detailed in the Commission's resolution and order dated November 18, 2025, which has been attached to my written testimony as Appendix No. 1. If you have any questions, I'd be happy to answer them. Thank you.

Thank you. Please state your name for the record and proceed with your testimony.

Good morning, Chairwoman Gilmore Richardson and members of City Council Finance Committee. My name is William J. Gallagher. I am the Vice-President of Budgeting and Strategic Development for the Philadelphia Gas Works. I am appearing today on behalf of support of Bill No. 251018, which would amend the 2026 capital budget. Not to be redundant to my friend here, however, just to repeat, the first piece of this legislation is associated with the projects that Commission as well as the City Council approved previously, we're just asking for the extension of one year to their lifespan to keep us in compliance with the ordinance to approving the '26 capital budget. There is also a request here to amend the budget for $30 million associated with the CIS project that PGW has under way at this point in time. That $30 million will be $25 million of immediate spending and $5 million of contingency funding. This project is very critical to PGW in serving our customers. It's billing and all kinds of services as far as replacing this program. These amendments basically allow us to run PGW efficiently and serve our customers as far as providing the best service possible. As mentioned before, PGW respectfully requests a favorable report on Bill 251018 with the suspension of the rules so the bill may have its first reading at the next session of City Council. We'd also like to express our appreciation to the Gas Commission and its staff for the conducting of this budget review. It was done both timely, efficient and very comprehensively. We're also grateful to City Council, their continued support of our efforts to serve the citizens of Philadelphia. I'm available to respond to any questions you may have on this request.

Thank you. Thank you so much for your testimony and thank you both for being here this afternoon. Are there any questions for the panel for Bill No. 251018? (No response.)

Okay. All right. Seeing none, we thank you so much for being here and thank you for your testimony. Thank you very much. Okay. We will now proceed with Bill No. 250954. Clerk, will you please call the first panel we have to testify on 250954.

Jacqueline Dunn. (Witnesses approached witness table.)

We thank you all so much for being here. You can state your name for the record and proceed with your testimony. And in advance of your testimony, I just wanted to thank our City Treasurer, Treasurer Dunn, and her team for meeting with my team prior to the hearing. We appreciate the work that you all are doing. So state your name for the record and proceed. CITY TREASURER DUNN: Thank you, Chair. Good morning. Jackie Dunn, City Treasurer. Good morning, Chair Gilmore Richardson and members of the Committee on Finance. Jackie Dunn, City Treasurer. And with me this morning are Shakina Clark, Deputy City Treasurer for Banking, and Sarah Cho, Chief of Staff in the Treasurer's Office. I'm here to testify today in favor of Bill No. 250954. This bill would provide authorization to the Treasurer's office, on behalf of the City, to enter into an agreement with Citizens Bank for the provision of payroll banking services for an initial term of January 1, 2026 through June 30, 2026, under certain terms and conditions. In June 2006, the city enacted legislation that required the Treasurer's office to implement a request for a proposal process seeking bids from qualified institutions to provide banking services for accounts related to employee disbursements for payroll, payroll deductions and payroll taxes. This legislation also required that no contract amendment or no contract with a proposed recipient for payroll banking services be executed until it has been approved by City Council with an ordinance. In late 2024, CTO issued a payroll banking services RFP, which resulted in Citizens Bank ranking as the most qualified institution of the applicants. Citizens Bank had the most competitive fee proposal, provides superior service for the critical function of employee payroll, has an extensive branch network and the largest network of any applicant, maintains an outstanding Community Reinvestment Act or CRA rating, and regularly partners with the city on local priorities. Citizens Bank has served as the city's payroll depository since 2017 as a result of a prior RFP and was again recommended through a subsequent RFP and approved by Council again in 2021. The administration respectfully recommends adoption of this ordinance and respectfully requests that the Committee give the bill 24 its favorable recommendation and further that the Committee recommends that the rules of Council be suspended so as to permit the first reading of the bill at the next session of Council. Thank you for your consideration and opportunity to testify. We are happy to answer any questions.

Thank you. Thank you very much for your testimony and for your work. I wanted to ensure that I did get a few questions on the record regarding Bill No. 16 250954. I've shared this with you all in the past relative to ensuring that as our city depository, that Citizens is working with residents across the city of Philadelphia around residential mortgage lending, particularly under the $300,000, $250,000 mark. And so, if you could provide the recent numbers from Citizens around their residential mortgage lending for the record. I know they shared in the quarterly report that we received that I do read, but I wanted to put that information on the record. And also, if you could submit for the Committee the latest quarterly report from Citizens that shows not only the lower end residential mortgages, but also each area. I think they break it down in three or four different categories. CITY TREASURER DUNN: Sure. Thank you, Chair. I can speak globally and I'll ask my Deputy to pull up the specific report if there's specific counts you'd like us to read for the record. But as you're aware, our office produces an annual study examining lending practices of authorized depositories compared to banking activity in the Philadelphia market and we've done that study annually since 2005. And as you indicated, investment back into the city and in our residents is something that we look at when we look at our banking relationships, and we're really proud that Citizens Bank has consistently ranked as the first or second among our depositories in their efforts to lend on the residential front for residential products, whether it's home purchase, home improvement loans, home refinancing, although with the interest rate environment the mix of those products changes over time or the volume, I should say. They've also partnered with the city on a lot of our affordable housing programs that are a priority, so Turn the Key, for example, Restore Repair Renew. And so, those are things that we are really proud to bring to the Committee when we bring this opportunity. And would you mind repeating your request for the most recent quarterly statistics you'd like us to read?

Yes. The most recent numbers for residential mortgage lending for -- and I forget their exact breakdown but it may be -- what's the first line in that category? Is it 250,000 or 300,000? CITY TREASURER DUNN: By --

Meaning, what's their breakdown? In the report they usually give us a breakdown and I think it's at least three or four categories. I think one of the last ones is 700,000. CITY TREASURER DUNN: Sure. We may have to get back to you on that front. But in terms of annual counts on the residential front, for 2005, to date it was 45 through September 30th so through the last quarter. From 2024, it was 97. And for 2023, 76. And 2022, 109, and this is for residential home purchase only. For home equity, they've been around the 250 to 300 count mark in the last three years. And then -- and I think we'll need to come back on the dollar amount because I want to make sure we're providing what you're requesting.

Sure. And I just wanted to share the additional information with the Committee as it relates to this bill and underscore the importance of whoever we're doing business with to provide payroll depository services for the City of Philadelphia is adequately working with residents across socioeconomic status to ensure that they too can achieve the dream of homeownership. And particularly when a typical rowhouse, obviously it's increasing, but you can still buy a rowhouse in Philadelphia for $150,000 or $250,000. And so, we want to ensure that those individuals who may be eligible to purchase a home on the lower end of our market have the opportunity to do that, and that Citizens is doing all that they can to afford our city residents that opportunity. CITY TREASURER DUNN: Absolutely.

All right. Thank you very much. I just wanted to get that on the record. Are there any additional questions for this witness? Chair recognizes Councilmember Ahmad.

Thank you, Chair. Just to follow up on her comment, the Chair's comment, do you have a sense of the zip codes of where these loans have been made? CITY TREASURER DUNN: Not with me, but we can provide that. That's part of the annual analysis that we undertake for that lending study I referenced.

That would be very helpful to really address the issue of where the resources are going and how they're being leveraged. So thank you. Appreciate that. That's it.

Thank you. Thank you so much, Councilmember Ahmad. Thank you very much for your testimony. Any additional questions for this panel? (No response.)

Seeing none, we will now proceed to Bill Nos. 250953 and 251019. Thank you all for being here and thank you for your work. May you call the panel for Bill Nos. 250953 and 251019.

Emily Schapira. (Witnesses approached witness table.)

All right. Thank you for being here and we appreciate you very much. Please state your name for the record and proceed with your testimony.

Thank you so much. Good afternoon, Chair Gilmore Richardson, members of the Committee. I'm Emily Schapira, President and CEO of the Philadelphia Energy Authority. I'm testifying in support of Bills 250953 and 251019. I'll start with 250953. That bill authorizes the City to enter into an intergovernmental agreement with PEA, allowing PEA to then enter into a Guaranteed Energy Savings Contract for energy efficiency and capital improvements at two Philadelphia Water Department Wastewater Treatment Plants, Northeast and Southwest, designed to reduce energy, water, wastewater or other consumption or operating costs. This will be the City of Philadelphia's fifth Guaranteed Energy Savings Act or GESA performance contract for energy- efficiency improvements. Past projects include the replacement of 130,000 streetlights citywide as well as building improvement projects that include the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Quadplex, health centers and homeless services buildings. All projects have lowered utility costs while upgrading aging infrastructure. The goal of this comprehensive project scope is to use the GESA project model to address deferred maintenance, implement energy conservation measures, improve plant operations, future-proof the facilities for anticipated regulations and requirements, eliminate the flaring of biogas and ensure productive use of all produced biogas. Biogas is a byproduct of the wastewater treatment process. PWD already uses biogas to run onsite engines that power the facility. With the current setup, PWD is not able to use all of the biogas and must flare or burn it off when there is an excess. Our goal is to eliminate the need for flaring by bringing online a new process to refine the biogas to pipeline quality renewable natural gas or RNG. The RNG can be used to power PWD facilities, can be piped directly into PGW system and has the added benefit of generating revenues from credit markets that assign value to volumes of RNG produced. With approval to contract, we'll kick off a rigorous, multi-month investment grade audit process that brings together key city partners, PWD, PGW, the Office of Sustainability, and us at PEA to determine how we can leverage each partner's needs and strengths. Our selected vendor, Johnson Controls or JCI, will help us identify the optimal technological solutions to improve systems, reduce energy consumption and maximize revenues from the conversion of biogas to RNG. In particular, the energy savings and revenue generation used to fund this project will reduce PWD's need for ratepayer-funded capital projects to modernize its facilities and meet regulatory requirements. While this will be a long and challenging technical evaluation, we have high hopes that we can use the GESA model in this cross- departmental city partnership to rethink the way we approach large projects to limit the burden on ratepayers and leverage the assets and knowledge we have inhouse. The project's prime vendor JCI was awarded the project through a public, transparent, competitive RFP process led by a selection committee that included technical experts and advisors from various city departments. JCI has pledged to maximize opportunities for local skilled workers and businesses to gain experience and build wealth by improving critical energy infrastructure in the city of Philadelphia. Contractor selection has not yet occurred and is a critical part of the investment grade audit. Contractor scopes will be bid out publicly with assistance from PEA to share these opportunities with our broad network of capable local partners. We ask for your support of Bill No. 250953 to kick off energy efficiency and capital improvements at the Northeast and Southwest Wastewater Treatment Plants. And we're excited to work with our city partners at PWD, PGW and OOS to make this ambitious project a reality. I'm happy to take questions on this or I can move to my testimony related to the other bill as well.

Sure. I have the same questions for both of those bills so you can proceed with your testimony for 250981. And what I'll do is I'll also call back our City Treasurer, Treasurer Dunn, to provide her testimony for 250981 so that we finish 250953, 251019 and 250981 together.

Okay. Perfect. So I'll just flag Bill 251019. This is a bill that corrects typographical errors in a previously approved contracting ordinance for another project, which is related to the next bill, for the Quadplex Plus Community Health project. So this bill provides technical fixes to a contracting ordinance which was Bill No. 11 250103, approved by Council last spring. This bill's approval must accompany Bill 250981 in order to issue financing in a timely manner per the Law Department. We just realized there were typos in there recently. And so, we're making sure that those get fixed before we move on to financing.

Thank you very much 22 for your testimony. We'll take the 23 testimony now of Treasurer Dunn, 24 250981. And then we'll have questions for this panel. Thank you for the accommodation. CITY TREASURER DUNN: Good morning again, Chair Gilmore Richardson and members --

Hold on one moment please, Treasurer Dunn. If you could just switch microphones. Thank you. CITY TREASURER DUNN: Good morning, Chair and members of the Finance Committee. I'm Jackie Dunn, City Treasurer. And with me this morning are Matt Bowman, Deputy City Treasurer for Debt Management, and Sarah Cho, Chief of Staff in our office. I'm here to testify in favor of Bill 250981. This bill 21 would authorize the City to enter into a service agreement with the Philadelphia Energy Authority relating to the financing of the construction, equipping, installation and implementation of energy conservation improvements and other measures designed to reduce energy, water, wastewater and other consumption or operating costs at specified properties 8 owned or leased and operated by the 9 city. 10 City Council previously 11 approved Bill 250103, authorizing 12 the City to enter into the 13 Guaranteed Energy Savings Contract 14 for this project and is considering related bill, Bill 251019 today. The bonds would be issued an aggregate amount up to $40 million plus related cost of issuance, credit enhancement and discount. The bonds would be secured by the City's obligation under the service agreement to budget and appropriate annually amounts necessary to pay the service fee, which would be sufficient to pay the debt service on the outstanding bonds. The administration respectfully recommends the adoption of this ordinance and respectfully requests that the Committee give the bill 8 its favorable recommendation and further that the Committee recommends that the rules be suspended so as to permit first reading of the bill at the next session of Council. Thank you for your consideration and we're happy to answer any questions.

Thank you very much for your testimony. Again, thank you for being here. I do have questions that relate to 250981, 251019 and 250953. It's the same question for all three of them. If you could just share for the record the percentages for small and local business participation on this project. If you anticipate any changes, what is the number that you anticipate around local hiring? And what are you all continuing to do to expand opportunities for small and local business owners? And I'm using those words small and local business owners, but you know what I mean.

Yes. Thank you so much for that question. We can provide to the Committee a full memo outlining the details of each project, but I'll share the highlights right now. For the Quadplex Plus Community Health Project, this is the second round of improvements to the Quadplex Plus, seven health centers and four homeless services buildings. And so, as part of the proposal package when this was bid, this was before the City's most recent changes to OEO's practices. Johnson Control signed an economic opportunity plan, which we will continue to enforce, and that was provided by the Office of Economic Opportunity. The goal that they requested of us was 30% to 50% participation. So after soliciting subcontractor bids as part of that investment grade audit process, JCI is committed to 50% minority-owned participation in this project and 20% at least local business participation. Many of the other contractors are also local businesses but don't have the LBE certification, so we're working on that and can update that number. JCI also signed a voluntary EOP supplement. This has become standard practice for us. That commits them not only to local business participation, but also on-the-job training opportunities for graduates of not only PEA's workforce development programs, but also many of our partner programs that come from nonprofits and other organizations citywide. So this remains a top priority for PEA in all of our programming and all of our projects. And of course, we will adapt to the new rules and regs, but we continue to look at disadvantaged businesses and make sure that they are participating in these projects, and not just participating but are taking key roles and helping to really build great projects.

No, we thank you for your continued work. I would just request for this Committee that we receive a full breakdown of every single subcontractor that has been selected, where they're located, if they have information about their leadership structure, any board information, if applicable. And in addition to that, if there are any changes that take place from now until the start of the project, if we could receive that update as well in writing. And I'll share with all members of the Finance Committee. But we thank you all for your continued commitment. Any additional questions for this panel? (No response.)

Okay. Seeing none, we thank you very much for being here. Thank you. Okay. We'll now proceed with Bill No. 250951.

Will John Mondlak, the Department of Planning and Development please approach. (Witnesses approached witness table.)

Please state your name for the record and then you can proceed with your testimony. Thank you.

Good morning, Chairperson Gilmore Richardson and members of the Committee on Finance. I think it's still morning. I hope it's still morning. My name is John Mondlak. I'm the First Deputy and Chief of Staff in the Department of Planning and Development, and I'm joined by Michael Carroll, Deputy Managing Director for the Office of Transportation, Infrastructure and Systems also known as OTIS; Kathleen Grady, who is the Deputy of Strategic Initiatives in the Department of Planning and Development; Nicola Mammes, who is the Director of Strategic Programs in OTIS and Guillermo Leiva, who is the Intercity Bus Operations Manager. I'm here to testify in support of Bill 250951, which advances the city's efforts to provide a welcoming, clean and safe environment for bus passengers arriving in Philadelphia. intercity bus service is an important mode of transportation for Philadelphia, connecting people to over 2800 sites nationwide. Whether passengers are traveling to see family, heading to or from college or traveling for work within the region, intercity bus industry is a critical partner ensuring that all Philadelphians can access safe and reliable form of transportation. Bus service is also an economic driver. Studies show that bus passengers spend between $125 and $150 in Philadelphia on food, shopping and other expenses while in the City. Intercity bus passengers, they're our residents, they're our visitors and they deserve a clean, safe, accessible and inviting station to welcome them to our city, especially before the events of 2026. The recent history of bus service essentially was at the Filbert Street Station at 1001 Filbert for about 35 years. Up until June 2023, the majority of regular trips started and ended there. In 2023, Greyhound terminated its lease on that building, in keeping with the parents company's business model of divesting itself of real estate throughout the country and terminating leases where they can terminate leases. This was not a property they owned, but it was a lease they were able to terminate. Peter Pan, Martz and Fullington were also subtenants of Greyhound and they ceased operations there at the same time. Following an initial move to 6th and Market, the City required buses to move to Spring Garden in November of 2023. The shift was based on the availability of manageable curb space, access to public transit, access to interstate highways, on and off ramps and the ability to accommodate a facility or an activity this size near Center City. In spring of 2024, Mayor Parker charged staff with providing short-term improvements, identifying options to increase capacity for 2026 and to develop a thoughtful long-term solution, which Philadelphia can be proud of. Intercity bus carriers are currently operating curbside on Spring Garden Street between North Front and 2nd in Northern Liberties, with several carriers permitted to operate on Schuylkill Avenue between Walnut and Chestnut and University City. City of Philadelphia contracts with the Delaware River Waterfront Corporation, DRWC, to supply contracted personnel referred to as ambassadors. The ambassadors greet and orient arriving and departing passengers on Spring Garden and provide them with a safe and clean bathroom that is located a block south on Noble Street. And the City has incurred a total of about $2 million of expenses to provide services, with a million going to DRWC and a million for city activity. The City has been able to only capture about 88,000, primarily because we don't have a fee ordinance which is the point of introducing this bill. While the City invests in passenger service at Spring Garden, we agree that the situation is less than ideal.

It does not meet the standards that residents and visitors of the City deserve, passengers and the surrounding community site, lack of nearby ADA accessible transit, potential conflicts between buses, bikes and pedestrians, the lack of wayfinding, the lack of amenities for passengers, including climate- control waiting rooms. Moreover, Northern Liberty's neighbors have shared with us that the curbside model results in added sanitation issues in the neighborhood, increased panhandling, damage to nearby park, prevalence of trash and debris and an increased presence of individuals who are unsheltered in need of connection to services. Carriers have agreed with our assessment that the location, connectivity and amenities provided at Spring Garden are not the experience they would like for their passengers. While some of the challenges experienced at Spring Garden can be attributed to the curbside model, others have emerged previously at Filbert Street. In discussions with Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corp related to reactivating bus service in and around Chinatown, they raised several concerns: Primarily, they raised bus routing through Chinatown. Prior to the station closing in 2023, buses were routinely traveling through Chinatown to get to the bus station. They also include similar issues of panhandling, unhoused people, increased litter, similar issues that we've seen at Spring Garden. The City seeks to avoid these pain points in the past by implementing best practices, and this ordinance will help us generate the resources we need to provide high quality experience for passengers and proactively address the concerns raised by prior communities in this community a couple years ago. This legislation allows the City to enter into a multi-year agreement with the Philadelphia Parking Authority to operate -- I neglected to mention Rich Lazer, Executive Director of the Parking Authority is also here to answer questions -- and they will operate the intercity bus facility. Under the agreement, PPA will apply a bus fee to intercity buses to finance the operations of our intercity bus program, which includes operation at both this facility and some curbside locations, if desired. If the bill 11 is passed, the City intends to partner with PPA to reactivate this station at 1001 Filbert Street, a location in Center City that is close to many modes of accessible transit, including SEPTA's Market- Frankford Line, trolley service, the Broad Street Line and Regional Rail service. It is literally across the street from an accessible elevator entrance to all of these means of transportation. A refresh of the facility will include new exterior public art, greening via planters and new tree plantings, an updated waiting room, indoor restrooms updated, ticket counters that will be available for bus operators and office space for our supporting personnel. As the operator, PPA is committed to creating a quality experience for passengers, carriers and the surrounding community. The facility will have 24/7 security on site, 16-hour daily custodial coverage, maintenance staff and an ongoing program manager. The City will provide sanitation, police, homeless outreach programs, street support to the station and adjacent area. Additionally, the City's intercity bus operations manager will be located at the facility to coordinate with carriers, PPA, city departments and the community to address concerns as they arise and resolve them quickly. To proactively avoid previous challenges to the carriers operating at the Filbert Street location, the City will issue intercity bus permits that define permissible routing aimed to avoid bus travel through Chinatown, avoiding residential streets, prioritizing direct connections to the interstates and the Streets Department intends to add left turns off of Market Street so all buses can enter and exit via Market Street and 11th and out 10th back to Market Street, so no buses will go through Chinatown.

There will be a camera- based enforcement system to ensure that folks are following the correct routing. In addition, PPA and Streets will re-establish and enforce taxi and rideshare zones on Filbert Street to limit congestion from passengers who arrive by vehicle. We will also continue working with PPA and engineers to ensure that safety is a top priority when accessing and operating within the terminal, to ensure buses have ample room and turning radiuses when entering and departing the facility and it doesn't compromise safety, passengers, staff and the terminal itself. Based on prior complaints of panhandling and unhoused, PPA will partner with Mural Arts nationally recognized program Color Me Back same-day work and pay. The program will proactively engage individuals who are panhandling and who are unhoused, providing a direct referral pathway and a dedicated peer specialist who will work to make connections to services and resources. This service-led approach will not only address community concerns, but will also result in public art and placemaking in and around the station. The fees proposed in the original bill were developed by taking the cost of the facility and determining a per bus rate based on the information that we could identify. After introduction, city staff has met with the carriers a number of times. They're listed out in the hearing. I'm not going to go through them, but they are my testimony that I formally submitted. Following discussion with the carriers, the City is proposing an updated fee that will be circulated via amendment, hopefully is being circulated, and the fee essentially will be reduced to $65 a bus and $16 a bus for PennDOT-subsidized buses that run rural routes throughout Pennsylvania. There's not many of them, but those that are subsidized by PennDOT have a lower rate. It will also lower the $65 rate, I believe, to 40 until the bus station is operationalized in a couple months. The reduction of fees represent an annual subsidy where the City is contributing to the operation of this, expenses that would have been reimbursable but will not seek reimbursement to help subsidize these operations and ensure that we have a good solution. There's a chart that I'm not going to go through that talks about the different fees and how it works and we can answer questions. The proposed annual local subsidy demonstrates the City's commitment to intercity bus passengers. Unlike other locales in similar situations, the City doesn't -- we haven't benefited from substantial federal or state subsidies for intercity bus facilities nor do we have tolling authority that we can create a dedicated revenue stream for intercity bus operations. The City's proposed intercity bus fee is a singular fee. Unlike other cities that charge departure fees, license fees, lease fees, passenger fees, ours is all in one fee. Given the demand on the City's financial resources for many pressing needs, the City is making a significant investment in private industry to ensure that we have something better than the curbside model that we have, particularly for the summer of 2026. The City is eager to work with PPA, intercity bus carriers and the surrounding community to bring this facility to reality in time for the 2026 events, and the ordinance and fee structure is critical to making that a reality. While we work on this interim solution, the City through the Planning Commission staff is about to launch community engagement around our long-term effort, and that public engagement should begin in the beginning of 2026. In sum, it's an important mode of transportation for the city. The ordinance is critical for us being able to change the way we deliver intercity bus service. And again, thank you. We're here to answer questions. I would also respectfully ask that you consider the amendment that has been circulated. Hopefully, we can come to an agreement on everything that's in that.

But I believe it clarifies that the fee is lowered to 65. It clarifies that it's lowered further until the station opens and it also clarifies the starting date of January 1st. We also respectfully request that you suspend the rules of Council so this bill can be read at the first hearing -- the first meeting, which is tomorrow.

Thank you. Thank you very much for your testimony and thank you both. Do you have testimony to provide?

No, John was covering all of that for us.

He's got all the answers.

Okay. Well, thank you very much for being here. We appreciate all of you for all the work that you've been doing in the conversations that we've had over the last several days. We were just reviewing the amendments now and seeking further clarification on a few things. So I wanted to recognize Vice-Chair Bass for a question relative to the business functions at the facility, and then we'll come back for the other questions. Chair recognizes Vice-Chair Bass.

Thank you, Madam Chair. And I apologize. I have to leave for other Council business. So I did want to be on the record asking according to the memo that's been provided from the administration, there was a list of fees that were covered, and then a statement, This fee is intended to cover the cost of operations and does not include the cost for individual carrier business functions. Everything that was listed appears to be the individual carrier business function. So is there something else that we're missing or could that be clarified?

Well, I could tell you that the function, when we refer to the business function we're referring to the bus, its operation, the driver and any staff that the carriers would like to have on site to sell tickets. We'll provide the ticket counter at no cost, but we won't reimburse their staff to be there. We won't sell tickets. They have to -- many just sell online so many will not take advantage of that. But as far as the facility, everything about the facilities, custodial, maintenance, utility, all that is covered by us.

The same way that there was detail in those sorts of items, the ticket kiosk, the common space on site, security, you just might want to clarify in your document here what the business functions are because it just wasn't clear. That's all. Thank you very much. Thank you for your testimony. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you. Thank you very, very much for being here. And thank you, Vice-Chair Bass. I also wanted to just for the record -- because we're just receiving this, this is what we were discussing while you were providing your testimony -- the $40 fee would then be in effect on January 1, 2026 until the bus terminal becomes operational, at which point the fee will change we believe will be in May 2026 at the latest. And so, I just wanted to provide further clarification on what the change would be. Meaning, what would the change be after May 2026 just in this document that we have. We just want to make sure we have that in writing. And I also asked about the dedicated days for the bus operators so that they are able to comply with federal DOT regulations regarding potential switches if they have to do a switch, and in the 15-minute inspection for the bus when they do the switch, I thought that was reasonable in order for them to comply with the federal DOT regulations, even around the bus operator breaks that may be necessary. So were you all able to address that in the most recent amendments and regulations that we have received?

My sense is that that level of detail is something we're going to have to work out in the operation itself, but we can put language in the amendment that makes it clear that we're committed to comply with all federal law and regulations, federal and state and local law and regulations and that will be our intention, and we'll resource that appropriately.

Okay. Because I thought that that was a reasonable request, and particularly around the dedicated bus bay. There were specific examples that were utilized, but I had the real life experience over the summer. I was up in Boston, flew into Boston and was actually able to see some of the operators -- not even knowing about this legislation in advance. So I had the experience to see and wanted to ask about the dedicated bus bay? Meaning, does that present a challenge for the city in any way?

I don't think so. I think we have sufficient space. A lot comes down to how you actually manage day-to- day consistently, and this is good information to go into making that procedure, you know, something that's firm, that's well- documented. We'll certainly provide language that addresses that in the amendment. And then we will have what we're calling a code of conduct, which applies to us and everybody else that just makes it clear what the operating procedure will need to be. And so, of course respecting the laws and regulations has to be the foundation for that.

Okay. That'll be great. And I also think the dedicated bus bay would address the challenge around the potential switch and the mandatory pre-switch inspection that needs to take place to comply with the DOT standards. I thought that was just reasonable. We just want to get everything in writing prior to us taking the vote, which will be very soon.

Okay.

Okay. All right. The Chair now recognizes Councilmember Jones and Councilmember Ahmad -- so, Councilmember Jones, please forgive me. Can I please start with Councilman Driscoll, who is the sponsor of the legislation, if you don't mind?

Yes, go ahead.

Thank you very much. We'll start with Councilman Driscoll who sponsored the legislation. We also recognize in his absence Councilmember Squilla, whose district this facility would be in. Councilman Driscoll.

Thank you, Madam Chair. And I'm glad you mentioned Councilman Squilla, who's not on this committee, but is very much affected by the operations of this future facility and his cooperation. I want to thank the members of this Committee for your patience. This has been an ongoing conversation. We've met with and spoke with the leadership of the Philadelphia Parking Authority Rich Lazer, Michael Carroll from OTIS, John Mondlak, Rich Montanez from Streets. It's been a collaborative effort. I know we all have the same goals, but we want to make sure that our carriers were being fair to them. We want to make sure at the end of the day our enduser has an affordable and comfortable experience here in the city of Philadelphia. Many times it's the last resort that they have to get from A to B in an affordable fashion. Sometimes we don't think about these things, but we need to think about these things and that's why these fees are important. And essentially, we're giving you the authority through this enabling legislation, but you also have the authority vested in you at some point to regulate. And I just ask you in your leadership capacity that that is always something that you're mindful of and you take serious. And so, as we learn through these processes, that we get it right. And I know everyone is well-intentioned, the committee, the carriers and each of the offices you represent. But I say that on the record because I believe it's very, very important going forward. Next year is a very important year in the city of Philadelphia as we all know. 2026 is the 250th anniversary of our country. We have the FIFA World Cup and a lot of other things we all know about. A lot of people will be coming here for the first time. And when they're in that station, they're going to get their first taste of Philadelphia. And we want to make sure that first taste of Philadelphia is a good one. And when they leave, we want to make sure when they leave they have a good experience leaving so that when they get to their destination, they can tell folks Philadelphia has their act together, we had a wonderful time. And you know what, taking a bus is a pretty good experience. Just a couple weeks ago, unrelated to this hearing, I had the experience of going to the Greyhound terminal which is in my district, where they repair the buses. And boy, when I tell you these buses, these new buses that are coming out are spectacular. The seating, the air conditioning, the comfort, the coffee carriers, the storage carriers, it's amazing what this new technology that we are getting to experience here in Philadelphia. So, Madam Chair, I just want to end by saying that this is an important step. I fully recognize the urgency of this Committee taking it to the next step, but let's just make sure we get it right. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you so much, Councilman Driscoll. We thank you for all the work that you have done on this legislation and for guiding us through this process. The Chair now recognizes Councilmember Jones and then Councilmember Ahmad. We want to thank Richie Lazer for being here from the Philadelphia Parking Authority. We appreciate you. Councilman Jones.

Thank you, Madam Chair. And before Richie leaves, I want to say I don't think you guys know how incredible light speed you took an issue I think Isaiah and Jeffrey Young, you, Madam Chair, and now Member Driscoll introducing this bill, I have never seen in my time here us galvanize departments a rounded issue, address the issue in a -- I'm not going to say you don't do it, but in a timely fashion to be able to address an upcoming celebration nationally. And it just shows you can't put that genie back in the bottle. I know you can cooperate now. And so, I'm going -- that's the expectation from now on. It is truly impressive for us to go from a problem to a solution. And I listened to the testimony given about the comprehensive nature of how this bus shelter operates. I used to put my son on the bus, Madam Chair, to go to FAMU. That's 1100 miles on the bus. My boy left as a boy and came back as a man off of that bus ride. And I'm saying to you some of the things when we would drop them off were pretty hairy. And I expect, as Member Driscoll just mentioned, that out of a crisis we came up with a solution that is going to elevate bus riding in the city of Philadelphia that makes us more of a destination. So, Richie, now I know you can do it so the genie cannot go back in the bottle, gentlemen, ladies. Thank you.

Thank you, Councilman. And I just wanted to say we'll take that, but it's important to point out that you're talking to us but the people behind us did more work than we did so they really deserve the credit.

I'm sorry. I'm working on the amendment, I apologize, in realtime trying to get this done. So thank you very much, Councilmember Jones, and thank you for providing that information regarding your experience and your family's experience with the buses. Okay. The Chair recognizes Councilmember Ahmad.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you for being here, for your testimony. And finally, we are hopefully proceeding to an intercity bus terminal, which is critical city infrastructure. And we're the sixth largest city in the country. We are on the Northeast corridor. For us not to have this, it's just beyond me why it's taking us here right before 2026 to rush to this. So there's an element of rush that I'm feeling that is happening with this, which I'm hoping I understand the urgency, but in that urgent need we don't overlook things that we should be doing to make it a really a TOD-oriented development. That's what this should be. We should look at how not only are we servicing it for people traveling, but all the ancillary things that we could have a mixed retail space there. We could have air rights on top. We could have housing on top. We could really do Tokyo, what Tokyo has, Shibuya, and we need to think like that. We need to think in a global manner. And I'm very glad we have Richie Lazer here from the PPA. A couple of questions, which one is about the budget. I heard there's this fee structure coming from the bus lines, right. What is the budget and who is feeding into it? Outside of that, is there a state component? So there's a city component, state component and the bus lines. I wanted to know what the total budget is for operating this terminal and how sustainable is this going to be?

So I will answer one question, but then ask for help on the budget because I don't have the budget information in front of me. But there is no 2 state component currently. We're going to be looking for any opportunity for a state or federal grant. But at the moment, there is no -- it's us, and that's part of why the fee needs to be where it is because there is no subsidy. Other states and other jurisdictions, they dedicate tolls. The state does subsidize. Unfortunately, that is not the situation we have here. And so, we're doing the best we can with the resources that we have.

So is that because we have asked and they've said no or we have not asked in a clear manner or is it just because of the timing?

We asked and said no, and it was a very hard no. That came up back in 2024 -- no, '23. In the original move to Spring Garden Street, we asked PennDOT if they could help us in any way. They had a little bit of help they could give us in terms of potentially converting some space next to I-95. They already subsidize intercity travel throughout the Commonwealth. There's a lot of subsidy that goes for specific lines to get people connected from Royersford to Philadelphia. I think one in particular goes from Williamsport. So there is a budget that exists in the state budget and has for many decades for intercity bus travel, but it's dedicated to those service subsidies, not to capital subsidies.

That's something to be discussed at a later time. Yeah, I was going to get the budget numbers.

Yeah. So combining the capital and the operating year 1 figure, which is probably the best number to share with you, it's about $4.7 million, $4.8 million.

And that's going to be generated -- this projection is coming purely from the bus fees?

No, that includes the figure that we have agreed to continue subsidizing through the City budget. And some of that's in direct costs, but some of that's actually money that we've had budgeted, which is part of FY24 asks that we had currently been using to work on Spring Garden Avenue to make improvements and operations.

So will we be getting what is coming from the bus fees for this upcoming year, what is coming from bus fees? And also, this would end in June, right. So this is for this coming six months we're talking about.

There will be an annual fee, so there will be a constant dedicated stream of resources to operate and maintain the facility. So what you'll see in the amendment is based on the conversations we've had. There is an initial fee, which begins the effective date. That first has to jump up by agreement when we occupy the Filbert Street site. And then year by year, it will come down as the costs are covered.

And I know PPA is the one who is giving us the lease, correct, in order to operate this. Does PPA kick in anything?

So PPA is dedicating their own staff, time, indirect cost to this. They possess the authority and they possess the sort of mechanical operational capacity to run a facility. And we're very grateful that they agreed to play that role because they run facilities like this and the City doesn't. So that's the main ask for PPA, not to make an additional financial commitment on their own.

Maybe later.

Well, I mean, I will speak for Richie a little. It all comes to the City, you know, after they cover costs in the school district. And so, it's the left hand and the right hand in some respect.

So it's 4.7 million for this upcoming year. Most of the money coming from the fees, some of it coming from the City. And that's it at the moment. In terms of this future -- for this to be a transit- oriented development have you had time to even have the conversation about what we do around that to really increase the revenue? Just like the airport, you know, we have retail, we have the airlines, the retail and other ancillary things that help. For example, if we have charging stations, if we have -- I don't know what we're doing with the bus fleet in terms of encouraging those to be electric buses. We have a lot of opportunities to really make revenue here.

I'm going to give an overview answer. I might ask Mr. Lazer to speak a little bit about the fit-out of the facility and some of the programming architecturally and then turn it over to John to talk a little bit about how this sits as a land use, as a parcel, as a land use question and the longer term. But just to give a bit of an overview, we have a year 7 lease. It's a privately-owned -- 8

I 9 had a question. Sorry to 10 interrupt. Why is it 10 years and not longer?

That was what the property owner was open to. There is an option for an extension of that. Part of what made this come together quickly, which we felt good about, but it did contribute to some of the rush is that we got a sense that there was openness by this property owner I'd say some time in the late summer to have a conversation. When the arena option expired, we were all kind of aware this is a property that isn't generating value for the owner of the property. So there was always a prospect of having a conversation with them. My sense, and John can elaborate on this a little bit more, is that they have longer-term vision for a sale, which is basically their windfall. We're not in a position, especially in the time that we're working with, to negotiate anything like that, but we could provide them with some value as the owners of the property and then at that point, they want to manage their risk. And so, that 10-year time frame is where you hit the sweet spot between them getting some value, being comfortable with the risk and us having a meaningful basis to invest in improvements and address this problem for a meaningful period of time. And so, at that 10-year mark, there's decisions that need to have been made about whether this is a site that forever works best for Philadelphia or whether there's a better site that we've discovered, we've all agreed to, we've got capital, we've got grants, and that's where we're moving in 2036. And so, what made that all work, like I said, was an opportunity that kind of came from the heavens, but also -- and John can speak to this and his staff -- have been working on the longer- term prospects as well. And I don't want to share too, too much, but there is a lot of interest in being close to 30 Street Station. That comes up a lot. That's not a possibility in the short-term. There's bridge construction. You know, 30th Street is under construction. There's a lot going on. There's a lot of engagement that would have to take place for that to even get off the starting line. But that kind of idea, you know, people talk about stadium district, there's not a corner of the city where someone hasn't had a thought, oh, it should go there. And we need the time to vet all of those ideas and this gives us that time, and that's why we're very grateful. And I think to kind of preempt maybe what John may say, if we're going to talk about TOD operations, really long-term activation that I think you're thinking about, that's the opportunity that makes that happen, and this is the bridge that gets us that opportunity. Maybe that answers your question.

That's it exactly and the profit sharing with the owner becomes a reality for them. So they should --

And the way I thought about that is a public-private partnership, right. And it could be an entity that is the embodiment of that public- private partnership, and that springs to life when you've got this land use that goes with it. And that's not what we're doing now, but we can certainly see that that's a vision for where we will want to go. I'm going to maybe speak a little bit where -- or you want to go. Well, Rich will get a chance to talk.

Thank you.

Rich Lazer, Philadelphia Executive Director, Philadelphia Parking Authority. Thank you to the Chair and the members of the Committee. Just to give you a little oversight, our team has been in there, Capital Projects and maintenance team have been in the facility, put together a plan, aesthetically clean the building up, fix some core functions of the building upgrade and the heating and air systems, redo the bathrooms, the flooring, kind of beautify the space. It's been dormant for some time. Clean out the outside. Do outside facade work to beautify that. Hopefully theme it more for 2026, making it welcoming, light it, landscaping. On the operational internal side, we'll manage and oversee the custodial because you want the building to be clean. You want it to be safe. So we'll have security in conjunction with working with PPD. We'll also have mechanical staff on in case heat goes down, air goes down. You want to get that stuff fixed right away. We also will have additional -- we have a big presence there. We have the garage across the street and then the PPA main offices are right down the street. So Filbert Street from 7th all the way to 10th, there's a lot of saturation of PPA offices and staff. So we're going to have PEOs. We're going to work with Streets to make sure there's loading in front of the building for taxis, limos, TNCs, because we oversee them now in the city of Philadelphia. We regulate those industries. So we'll have TLD staff out front to make sure that nobody's kind of idling, we're moving traffic, we're moving folks. Same thing with PEOs, we do this down at the airport now where we're constantly keeping traffic moving so the flow is moving. So we'll have that same type of operation out front of the building as well. Plus dedicated staff, that will be in the building full-time to make sure that we stay on top of any issues, and that there is no kind of other things that will happen if we didn't have folks there. So the goal is have it be a welcoming experience, make it the best facility we can and make sure like Mike -- like the Councilman said, this is the folks' first interaction with the city, coming through that terminal. But also, Councilwoman, like you said, I agree. We are looking at advertising for revenue sources as well as a food and beverage component as well. And we're looking at space, whether a retail option for Philly-themed merchandise, things like that as well. But there are things that my team is working on to see how do we generate more revenue to help offset costs as well.

Thank you. It'd be great to have an actual master plan of understanding. And I don't know, right now I understand the urgency of getting this done. But we can't lose sight that we are always responding and being reactive instead of being proactive. And we need to have -- and Planning is here, so we need a really proactive view of how we're doing intercity transit. So thank you for that, Mr. Lazer.

Thank you so much, Councilmember Ahmad. And thank you all so much for being here. We are working this out in realtime, so we appreciate all the work that you're doing. And once again, I just want to get on the record about the dedicated bus bays. Can you just address that for the record?

Yes. So based on your question, my understanding is that you would like to see language about dedicated bus bays so that we're compliant with US DOT regulations. And I think it certainly makes sense to include a larger statement that we will be compliant with all appropriate federal, state and local laws.

And I don't know that specifically having the bus bays do that outside of ensuring that it gives them the time necessary if there needs to be a switch and a pre-switch inspection. But I think separate from that portion of adhering to all the federal, state and local regulations that I'm putting the plug in for the dedicated bus bays, because I do think that would be helpful to them in complying with those regulations as the operators and not as you all operating the facility. Okay?

All right.

So thank you all so very much. Any additional questions for this panel? (No response.)

All right. Seeing none, we thank you very much for being here. We appreciate your work and we look forward to the continued work that will take place in anticipation of the opening of the facility in Calendar Year 2026. Okay. Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Thank you, Councilwoman.

All right. Is there anyone additional to testify for this bill? (No response.)

Seeing no further testimony, we will begin the public comment portion. Given that we have another hearing this afternoon, we have the Rules Committee this afternoon, public comment will be limited to two minutes. Clerk, will you please read the names of the individuals who signed up for public comment.

Steven Bronskill and Benjamin She. (Witnesses approached witness table.)

Please proceed to the witness table. State your name for the record and then you can proceed with your testimony. Thank you for being here and thank you for your patience.

Thank you so much, Madam Chair. Thank you for having me. My name is Steven Bronskill and the Coalition Manager for Transit Forward Philadelphia. We are a coalition of 38 organizations here in Philly, grassroots folks, riders, workers, transit advocates. We're here to also speak in support of Bill 23 250951. Really grateful for this Committee and this Council and the City's leadership in support of a new intercity bus terminal. I really hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and safe travels to loved ones if you were traveling, even though the Birds didn't do so well Friday. I certainly support the Council and the testimony here talking about 2026. But there were thousands of Philadelphia families who also spent their Thanksgiving on an unsheltered curb at Spring Garden in the snow, in the sleet, in the rain and the cold, and over 1 million riders, both in Philly and coming to Philly since the closure of the Greyhound station. This is the City of Brotherly Love. As we know, folks have not always felt that love not having the dignity of an accessible restroom, shelter from the heat -- and Sisterly Affection, yes, ma'am, absolutely -- shelter from the heat and the cold, the closest accessible rail station being miles away. This is a huge step forward for us, but it is the floor, not the ceiling. And so, I want to urge this Committee and the Council to pass this legislation as urgently as possible, but also to think how can we shape this proposal to support transit riders here in Philadelphia, but also folks coming to our city. I think there is a lot of opportunity here to make sure, as folks have mentioned, that there is clear, accessible wayfinding to transit connections like Jefferson Station close by, that we have safe intersections and a clear flow to get there, and that we also make sure that we learn the lessons of the last few years, that we don't ever have this happen again and have the opportunity to build a long-term, permanent bus shelter for riders. Nearly half of Philadelphians either do not own a car or live in a household where there are more people than cars. Intercity bus travel gives people that freedom, and this also gives us an opportunity to look bigger. You all have been incredible advocates for SEPTA and state funding this year. Now that we have a runway to really build trust and confidence in mobility in the city of Philadelphia, this is an opportunity to make sure people can, yes, visit, but also for Philadelphians to travel up and down the Northeast corridor. It's also an opportunity to look at the trolley riders who are stranded at 40th and Market right now on diversion, Regional Rail riders underneath this building who are wondering if their train is going to come, to make sure that we have a vision for mobility in Philadelphia, to invest in every type of transit and giving people the freedom to get to jobs, opportunities, schools, all across this great city. I'm really grateful for each of you, your attention to this issue. I hope you'll work to pass this urgently. I hope you'll also work to pass a Transit Access Fund that makes sure there's affordability for everyone to access transit in Philadelphia, preserve the Zero Fare Program. We certainly stand with you and support this legislation and look forward to working with you in the year to come on these other projects. Thanks so much.

Thank you. Thank you for being here and thank you for your continued advocacy and the work of all the organizations that you represent. We too are all very excited about the prospect of having a dedicated bus facility back in the city of Philadelphia and back at a space that folks are already familiar with. And so, we thank you for your continued advocacy, not only for the visitors but also for those who will utilize this facility on a more regular basis. Thank you very much for being here. Okay. Are there any further witnesses to provide public comment this afternoon?

Benjamin She. Is Benjamin She present? (No response.)

There are no further names. 2

Okay. There being no 4 further witnesses to provide public 5 comment, we appreciate you all for 6 being here. 7 Is there anyone else to 8 give public comment or testify on 9 any of the aforementioned bills? 10 (No response.) 11

Okay. Seeing none, we 13 will conclude the public hearing 14 and now move into the public 15 meeting. 16 Clerk, will you please 17 call the roll to take attendance. 18 Members that are in attendance will 19 please indicate that you are 20 present when your name is called. 21

22 Councilmember Jones. 23

24 Present.

Councilmember Thomas. (No response.)

Councilmember, Ahmad.

Present.

Councilmember Driscoll.

Present.

Vice-Chair Bass. (No response.)

Chair Gilmore Richardson.

I am present. Thank you. A quorum of the Committee on Finance is present. The Chair now recognizes Councilmember Driscoll for a motion on Bill No. 250574.

Thank you, Chair. I move that Bill No. 3 250574 be reported from this committee with a favorable recommendation and further move that the rules of Council be suspended to permit first reading of this bill at the next session of Council. (Duly seconded.)

The Chair notes for the record that Councilman Jones seconded. It has been moved and properly seconded that Bill No. 16 250574 be reported from this committee with a favorable recommendation and further move that the rules of Council be suspended as to permit first reading of this bill at the next session of Council. All those in favor will indicate by stating aye. (Aye.)

Those opposed? (No response.)

The ayes have it and the motion carries. Bill No. 8 250574 will be reported from this committee with a favorable recommendation with a request that the rules of Council be suspended as to permit first reading at the next session of Council. The Chair now recognizes Councilmember Driscoll for a motion on Bill No. 251018.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I move that Bill No. 20 251018 be reported from this committee with a favorable recommendation and further move that the rules of Council be suspended to permit first reading of this bill at the next session of Council. (Duly seconded.)

The Chair notes for the record it's been seconded by Councilmember Jones. It has been moved and properly seconded that Bill No. 10 251018 be reported from this committee with a favorable recommendation and further move that the rules of Council be suspended as to permit first reading of this bill at the next session of Council. All those in favor of the motion will indicate by stating aye. (Aye.)

Those opposed? (No response.)

The ayes have it and the motion carries. Bill No. 3 251018, will be reported from this committee with a favorable recommendation with a request that the rules of Council be suspended as to permit first reading at the next session of Council. The Chair now recognizes Councilman Driscoll for a motion on Bill No. 250954.

Thank you, Chair. I move that Bill No. 15 250954 be reported from this committee with a favorable recommendation to further move that the rules of Council be suspended to permit first reading of this bill at the next session of Council. (Duly seconded.)

The Chair notes for the record that Councilmember Ahmad seconds. It has been moved and properly seconded that Bill No. 5 250954 be reported from this committee with a favorable recommendation and further move that the rules of Council be suspended and ask to permit first reading of this bill at the next session of Council. All those in favor of the motion will indicate by stating aye. (Aye.)

Those opposed? (No response.)

The ayes have it and the motion carries. Bill No. 22 250954 will be reported from this committee with a favorable recommendation with a request that the rules of Council be suspended as to permit first reading at the next session of Council. The Chair now recognizes Councilman Driscoll for a motion on Bill No. 250953.

Thank you, Chair. I move that Bill No. 10 250953 be reported from this committee with a favorable recommendation and further move that the rules of Council be suspended to permit first reading of this bill at the next session of Council. (Duly seconded.)

The Chair notes for the record that Councilmember Ahmad seconds the motion. It's been moved and properly seconded that Bill No. 24 250953 be reported from this committee with a favorable recommendation and further move that the rules of Council be suspended as to permit first reading of this bill at the next session of Council. All those in favor of the motion will indicate by stating aye. (Aye.)

Those opposed? (No response.)

The ayes have it and the motion carries. Bill No. 17 250953 will be reported from this committee with a favorable recommendation with a request that the rules of Council be suspended as to permit first reading at the next session of Council. The Chair recognizes Councilmember Driscoll for a motion on Bill No. 250981.

Thank you, Chair. I move that Bill No. 5 250981 be reported from this committee with a favorable recommendation and further move that the rules of Council be suspended to permit first reading of this bill at the next session of Council.

The Chair notes for the record it's been seconded by Councilmember Jones. It has been moved and properly seconded that Bill No. 18 250981 be reported from this committee with a favorable recommendation and that the rules of Council be suspended as to permit first reading of this bill 23 at the next session of Council. All those in favor will indicate by stating aye. (Aye.)

Those opposed? (No response.)

The ayes have it and the motion carries. And Bill No. 9 250981 will be reported from this committee with a favorable recommendation with a request that the rules of Council be suspended as to permit first reading at the next session of Council. The Chair now recognizes Councilman Driscoll for a motion on Bill No. 251019.

Thank you, Chair. I move that Bill No. 21 251019 be reported from this committee with a favorable recommendation and further move that the rules of Council be suspended to permit first reading of this bill at the next session of Council. (Duly seconded.)

The Chair notes for the record that Councilmember Jones seconds the motion. It has been moved and properly seconded that Bill No. 11 251019 be reported from this committee with a favorable recommendation and further move that the rules of Council be suspended as to permit first reading of this bill at the next session of Council. All those in favor of the motion will indicate by stating aye. (Aye.)

Those opposed? (No response.)

The ayes have it, and the motion carries. Bill No. 4 251019 will be reported from this committee with a favorable recommendation with a request that the rules of Council be suspended as to permit first reading of this bill at the next session of Council. Prior to recognizing Councilman Driscoll for a motion to amend Bill No. 250951, I want to be sure that we received everything we needed for Bill No. 250951. And we have received the utmost up-to-date circulated amendment?

Yes.

Okay. Excellent. And we have the additional email from the administration as well, colleagues. All right. The Chair recognizes Councilman Driscoll for a motion on the amendment we received to Bill 3 No. 250951.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I offer an amendment to Bill No. 250951. A copy of the amendment has been circulated to all members of the committee. I move that the amendment to Bill No. 11 250951 be approved. (Duly seconded.)

The Chair notes for the record that Councilman Jones seconds the motion. It has been moved and properly seconded that the amendment to Bill No. 250951 be approved. All those in favor of the motion will signify by stating aye. (Aye.)

Those opposed? (No response.)

The ayes have it and the amendment to Bill No. 250951 has been approved. The Chair now recognizes Councilman Driscoll for a motion on Bill No. 250951 as amended.

Thank you, Chair. I move that Bill No. 14 250951 as amended be reported from this committee with a favorable recommendation and further move that the rules of Council be suspended to permit first reading of this bill at the next session of Council. (Duly seconded.)

Chair notes for the record that Councilman Jones seconds the motion. It has been moved and properly seconded that Bill No. 4 250951 as amended be reported from this committee with a favorable recommendation and further move that the rules of Council be suspended as to permit first reading of this bill at the next session of Council. All those in favor of the motion will indicate by stating aye. (Aye.)

Those opposed? (No response.)

All right. The ayes have it and the motion carries and Bill No. 250951 as amended will be reported from the committee with a favorable recommendation with a request that the rules of Council be suspended as to permit first reading of this bill at the next session of Council. There being no further bills or resolutions on the agenda, this concludes the business before the Committee on Finance this afternoon. We thank you all so very much for your attendance today and for your hard work to see this through to the end. Thank you very much. Have a wonderful day. (Committee on Finance concluded at 12:28 p.m.) C E R T I F I C A T I O N I, hereby certify that the proceedings and evidence noted are contained fully and accurately in the stenographic notes taken by me in the foregoing matter, and that this is a correct transcript of the same. __________________________________ TANEHA CARROLL