Aye. The ayes are 16; the nays are zero. A majority of all members having voted in the affirmative, the bill passes. The Chief Clerk will please read the title of Bill No. 090123.
An ordinance amending the provisions of The Philadelphia Code regulating dumpsters.
I believe this bill is to be amended. The 6/11/09 - STATED - 2ND READING Chair recognizes Councilman DiCicco. COUNCILMAN DiCICCO: Thank you, Madam President. On behalf of Councilman Green, who was here earlier today and circulated a copy of the amendment, I would ask for its adoption. (Duly seconded.)
It has been moved and seconded that the amendment be adopted. All in favor will say aye. (Aye.)
The ayes have it and the motion carries. We will now consider Bill No. 090290.
An ordinance authorizing the revision of lines and grades on a portion of City Plan No. 46-S and relocating the curblines of the existing traffic island at the 6/11/09 - STATED - 2ND READING intersection of Hartranft Street, Penrose Avenue, 22nd Street, all under certain terms and conditions.
This bill having been read on two different days, the question now is shall the bill pass finally. The Chief Clerk will please call the roll.
Aye. The ayes are 16; the nays are zero. A majority of all members having voted in the affirmative, this bill passes. That concludes our Calendar for today. Are there speeches on the part of the minority? (No response.)
Are there speeches on the part of the majority? The Chair recognizes Councilman Greenlee.
Thank you, Madam President. I don't usually spend time speaking about mailings or other communications that are sent by groups, with them. Obviously, after all, people clearly have the right to express their opinion. However, in an instance when something is sent by a well-known professional organization that is so blatantly unfair, misleading and just flat-out wrong, it has to be commented on. This week the Greater Association of Philadelphia Realtors mailed a flyer citywide that disingenuously portrayed the City Council's position on the issue of property taxes. Some of the low lights of this document says, "Philadelphia's budget compromise is a sham, and if Harrisburg won't bail out the City Council, they" -- I guess that's us -"will set their sights on your home, and it's a property tax bait and switch." This propaganda implies that City Council is anxiously conspiring to raise property taxes. This is obviously a complete distortion of the facts and ultimate. First, people who understand the law -- obviously the authors of this do not -- know City Council cannot now raise real estate taxes. Secondly, the organization ignores the truth of what we all know and I think most citizens know happened regarding the originally proposed 19 percent real estate tax increase in the Administration's budget. Far from advocating to raise taxes on property owners, it was members of this Council that led the effort against such increases. In fairness -- and I think we should be fair even if they're not -- it is interesting to note that I spoke to many realtors that I know, including some members of the Board of Realtors. They were unaware of this mailing and were upset that their money was spent on such inaccuracy. I hope they communicate that feeling strongly to the Board leadership, flyer. In my opinion, if any mailing was sent and any money was spent by the Board of Realtors, instead of urging calls to Councilmembers, it should have asked for calls to state officials to help support the budget and the compromises that the Mayor and the Council worked out and that will help avoid drastic service cuts. In conclusion, I call on the Greater Philadelphia Association of Realtors to just set the record straight and let their membership and the greater community know the real facts regarding City Council's position on property taxes. And, finally, I make one last simple friendly request. Next time you do something like this, how about knowing what the heck you're talking about? Thank you, Madam President.
Thank you, Madam President. I note that our bus, the Montel Williams bus, is out in the hallway as always and invite my colleagues and their constituents to take advantage of it. Thank you.
Thank you. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Tasco.
Thank you, Madam President. I'm encouraged by what I've read in reaction to my statement last week about ethics and ethical behavior. Not because I would agree with many of the comments, but because I welcome an open and spirited public discussion about ethics and ethical behavior. This discussion is not about is a good person or a bad person. This discussion needs to be about the definition of ethics itself and who has the final say about what that definition should be. Let me begin with the definition from the dictionary. Ethics: A system of moral principles, the rules of conduct recognized in respect to a particular class of human actions or a particular group. Ethical: Pertaining to or dealing with morals or the principles of morality, pertaining to right and wrong in conduct. Today's editorial in the Philadelphia Daily News centers this argument on whether or not Mr. Creamer benefited from his actions. The editorial states, quote, "We don't believe his violation applies to government ethics. He didn't use a public office to benefit himself," end of quote. which I cited does it say anything about personal gain. What we have is a difference of opinion about the definition. Who defines what is moral or immoral when we all come to situations with our own unique perspectives? Does it matter if someone has not gained personally if what he did is viewed by some as immoral? Since the editorial distinguishes government ethics from all other forms of ethical behavior, I'd like to read the mission statement from the United States Office on Government Ethics. Quote, "to foster high ethical standards for employees and strengthen the public's confidence that the government's business is conducted with impartiality and integrity," end of quote. I don't see anything here about a personal gain. It's about public trust and employee integrity. in this Chamber last week, we can't expect our employees to adhere to ethical standards if we accept what is perceived by some as unethical behavior from those who've chosen to uphold those standards. What good is teaching our employees right and wrong behavior with respect to their jobs if we look the other way when the teacher breaks the rules? It appears that we have a two-tiered system of ethics in this government, one for the Ethics Board and one for everybody else. As I see it, there are those who enforce ethics based upon their own criteria and have determined for everyone what is right and what is wrong, who is right and who is wrong. And more personal for me, as seen by today's Daily News editorial, there are people that have condemned this body because some members have done wrong. City Council is continually stereotyped, is guilty until proven innocent, that the body as a whole has the intent to defraud the public. As a member and a leader of this Council, I am offended. We've experienced a president who has resigned in disgrace, yet we don't condemn the presidency itself. We've had police officers found guilty of criminal behavior, yet we don't say that all police officers are corrupt. This aside, I welcome an open public debate about ethics and ethical behavior. Thank you very much.
Would any member like to be recognized? (No response.)
Seeing no one, the Chair recognizes Councilman Clarke for a motion to
Thank you, Madam President. I move that Council stand adjourned until Thursday, June 18th, 2009, 10:00 a.m. (Duly seconded.)
It has been moved and seconded that Council stand adjourned until Thursday, June 18th at 10 o'clock. All in favor will say aye. (Aye.)
The ayes have it. The motion carries. (Stated Meeting adjourned at 12:25 p.m.) CERTIFICATE I HEREBY CERTIFY that the proceedings, evidence and objections are contained fully and accurately in the stenographic notes taken by me upon the foregoing matter on June 11, 2009, and that this is a true and correct transcript of same. ______________________________ MICHELE L. MURPHY RPR-Notary Public (The foregoing certification of this transcript does not apply to any reproduction of the same by any means, unless under the direct control and/or supervision of the certifying reporter.)