Aye. The ayes are 17; the nays are zero. A majority of all members having voted in the affirmative, the bill passes. The last bill to be called for consideration is Bill No. 080881.
An ordinance to amend the Philadelphia Zoning Maps by changing the zoning designations of certain areas of land located within an area bounded by Spring Garden Street, Broad Street, Buttonwood Street and 15th Street.
This bill having been read on two different 1/22/09 - STATED - 2ND READING days, the question now is shall the bill pass finally. The Chief Clerk will please call the roll.
Aye. The ayes are 17; the nays are zero. A majority of all members having voted in the affirmative, the bill passes. That completes our Calendar for today. Are there speeches on the part of the minority? (No response.)
Are there speeches on the part of the majority? Councilman Green, did you want to be recognized?
Thank you, Madam President. It has been 42 days since we last gathered as a legislative body to the City, and in the meantime, history has been made. This week, we bore witness to and celebrated the swearing in of our nation's first African American president. " This spirit of unity is all the more amazing given that it comes during such a dark period in our country's history. As President Obama observed, the challenges we face in the upcoming year are real, are serious and they are many. At a local level, we have seen Philadelphia's projected budget deficit balloon from one billion to two billion. Nevertheless, Americans are looking at this economic crisis not as a hopeless situation, but as a challenge to be faced head on. As we have witnessed from the of Philadelphians across the City over the past few months around budget issues, our citizens are ready to rise to the occasion. And I believe that the 18 elected officials tasked with leading Philadelphia are also ready to ban together and work toward achieving shared goals in this time of challenge. We all want to see Philadelphia not just survive this economic crisis, but emerge from it a stronger, safer, better educated and more fully employed city. But in order to do so, we need to heed President Obama's call to, quote, "proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations, warn-out dogmas that for far too long have strangled our politics," end quote. In this time of new challenges, we need to find new ways of working together. Council has shown its willingness to work with the Mayor. We passed all of his budget-related ourselves to be willing partners in generating proactive solutions to this budget crisis. But we also need the Mayor to work with us. The drafters of the Charter modeled the structure of our city government on the tried partite federal system. They vested City Council with the exclusive legislative power and also with significant oversight authority. As the Charter History Draft Committee notes made clear, drafters did not envision City Council as a mere rubber stamp on the initiatives of the executive branch. Rather, they envisioned Council enacting policy through legislation and working in partnership with the Mayor to make sure this policy was enforced. So just as we expect President Obama and Congress to work hand in hand at the federal level to address this economic crisis, we must do so at the local level. Putting this kind of will require some changes in the way we have done things over the past year. True collaboration means communicating with one another honestly and having substantive, open conversations about our disagreements. True collaboration means leaving aside our biases, prejudices and traditional allegiances. True collaboration means being receptive to good ideas from unexpected sources. True collaboration means admitting to and learning from our mistakes. Chances are we will make some mistakes in responding to this crisis, but it is the lessons we learn from these mistakes that will determine whether or not we reach our final goals. We will have many difficult decisions to make over the coming budget season. We should not fear those tough decisions, however, but embrace them as an opportunity to transform our city government by eliminating programs that work, streamlining operations, implementing technology that can save tens of millions of dollars per year and improving, not deteriorating, city services. The citizens of Philadelphia have proven that they are ready for the challenge. They are looking to this legislative body to serve as leaders and their voices in city government.
They elected us to ask questions, to challenge assumptions, to propose new ideas and to play an active, engaged role as their representatives. It will not stand for us to sit on the sidelines. It will not stand for us to abdicate responsibility. It will not stand for us to deem ourselves powerless to help confront this budget crisis. It is time for Council to stand up and lead. Thank you, Madam President.
Thank you. Are there any other speeches on majority? (No response.)
Seeing none, the Chair recognizes Councilman Clarke for a motion to adjourn.
Thank you, Madam President. I move that Council stand adjourned until Thursday, January 29th, 2009, 10:00 a.m. (Duly seconded.)
It has been moved and seconded that Council stand adjourned until Thursday, January 29th, 2009. All in favor will say aye. (Aye.)
The ayes have it and the motion carries. Thank you. (Stated Meeting adjourned at 11:45 a.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 January 22, 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.)