I think calculations at that time put that at somewhere between and million dollars. And it was the recommendation of the Administration -- I remember when Joyce Wilkerson testified on the bills back in 2005, that the bill was amended to substitute that with a million-dollar provision.
Okay. I think maybe I did hear you correctly, that the million dollars may not be sufficient.
All right. You know, I'm not even going to get into it today. This is a vote that we took in haste, and we didn't think this through Council because it was done during some 334 3.22.10 COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - BILL 100117 challenging times. And there are a number of issues With respects to the Ethics Board, you know, along with some of the other -- the entities that we created that we do believe that there's some possible duplication of jurisdictional issues as it relates to other departments. And I see you referenced when you looked at other cities' municipalities as it relates to the responsibilities of enforcement, and I don't know if those other cities have other entities such as we do that enforce various measures beyond simple campaign finance rules, some of which you do. So there could have been a lot of things that caused that number to be a million. In retrospect, I think we would have looked at this a little more differently as it relates to some of the issues now that we have an inspector general's office, we have an integrity office, we have a city controller, we 335 3.22.10 COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - BILL 100117 have a district attorney. And just the theme of the conversation over the last couple of days as it relates to enforcement is a little concerning to me. And now I hear that maybe it's not enough money, a million dollars, for your office, particularly given the fact that you're now going to create an electronic measure as it relates to training, which I would think that would reduce the staffing levels required for your office. So you said what you said; I heard you clearly. And I want to thank you for your testimony.
Thank you. Just one more quick question. The position of general counsel, that's quite a highly-paid position. The Board has made a decision 336 3.22.10 COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - BILL 100117 to retain the services of the current person in the position, who was in the DROP Program; and that is without having conducted a search to see if there is somebody else who would be able to provide those services as well -- almost as well as your current person, perhaps at a lower price. Have you made a decision -- are you continuing your decision not to conduct a search or put a job posting on your website to see what applications you get for that position?
Is the question, have we tendered an offer to Evan Meyer? We have, and he's accepted. We have rehired our general counsel.
And he's rehired. 337 3.22.10 COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - BILL 100117
And for how long do you intend to do this rather than retrain someone or bring -- rather than have a succession plan? How long can we expect Mr. Meyer to fulfill that position versus the intent of DROP, which was succession planning, and then bringing in someone less expensive. I mean, part of the intention of DROP was to replace somebody expensive with somebody less expensive. And you've had two years to plan for this event.
Let me suggest that a national search was done in 2006, 2007. At least people were 17 interviewed, some from as far away as 18 Tennessee. 19 It became evident to the 20 existing board at that time, the five members of the board at that point, that Evan was the best candidate. In, I think, August 2007, he started with us; and since that time, he's demonstrated enormous value to -- 338 3.22.10 COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - BILL 100117
I want to be clear. I think he's a great lawyer, I think he knows our ethics laws very well. I -- you know, you don't have to defend Mr. Meyers' bona fides to me. I just --
To respond to what I think your question is: Are we doing some succession planning? The answer is: Yes, we are. Have an associate general counsel who's been with us less than two years but is working her way up and becoming familiar with the ethics laws, although years of experience takes 15 some doing. 16 And, effectively, Evan wrote 17 most of the ethics opinions of the Law 18 Department over the last two decades. So 19 you can imagine the value of retaining 20 that type of employee. 21 But we are doing succession 22 planning, yes.
Are there any other questions from members of 339 3.22.10 COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - BILL 100117 the committee? (No further questions.)
This committee will stand in recess until tomorrow, Tuesday, March the 23rd, at 10 a.m. Thank you. (Proceedings end at 4:55 p.m.) * * * 340 C E R T I F I C A T E I HEREBY CERTIFY that the proceedings of the City of Philadelphia Council Committee of the Whole are contained fully and accurately in the stenographic notes taken by me on Monday, March 22, 2010, and that this is a true and correct statement of same. __________________________________ JOSEPHINE CARDILLO Registered Professional Reporter (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.)