COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA PUBLIC HEARING COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS - - - Room 696, City Hall Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Thursday, December 12, 2002 9:50 a.m. - - - BILL 020735 - An Ordinance authorizing transfers in appropriations for Fiscal Year 2003 within the General Fund from the Department of Revenue - Sinking Fund Commission to the Director of Finance - Contribution to the School District. BILL 020736 - An Ordinance authorizing transfers in appropriations for Fiscal Year 2003 within the General Fund from the Department of Revenue - Sinking Fund Commission to the Director of Finance - Contribution to the School District. - - - PRESENT: COUNCILWOMAN JOAN KRAJEWSKI, Chair COUNCILWOMAN JANNIE BLACKWELL COUNCILMAN DARRELL CLARKE COUNCILMAN W. WILSON GOODE COUNCILMAN RICHARD MARIANO COUNCILWOMAN DONNA REED MILLER COUNCILMAN MICHAEL NUTTER COUNCILMAN BRIAN O'NEILL COUNCILMAN ANGEL ORTIZ COUNCILMAN FRANK RIZZO - - - V A R A L L O, Incorporated Litigation Support Services Eleven Penn Center 1835 Market Street, Suite 600 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103 (215) 561-2220 I N D E X BILL 020735 PAGE ROBERT DUBOW, Budget Director .............. 3 12/12/02 - APPROPRIATIONS - BILL 020735
Good morning. The Committee on Appropriations is now in session. Will the Clerk please read the title of the bills?
Bill No. 020735, an Ordinance authorizing transfers in appropriations for Fiscal Year 2003 within the General Fund from the Department of Revenue - Sinking Fund Commission to the Director of Finance - Contribution to the School District. And Bill No. 020736, an Ordinance 13 authorizing transfers in appropriations for Fiscal Year 2003 within the General Fund from the Department of Revenue - Sinking Fund Commission to the Director of Finance - Contribution to the School District.
At the request of the sponsors, Bill 020736 is withdrawn. Do we have someone from the Administration? This is bill 020735.
Good morning, Councilwoman Krajewski and Members of the Appropriations Committee. My name is Rob Dubow. I serve as Budget Director of the City of Philadelphia. I appear 4 12/12/02 - APPROPRIATIONS - BILL 020735 before you today to offer testimony on Bill 3 No. 020735. That's the bill that would transfer 1.35 million from the Revenue Department Sinking Fund Commission to the Department of Finance, contribution to the School District. The Administration opposes this bill. The Administration opposes the percent real 9 estate cap bill that was passed by City Council 10 because of the damage it would do to the City's finances. We also opposed proposed legislation that would cap the School District's portion of the property tax because of the damage that would do to the School District's finances. This bill would transfer 1.35 million from the City to the School District in an attempt to keep the School District harmless from the cap legislation. An analysis done by Council technical staff showed the cap would cost the School District 1.3 against its budget, but it also showed that a cap would mean the School District would collect $11 million less in Fiscal '03 than it would collect without a cap. Even if Bill 020735 passed, the School District would have almost 10 million less 5 12/12/02 - APPROPRIATIONS - BILL 020735 than it would have had without a cap, which means the bill doesn't really accomplish its goal. Most of the rest of my written testimony was about the bill that was withdrawn, so I'll withdraw my testimony. That concludes my testimony to these bills, and I'll be happy to answer any questions the Committee may have.
Are there any questions from Members of the Committee?
Mr. Dubow, in your testimony you state that it was City Council staff that said that Bill 020735 would mean a shortfall of $1.35 million?
Against budget. But that's not our projection. That's not City Council's projection. That's the five-year plan projection.
That's the School District's budget projection. 6 12/12/02 - APPROPRIATIONS - BILL 020735
But also in terms of the five-year plan and of the City contribution to the school budget.
It's the School District's budget. We don't include in our five-year plan --
But in the five-year plan, though, would not try to project how much money we're going to contribute to the schools?
We have an agreement with the State that lays out how much we're going to contribute to the School District. That's $35 million a year. We also moved $25 million in millage over --
But in terms of the property tax monies, we have a projection of how much we are taking in over a five-year period and how much we're transferring over to the School District; do we do not do that?
We do not. In the plan we have a projection of what we'll collect from the property tax. We don't have a projection of what the School District would collect.
But the projection that we have is $1.35 million? 7 12/12/02 - APPROPRIATIONS - BILL 020735
The shortfall against the School District's budget would be $1.35 million. The shortfall against what they would collect without a cap is $11 million.
What I'm trying to establish is what is projected within the five-year plan and so on. Thank you.
Thank you. Any other questions, Members of the Committee? (No response.)
Therefore, that ends our public hearing. We will go into our public meeting. - - - 8 COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA PUBLIC MEETING COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS - - - December 12, 2002 - - - Public Meeting conducted by the Committee on Appropriations, held in Room 696, City Hall, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on the above date, to consider action on the following: BILL 020735. - - - PRESENT: COUNCILWOMAN JOAN KRAJEWSKI, Chair COUNCILWOMAN JANNIE BLACKWELL COUNCILMAN DARRELL CLARKE COUNCILMAN W. WILSON GOODE COUNCILMAN RICHARD MARIANO COUNCILWOMAN DONNA REED MILLER COUNCILMAN MICHAEL NUTTER COUNCILMAN BRIAN O'NEILL COUNCILMAN ANGEL ORTIZ COUNCILMAN FRANK RIZZO - - - 9 12/12/02 - APPROPRIATIONS - PUBLIC MEETING
Can I hear a motion on Bill 020735? Councilman Nutter.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I move that Bill 020735 be reported out of this Committee with a favorable recommendation and a further recommendation that the Rules of Council be suspended so as to permit first reading at our next Session. (Duly seconded.)
Therefore, Bill 17 020735 will be reported out of this Committee with a suspension of the rules as to permit first reading at the next Session of Council. Thank you all very much. That ends our hearing on appropriations. (Council adjourned at 9:55 a.m.) - - - 10 C E R T I F I C A T I O N I HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing proceedings of the Council of the City of Philadelphia of December 12, 2002, were reported fully and accurately by me, and that this is a correct transcript of the same. RE: COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS ___________________________ Lisa C. Bradley, RPR and Notary Public