Committee Of The Whole FY26 Budget, May 13, 2025

COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE FY26 BUDGET City Hall, Room 400 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Tuesday, May 13, 2025 10:00 a.m. PRESENT: COUNCIL PRESIDENT KENYATTA JOHNSON COUNCILWOMAN RUE LANDAU COUNCILWOMAN NINA AHMAD COUNCILWOMAN KENDRA BROOKS COUNCILWOMAN JAMIE GAUTHIER COUNCILWOMAN KATHERINE GILMORE-RICHARDSON COUNCILWOMAN QUETCY M. LOZADA COUNCILWOMAN CINDY BASS COUNCILMAN MICHAEL DRISCOLL COUNCILMAN CURTIS J. JONES, JR. COUNCILMAN NICOLAS O'ROURKE COUNCILMAN JEFFREY YOUNG, JR. COUNCILMAN ANTHONY PHILLIPS HELEN LOUGHEAD, CLERK - - -

Good morning, everyone. Good morning, everyone. Good morning, everyone. So good morning, everyone. I'm going to do it this way. I'm usually generous, right? I'm being fair and we're going to have plenty opportunity to talk about the people's budget and have ample opportunity to talk about all the things that you want to hear. But we will have some order, we will have some decorum. We will give you an opportunity to talk about your perspective and your recommendations for our budget. Let's have a good time today. I do not feel like ejecting people out of the people's house, so let's have some good time and do democracy in action. Welcome everyone to City Council this morning. This is the public hearing and a public Committee of the Whole regarding Bills No. 250195, 250196, 250197, 250198, 250199, 250200, 250201, 250202, 250210, 250211, 250212, and Resolution No. 250214. Ms. Loughead, will you please call the role to take attendance?

Councilmember Squilla.

Present.

Councilmember Gauthier.

Present.

Councilmember Jones, Councilmember Young, Councilmember Driscoll, Councilmember Lozada.

Present.

Councilmember Bass.

Present.

Councilmember Phillips. Councilmember PHILLIPS: Present.

Councilmember O'Neill, Councilmember Gilmore- Richardson.

Present.

Councilmember Thomas.

Present.

Councilmember Harrity.

Present.

Councilmember Ahmad, Councilmember Landau, Councilmember Brooks, Councilmember O'Rourke.

Present.

Council President Johnson.

Present. A quorum of the committee is present and this hearing is now called to order. Ms. Loughead, will you please read the title of the resolutions.

Bill No. 14 250195, an ordinance amending Chapter 19-1500 of the Philadelphia Code entitled Wage and Net Profits Tax by revising certain tax rates, under certain terms and conditions. Bill No. 250196, an ordinance adopting the operating budget for fiscal year 2026. Bill No. 250197, an ordinance to adopt a fiscal 2026 capital budget. Bill No. 250198, an ordinance to adopt a capital program for the six fiscal years 2026 through 2031 inclusive. Bill No. 250199, an ordinance amending Chapter 19-2600 of the Philadelphia Code entitled Business Income and Receipts taxes to revise tax rates and end certain exclusions from the tax on receipts, all under certain terms and conditions. Bill No. 250200, an ordinance amending Chapter 19-1000 of the Philadelphia Code entitled Traffic Code to revise the fee for the use of parking meters all under certain terms and conditions. Bill No. 250201, an ordinance amending chapter 19-1800 of the Philadelphia Code entitled School Tax Authorization to provide for an increase in the tax of the Board of Education of the School District of Philadelphia is authorized to impose on real estate, and amending Chapter 19-1300 entitled Real Estate Taxes to establish an equivalent reduction in the tax rate for the City Real Estate Tax, all under certain terms and conditions. Bill No. 250202, an ordinance amending Section 19-1806 of the Philadelphia Code entitled Authorization of Realty Use and Occupancy Tax to eliminate certain exemptions, all under certain terms and conditions. Bill No. 250210, an ordinance amending Section 10-1001 of the Philadelphia Code entitled Fees of Commissioner Records to increase the portion of fees for the recording of deeds and mortgages and related documents be used for housing trust fund purposes under certain terms and conditions. Bill No. 250211, an ordinance amending Chapter 19-1400 of the Philadelphia Code entitled Realty Transfer Tax by revising the rate of a tax under certain terms and conditions. Bill No. 250212, an ordinance to amend Chapter 19-4400 of the Philadelphia Code entitled Development Impact Tax to end in position of the tax, under certain terms and conditions. Resolution No. 250214, resolution providing for the approval by the council of the City of Philadelphia of a revised five- year financial plan for the city of Philadelphia covering fiscal years 2026 through 2030 and incorporating revisions with respect to fiscal year 2025, which is to be submitted by the Mayor to the Pennsylvania Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority pursuant to an Intergovernmental Cooperation Agreement by and between the city and the authority.

Today we will -- today we'll continue a public hearing of the Committee of the Whole to consider the bills read by the clerk that constitute proposed operating and capital spending measures for year 2026, a capital program and a forward-looking capital plan for fiscal year 2026 through fiscal year 2031. We will now begin taking testimony from the public on the city's proposed FY26 budget and six-year capital program for FY26 to FY31. Before proceeding, how about I will lay a few ground rules on how we'll proceed with the public testimony this afternoon. We are here today to hear from you about the city's proposed FY26 budget for the city of Philadelphia. To ensure that there is an opportunity for all of you to be heard, certain ground rules have been established as follows. Your testimony should be about the bills listed on the calendar. Once your name is called, you will then have up to two minutes to speak. In order to be fair, all those wishing to speak, I intend to hold faithfully to that two-minute limit. Once you are asked to begin your testimony, a timer will be started. When there are 30 seconds remaining to your time, you will be reminded of this. Once your allotted time has passed, you'll be asked to conclude your remarks. We will be with you all day today. So, we have a morning session and afternoon session. We look forward to having a very, very robust discussion as we consider the proposed budget before us. And so, I'm going to ask Ms. Loughead to please call the first panel.

Benjamin Wong.

The Chair recognizes Councilmember Curtis Jones.

Reported present for the record.

Thank you very much, Council -- Councilmember Curtis Jones is present. Thank you, sir.

We'll have Benjamin Wong, Minh Nguyen, Nu Duong, and then Judy Keegan can all come up to the podium.

The Chair also recognizes the presence of Councilmember Jeffrey J. Young.

My name is Benjamin Wong. Good morning, Councilmembers. My name is Benjamin Wong, and I serve as the president of Greater Philadelphia chapter of AREAA, which is Asian Real Estate Association of America. I'm a realtor and a proud advocate for small businesses throughout our city. But beyond my role -- current role, I come from a small business family, and I know firsthand what it means to struggle just to stay afloat. My parents owned a food distribution business in Northeast Philadelphia. The business ran almost 19 hours a day, and both of my parents 20 worked over 12 hours daily. It was 21 hard, physical, and nonstop work. 22 There were times we had to rush to the bank just to make sure checks we wrote wouldn't bounce. Between paying employees, covering the rising cost of goods and keeping the trucks on the road, we barely got by some weeks. That experience shaped my understanding of what it really means to operate a small business, and how every single dollar matters. Today small businesses in Philadelphia are under even more pressure, inflation, staffing shortages and rising operating costs are already stretching them thin. And on top of that, they face one of the highest local tax burdens in the region. The wage tax and the business income and receipts tax make it harder for these businesses to reinvest, grow, and simply survive. Now, with the proposed removal of the 100,000 BIRT exemption, things are about to even get harder. That exemption meant that businesses could keep some breathing room while keeping -- while getting off the ground or staying stable. Without it, they'll be taxed before they've even paid themselves or their employees. These are -- these aren't large corporations, these are family run shops, community anchors, our neighbors -- and our neighbors. They're the backbone of America and certainly the backbone of Philadelphia. We want to stay here. We want to hire, reinvest and grow, but we need a tax environment that supports that, not one that makes it harder. So today, I respectfully urge you to support modest meaningful reductions to the tax and BIRT taxes. These changes won't just support businesses, they support neighborhoods, families, and job creation across the city. Thank you for your time and I -- and your continued service. I'm proud to be part of the city and look forward to being a resource as you work towards more of a supportive economic environment for all of us. Thank you.

Thank you very much for your testimony.

Hi, City Council. My name is Nu Duong, and I am Vice-Chair Policy from AREAA also. I have been a realtor for four year and I am also a real estate investor. I run a small company which I do fix and flip. I bought the old house, fix it, and sell it all I refinanced and ran out. I'm honored to be here today to testify and support for further review of the wage tax and Business Income and Receives Tax. For the -- because my equity is limited, I must seeking for the financial leverage from the bank lender. I must try my best to balance the cash flow to ensure that I can repay the loan I have in doing the business. The tax right now for my business is quite high. I must pay 4.2 percent for transfer tax in Philadelphia for each transaction, buy and sell. And after that, if I sell the house under a year, I will be charged 30 percent of the capital gain. After all kind of the transaction tax from the debt project, I must pay the federal tax, Pennsylvania tax, and after that I must pay the city tax, too. When I filed the tax in early of this year, the tax I pay for city is almost at the same with the Pennsylvania tax. And after all of the tax, my profit is not much. I want to -- right now the cost for the supply and the labor is really high. I want -- if I compare to another area, the transfer tax is only two percent for each transaction. And in the house in the other areas, the insurance and the cost for other thing is cheaper. But to be honest, I want to be here. I work in real estate for a long time and I'm sick to hear all the people say that our city is outdated, the houses look old. I want to do something that for the -- for us to grow because of the Philadelphia. But with the tax increase in the future, I -- this is really hard for us to maintain this type of the business. I want to be here and I need the support from the city to grow up and make this city better. Thank you.

Thank you.

Hello everyone. My name is Minh Nguyen, a resident of the 2nd District in Philadelphia under City Councilman Kenyatta Johnson. And I'm here today representing the Asian Real Estate Association of America and Philadelphia in partnership with the Asian Chamber of Commerce to offer public testimony on the city budget. On the quick side note, today is a glorious day because my baby sister Tren is in labor as we speak and she's ready to give birth to my first niece.

Congratulations.

I'm going to be an uncle, you all.

Another resident of the 2nd Councilmatic District.

Pregnancy and the birthing process is an absolute miracle in the circle of life and happy belated Mother's Day. If it were not for women and mothers, the world would not be in existence. So, to all of the moms wives and sisters --

Yeah.

-- we thank you and we love you.

Yeah.

And to my baby sister, Trinh Chupmongi Mgai, happy Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage month to everyone. I hope you celebrate this month and eat some really good Vietnamese or Asian American food. I'm the Secretary and Policy Chair of the local chapter of the Asian Real Estate Association of America. We represent 45 chapters, 19,000 members, 51 ethnicities, languages in North America, and I'm here with my colleagues Nu and our President, Benjamin Wong, who spoke on the BIRT's exemption and equitable tax reform to positivity impact Asian American small businesses throughout Philadelphia. We are in partnership with Dr. Khine Arthur, CEO and President of the Asian American Chamber of Commerce, which represents 13,000 Asian American businesses in the city of Philadelphia. The highest number of businesses by any minority community in Philadelphia. Thank you to Asian American small businesses for all of your hard work and resilience over these last decades in building our community. At AREAA, we believe that housing is a human right and we envision the world free of housing discrimination and free of homelessness. Thank you to the Mayor Administration for your work in constructing the budget proposals and home $2 billion housing action plan synopsis. We are testifying to support, maintaining and reducing the -- and increasing that $100,000 exemption in the wage tax and business income receipts tax, which will allow businesses to invest in their business, expand operational capacity, and capital expenditures, hire more staff and pay effective wages, increase productivity and grow the economic output, empower their communities and make Philadelphia a more competitive business hub, attracting businesses from all around the region, country and world. Relating to the Mayor's $2 billion housing action plan to build and preserve 30,000 housing units and issuance of $800 million to municipal bonds, we have some questions and concerns. Real quick and we'll submit this testimony to the Mayor and to City Council, but we have concerns and questions regarding economic and environmental impacts, quality of life, affordable housing strategies, gentrification, displacement due to artificial inflation of the assessment of property taxes, underwriting of the midst of a bonds, the repayment schedule, the increase of transfer tax by 0.5 to one percent, projected to procure just enough to cover the debt service over five years. And also, the financial analysis of the plan. The OPA gave us volatile reassessments and unpredictable algorithm and all of the other inefficiencies that we must correct before we take on such a huge development project in the city of Philadelphia. We thank you for your support of housing. Housing is a human right. Let's do this carefully and surgically and strategically. Thank you so much and happy Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, everyone.

Next, we have Judy Keegan, Mark Edwards, Alexander Roederer, and Emily Hasham.

Good morning, Council President Johnson and City Councilmembers. My name is Judy Keegan, and for the past 12 years I've lived in the Tacony section of Philadelphia. Thank you very much for this opportunity to speak in support of an increased FY 2026 budget for Mural Arts Philadelphia. And special thanks to Christina Kohlmeyer for her assistance in scheduling me this early this morning. In 1985, I went to work for the City of Philadelphia's office of Special Projects where I served as the producer of Philadelphia's, the Book and the Cook Restaurant Festival. The groundbreaking work of Jane Golden and her staff was already well underway with the anti- graffiti network and Mural Arts Philadelphia. I can still remember walking down the 1200 block of Locust Street and seeing the mural Philadelphia muses for the first time. It was breathtaking and I was moved to tears. The swell of pride that I felt has been experienced many thousands of times over and over by Philadelphians Citywide, who see their own neighborhoods history and cultures celebrated by local artists. My own family has been the beneficiary of Mural Arts, art education program for the past three years. I have had custody of my grandson Von for nearly eight years following the death of his mother and the removal from his home to enter foster care. And one of the first things that we did was buy him art supplies to ease his transition and we gave him a variety of those art supplies. Although he's challenged by autism in areas of communication and social skills, he found a way to illustrate his view of the world through art. We learned about the Mural Arts Entrepreneurs program and enrolled him in his first experience of Hands-on Arts instruction with the goal of developing marketable arts project. That's not a contradiction in terms. He learned techniques and invaluable skills of collaborations through social interaction with his peer and fellow artists. He advanced in programs where his autism was just an aspect of who he was as an individual artist. In the summer of 2024, Von had his first chance to take a paid internship at the Tacony Art Center Lab. This experience has further transformed him into a confident young man with a clear point of view with his art. He knows that he has a place in the world and a valuable contribution to make. And for proof of that, if you go to the Friends of Mural Arts Instagram page, you'll see Von speak for himself. This experience has further transformed him. He has seen his work up on city billboards and the designs on the Mama Tee Community Fridge Project to combat food insecurity. And in the creation of directional signage for Philadelphia's own Highland Park. This fall, armed with a Mural Arts letter of recommendation, he's applied to Temple University's leadership and career studies programs where he will attend classes with the aid of peer mentors who provide a variety of autism supports. I'm here today to ask that City Council increase the Mural Arts FY 2026 budget of 3.7 million with the addition of 1.5 million for a total of 5.2 million or more, as might be considered as Councilmembers work continuously on behalf of their constituents. Mural Arts impact in public safety, anti-poverty efforts, mental and behavioral health, and so much more offers a streamlined way to deliver critical constituent support in a creative environment. Mural Arts more than murals, please fully fund Mural Arts for FY 2026 and beyond. Thank you.

Thank you, ma'am. Please begin.

Good morning. My name is Mark Edwards; I'm the president and CEO of The Food Trust. I want to thank the Committee of the Whole and Council President for allowing this testimony. I want to also thank Council President Johnson for launching the Food and Nutrition Security task force where I'm honored to serve. It's encouraging to see our city focus on building a healthier community for all Philadelphians. Today, I want to highlight one clear action the city can take in the 2025/2026 budget investing in Food Bucks nutrition incentives. At The Food Trust, we believe that what lies between hunger and health is nutrition security. Yet in Philadelphia, the poorest big city in America, too many residents are forced to choose between eating healthy and eating enough. Food Bucks helped change that. Launched in 2010, this -- with city support, the program provides extra dollars for fruits and vegetables and low-income -- for low-income families. It started at farmer's markets, and now operates in places like reading terminal market, corner stores, supermarkets like ShopRite, and even health centers. It's a triple win. Better diets, stronger local economies, and increased income for farmers. But despite its success, the program relies heavily on federal and philanthropic funding. Without local investment, it will not continue. That's why we're asking the city's leaders to include a minimum of $500,000 in the upcoming budget to sustain Food Bucks. Other cities have made this investment and we urge Philadelphia to do the same. We're also grateful for Councilmember Nina Ahmad for elevating Food Bucks as a priority and to all of you for your continued support for programs that help Philadelphians eat well, stay healthy, and thrive. Thank you very much.

Thank you. And, Mark, thank you for not just being on the task force, but being a co-chair of the task force. And I know there was a recent announcement about some devastating cuts to snap, which is going to impact people particularly from impoverished neighborhoods. And so just thank you for your leadership.

Great, thank you.

Thank you.

And if I may -- if I may just take a bit of privilege, I followed the prior testimony about the Anti-Graffiti Network in the Mural Arts program where I had the honor of serving as its deputy executive director for 10 years under the late Tim Spencer. So I just wanted to acknowledge that and give Tim his just due. Thank you.

Yes, thank you, sir.

State you name for the record.

Hello. Thank you for your attention. My name is Emily Hashem, and I'm a medical student at Jefferson. Just a couple blocks away from here. When I read about the fiscal budget proposed for 2026 for the study of Philadelphia, I saw that a certain program that I care about was conspicuously missing. Specifically, there has been some back and forth by Mayor Parker about whether SEPTA Zero Fare will remain funded. As you can probably tell from the name, this is a program that provides free transportation via SEPTA for low-income Philadelphians. Millions of trips have been made possible because of this program in the past year-and-a-half. These trips allow people to live, work, study, worship, and move freely within the city regardless of income. As a medical student, I work in multiple low-cost clinics in Philadelphia, and have come to know and love the people we serve. We can offer many things to them for free or at low cost, from doctor's visits to medications, to food, housing, you name it. The options are far more limited for transportation. And in some of the clinics that I work at, SEPTA Zero Fare is the only resource we can offer patients to be able to travel to appointments. I can tell you personally that I've seen about a thousand people like be enrolled in this program. I'm probably not the first person to tell you that this is important. In fact, due to backlash faced for slashing the program, Mayor Parker walked back her decision to defund it. Now, Councilman O'Rourke has proposed legislation called the Philadelphia Transit Access Fund that will solidify SEPTA Zero Fare as a permanent way in which the City of Philadelphia can help its constituents. We've all complained about a late bus, or a detour, but we all know that SEPTA is the safety net of our city. The needs of the poorest Philadelphians reflect our own needs to move to access our city free from the burden of cost. I'm here to express my strong support for the continuation of SEPTA Zero Fare funding in the proposed city budget, and for your support in advocating for the Philadelphia Track Transit Access Fund. SEPTA is a necessary and shared resource, and I can't think of many things that the city budget could be better spent on than meeting the basic needs of constituents. Fund SEPTA now, fund SEPTA forever, and fund it for those who need it most. Thank you for your time.

Thank you.

Next, we have Khine Zaw, Marjorie Goldberg, Alexander Roederer and Stan Horwitz.

Good morning, everyone.

Good morning.

Good morning, Council President, honorable members of the City Council. Many of you know me as the president and CEO of Asian American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Philadelphia representing over 13,000 Asian-owned businesses. But I am here today as a taxpayer, and as a mother of a young child who will be a taxpayer. I take Lincoln Drive and Kelly Drive to get to my work. Every day I look at that greenery on my side and feel that pride in my heart, as an immigrant who moved to this country over 10 years ago, why Philadelphia is my home. And I worry if my children will call Philadelphia as their home. Today, I spoke with several very concerned small business owners who are making less than $100,000 per year. The BIRT Exemption sunset will hit them hard, will question the fathers and the mothers who are already burdened by heavy taxes. My job as the president of the Asian American Chamber requires me to educate myself, because ignorance is not bliss when it comes to taxation and city budget. I know how you all care about the city and you are all very brave, that's why you ran for a public office. And I can tell you that all my members are in your districts. Every time there is an election, we do our civic duty. We go out, we vote, we elect you all as our representatives to represent our best interests. Right now, I have a small business owner in Chinatown who can't afford to pay astronomical tariffs on spices. If you want to eat authentic Indian food, Sichuan food, you can't grow those spices here. So if you are considering anything important in this budget cycle, and you will have many numbers presented to you today, tomorrow, every day, please put the reduction of BIRT and wage as your priority because I cannot represent any constituents if they decide to leave Philadelphia. And if they think that they're being punished for choosing Philadelphia as their home, there is nothing I can do to convince them to stay. So I plead you today, honorable members of the City Council that we love Philadelphia. Please allow us to continue to choose Philadelphia as our home. The budget decision is in your hands, please consider reducing the BIRT and wage tax as your priority. Thank you very much.

Thank you. State your name for the record, sir.

Jonathan Fink.

Oh, he's already on.

Oh, sorry.

The Chair recognizes --

Hi, my name is Stan Horwitz.

One second, sir. Hold on, Stan.

Excuse me.

I just want to recognize the presence of Councilmember Rue Landau. Go ahead, Mr. Horwitz.

Hi, my name is Stan Horwitz. I'm with the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, Philly Bike Action, and I also represent the Hawthorne Empowerment Coalition, where we want safe streets in our neighborhood. I'm here testifying in support of additional Vision Zero funding for the city's upcoming fiscal year. The Mayor's proposed Vision Zero budget is a key way to show the city's commitment to reach zero traffic fatalities, fight climate change, and support traffic equity for the most economically challenged Philadelphians. Public safety is the highest responsibility for City Council and the mayor. The main budget line for Vision Zero was increased from million in the current fiscal year to 3.5 million next year. An additional 1.5 million in Vision Zero funding shows up in another set of budget lines. The new -- the new budget zero -- sorry. The new Vision Zero budget also includes million from another 4 source of funding to pay for 5 concrete protected bike lanes along Spruce and Pine Streets. This additional proposed Vision Zero funding is wonderful, and I urge City Council to support Mayor Parker's expanded Vision Zero funding proposals. Vision Zero is important to me, because I'm a bicycle commuter who believes that on that an important way to fight climate change, reduce urban traffic congestion and smog and improve overall safety for pedestrians and bicyclists is to reduce our use of individual motor vehicles as much as possible by actively encouraging the use of both bicycles and safe UL certified e-bikes. Thanks to Mayor Parker for her expanded commitment to funding Vision Zero. I urge you to support Vision Zero to the same or greater degree that as Mayor Parker has proposed. And thank you for your time.

Thank you.

I'll go. My name is Jonathan Fink, and this is my incredibly beautiful wife, Marjorie Goldberg. Go ahead.

Smart move.

We are here to talk about the rebirth of the Philly Pops working as the "No Name Pops" until July 1st. Under new leadership led by its own musicians, all members of Philadelphia Musicians Union Local 77.

We are excited and grateful for the funding we have received so far from the city and the help that we've had from City Council, and we're here to encourage your support for us in the future. We'd like to thank all the Councilmembers who have been so supportive while we worked to resurrect this Philadelphia institution.

We started The No Name Pops in May of 2023, performing over 50 free concerts since then. These were all free and open to the public.

We now have a new -- newly formed board of directors, including Philadelphia icon and Action News Anchorman Jim Gardner. We have an executive director, Matt Coeval, who many of you know, and our newly named music director, Christopher Dragon.

We've been working hard to revive our concert series at the Kimmel Center, in addition to performing all over Philadelphia for as many people as we can.

During this last year, we reached an agreement with the Peter Nero's family for the rights to the Philly Pops name and branding. We worked with a local branding company to come up with a new logo and feel for our new organization.

We're excited to share that Wawa Welcome America has invited us to return to Play pops on Independence Mall this July 3rd with guest artist Ben Folds. This is also free and open to the public.

We have done this all while staying financially responsible.

As a proud Union member and vice president of Local 77, I want to share with Council how their survival of the pops is important to our working union musicians and future musicians. We have an orchestra of approximately 60 musicians and another 40 to 50 who play with us on a regular basis. For every concert we do at the Kimmel Center, there are more employment opportunities for all the performing arts union workers, such as the IATSE stagehands, the ushers, the box office workers, et cetera. With the closing of U Arts, a giant hole was left on Broad Street. Many of the jazz majors and instructors from U Arts are in our orchestra and many play with us on a regular basis. We pride ourselves on creating pathways for young musicians to perform.

As parents of an artistic young man, accessibility is very important to us. We are proud to share that the pops is now an art-reach access partner so people with disabilities can purchase $2 tickets for our programs.

We're also committed to maintaining our mission of free programming all over Philadelphia. We've been asked to perform eight concerts next year for Artsonia and their music in your neighborhood initiative. We're also producing our own free programming with other community partners. We have worked diligently to create an organization that works for our patrons, our great city, and our musicians, and we ask that you continue to help us by funding the Philly Pops. Thank you.

Thank you for your time.

Thank you.

Next, we have -- next we have Matthew Wallach, Susanne Stone, Sharon Allen, and Angie Allison Ellison.

Okay. You can state your name and begin your testimony.

Hello. My name is Matthew Wallach, and I'm here testifying in support of the proposed Vision Zero budget found in Mayor Parker's proposal FY26, budget line 70.1 and 71.2 of the street budget in the six-year plan. The main budget line for the Zero is to increase from $1 million to $3.5 million. The additional 1.5 million in Zero fund budgeting shows up in another set of budget lines. The Zero budget line is also -- includes a $5 million for another source of funding to pay for concrete protection in bike lanes on Spruce and Pine, which you all may be familiar with. That is where we most recently lost a doctor -- a doctor of our community. This is an important issue to me because every day hundreds of people move through the city. Fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, all use Philadelphia bike infrastructure and there is no 9 concrete protection. This is not paranoia, this is a fact. Last week, we lost somebody in West Philadelphia, someone just trying to move about our city. Far too many times, I've seen cars use the bike lane as a shortcut, which may save them time, but puts others at risk, other lives at risk. Concrete will save lives, it'll increase the flow of traffic, it will also protect people just trying to live their lives. I was surprised to see the new budget line of 70.1 for multimodal paths and trails to help maintain in the city. However, it does not currently include for Fiscal Year 2026. I request that the budget line include 500,000 for Fiscal Year 2026. Having this money could provide funds to help any additional cost of state, or federal funding for the project, safeguarding against potential delays causing unexpected costs and federal -- and uncertainty. When I moved to the city, I didn't have 200 -- $2.50 to take SEPTA. I had a bike and that helped me get to doctors. It helped me get to work, where eventually I could take SEPTA. And that I could keep biking. I just ask you guys, please put other people's lives in your minds. Awesome. Thank you.

Hello. My name is Angelita Ellison. I am a volunteer with WCRP, which is a member of the Philadelphia Coalition for Affordable Communities. I currently live in Council District 5, but I have lived throughout the city. For about years, I lived 7 in South Philly in a house that 8 belonged to my grandparents and then 9 to my mother. It was an old house, 10 and we didn't have the money to fix 11 it up. My mother eventually applied 12 for the Basic Systems Repair 13 Program, but was denied because the 14 cost of repair would be too high. 15 My mother then attempted to get a 16 loan from her bank and was also denied, so she decided to sell the house. I live in a house -- I lived in the house with my sister, my son, and my mother. My mother moved down south after selling the house. The rest of us looked for a place in Philadelphia. Our choices were limited because of how expensive rent is in the city. We moved to the northeast, and then to Frankford, and now I live near Girard College. With all these moves, I got to see and experience what gentrification is doing to the city. I've seen my former neighbors leave South Philly, I've seen artificially inflated rent prices, I've seen a rec center tennis court unused for years be fixed up for new residents and not for the benefit of long-term residents. I've seen entire blocks under construction. So many people have been and still are, where I was, struggling to find a place that they can afford. Thirty percent of the households in Philly earned $30,000 or less, and half of all renters are housing costs burdened, meaning once we pay rent, we don't have enough left over to pay for food, medicine, transportation, and other necessities. That number is going to go up as rents increase. The only reason I can afford my rent is because I live with my sister and we split the cost. The groups in the Philadelphia Coalition for Affordable Communities are asking City Councilmembers to put our housing resources where they are most needed. Pass a budget that increases rental housing, production, and preservation from the 78 million it was in last year's budget to 100 million for the next year. And shallow rent programs from 2,659,000 to 4 million. Eviction diversion -- CHAIR GILMORE-RICHARDSON: Please conclude your testimony.

-- rent payments also need to increase. These programs have done a lot to help the people of Philadelphia and they can do even more -- CHAIR GILMORE-RICHARDSON: Ma'am.

-- if they're fully funded. CHAIR GILMORE-RICHARDSON: Apologies for the interruption. Please conclude your testimony. We have several pages of witnesses, so we must stay on time.

Yes, we are just finishing up. Most of the changes in this city that I've seen do not benefit the people who have always lived here. Now, Mayor Parker is proposing more changes. I am here today to ask the City Council to pass a budget that benefits those of us who need housing resources the most.

Okay. Good morning, everybody. Good morning, Councilmembers. My name is Shearon Allen. I'm an independent living specialist at Liberty Resources. The Center for Independent Living serving people with disabilities in Philadelphia. I'm a proud member of the Philadelphia Coalition of Affordable Housing. Affordable Housing, yeah. Okay. Okay. Everyday I work with people with disabilities who are trying to independently live to whom relies solely on Social Security and SSDI to survive. Finding any affordable housing in Philadelphia is difficult, but for someone who's also needs accessibility, a ramp rolling shower elevator, it becomes almost impossible. Our city is the poorest of the 10 largest cities in the country. We cannot continue to ignore this reality. We need to make sure our housing policy funding priorities reflect the needs of our residents, especially those who are most at risk of institutionalization or homelessness, simply because they can't find an affordable, accessible place to live. Right now, we're seeing people forced to choose between housing they can't -- they can't physically assets, or stand in nursing homes and shelters. That's not a choice. It's a systematic failure. To address this critical need, the Philadelphia Coalition of Affordable Communities urges Council to take concrete action to -- by funding adapted modification programs to ensure that housing is accessible for everyone with disabilities. An $8 million commitment per year budget will start to meet existing demands for aging and disabled homeowners. This include funding for crucial features like ramps, rolling showers, and elevators. We must focus our efforts and ensure that funds reach the most in need, especially to the program I've underlined.

Sir, please conclude your testimony.

I will. Okay. Furthermore, we must ensure a significant allocation is direct -- is directed towards the creation and adoption of accessible housing. People with disabilities deserve to live with dignity and the community of their choice. Thank you for listening, and please prioritize the critical investment in programs that -- okay. Directly support those who need housing the most. Thank you, guys, for listening.

Good morning. My name is Lorraine Mobley, and I'm a member of Philadelphia Coalition for Affordable Communities and One Pennsylvania, West Southwest Rising and most important, a proud, active voter. Our organizations have attended most of Philadelphia City Council meetings on affordable housing, renters' assistance in home repair programs, and the need for adequate housing funding in the city of Philadelphia. At some of these meetings, we have spoken about and heard other concerned Philadelphians give heart wrenching testimony on housing problems and how it was negatively impact their lives. They talked about income, not keeping pace with risings and housing costs, and expenses that are out of reach for far too many Philadelphians, city housing programs that are underfunded and not reaching those who need their most, communities that are being broken apart and people who are being displaced. And in summation, felt that housing insecurity is rampant in Philadelphia and it affects every single council district. You have heard the concerns and cries of the people. Home repair programs work, they keep communities together, they support generational of wealth, they slow down gentrification, and they provide a basis of -- tax basis for the City of Philadelphia. This would enable families to make repairs and support the production of new, truly affordable housing. As you gather together to tweak and vote on the budget, please remember that one of everything Philadelphia household earn is less than $30,000 a year. This is about 200,000 households. Half of these households earn less than $15,000. Remember that basic system and Built to Last programs are currently underfunded, basic systems has approximately 7,000 individuals on the waiting list and Built to Last have over $2,000 -- 2000, excuse me, on this waiting list. If it is your plan to increase the income requirements for eligibility, thereby increasing the number of individuals who will apply and qualify for these programs, the budgets needs to be significantly increased to provide sufficient funding.

Ma'am, please conclude your testimony.

Any budget -- any budget that keeps funding for basic systems in the Built to Last program, the same as 2025, should not be passed by City Council. We need action from Philadelphia City Council to adjust the budget to correct the housing funding deficiency. We need a council to defend our right to stay in our neighborhood in safe, secure, healthy, and affordable housing. We need the City of Philadelphia to recognize that affordable, accessible, and safe housing is not a privilege, but a fundamental human right.

Thank you. We want to sincerely thank you all again for coming in this morning. I'm going to reiterate that we need everyone to stick to the time allotted. We have three pages of witnesses to provide testimony; we want and need to get to everyone today. We will only do that if everyone sticks to the time that has been allotted. Thank you for your understanding. Please proceed. State your name for the record, and proceed with your testimony.

Good morning, members of City Council. My name is Susanne Stone. I'm Principal at Stone Sherick Consulting Group, and with me today is Maria Gonzalez. She's president and CEO of HAVE's CDC. Thank you so much for the time to speak today. I'll be very brief. I'm honored to testify in support of the Parker Administration's Home Initiative. My firm works with nonprofit and for-profit developers all across the city of Philadelphia to finance and construct affordable housing and community development projects across the city. In my 35-year career, it's hard for me to say that, 35 years, the low-income housing tax credit program has proven to be by far the most effective tool for building hundreds of affordable housing units each year and leveraging hundreds of millions of private capital annually for new housing developments and preservation deals across the city of Philadelphia in every single Council District. Many of these units are deeply affordable serving the exact population that the testifiers that were focusing on that testified before me. Deeply affordable -- I'm sorry, I lost my place. All of these units are held to rigorous standards, housing quality standards, accessible standards, visitability standards. They're extremely high-quality housing. I urge City Council and the Parker administration to meet this momentous opportunity and have two small recommendations. One is to increase the two-line items, affordable housing production, and the preservation line item. If those line items are increased, we'll be able to produce more units, we'll be able to leverage more private capital into the city of Philadelphia. And my second small recommendation is to increase the funding per project from million to million. If we do that, we'll find deals will happen quicker, close quicker, and we'll be able to build units of a larger scale. Thank you for the opportunity. I'm going to pass it to Maria now. Thank you.

Good morning, City Councilmembers. Again, my name is Maria Gonzalez and I'm president of HAVE CDC serving the Fairhill and St. Hugh Community. First, I want to thank Mayor Parker for developing the HOME Initiative, that incorporates feedback from a diverse group of stakeholders, including developers for-profit, non-profit and community groups. And also, its comprehensiveness in tackling the many facets of housing -- of the housing crisis that is impacting this great city. It includes preservation of multifamily housing, home repairs, shallow rent, housing counseling, and also most importantly the production of new housing units. One of the most important aspects of the HOME Initiative, it's in its ability to leverage other resources like low-income housing tax credits. For every low-income housing tax credit that is funded in the city, we are able to leverage $5 at a minimum, $5 for every dollar that the city is able to contribute to a development. And that is very much needed. I remember a couple of years ago that I developed a 4 percent tax credit project with 13 different funding sources. So you can imagine the nightmare that we have to go through in order to be able to serve the lowest of the low. Right now, you know, we are at an inflection point in this country and this city where there's rising costs for labor, rising costs for supplies, and also rising land values, which makes penciling these projects so much more complicated to serve low-income communities. I would say that we need to rise the -- to meet the moment right now, all of us, to use the HOME Initiative as a tool to leverage other sources to meet the needs of all Philadelphians. Thank you very much for the opportunity to speak with you today.

Next, we have Sara Goldrick-Rab, Stanley Shapiro, Lance Haver and Suzanne Hagner. CHAIR GILMORE-RICHARDSON: Please state your name for the record and proceed with your testimony.

My name is Dr. Sara Goldrick-Rab. For 14 years, I've been a professor at the 15 University of Wisconsin-Madison, at 16 Temple University, and now at the 17 People's College, the Community 18 College of Philadelphia. I'm also 19 an award-winning researcher. 20 I have a doctorate from Penn in sociology. I'm a Philly public school parent with one who's 18 going off to school now. And I'm the board chair of an anti-gun violence non-profit called the Azzim Dukes Initiative at Maleek Jackson's boxing gym in Northern Liberties. I wrote a national best selling book called Paying the Price College Costs, Financial Aid and the Betrayal of the American Dream and directly advised President Barack Obama and President Joe Biden's higher education policy. And it is an honor to be with you all today in the city that I love the most. Councilmembers, you need to know this. My students at the Community College of Philadelphia are literally going hungry in order to get an education beyond high school. They did the right thing, they invested in their futures, but many are dropping out because they lack the essential support we know matter for kids and students at all levels. They don't have subsidized lunch or breakfast and they don't have a free SEPTA pass. The average out-of-pocket cost after financial aid for our students is over $12,000 a year. That's after financial aid, but the average family income is often below $30,000 a year. That's a totally unrealistic burden. I'm currently personally supporting one of our students who has a 10-year-old child, but who regularly can't afford her bus pass just to get to my class. Losing motivated and talented students to shortfalls of a couple hundred bucks is foolish. It undermines our community's economy, health and safety. There is a massive ROI in investing in community college education and especially now when the federal government, including Donald Trump, is threatening cuts to these Pell grants and student loans. It is never, ever in the history of this institution been so important to boost funding to the community college. I call for an increase of at least $15 million and $2 million in free SEPTA passes as part of the people's budget. It's an investment in our collective future. Thank you.

Good morning, members of Council. Thanks for this opportunity to testify. My name is Stan Shapiro and I'm here testifying on behalf of Philly Neighborhood Networks. Today, our city stands at a crossroads and the path we choose will define Philadelphia's future. Across the country, Democrats are united in opposing tax giveaways to the wealthy and big corporations. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer recently warned that Republicans are pushing tax cuts for billionaires at the expense of working families. These are his exact words, calling out his MAGA colleagues. Yesterday, every single Senate Republican signed their name onto Donald Trump's plan to cut taxes for their billionaire buddies. Donald Trump and House and Senate Republicans are united where it matters most. They want to give their billionaire buddies a tax break and have the American people pay the cost. House Democratic leader, Hakeem Jeffries, echoed this calling out on national television Republican efforts to pass, quote, massive tax breaks for billionaires and wealthy corporations, staking the bill with working and middle- class Americans. Yet, here in Philadelphia, our own democratic leadership is considering a plan that mirrors these same failed priorities, a near total repeal of the city's business tax justified by vague promises of economic growth. The only certain outcome is a sharp reduction of city revenue, revenues we desperately need as federal and state cuts threaten vital services. If these tax cuts pass, who will fill the gap? What will fill the gap? Housing, public health, environmental protection and energy assistance programs are already facing deep cuts from Washington. Slashing business taxes now will only worsen the pain for those who rely on city services the most. This approach is not just economically reckless; it is politically self-defeating. Why should struggling Philadelphians turn out for Democrats if City Hall adopts the same trickle-down logic as MAGA Republicans? At least MAGA's message is consistent however misguided. Here, we admit these cuts will reduce revenue but press forward anyway. We cannot afford to abandon working families for the sake of handouts to the wealthy. I urge council to reject these tax cuts and stand with the people who need you most. Let's send a clear united message. Philadelphia's future will not be built on giveaways to the rich, but on investment in our communities. Thank you.

Good morning. My name is Lance Haver and I'm here to talk about something City Council has complete control over. And that's the Water Department. As you're sitting here today, the Philadelphia Water Department is seeking a 20 percent rate increase. When they're successful, and unless you act, they will be successful, the bills will go up to over a hundred dollars a month. In 2023, the bills were $69 a month. That represents almost a 40 percent increase in water bills during that time. And that's because the system we're using is corrupt. The water department always asks for more than what it needs. They then go through a show hearing where they negotiate it down and they get what they want. They hire -- the water department hires consultant after consultant. In this current rate case, they've hired seven consultants. Every one of them is consulting them with how they can raise the rates. They have never hired a single consultant to find a way to reduce rates. They have never undergone a management audit. Yes, the controller does a fiscal audit, but there is no management audit that would find ways to save money. In addition, the water department doesn't know whether they hire local companies or not. This came up during discovery at the water hearings. I asked directly, how many of the companies you contract with are located in Philadelphia? And they told me they didn't have the time and they didn't have the resources and they didn't know. One of the economic engines for the city is our institutions are publicly owned institutions like the Water Department doing business with local businesses. I'll make three more points and then I'll let you get onto some of the broader issues. But again, water is a fundamental issue that you have direct control over. This is not something you can say I can't do anything about. This is something you should do something about. One, the Water Department should use its economic power to create jobs in Philadelphia. One of the advantages the city of Philadelphia has over the southern regions of the country in the southwest is plentiful water. They should actually have some recruiting businesses that use water so we can have living wage jobs. Two, they should combine services with PGW. Most of us live in row homes. The gas meter and the water meter are no more than foot 15 apart. Why do we have two separate meter readings and why do we allow the water department to contract with a company in Tennessee to do that? Three -- CHAIR GILMORE-RICHARDSON: Please conclude your testimony.

I'm sorry. Okay. Keep going. Three, we have to put an end to the constant Water Department asking for more rates and going through a farce. Separately, they will go behind closed doors and negotiate a rate increase and that will not solve the problem. The only way that the problem will get solved is if you take the interest. Water is the most fundamental utility in the city, which is controlled by us. Don't turn the other way. Thank you. CHAIR GILMORE-RICHARDSON: Thank you. Thank you very much.

Next, we have Suzanne Hagner followed by Nico Meyering, Kim Kinnison and Quincy Blake.

I will, but no, I did not. You want me to? Okay. CHAIR GILMORE-RICHARDSON: Chair recognizes Councilmember Jones.

I'm asking Madam Chair if they submitted written testimony and they promised me they would provide it to you.

I apologize. I thought I would have long -- CHAIR GILMORE-RICHARDSON: One moment. Okay.

I apologize. I will have a concise -- CHAIR GILMORE-RICHARDSON: Hold on. Speak into the mic.

I'll have a concise information to give as testimony. Thank you. CHAIR GILMORE-RICHARDSON: That'll be excellent. Thank you very much. Please state your name for the record and proceed with your testimony. MS HAGNER: Okay. Good morning. My name is Suzanne Hagner and I'm here to testify for the 2026 budget on line 71.1 and 71.2 of the street's budget in the six-year plan. I am testifying, I moved back to Philadelphia and settled in the northwest neighborhood of Wissahickon years ago. 4 And in the first couple of 5 years, four people were killed on 6 the Henry Avenue stretch that goes 7 through Wissahickon. That's only a 8 mile and a half of corridor. And 9 there would be balloons and stuffed 10 animals placed on Henry Avenue and 11 that was like the end of it. There 12 wasn't much outrage about it. 13 Fortunately, I was also 14 working with the streets engineers within the neighborhood to make our streets safer. And I was introduced to -- connected to the Penn engineer for Henry Avenue. And the result is the Henry -- that section of Henry Avenue and all of Henry Avenue, the structure and the design is so much better. We have had no fatalities. We are not having crashes there. We have two new traffic lights. There's a red-light camera at the most -- at the busiest intersection and there's a new off, raised, multi-use trail from Schoolhouse Lane to Walnut Lane. However, on the other side of our neighborhood is Ridge Avenue. And so, when Henry Avenue was taken off the High Injury corridor, Ridge Avenue has been added to it. And the worst part of Ridge Avenue is the quarter mile that comes up from the Wissahickon transit center. It's a quarter mile, two lane traffic, a bicycle lane on both sides. Two sidewalks. There have been two bicyclists hit. One had 18 broken bones. She has never ridden 19 again. Last summer, there was a 20 bicyclist hit. He went to the 21 hospital for four days. It was a 22 hit and run. The driver was never 23 found. The sidewalks are cracked; the street is broken. Two separate drivers have crashed through the concrete wall on the south side and landed on the street down below. Now, all we have are bollards there. That has not been repaired. Well, I did ask for a meeting with the streets engineer and of course they came out. There was a group of us. The bottom line is there is not money to fix that. It needs to be completely redesigned and reconstructed. So I'll just leave it at that. The four bus stops are there. The entrance to the Wissahickon transit train station is there. As I said, the sidewalks are very broken. CHAIR GILMORE-RICHARDSON: Thank you. And we thank you for your testimony. MS HAGNER: Okay. CHAIR GILMORE-RICHARDSON: What I'd ask you to do prior to you departing is if you could stop, if you go right out the door here -- MS HAGNER: Yeah. CHAIR GILMORE-RICHARDSON: -- make a left and stop by to see Councilmember Jones's office.

Okay. CHAIR GILMORE-RICHARDSON: As a follow-up, okay?

Yes. Thank you. CHAIR GILMORE-RICHARDSON: Thank you very much.

Yes. CHAIR GILMORE-RICHARDSON: Please state your name for the record and proceed with your testimony.

My name is Quincy Blake. I'm a parent of one with no mental health or drug issues between myself and my son. That alone makes it difficult for my son and I to receive genuine assistance from the Office of Homeless Services. Despite OHS staff being paid over million in wages alone this past calendar year, I've witnessed the following within OHS as a whole. A plethora of inconsiderate and incompetent staff who also sincerely lack integrity, a serious lack of properly balanced meals and fresh fruits and vegetables, shelters not being cleaned properly, if at all, and a lack of pest control. I've seen mice and roaches in all four shelters that I've been in since August of 2024. Nothing is being done about that. These are things that I've witnessed while in Acts Newkirk, specifically. Staff serving under cooked food, staff refusing to accommodate dietary needs and nonchalantly watching children and their parents go hungry. Shelter staff maliciously lying on incident reports to have families and their children displaced, staff treating OHS clients like criminals or animals, staff selling marijuana to residents, and staff misplacing medications and such without any kind of investigation or resolution. My son and I have also had the displeasure of experiencing overflow in OHS. This is where you go to the Red Cross at 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday to get placement for one night. From there, you're expected to find transportation to your shelter for the night with your family and your belongings. You're then put out between 5:00 and 7:00 a.m. depending on the overnight shelter. Unless there is a code blue or code red, you have to find somewhere else to go with your children and your things all day. My son and I were put through this experience by the hand of a supervisor at Acts Newkirk by the name of Nikia intentionally. This is what we've been going through for over 30 days now. And this is what homeless families go through everyday in the city of Philadelphia. All of this money is flowing through OHS and it's not going to the most important places. There are more than enough rehabilitation programs. OHS staff treats clients as if they don't get paid enough to treat them with empathy and respect, and families are not getting their general needs met. The shelters are not using their funds appropriately. There needs to be a crackdown on where OHS funding is going and who OHS is hiring. There should be significantly more housing programs for families, whether that be transitional housing programs or otherwise. The income requirements to assess time limits and shelters needs to be reevaluated and adjusted to be more situational. That children should be priority, and it starts with stability and that means adequately and -- adequately funding and managing the office of Homeless Services. Thank you. CHAIR GILMORE-RICHARDSON: Ma'am, I want to thank you. Ma'am, thank you very much for your testimony. I've asked my team to get your full contact information. We're going to be in touch with the Office of Homeless Services. They were just in for budget hearings last week. We're going to ask Bruce Johnson at OHS to work with you and your family and your child directly. Okay. We appreciate you coming in. The Chair recognizes Councilmember Young.

Thank you. So the very same shelter she was speaking about is the same shelter I mentioned to OHS that's feeding, you know, the participants lettuce and tuna, right? And so, you know, we definitely need to stay on top of this issue with our services that we're providing to our most vulnerable population. So thank you, Madam Leader. CHAIR GILMORE-RICHARDSON: Thank you very much, Councilmember Young. And we will be following up with OHS. Thank you very much for your testimony. I will now ask the clerk to please call the next set of witnesses.

Nico Meyering and Kim Kinnison, Mark Clancy and Sonya Sanders, Regina Sanders and Rasheeda Turner. CHAIR GILMORE-RICHARDSON: Okay. Please, state your name for the record and proceed with your testimony.

Okay. Thank you. CHAIR GILMORE-RICHARDSON: Hold the mic up, sir.

Thank you. My name for those that don't know is Mark Clancy. I am a member of Philly Thrive and a resident of District 2. There are many low-income people in the urban community that cannot afford to have their homes repaired. It is important to keep people in their homes. People have lived in these homes. They have lived there for 30, 40, 50 plus years. People want to keep their homes in the family and pass it on to the next generation. Without assistance, how are they going to repair their homes? Some residents are being forced out, forced to leave their homes, because developers want the property to build condominiums or whatever, which will raise the real estate tax in other -- where people are living, forcing them out, forcing them to relocate. And it's coming at a cost to the community and forcing people out of their homes because the real estate tax is increasing. We need 10 million for Philadelphia Energy Authorities Built to Last Home Repair Program and other clean energy initiatives. This program is unique because it provides repairs, clean energy, and we all know what clean energy is, and weatherization. Built to Last is both a green option that supports the lowest income homeowners to make repairs and stay in their homes. It is a win-win program. Although many of my neighbors are homeowners, I am a renter on a fixed income. We are not just asking for repairs for homeowners, but we need all Philadelphians, not part, not a few, all Philadelphians to have a safe, healthy home. We -- thank you. We need 10 million for L&I to have proactive rental inspections. CHAIR GILMORE-RICHARDSON: Sir, please --

Please -- CHAIR GILMORE-RICHARDSON: -- conclude your testimony.

Pardon? CHAIR GILMORE-RICHARDSON: Please conclude your testimony.

Yeah. Please put your low-income, senior and disabled, like myself, constituents over the profit of corporate landlords, slumlords as we call them, and developers. We are sharing our voices and we need you to listen. To quote the Bible, Those that have ears to hear, let them hear. Those that have eyes to see, let them see. And I am complete. Thank you.

Hi. My name is Sonya Sanders. I'm a resident of District 3 and a member of Philly Thrive. I lived in Grays Ferry all my life. I lived on 32nd Street for 27 years with my late husband, Ray, but we couldn't afford to fix the home we were living in. There were holes in the floor boards and the sheet rock. You could literally see through our floorboards when you were standing in the basement. This also led to utility and electrical challenges, including an incredibly high bills on top of everything else. We had bugs flying into our house. We put tape on the walls and the ceilings. Of course, that didn't work, but we couldn't get any help. The city's home repair programs were really hard to access, and there were many different criteria to qualify. We were told Ray worked too much, that we were $300 over or under the limit depending on the month. These living conditions were detrimental to my physical and mental health as well as my family's health. Then my husband Ray passed away from cancer and I had no choice but to move out of that house and out the neighborhood I lived in all my life. When I moved, I was forced into an unsafe rental because I couldn't afford anything else. In this rental, I didn't have electricity for weeks during summer heat waves, including no refrigerator, no air conditioner or no stove. I went months without water. This is my story, but I know it's also the story of people across the city. That's why we need programs that support both low-income homeowners and renters. It can't be one or the other. We need $10 million for Philadelphia Energy Authorities, Built to Last, and other programs, and $10 million for a pilot proactive rental inspection program. That's what we're asking for this budget season. We're asking City Council to stand with us and so everyone has a safe, healthy home. Thank you.

Good morning. 20 My name is Rasheeda Turner. I'm a 21 low-income renter, resident of 22 District 2, and a member of Fully 23 Thrive. I'm here sharing my story 24 in public for the first time. I had three young children under the age of 10, including a baby less than one years old. My kids cannot even take a bath. Instead of putting a new tub like we need, my landlord just keeps repainting it causing the drain to be clogged. We have holes in the walls. The carpet's always wet from water leaks, and the floor is ripped. Even the electrical wiring is bad in the house. The lights keep going on and off. I'm worried about having an electrical fire. It is going to take a take -- it is going to take me to losing one of my kids or myself until you decide to do something. Living in low-income housing and the landlords don't do anything, they take advantage of us. I feel like we're being treated like animals, like dogs. I called L&I numerous times in the past two years. When L&I finally came, my landlord had over violations. How is it that they still passed inspections? And not only that, but I got retaliated against for standing up for me and my kids. Every other month, I find myself in the eviction divergent program every time. I don't owe anything. I don't even like to walk in the door of my house. The living situation has sent me in a deep depression. This past weekend on Mother's Day, my neighbor helped me comb my hair. I had chunks of my hair falling out. That had -- that's how stressful and hurtful this has been. I feel like I felt my kids. My kids see me crying. I tell them, I'm sorry, I'm putting them through this. It's not my fault. It's the landlord's fault and the city's fault for not holding them accountable. Even through the tenants getting blamed, you want us to vote for you-all, but you-all not helping us. We need million for 5 our proactive rental inspections to 6 hold these slumlords accountable for 7 -- accountable so no one has to go 8 through what I'm going through. 9 I explained to my kids that 10 I'm going to make it good for them one day. The moment I can afford it and I'm out of here, that's a promise. And the first day that we move, my kids are going to be able to take a bubble bath. My kids cannot even sit down in the tub; they have to take showers. And my kids can't sleep safe at all. The house is under hazard, but somehow L&I keep passing PHS, keeps passing, and I'm tired and I'm out on disability right now after I had my last baby, but it's time for me to get back up and go to work with my pain and all and to get my kids somewhere to go. Thank you-all. Have a nice day. CHAIR GILMORE-RICHARDSON: Thank you. Thank you very -- thank you very much. Thank you for your testimony. We're going to have someone from the Council President's office follow up with you. I heard you stating your testimony, you're in District 2. So the clerk is going to call the next four witnesses.

Debbie Robinson, Carol Foy, Maria Yalverton, and Janet White.

I said I'm going to walk today. She want -- they're going first, not me. CHAIR GILMORE-RICHARDSON: Okay. Thank you all so much for being here. We're going to ask that you state your name for the record and proceed with your testimony. Ma'am, you can get started at the table.

You could begin, ma'am.

Turn around and start.

Okay. Good morning, everyone. My name -- Okay. Good morning, everyone. My name is Carol Foy. I'm a resident District 2, and a member of Philly Thrive. Everyone needs a healthy home, especially senior. I know multiple seniors who sometimes don't even have heat or hot water. Many seniors are on a fixed income, so they cannot afford to repair things, for example, my friend, Ms. Jeanette mentioned they had a hard time fixing her house because she could not afford it. She lived in the house for 60 plus years. She grew up there and raised her children, raised -- grew up there and raised her own family there. She deserved to live with dignity, but she had to fix her own, like, patchwork. She has -- she couldn't have used some help, but she died two years ago before her house was fixed. My own, my other friend, Connie Bennett, had to sell her house and she lived in for 60 years. She lived there with -- she raised her children and grandchildren. Because she could not afford the repair, she sold her house, and she had to leave -- had to leave the neighborhood and go live with her daughter in Delaware County. People like Ms. Jeanette and Ms. Connie, and other people in my neighborhood often need their home foundation fixed, especially since their house is old, weathered -- and weatherization is important for homeowners, too. It is important to fix people's windows and doors to keep things cool in the summer and warm in the winter. That's why we need million for Built to Last 6 home, and other clean energy 7 program. Built to Last can help a 8 lot of family. I am a renter, and 9 renter also needs support to make 10 sure their homes are fixed. This is not a new problem. My son was born in the 6th in 1968. He and all my family had asked because of mold, my mother was also when we had mold and rats, and holes in the wall. She was scared to report this to the L&I, but she did the best she could. This is not right. We need 10 million for L&I, for program -- rental inspecting programs so that renters move into homes in a good condition. Everyone and fellas deserve a safe, healthy home. Thank you for letting me speak today and letting me share. Thank you.

Thank you.

Next, state your name for the record, please.

Okay. CHAIR GILMORE-RICHARDSON: Ma'am. Yes, please speak into the mic. Thank you.

Okay. Can you hear me? Is that good? My name is Debbie Robinson. Good morning. Thank you for allowing us to come here today. My name is Debbie Robinson. I'm a resident of District 2. I'm a renter, and a member of Philly Thrive. I remember growing up in a house that wasn't livable. It had so much mold that it caused me and my siblings to have asthma. No one would help my single mom make the repairs we needed, even though she just -- she was just trying to get support and live in a decent place. Now, 50 years later, my friend Mary, a mom is still facing the same challenges. She can literally see the roof through her -- the roof through her house. Both low-income homeowners and renters need repairs, and everyone deserves to live in a safe and healthy home. There is too much money in this city for people to be living like this. We, the people, help the city grow. We put you in office because you told us that you would help us. We're asking for $10 million for Philadelphia Energy Authority, Built to Last, and $10 million for a proactive rental's inspections. We also need enough money for the Basic Systems Repair program, because that is meant for energy emergencies, and there are still 10,000 of -- on the wait list. Please support safe, healthy homes for all of Philadelphia. This budget needs to be about us, not the big landlords, and the developers. And imagine that your family is going through this right now, how would you feel? Would you want -- would you want someone to help them? And my last thing I wanted to say was, my husband and me, we live in a place in Holme. Before the pandemic was even over, we was already paying 900 and something -- I think it was $930. They went up $100, and I told -- and then they just went up $50 like two weeks ago. My husband had cancer; he had his leg removed first. He was a chef. He had to stop working because he -- the blood wasn't rushing down, you know, going down his leg, so he had his leg removed. Then he had two hip replacements, then he turned around, and he just had cancer on his pancreas. I think it was -- anyway, they took that out. He went back like three weeks ago, because you know how you got to go back for doctor? So now he has cancer in his blood. He is the only support for me and him, and I don't think it's fair that them putting up rent high, and they building these houses that we can't afford. People live on a fixed income, it's not right. We are human beings and we deserve to live right. And thanks for allowing me to share today. CHAIR THOMAS: Thank you, ma'am. Thank you for your testimony.

State your name for the record, please. CHAIR THOMAS: State your name for the record and you may begin with your testimony.

Okay. My name is Maria Yalverton. I'm a member of Philly Thrive, and a District resident. I need to move 4 out of my current apartment as soon 5 as possible because the conditions 6 there are unlivable. 7 I have not had hot water for a year-and-a-half. Throughout the winter, in order for me to take a warm shower, my daughter has to carry boiling water up a flight of stairs into my bathtub. This is dangerous. And this is on top of the fact that I continue to pay my rent every month. Why is it that my landlord can get away with these dangerous, unlivable, inhumane conditions and still continue to make a profit? It is not right. We need on the whole accountability, landlord's accountability -- I'm sorry -- to make needed repairs. This is not the first time that I experienced unlivable renting conditions due to some slumlords. I remember raising young kids in an apartment with no electric. I had to bathe my kids next door because we didn't have lights. We also lived in a house that was falling apart full with mold. My son suffered significant health challenges because of this environment, including throat cancer. That house was abandoned and no one was coming to fix it even though it was Section 8 housing. It's clear we need more rental inspections, but not only that, the process for calling L&I should not only be reactive, we need L&I to expect rentals units before people move in so that these issues can be prevented. That's why we're asking for 10 million in this year budget for L&I to start a pilot proactive rental inspection program. We're all also asking for million for Built to Last, because low-income homeowners need support to fix their homes and make them safe too. I hope that the City Council will act and support so that everyone, including low-income renters like myself can live in a safe, healthy home. Thank you.

Hello. My name is Janet. Ms. Janet White, and I'm a member of Philly Thrive, and a resident of District 8. District 8. Okay. I am a former nurse and a home health aide. I lived in Magnolia Mews in Germantown. I moved in an apartment 2018. Over the past seven years, I experienced multiple instance of poor maintenance and unsafe conditions. When I moved in, there were cracks in the walls, windows, sills everywhere, ants and cockroaches. I had rodents running around apartment, I also had water damages both in the ceiling and in the floor. Finally, after that I'm having heat -- I had no heat. A matter of fact, no heat for a whole entire winter. And after pulling in multiple maintenance requests, I was fed up. After four years of living like this, in 2021, I called L&I, next thing you know, an eviction process was started against me as retaliation. Man, I was mad. All because I stood up for myself. I mean, I really did. I was -- I was going through it. And I called L&I to hold my landlords accountable, my family suffered significant mental and emotional effects from not having a safe home, and a resilient retaliation. In 2023, my eviction proceeding went to court, and with the help of Philly Thrive and CLS, we won. We won. But that's what I mean, but we won. And I was -- I was able to go back in my apartment, and L&I came, made an inspection, and it took two years for them to come out an eviction to -- L&I to come to my apartment to hold my corporate landlord accountable. When L&I finally came, they cited my landlord with 10 violations. I was like, wow, all this. This is not right. This is here, we be a better system. They -- we do. We need a better system. That's why we're seeking for the 10 million to L&I to start a pilot proactive rental inspection program to hold corporate landlords accountable. But it's not just renters who need repairs, it's low-income homeowners also need support. So also demanding 10 million to Philadelphia Energy Authority, Built to Last, and other programs. Thank you for allowing me to share my story, and I hope that we do the right thing and support the low-income residents, and corporate landlords, and developers.

Thank you. Stu Bykofsky, Lloyd Brotman, Debbie, Zak Cohen, Ken Luongo, and Paul Bonnie.

That's a tough act to follow. Good morning. My name is Stu Bykofsky, and I'm going to talk about four things: Logic, perception, money, and loading zones. Loading zones were suggested by OTIS to help relieve problems caused by the city's illogical law prohibiting stopping in bike lanes for safety reasons. Illogical because a stopped vehicle is not a hazard to bicyclists, and removing 30 percent of the metered spots on Pine and spruce is a loss of revenue to the city. The Philadelphia Police Department went back five years and told me no accidents were caused by stopped cars in bike lanes on Pine and Spruce, none, zero. Perception that the law increases safety is demonstrably false. Adding concrete pill infrastructure is wasted money. The law outlawing stopping for deliveries, pickups, and drop-offs impacts residents' safety. Loading zones are good on commercial streets, but not on Pine and Spruce. Why? They are rarely placed where most needed, and often inadequate, such as my 1300 block of spruce with three restaurants, a convenience store, and a dry cleaner. One loading zone of four car lengths is inadequate, and more loading zones reduce the number of already scarce parking spots in center city and reduced parking meter revenue. Our highrises have many elderly and infirm citizens, is it fair that they should bear the burden of getting to a loading zone that might be a hundred feet away or across the street to save cyclists see unbearable trauma of having to wait for a moment behind the stopped car? PPA Executive Director Rich Lazer has told the friends of Pine and Spruce that if an occupied car is in a non-stopping zone, the driver would be instructed to move the vehicle. Quote, "If the vehicle is still in that location when the PEO returns during his or her rotation, then a ticket will be issued." Only then after. Lazer's stated policy is an attempt at a fair compromise, such as the longstanding custom of not ticketing cars in the middle of Broad Street south of Washington because parking is so scarce in South Philly. Under the same logic, because of limited curb space in center city, why not allow the courtesy of momentary stopping and bike lanes for deliveries, pickups, and drop offs, and pocket the income from parking meters. Its simple logic. Thank you.

My name is Lloyd Brotman. I've lived in the Pine-Spruce neighborhood for 50 years. Thank you for listening. Today is a real master class on priorities. Without any engagement with residents, the mayor has endorsed an OTIS proposal and requested $5 million to install concrete barriers on Pine and Spruce despite Vision Zero statistics showing Pine and Spruce are safer than other streets. None of Pine, and only a portion of Spruce are even part of the high injury network. In 2024, throughout the entire city, there were three cyclist deaths and 54 pedestrian deaths. This is not a Pine-Spruce problem. The OTIS plan will not make these 26-foot-wide historic streets any safer to cyclists, but will make Pine and Spruce more dangerous to pedestrians and residents. Elderly and disabled will need to navigate dangerous obstacles, lives will be lost when gridlock delays emergency vehicles, parents will leave children unattended to unload vehicles, and routine maintenance will require street closure permits. Let's get real. The push to install concrete on Pine and Spruce is not about safety. For obvious reasons, it became a cause celebre, but it is not about safety. It's a keystone project with the intent to push Philadelphia toward the minority held two-percent belief that vehicles should simply be banned. A debate the concrete supporters don't really want to have. It's not about safety for all. The $5 million should not be used to fund this high-visibility, politically-charged boutique project, but instead should be earmarked for speed bumps and cameras on streets throughout all districts to protect everyone, especially the largest at-risk group, pedestrians. We support Mayor Nutter's 2009 bike lane compromise because while not perfect for anyone, the lanes are shared by everyone. Thank you. And just one more thing, if you commit $5 million, you'd be wise to commit $10 million because you'll need to another 5 million to remove the concrete just like Boston. Thank you.

Sir, state your name for the record.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman and members of the Council. My name is Ken Luongo. I testify in opposition to the $5 million Mayor Parker has proposed for her Vision Zero budget for the concrete barriers on Pine and Spruce Street bike lanes. I, like many, support the goals of Vision Zero, but Vision Zero is driven by high-injury network streets, and Pine is not a high injury network street, and neither is most of Spruce. Most of those streets actually are in North Philadelphia and in West Philadelphia. There are 300 miles of high-injury streets in Philadelphia, and only 1/6 of them are eligible for treatment. But the same few miles of Pine and Spruce are a boutique project obsession of a small group of bike activists, and unfortunately, the mayor, the City Council, and city agencies have been supporting them. I question the prioritization of a request for $5 million for Vision Zero for the entirety of Philadelphia, and then a specific $5 million just for Pine and Spruce. Two bike riders have already been killed, one in Cobbs Creek, and one in North Philadelphia. The outrage and the outcry about these tragedies has been muted among the organization and the institutions that purport to be obsessed with safety. Just because it didn't happen in Rittenhouse Square, and it's not a doctor doesn't diminish the importance of those lives. If the mayor wants $10 million for Vision Zero, she should use it across the city, not just for Pine and Spruce. ` But better yet, she should give it to Ms. Gloria and her group that need it for their pool in Nicetown, or you should give it to Ms. Symbol for her work on education, or you should give it to all of these people that are telling horrific stories about what's happening in the city. That's where the priority ought to be.

Thank you. Hold your applause, please.

My name is Paul Bonnie from Society Hill. Slating $5 million for concrete barriers on Pine and spruce will divert money from where it's needed most. All over Philadelphia, your constituents are paying the price. In the past four weeks alone, in the 6th District, in Mayfair, a pedestrian killed by hit and run. In the 7th District, in Fairhill, a person in a wheelchair killed by a school bus. In the 4th District, in Carroll Park, a pedestrian killed by hit and run. In the 3rd District, in Angora, a bicyclist killed by a truck. Four deaths in the past four weeks all on streets much more dangerous than Spruce and Pine. That's what the data says. It's great to increase the budget for Vision Zero, but don't waste the money. Spend it where it's needed most: $5 million can fund 1000 speed humps. That means 100 speed humps in each Councilmanic district. Don't waste the money on a pet project. Thank you, Mr. President.

Thank you, Paul.

Please state your name for the record.

Hello. My name is Debbie Zak Cohen, and I support the existing bike lanes on Pine and Spruce Streets. But I'm against the $5 million slated for concrete barriers. For years before the 8 get-out-of-the-bike-lane law, the 9 nine-foot bike lane and buffer was 10 used for temporary pullovers when 11 needed, and cyclists and bike lane 12 users had complete autonomy to stop 13 and wait and maneuver around 14 obstacles safely at their own 15 discretion. Bike lane users had 16 easy access to the travel lane when needed and preferred. The bike lane, and bike lane buffer is actually the only lane wide enough for pullovers without causing gridlock on these two very busy corridors. This is why Pine and Spruce streets have been safely and fully functional for 16 years because of using the bike lane. Pine and Spruce streets were actually hybrid-shallowed streets, which is shared by bike lane users in traffic, and they should actually be dedicated as such. Without any requested and needed low-cost, common-sense traffic calming measures, there has never been injuries from merging in and out of traffic. Every speaker I've heard here today is more deserving of the $5 million in Pine and Spruce Street concrete barriers. I am asking you all to listen to your conscience and not a few loud, well-funded activists to redirect the money to areas with the highest need for safety improvements and particularly the underserved neighborhoods and communities. Redirecting these funds to areas with greater risk will save more lives and align better with the Vision Zero's equity goals. You literally have the power to change lives here for the good. Please do so. And thank you for listening.

Thank you. State your name, for the record.

My name is Erika Guadalupe Nunez, and I am testifying on behalf of Juntos to demand 3.8 million for immigrant communities in the upcoming budget cycle. This city has been my home for 12 years. I crossed the border as a child and grew up undocumented. I know and love many undocumented immigrant people who live in this city. With 1.9 million, we can provide three additional newcomer programs, reinstate the Multicultural Assessment Center, and ensure enough bilingual counselors for students and educators in our schools. With 1.8 million, we will fully fund PAIFUP, a pro bono deportation defense program for Philly residents facing removal at Moshannon Valley Detention Center, our local detention center run by private prison company, GEO Group. Our school district has fewer supports for immigrant communities now than it did 10 years ago. Gaps in language access, inadequate supports for newcomers and immigrant families, and unwelcoming environments are the norm. When we look at the world around us, and what schools mean as community pillars, this should bring us shame. Our local public schools are sanctuaries from ICE enforcement because of Juntos, but there is still much work to do. Two years ago, a newcomer youth was threatened with deportation by their principal. Juntos helped the family secure a settlement, where the mother named her wish for more district newcomer supports. But without the funding requested, our district schools will continue to be unsafe for immigrant communities. We hear a lot about forced disappearances of loved ones by ICE, but this violence pales in comparison to the conditions our community space and immigrant detention. Physical and psychological abuse, lack of medical detention, and other human rights violations. Last week, I visited Moshannon as part of our visitation work. We met someone who hadn't had contact with the outside world for six months. I saw a four-year-old child press his palm to the Plexiglass divider because that was the closest he'd get to his father. When you're an immigrant detention in this country, you do not have the right to a free legal defense. And if you don't have a lawyer, your chances of removal increase. PAIFUP has brought our people home time and time again. One of our members who was represented by PAIFUP spent two months in solitary confinement while detained. Without PAIFUP, he might still be there. I have been an organizer from immigrant rights for years. I do not say this 14 lightly. The threats we're 15 currently faced are unprecedented. Six months ago, I was dragged out of these chambers for protesting the proposed 76ERs arena, a project that history will note was on the wrong side of immigrant communities. Will this city take true action to stand with immigrant communities in this budget cycle, or meet these attacks against us with more empty promises? This is your opportunity to make it clear. Philadelphia is a truly welcoming city, where we defend and fight for all of our people, because none of us are disposable.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Sorry. Before proceeding through testimony, I just want to make sure the additional witnesses who are coming next are prepared to testify. And that's Mitch Chanin, Nancy Lanham and Alexander Roederer. So with that, please proceed with your -- state your name, and proceed with your testimony. CHILD RAWLERSON: Good morning, City Council. My name is Ashira Rawlerson, and I'm a 15-year- old student here in Philadelphia turning 16 next month on June 9th. I stand before you today to talk about something incredibly important to me, and advocate for so many other young people in our city. I learned to swim at Pickett Pool on Wayne Avenue. That local pool wasn't just a place to splash surround; it was the starting point for so many opportunities in my life. Being a part of the Indo- Pacific Sailfish Aquatics Club, there strengthened my skills and opened doors I never imagined. Because I learned to swim, I was able to participate in rowing at Lloyd Hall, and just this past April, thanks to the strong foundation I built in the water, I passed the American Red Cross Lifeguard course. This summer I'll be working as a lifeguard at our local outdoor pool. These experiences wouldn't have been possible without access to a local pool and the chance to learn to swim. That's why I'm asking you today to prioritize the rebuilding of Marcus Foster Pool and the renovation of Pickett Pool. There are so many teen girls in Philadelphia just like me who deserve the same opportunities. They deserve the chance to learn a vital life skill to participate in sports and to gain valuable employment such as lifeguards paying an hour. We need Pickett Pool 15 renovated and reopened, and Marcus 16 Foster Pool rebuild for our community and for the future of young people in Philadelphia. Thank you.

Good morning, city -- good morning, City Council. My name is Yusef Rawlerson, and I'm a 14-year-old student in Philadelphia. I'll be 15 in July actually. I'm here today to talk about something vital for our community: A year-round access to swimming. I learned to swim at Pickett Pool on Wayne Avenue. Being a part of the indoor -- of the Indoor Pacific Sailfish Aquatics Club. They wasn't just fun. It strengthened my skills and opened up opportunities. Because of that access, I've been able to participate in Philly rowing at Lloyd Hall. And I plan to become a lifeguard next year. That plan is only possible because Pickett Pool was there for me. I remember being five years old playing in the water, and almost drowning. It was a scary moment, but my mother made me realize how crucial it was for me to learn how to swim. She made sure I had access to our local year-round pool for swimming lessons, and it truly saved my life. Today, I'm speaking on behalf of all the black and brown youth like me in Philadelphia. We're asking City Council to revenue, and reopen Pickett Pool, and rebuild Marcus Foster Pool. This isn't about recreation, it's about providing a vital life skill, keeping kids safe and offering opportunities for employment. Why should I have to travel all the way to Lincoln Pool or Friends Select just to take a lifeguard course when Pickett Pool is right there in my community and Marcus Foster can be transformed? Instead of our streets being heated by violence, let's cool them down by giving all youth access to swimming, and much needed jobs. I've been testifying about this for years. Now we need action, not just words. We need the funding to get this done, and a quote from my favorite show, "You better believe it." Thank you.

Hello. My name is Phineas Dougherty, and last summer my C2L employer shared Philadelphia rowing camp with us, and said that if we wanted to attend, she would work with us in regards to our hours. I was excited because playing with little kids all day at the daycare was a lot of work. They don't stop moving. So I signed up, and then they told me that I would be required to complete a hundred meters, and tread water for five minutes. My mom told me to cancel my registration because she said I would not be able to pass the entrance exam. But I told her, I will go to the pool the minute they open for the summer, and I will pass the swim test. She told me that it was not swimming, but me fighting the water, and that the standards have been lowered. I told her that I had already committed to it, plus I did not want to be the one who did not attend. " There was nowhere for my uncle to train me, so he paid for a lifetime fitness membership, and every night for three hours for the next two weeks, he taught me how to swim. I complained after two nights and told my mom that it was hard going to work with those little kids, coming home only to leave again and go to swim lessons for three hours. " And every night she drove me 45 minutes to Life Time fitness, and sat in the car while I had lessons. Then on the day that rowing camp started, we walked to Kelly Pool and I jumped in and started swimming. It was hard and somebody should have told me it was a 50-meter pool, because that makes a difference when you are learning in a 25-meter pool. But of us showed up, and 12 only four of us were able to pass a 13 swim test. To be honest, I barely 14 passed and so did the other two. 15 Only one out of the group of 22 knew 16 how to swim. It was at that moment 17 that I realized the purpose for us 18 being here and testifying at the 19 school district each month. We do 20 it because swimming is simply not a 21 sport, but it is a life skill. 22 Living in the city is already dangerous enough between guns, drugs, and boredom. Why add water? Did you know that children of ages to 14, drowning is the second leading cause of unintentional injury and death after motor vehicle crashes? times higher than white children, and that black children and youth are more likely to drown in public pools? Bru, I just turned 14, and I don't want to be a statistic, nor do I want any of my friends. I am here today because someone I haven't met is depending on me to bring these resources, particularly Marcus Foster and Pickett Pool back on line. I'm here so that swimming and swimming opportunities become a norm. But we need your help. Let's decrease these statistics for kids and adults like me. Thank you. CHILD WHITMAN: My name is Whitman, and I'm in sixth grade. I want to tell you about all the ways my mom sometimes doesn't make sense. She says that I worry too much. Yes, it's true that I'm always asking those "what if" questions, but she's to blame because she says that I should read. And reading means I learn new things and new risks all the time. Then to get me to stop saying, what if, she says is better to say, oh, well, than what if. Now this does not make any sense. She claims that by saying, oh, well, it means that you tried, but what if means that you didn't? Maybe this statement works in most situations, but it does not work when it comes to swimming, because oh, well could mean the difference between living and dying, especially in water. When I bring up this fact to her, she brushes it off and says, keep reading and stop worrying, but how can I keep reading without asking questions? I learned that the best readers are the ones that ask questions and I consider myself the goat. If I'm honest, I enjoy reading so much, maybe because she encourages it too much. I wonder if she knows that reading is the cause of some of my worries.

After reading the "I Survived" series, especially the one about Hurricane Katrina, and the fact that many black and brown people drowned, I started to worry even more about the fact that I do not know how to swim. Then to make matters worse, in science, we were reading about climate change and rising sea levels nearly doubling every year. Did she know that 71 percent of the earth is water? Do you know that and what that means? It means we all need to learn to swim, and not just during the few months in the summer. Do you know that hurricane season starts June 1st and goes to November 30th? That outdoor pools don't even open until late June, and that's if you live in a good neighborhood, and they can find lifeguards who want to come to work. If you don't live in one of these neighborhoods, you're lucky if your pool opens in July, but it'll close by September 1st, no matter where you live. What kind of preparedness swim lessons program is that? You guys can do better than this? Three years ago, the Vine Street Expressway was under water, and earlier this year, parts of the Schuylkill were flooded. Are you guys reading? Are you guys worried because we are here again this year asking you guys to make renovation -- of renovating or rebuilding these public indoor pools a priority because climate change is here? How can all of you adults tell us kids to read and yet not realize that you not be being able to swim poses a risk? Who actually needs to do their reading? Me or you? Maybe my mom isn't the only one who's not making sense. CHILD PHOEBE: Hi. My name is Phoebe, and last week I asked my friend Chloe at school, why won't her parents allow her to go to overnight camp with me? " I told her that this was not true, because all my aunts and uncles know how to swim. Practically, everyone in my family knows how to swim. " She said, "See, I know you didn't know how to swim. " I didn't talk to Chloe for the rest of the day. When I came home, I told my mom about the conversation and asked her what happened to the progress around swimming that was being made. " So I looked up what setback meant, and in the dictionary, it said that a setback was change in status for the worst, usually temporarily. So I was pleased with my answer until my mom told me to define temporarily. But before I did, I asked her when she and the community started advocating for Marcus Foster and Pickett from repairs to closure. She told me 2007. Wait, what? I was born in 2015, and now it's 2025. You mean to tell me that they have been advocating for years now? So 15 that's not a setback, that's a 16 decline, which means going back to 17 an earlier or lower level. 18 This is injustice, especially to every generation after the '80s. I think my mom was born sometime during that time. It's why Chloe's narrative that black people can't swim is a fact and not a myth, and why I am here today. Today is the time to restore justice. Today is the time in the day to put your money where your mouth is and rehab Pickett Pool and renovate Marcus Foster. Today is the day for me to tell Chloe that we are making progress, and that all black and brown people will be able to swim and she can come in my neighborhood and learn.

Good morning. My name is Charisma, and unfortunately, I'm the unicorn that my children speak of. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm unique and different, but I prefer to be uniquely different in my own right. And not because of a right that I was afforded that is no longer right for everyone else, but a privilege to those who can't afford it. Who work either next in line on the YMCA's wait list, or to those who have limited opportunity to access pools for a maximum of eight weeks if they're lucky in the summer. When Phoebe shared what her friend called me, being a unicorn, I have to admit I was bothered and rather saddened. James Baldwin once said, "We can disagree and still love each other unless your disagreement is rooted in my oppression and denial of my humanity and right to exist." I inserted uniqueness where disagreement is, and here's what this quote now sounds like. "We can disagree and still love each other unless your uniqueness is rooted in my oppression and my denial of humanity and a basic life skill." In that case, I prefer not to be unique. I prefer to be the rule and not the exception. Growing up in Nicetown meant I had three free indoor pools options. Marcus Foster, which was 0.23 miles away, Pickett Pool, which was two miles away, Rhodes, 1.96 miles away. This was progress. There were so many lifeguards available that finding a position at your neighborhood outdoor pool required putting your name on the waiting list or knowing someone who knew someone. I eventually landed a lifeguard position at Feltonville Recreation Center. This again was progress, but since 2007, each of the school district city owned public pools along with the majority of others in black and brown communities have been systematically and quietly closed or been torn down due to willful neglect. You know, there are 41 zip codes in Philadelphia, yet the only indoor pools currently open and operating are in two zip codes, only 3.9 miles away from each other in the northeast. While we are thankful that Sora will be opening soon, it is still not progress. It's an injustice. Robert Kennedy once said, "Justice delayed is democracy denied." Republican Washington are trying to kill democracy by eliminating ideas such as diversity, equity, and inclusion. I trust our City Council will welcome the opportunity to defend what it means to be a Democrat and ensure that diversity, equity, and inclusion and aquatics can thrive in our city. We are asking that you include funding for these pools in this year's budget. Thank you.

In addition to the two witnesses who will be testifying shortly, I want to call up Chantelle Todman and Greg Waldman.

All right. My name is Mitch Chanin. I'm a member of Philly Thrive. It's really hard to follow that team. Thank you so much. So everyone has a right to a safe, healthy home, including both renters and low-income homeowners. And that's why I'm here joining so many others, calling for $10 million for proactive rental inspections, and $10 million for PEA's Built to Last Repair program and their other initiatives. And that's why I'm also joining a Coalition for Affordable Communities and calling for 40 million for the Basic Systems Repair program next year as part of the HOME Initiative targeting people below 60 percent of AMI. So last year, I helped a South Philly row homeowner who needed emergency repairs to advocate for herself. A few years before -- a few years before, she had been incorrectly told that she was not eligible for BSRP because she was out of work. Since then, her home had suffered so much water damage that she feared her house would collapse on her. Community legal services helped her reapply and we then learned that PHDC was just then reviewing applications they had received 10 months before. We asked three City Council offices to urge PHDC to look at her application right away since the situation was so critical and she had been rejected incorrectly before. Thanks to those interventions and special thanks to Alyssa Adams and the Council President's office, she was able to get her roof fixed. But it was pretty stunning to learn that the lag time just to be considered for an emergency repair was 10 months. Now, while thousands of Philadelphians are stuck waiting, republicans are aiming to slash federal programs that fund home repairs. The Mayor's proposals absolutely fail to meet the moment with zero dollars for Built to Last and no meaningful increase for BSRP. The mayor, however, does want to expand BSRP eligibility to people with higher incomes saying that we shouldn't have to choose between the have-nots and people who have a little. And I agree with the principle, but not the position. Residents whose incomes are above the threshold, absolutely need and deserve support. But we do have to choose right now because the total budget for home repairs is way too small. In order to truly meet this need and all of our city's needs, we have to tax the rich much more, slashing the business income receipts tax across the board while eliminating the $100,000 exemption is a huge step backward, especially while Trump and congressional Republicans are gutting essential programs to cut taxes for billionaires. So please provide the funds that are desperately needed for low-income residents to have safe, healthy homes, and say no to across- the-board business tax cuts. Thank you.

Hi. My name is Alex Roederer. I live just a few hundred feet from Pine Street in District 2. I'm testifying in support of Mayor Parker's proposed $5 million in Vision Zero funding and for 5 million concrete protection in -- for Spruce and Pine. Center City is lucky to have walkable and bikeable neighborhoods, modes of transit that are humans scale and let people engage with their communities. But anyone who walks or bikes in the city has seen a close call, a stoop, or a sign, or a telephone pole, or planter smashed to pieces, or the worst, someone getting hit by a speeding car. Just a few days ago, a man was killed by a dump truck driving into him from behind in an unprotected bike lane at 58th in Baltimore. Every bicyclist and pedestrian knows this fear. Traffic violence is preventable, installing protected bike lanes, speed bumps and coronal bump-outs make drivers slow down and protects pedestrians and bicyclists. Every neighborhood deserves these safety measures. Spruce and Pine is one of the major east west corridors for bikes in the city used by over 40,000 people a month. Fifty percent of households in our neighborhood don't own a car. There's a good place to start; protected and separated bike lanes increased safety. Part of Spruce is currently on the high injury network and the high injury network data only spans a few years. Pine and Spruce show up in the high injury network based on who has recently been hit on those blocks. These streets should be safe enough for parents to bike with their kids to school, letting more people use bikes, makes their city cleaner, and greener, and helps reduce traffic for those who truly need to drive. Opponents claim that they care about safety but have outright stated they don't want this protection because they want the convenience of loading at any time directly in front of their doorstep in a nice, clear bike lane. A luxury most of us in the city don't have, and they reject using loading zones nearby instead because they don't want to lose parking spots directly in front of their homes, another luxury many of us in Center City don't have. Frankly, I don't think these luxuries are worth a bicyclist, or pedestrian getting killed every once in a while. I believe we can reach Vision Zero deaths -- near zero traffic deaths in Philadelphia, and I applaud and thank the mayor and City Council for providing this funding as a start to move us towards this goal.

Thank you.

Thank you. Good morning.

Excuse me, real quick, because we have a hard stop at 12:30, so somebody had to go to work. Who is that? Who said they had to go to work?

I got a doctor --

Chantelle, that's you? Okay. Go ahead.

Okay.

And then Greg -- and then Greg was next, yeah.

Wait, who the two that had to go to work?

I have a --

Chantelle and Greg.

We're doing Chantelle and Greg, and then we have to break.

Yeah.

Thank you. Good afternoon. My name is Chantelle Todman, and I'm a resident and small business owner in Germantown in the 8th district. My business, Blackbird Rising is a healing and wellness space in the process of becoming a cooperative. Daring to open a community-centered and owned business in these times that prioritize those who are black, queer and cheer ants in the community who love them is daunting and not possible without much support. PACA has provided us with training and support to guide us through that process. PACA has also funded a study group where we learned about cooperative structures and governance, they also partially funded a retreat in which we were able to go do co-op visioning, dreaming, and planning. PACA continues to provide critical technical support in our cooperative formation. PACA needs more funding to be able to continue to do its great work. Co-ops provide more equitable structures for businesses that are trying to grow consciously and invest in underserved communities, much like Blackbird Rising. With $1.3 million as a grant, PACA will be able to keep supporting co-ops with technical assistance and grants can go directly to co-ops like mine. I also urge City Council to continue the bar exemption, which is vitally important to small businesses. Instead of raising our taxes, big businesses and rich people need to pay their dues. Thank you.

Thank you.

Good afternoon, members of City Council, and I really appreciate the flexibility. My name is Greg Waldman, I've worked for the City of Philadelphia for years, and have 5 been a proud member of AFSCME DC 47, 6 local 2187 for over nine of those 7 years. 8 I speak to you as a union 9 member and not as a representative 10 of the city. As you know, this 11 great city struggles with high rates 12 of extreme poverty, and a quarter of Philadelphians rely on federal assistance, which have seen cuts from the Trump administration, which deep -- with deeper cuts on the near horizon. You might be surprised to learn that many of the Philadelphians living in poverty or near poverty are city workers. Clerks represented by DC 33 earn a starting salary of just $31,000 a year. Non rep clip workers, which is part of the Mayor's Clean and Green initiative, earn just $37,000 a year. Library assistance and sanitation laborers who have just seen a wage increase in the last contract extension; a small wage increase earn $40,000 a year. Over 40 percent of municipal workers own less than $50,000 a year. Many DC 47 members are also lowly paid well below industry standards. In contrast, in last year's budget, Mayor Parker raised her own salary by nine percent to $269,708 or nine times that of a clerk. According to MIT's living wage calculator, a single parent raising one child or working couple, raising two children need over $80,000 per year to afford to live in Philadelphia. That's almost double the wage of -- that the city -- that the city pays almost half of its workforce. How can a Philadelphia's -- how can Philadelphia's Mayor and City Council reduce poverty when it fails to pay its own workers working families sustaining wages? I hear the beeps, so I'm going to just go to the bottom. It doesn't have to be this way. Instead of institutionalizing years of reverse Robinhood tax 12 cuts, Philadelphia could fight for 13 the BIRT Exemption Court and double 14 it after winning its case. Council 15 could pass the wealth tax introduced by Councilmembers Brooks and O'Rourke, we could create a robust work -- a city workforce by paying city workers a living wage, making public services stronger, and having a broader reach, lifting thousands of Philadelphians out of poverty.

Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you very much. Well, first and foremost, we thank for everyone who've came and provided public testimony during the morning session. The afternoon session will begin at 1:30, and we look forward to seeing all of you back here. Thank you. (Council at recess.)

We will now continue our committee of the whole for the proposed FY 2026 budget. I'm going to ask Ms. Kate Perez to please come on up.

Kate Perez. And I'll never forget Parker's budget meeting when she said she knows that the Clean Needle Exchange saves lives. She's not arguing with science, but she doesn't want to pay for it anymore. Philly is constantly pushing responsibilities onto nonprofits and then defunding and criminalizing care until the only option left is forced treatment or jail. Jails that already have lawsuits for not being up to standard, and facilities that are not equipped to handle influx of patients going through withdrawals. We saw Amanda Cahill suffer through a painful preventable death with inmates screaming for medical attention for more than seven hours straight with no answer. Building a specialized treatment jail is not the answer. The police review board doesn't have enough funding to conduct their own investigations. And if a cop kills an unarmed civilian while off duty, the Department will put Officer Sweeney on administrative leave instead of immediately arresting him, sending the message that if you kill someone, we'll protect you. Settlements won't come out of your paycheck and the city will still give us millions more to buy drones. The council voted to look into investments in El Salvador as we fear they no longer respect the law. Let's also make sure none of our money is involved with the illegal occupation of Palestine. Today marks day 72 of Israel's complete blockade of all humanitarian aid. While blocking all food and medicine, they shot six missiles at the European hospital in Khan Yunis, making it the second hospital they bombed in hours. 18 We can't increase the police budget 19 even by a dollar until they agree to 20 stop cross training with the IOF. 21 A PPD officer walked a man 22 with no charges out of court and 23 straight into ICE custody, possibly 24 assisting with another person being deported to El Salvador without trial. We should investigate and denounce this act as we must stay a sanctuary city. Our high-schoolers don't have after school programs. SEPTA is cutting even more roots. Our libraries have mold. North Philly these more trees. And Philabundance is on the edge of bankruptcy as our federal government continues to defund the USDA. The city budget is going to have to find ways to feed its citizens, and it should come out of our overinflated police budget. If we want to stop crime, we should take preventative measures instead of writing cops blank checks and stop letting them partner with armies that uphold apartheid. Free Palestine.

Next, we have Brian Oglesby, Edith -- I can't read the last name. Janet Dennis, Symbol Lai and Marina Edens.

It's Oglesby but close enough. It's quiz on Tuesday.

Apologies.

I'd like to speak today on behalf of the businesses that I represent in the -- in Philadelphia and businesses that do business in the surrounding areas in reference to the business income receipts tax, proposed reduction and the reduction wage tax. There are five advantages that I'd like to go over briefly. One, it gives an opportunity for our businesses, particularly our smaller businesses to level the playing field with our suburban counterparts. And it makes -- because the current taxes as they are make it more expensive to operate businesses within city limits compared to the suburbs like King of Prussia, Conshohocken or Cherry Hill, where some of those taxes may not be existent. The reduction in the tax gap between the city and surrounding counties makes it more attractive to stay in Philadelphia or move to Philadelphia and attract strong workforce and more innovative people. Again, particularly with smaller businesses. It lowers operating costs. It allows to pay less for your gross receipts and net income and that's a direct savings that can be reinvested in workforce and economic development locally. The wage tax reduction would also reduce the cost of employing people, especially if your employees live in Philadelphia and it makes hiring (CHECK) and retaining talent -- local talent more affordable and gives the opportunity for business to expand, creating more business receipts in the -- in the long run. It attracts and retains talent. We've long worked hard to maintain our talent that we develop in the City through our institutions and our system of education, and the Philadelphia's wage tax is comparatively one of the largest in the country, and reducing it allows employees to take home more of their pay which is a big selling point for job seekers both here in the city and people who may be attracted to coming to the city. Competitive take-home pay helps small businesses compete with larger firms and for suburban employers, employees who aren't subject to the same taxes. We boost business growth and resilience, lesser tax burdens mean more cash on hand for expanding operations, hiring more staff, build reserves for slow periods. And small businesses often operate on thin margins. Tax relief can help the difference between surviving and thriving. We encourage -- and it also finally encourages economic development. Reducing the city-specific taxes like BIRT and wage tax makes Philadelphia more attractive for entrepreneurs, startups, and small business expansion stakeholders that we spend a lot of time working with and trying to develop. This contributes to job creation and revitalization of city neighborhoods that need economic development -- and development the most. This type of tax reduction helps our inner-city businesses grow at a more rapid rate than they currently are, and creates opportunities in a time where the marketplace has shrunken in terms of external opportunities. In short, small business owner would benefit from these tax reductions and they cut costs, improve competitiveness, and increase flexibility, especially when compared to lower tax environments in the surrounding suburbs. For Philadelphia to retain and grow its small business base and its place as the economic engine for this entire region, aligning its tax policies more closely with the metro area is key. Thank you.

Thank you. Symbol, how you doing?

Hello.

How's Ms. Cooper?

She's not here today. You have me.

Good. Good.

My name is Symbol Lai. I am with Children First. First of all, I want to thank all the Councilmembers who asked for a one percent increase in the millage transfer to the School District of Philadelphia in this year's budget. This bump generates million in 9 new recurring funds to Philly 10 schools. 11 So last week during the 12 district's budget hearing, I heard 13 many of you ask about the lack of 14 anti-bullying programs, counselors 15 and steady teachers. It's clear 16 that everyone here cares deeply 17 about education, and I want to 18 encourage Councilmembers to think 19 about underfunding as a root cause 20 to the instability you'd like to 21 fix. 22 The school district is $1.2 23 billion underfunded. People are 24 finding to fix this at the state, but the state isn't the only player. As you know, the city funds comprise 44 percent of the district's budget as well, which means you, Councilmembers, have a role in -- a hand in getting our schools to equity faster. I also want to point out that asking the district to dip into its fund balance is not a sound plan. Children First testified to this last week but it's worth repeating. The district's fund balance is there for emergencies, not regular operations. As it stands, the fund balance is enough to get the district through four and a half weeks of operations. A year is 52 weeks. Last, I want to share the stories of parents who can't come to City Hall with me today. Last night when I was preparing for this, I sent out an urgent call asking for their stories to help me testify and I want to tell you a little bit about what I heard back. So first, we have Melissa Rothermel who has three kids in the Northeast with special needs. She knows that more funding means a better chance her kids will get better services. Imani Badie, she cares deeply about literacy. She knows that kids are more likely to end up in prison if they don't know how to read. So, more funding prevents this. Donna Fields testified last week, but she's not done. She wants you to know about the fights, lockdowns and even the suicide rates that she's seen in her schools. She's emphatic that schools need more money to do more. Jazmin Banks says that if we want to dismantle the school and foster care to prison pipeline, we need to invest in schools. She quotes Frederick Douglass, who said it's easier to build children -- it's easier to build strong children than to repair broken men. Rhonda Montgomery says that she shouldn't have to dip into her rent money to buy cleaning supplies so her kids don't get sick. And Samia Evans-Bolling wants to remind you that if you -- if we invest in our children, we invest in ourselves and our communities and our city. City Council, we want million in 15 local funding for our schools. 16 Increase the millage rate transfer 17 by one percent. Thank you. 18

19 Thank you. 20

We have Edith. 21 Last name starts with a Z, Janet 22 Dennis, Marina Edens followed by 23 Joshua Atlas, Elena Darcy, Corey 24 Reidy, Nicholas Manta, Lena Hernandez.

Hello, City Council President and City Councilmembers. My name is Corey Reidy. I live in the 3rd District, and I'm here today on behalf of Philadelphia Area Cooperative Alliance, aka PACA, where I have the immense privilege to work every single day with Philly co-ops. Cooperatives are businesses owned either by their workers and/or by the community who utilizes them. I personally became involved with co-ops over years 16 ago when I became a worker owner of 17 one. I had been hooked ever since with good reason. We see in the data, co-ops build happier, more sustainable, more creative, and more resilient workplaces, which in turn build stronger, more equitable communities and cities. In the FY26 budget, we are asking City Council to include a $1.3 million grant fund to stimulate the Philadelphia cooperative economy with a spend down over the course of the next two to three years. One million will be to fund co-ops direct needs, $300k will to provide pro bono technical assistance. It is modeled after multiple other cities co-op grant funds. In Madison, they invested 1.5 million over five years and they doubled their amount of co-ops. To be candid, losing the BIRT tax exemption is going to hurt our co-ops, particularly in the startup years when every dollar matters, making this grant fund to ask even more imperative to ensure their success. I'll end this with, I get the privilege to support co-ops on figuring out their business plans, their budgets, their legal documents, their governance structures, et cetera. But in the midst of all that, we talk about why they want to do this, why they are doing this. Many of our co-ops come from highly exploited industries, service work like restaurants and retail, domestic work like childcare, home care, and professional cleaners. The first landscaping co-op in Philly just launched, and these co-ops tell me time and time again that while they were working these very exploited jobs, they would talk with each other about how they knew it didn't have to be this way. And it doesn't. They're proving it. Together they are building that better way. But in order to really expand and stabilize this better way, this cooperative way, we need City investment. And it is the year of the cooperative. Thank you, City Council for declaring it so, Philly was the first City to back the UN's resolution and others have now followed. The resolution says the City of Philadelphia will do everything it can to grow the cooperative economy. We look forward to this being true. Thank you.

Thank you.

Good afternoon. Yeah, good afternoon.

Please begin.

Thank you, City Council, for hearing us today. My name is Lina Martinez and I am here on behalf of COMPA Philly Language Justice Co-op. We are a cooperative of interpreters and translators that work with community groups across the city to facilitate communication, collaboration, and understanding between speakers of different languages. Our work raises the often unheard voices of immigrant communities and connects monolingual English speakers to the wealth of knowledge and experience of their neighbors with whom they might otherwise not be able to communicate. For a city as diverse and multicultural as Philadelphia, quality community focused language services are essential to ensure the meaningful participation of all residents in culture, politics, and the economy. Working as a cooperative where the interpreters and translators are also the owners and decision makers of the business helps keep COMPA integrated in the communities that we serve. It allows us to grow and develop alongside the language needs of the city. Having the opportunity to receive training grants and pro bono TA sessions through the Philadelphia Area Cooperative Alliance or PACA has allowed us to build the foundations of our co-op. But being a small business that works directly with marginalized communities means that we operate with little overhead, and changes in our financial landscape can have huge consequences for our co-op like COMPA. By funding Co-ops with a $1.3 million grant and pro bono technical assistance fund for Philadelphia cooperatives, and by maintaining the BIRT tax exemption, City Council can help ensure that small businesses like COMPA are able to continue our work serving the linguistically diverse, but deeply integral communities that make up the city of Philadelphia. Thank you.

Nicholas Monta, Erin Young, Katie Seedle, Christina Gosnell.

Hi, my name is Katie and I'm a student of Community College of Philadelphia and commute from outside of the city from Abington. I rely heavily on the regional rail to get to and from school every day. I am also an activist with Fridays for Future and Sunrise Movement here in Philadelphia and rely on SEPTA to get me to events and meetings. With these cuts, it will make getting to school impossible. As my dad works, my mom is disabled and I cannot drive, and I am chronically ill. I am also working class and cannot afford fare increases. Many people may be in situations like mine. Students all over the city and outside the city rely on SEPTA to get to school whether it be elementary school, middle school, high school, or college. The city needs to step up funding for SEPTA and not rely just on federal funding. These cuts and fair increases will detrimentally impact the working class such as myself. SEPTA is what makes getting around the city possible. This is why we need each and every line and bus route to remain open to its fullest and affordable fare prices. Thank you.

Hi, I'm Erin Young. I'm a climate activist with Fridays for Future and Sunrise Movement. I'm also an essential worker assisting an elderly person with stage 4 cancer at his home. I'm disabled myself and can only work part-time, so I'm low income. I can't afford a car or ride share and depend on SEPTA to carry out the functions of my job. Many of us in care work depend on public transit. Those who work swing shifts or overnights will not be able to work if funding cuts result in transit stopping at 9:00 p.m. Many other sectors will be adversely affected. This threatens our region's entire economy. While we fight for state funding, we have to realize that the city could fund more. Compared to similar cities, Philadelphia under spends on public transit. With funding cuts on the federal level, it's critical that we step up to fill the gap for essential public services. Councilmember O'Rourke introduced new legislation to expand the Zero-Fare pilot program, which would be life-changing for percent of Philadelphians living under the poverty line. I ask you to vote yes on the Philadelphia Transit Access Fund when it comes up for a vote. But before that, I urge you to dedicate more funding from the city budget to SEPTA to ensure that transit services don't get cut and costs don't go up for riders. Continuing the conversation of public services funding, myself and other Philadelphians benefit from events, services, and resources that the Free Library offers. Libraries are highly utilized as cooling centers in times of dangerous heat, times which are becoming more frequent because of the climate crisis. Libraries are also an educational resource that we need even more now because of the Trump administration attacks on education. I urge you to increase funding for the Free Library by at least 30 million this budget cycle and account for unspent funds in the last budget cycle. Thank you.

Janet Dennis, Christina Gosnell. You can state your name, for the record, and proceed.

Good afternoon, City Council. My name is Janet Dennis, and I'm a retired social worker and a US and international athlete. I'm here today representing Philly Aquatics and their quest to reopen the Picket pool and to rebuild the Marcus Foster Pool. I live in District 8. I learned to swim 50 years ago while an undergraduate student at Temple University. I'm a backstroker. Who knew that at 50, I would become a competitor swimmer? Who knew at 70, I would still be swimming. Nineteen years ago, I received a lifesaving transplant. Heart transplant. After completing cardio rehab, I was told that the heart is a muscle and I will have to join the gym. I joined LA Fitness but I am a pool-only member. Swimming is a sport that can clearly take you into your senior years. I represent Team Philadelphia in competitions in the United States. I represent team USA in competitions all over the world. I noticed right away that I am the only African American swimmer at all these competitions. This August, at the age of 70, I'll be representing team USA in Dresden, Germany. In addition to swimming, I do shot put, distance javelin and a long jump, okay? July the 25th is World Drowning Prevention Day. It's a global event that serves as an opportunity to highlight the tragic and profound impact of drowning on families and communities. An estimated 236,000 people drown every single year. November the 3rd, 1966, there was a program that's still up to today, which is called RIF, R-I-F, Reading Is Fundamental. It provides books with children in underserved communities. I'm just saying, let's update the Philadelphia curriculums in support. Swimming is a fundamental.

Good afternoon. My name is Eleanor Womack. I live in Nicetown for over 60 years. So, Marcus Foster is very important to me. I'm with the PHILAquatics and also the Stanton Park Advisory Board. I would like attention to be paid to Nicetown in reference to Marcus Foster Pool. I've taken and raised most children, most boys, and they became lifeguards learning life-saving skills that they could pass on to their families. I couldn't bring them today. They're all grown and living in other cities. But if you could please pay attention as well to Stanton Park. We have no Wi-Fi, we have no facilities for children. We need attention. I've gone to our representatives and made appointments and in the appointments they did not show. So I just need someone to address the issue and see what's happening and get back to us right away. Thank you.