COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - BUDGET - - - Room 400, City Hall Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Wednesday, March 12, 2008 10:30 a.m. - - - PRESENT: COUNCIL PRESIDENT ANNA C. VERNA COUNCILWOMAN JANNIE BLACKWELL COUNCILMAN DARRELL L. CLARKE COUNCILMAN W. WILSON GOODE, JR. COUNCILMAN BILL GREEN COUNCILMAN WILLIAM GREENLEE COUNCILMAN CURTIS JONES, JR. COUNCILMAN JACK KELLY COUNCILMAN JAMES F. KENNEY COUNCILWOMAN JOAN L. KRAJEWSKI COUNCILMAN BRIAN J. O'NEILL COUNCILWOMAN MARIA QUINONES-SANCHEZ COUNCILWOMAN DONNA REED MILLER COUNCILWOMAN BLONDELL REYNOLDS BROWN COUNCILMAN FRANK RIZZO COUNCILWOMAN MARIAN B. TASCO BILL 080156 - An ordinance adopting the Operating Budget for Fiscal Year 2009 - - - V A R A L L O Incorporated Litigation Support Services Eleven Penn Center 1835 Market Street, Suite 600 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103 215.561.2220 215.567.2670 2
The first department to testify will be the Managing Director's Office. I would appreciate it if they would please come up to the witness table. I'm sure Councilmembers will be coming in very shortly. (Witnesses approached witness table.)
Good morning. Please identify yourself for the record and proceed with your testimony.
Good morning, Council President Verna and members of the City Council. I am Camille Barnett, Managing Director for the City of Philadelphia, and it's a pleasure to be with you this morning. As you know, the City Charter defines the role of Managing Director as providing supervision over departments and operational leadership to the City organization. We are committed as an 3 3/12/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080156 Administration to producing six major results. I have entered into the record our one-page Strategic Plan, which describes our vision, our values and those results. We as an Administration are focused on these six results, which are making Philadelphia the safest large city in the country; making Philadelphia the nation's premier education city; growing the Philadelphia economy as a green economy; having healthy and sustainable neighborhoods; ensuring a government that holds itself accountable and conducts itself by the highest ethical standards; and making Philadelphia a national model in customer service. These results form the core of our one-page Strategic Plan. Public safety, education, jobs and economic development, healthy and sustainable communities, ethics and customer service and a high-performing government. To achieve these results, we have restructured the Managing Director's 4 3/12/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080156 Office. We have strengthened the role of the four Deputy Mayors, one for Public Safety, one for Health and Opportunity, one for Transportation and Utilities, and one for Planning and Economic Development. Each of the Deputy Mayors has direct responsibility operationally for the various departments that support these results that we are producing. In addition, there will be a Deputy Managing Director for Administration responsible for overseeing a number of internal organizations. I've also entered into the record this organizational chart demonstrating the changes in the Managing Director's Office and the reporting responsibilities for each of the departments. Collectively, the Managing Director, the Deputy Managing Director and the Deputy Mayors will supervise the Commissioners and department heads to help produce these results. To support each one of these 5 3/12/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080156 Deputy Mayors, we've reassigned much of the staff and programs that previously reported directly to or were supervised by the Managing Director. We've also changed staffing priorities within our office to strengthen performance management, particularly as it regards the 3-1-1 system and the PhillyStat system. All of these changes in the Managing Director's Office have been accomplished without an increase in staffing costs. As you can see from this chart, our total proposed budget for FY09 is approximately $26 million, of which approximately four million is from grant funds. This represents about a five and a half million dollar increase from this year's budget, and that increase is made up of the items, the major items, that are shown on the chart. There's an additional $2 million for 3-1-1. There's an increase for the Youth Violence Reduction Partnership for the Grants 6 3/12/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080156 Allotment Fund, and there is also a decrease in supplies and equipment. I would also like to briefly expand on our performance management initiatives. This chart shows what a performance management system looks like in the City of Philadelphia. Each of these arrows is a separate set of documents and processes that reinforce the other, and they are all focused on achieving these six results. For example, the top arrow that you see there is strategic planning, which is the Five-Year Plan. Moving toward the right, you see budgeting to support that strategic plan. The next arrow are the programs and the activities that achieve those results. That blue arrow that follows is the performance monitoring system, which I'm going to be talking about in more detail.
And then the last arrow is the feedback system from both our citizen customers and our workforce. When we talk about the 7 3/12/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080156 performance management system, we want to both improve the existing parts, develop any missing parts and link all of these parts to improve performance. As you know, Philadelphia already has a very strong five-year planning process with an independent review. In this fiscal year, we have improved this part of the performance management system by adding a results focus to the Five-Year Plan. Likewise, the proposed budget that you have before you is more results focused this year. And, of course, we'll continue the third component, which is the work of the departments and the specific programs to help achieve those results. A key to delivering our services smarter, faster and better is the 3-1-1 system. I'd like to thank the Council and particularly Councilman Kenney for their advocacy of the 3-1-1 system in the City of Philadelphia. It not only will improve our providing services to 8 3/12/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080156 citizens, but it will also focus on the fourth component of the system, performance monitoring. As I mentioned in my earlier remarks, the next year's budget has an increase of about $2 million to fund the implementation of 3-1-1, which also includes a work order system and a customer relationship management system. We are envisioning 3-1-1 to be a 24-hour, 365-day-a-year system by which people can contact the City of Philadelphia for any non-emergency request. We want the system to be accessible by telephone, by e-mail, the Internet, regular mail, in person, fax or cell phone text messaging or whatever other technology becomes our way of communicating. We want to make it easy for people to contact the center. Another important initiative for -- we've got some charts on 3-1-1 and there's an example of one where people can call and hopefully get what they need in one call. I'd also like to briefly 9 3/12/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080156 talk about another component of our performance management system, which is PhillyStat. PhillyStat is our version of what other people call CityStat or CompStat. It's a data-driven review of City operations. PhillyStat is an ongoing management discussion based on data about performance. The data measures how well we are achieving the results for the money and time invested. Data collected in the PhillyStat meetings will be visual, using charts and maps and photos, and easy for both decision-makers and the public to understand. The meetings will focus on outcome measures, real-time problem-solving and customer service standards. We will also televise these meetings and make them open to the public. We've already started these PhillyStat meetings, and I would like to invite any Councilmember who would like to attend any of these preliminary meetings to feel free to come. 10 3/12/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080156 We're also strengthening the fifth component of that performance management system using citizen surveys and other customer feedback. And, of course, we're also involving our workforce in improving performance. Our commitment to you and to the people of Philadelphia is to produce these six results while abiding by the core values of respect, service and integrity. We will use the guiding principles of smarter, faster, better services, accountability, open communication, value for investment, and partnership and networks. I thank you for your support and your partnership in these improvements, and I thank you for the opportunity to testify today. I would be happy to answer any questions.
Thank you very much. The President had to leave for a moment. She will return. In the meantime, I will address some of the 11 3/12/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080156 questions that she would have addressed to you. Good morning and thank you so much for being here.
Can you give us a quick overview of the 3-1-1 system you will be implementing and when you expect to have it operational?
Certainly. We're expecting that the 3-1-1 system will be both a call center and what we call a contact center. So it will be a central place here in City Hall where there will be operators that are trained to answer the phone and to provide information as well as to follow up on requests for services. In addition to being able to call in to the center, people will also be able to access us by e-mail and the Internet. They'll also be able to access us through a walk-in provision, so that if you want to just walk in to the 3-1-1 12 3/12/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080156 center, you can do that as well. We want to make it as easy as possible for people to call us. Connected to this contact center will be a system of following up on the request. That's what we call a work order system. When the operators take the calls, they will enter into a work order system that goes directly to the departments for resolution. In addition, we'll have what we call a customer relationship management portion of the system, which gives us all collective data about what the problems are, how quickly they're being resolved so that we can anticipate better service delivery, as well as look at patterns where we've got problems that we need to improve. So when we say 3-1-1, it's our shorthand for the complete system where we'll be able to provide information and manage the follow-up. 3-1-1 will also be able to 13 3/12/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080156 serve as a back-up to our 9-1-1 system, so that if there are problems with 9-1-1, we will be able to use the 3-1-1 center. So we're expecting that we will get a really substantially improved tool for managing the way that the City does its work.
Now, if someone calls into the 3-1-1 center with a problem and suppose they want a four-way stop sign someplace, that request would be forwarded to the Streets Department?
All right. Now, will the Streets Department report back to the 3-1-1 center as to if the sign will be put up, if it will not be put up and the 3-1-1 center will report back to the constituent?
Yes. It can work that way and it can also be if the system -- if the citizen has access to a computer and online services, they would 14 3/12/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080156 be able to track their request online without having to call in, so that it will be a completely open and transparent system.
What connection would there be to Councilmembers? Because you know we get calls from our constituents. Would there be a report given to the District Councilmembers as to the number of inquiries you had from that district or what kind of inquiries are coming in? Because at the end of the day, the constituents are still going to hold us responsible for the service.
That's correct. Yes, is the short answer to your question. The system that we're designing hopefully will be so effective that all of the requests for services will go through this system, which means if someone were to call, a constituent calls the Council office, someone in your office can either input directly into the 15 3/12/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080156 system or send it to 3-1-1 some other way. And, yes, you will get reports back about what's going on in your district, and we'll have comparative information so you'll be able to look at from month to month what's going on, as well as look at your Council district compared to the rest of the City. You're going to have a lot more information about this very important constituent service aspect of your office.
Sounds good. You mention that the performance management system has five parts. They are strategic planning, budgeting to support the strategic plan, implementing programs to achieve results, performance monitoring and, five, seeking feedback. Can you explain what you mean by "budgeting to support the strategic plan" and how next year's budget process will differ from this year's?
There is a 16 3/12/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080156 technique to focus the budget more on results. That's called budgeting for outcomes. What that particular way of budgeting -- what the advantages of that particular way of budgeting give the City of Philadelphia is that you can look at each of the major result areas and see a prioritized list of all the programs that the City does to help achieve that result. The advantage to this type of budgeting is that you get to look at the contribution to the results of all the City activities, both the existing activities and any proposed new activities. Another advantage is that you get to see very clearly what the trade-offs are in terms of what kinds of programs we're going to implement to produce the results. So I think the Council will have a lot more information about how to focus your budget decisions on producing the results, and I expect that we'll be able to do much of that in next year's 17 3/12/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080156 budget cycle.
You mention that there is $2 million included in your budget for the 3-1-1 system. On -4, Summary of Increases/Decreases, you show a $2 million increase for PhillyStat. Is this the same funding for the 3-1-1 system? Correct?
It should be. It should be. There's not a separate allocation for PhillyStat.
So the total cost for both programs would be $2 million?
You're requesting $500,000 in Class 100 and $1.5 million in Class 200 for PhillyStat. What other positions will the $500,000 fund?
The $500,000 additional is part of the two million that we talked about before, and that's 18 3/12/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080156 there primarily for the call center staff. We're expecting that we will need to have some additional staffing in the call center. So that's what that would be for. It would be for the design and the operation of the call center.
That's for professional services. It's for consulting services that we will need for the 3-1-1 system. We're in the process now of developing a request for proposal to procure software, primarily software and consulting services, to help us implement 3-1-1.
These are the President's questions, and she says 19 3/12/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080156 I'm surprised that no funding has been requested for materials, supplies and equipment. How do we put in a data center that doesn't require equipment to be purchased?
Most of the equipment and supplies have already been purchased through the source of funding that's been used to help remodel the portion of City Hall that we'll be using for the contact center. Those are funds that are available for 3-1-1 as a back-up system for 9-1-1 from the 9-1-1 surcharge. So that's the source of the funding, and that's the reason that it's not included in next year's budget, is because we believe that we will be able to complete the project with that source of funds.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Dr. Barnett, it's good to see 20 3/12/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080156 you.
Thank you for being here. I'd just like to say it is a real pleasure to have you in the City of Philadelphia. I believe, to my knowledge, you are the first professional city manager that we have hired as our managing director, and it's about time. Welcome. I just had a question about CityStat, PhillyStat, and, that is, as a professional city manager, you're familiar with other cities that have implemented CityStat systems. Once fully implemented -- and I recognize that will take years -- how much should we expect to save as a percentage of our overall budget?
It's hard to put an estimate on that. What I found in really improving customer service is that if you focus first on the quality of the service, what you get is both improved 21 3/12/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080156 quality and lower cost. If you focus first on lowering the cost, what you get is a lot of deferred costs with no 5 changes in the way we deliver service. So that you wind up -- you might have some savings in the first year or two, but you'll wind up costing yourself more later. So our focus particularly on implementing both 3-1-1 and PhillyStat is to improve the quality of our services, what we're doing and how well we're doing it, because I believe that the cost savings will flow from that.
And on a percentage basis can you talk about what cities have experienced after five years in operation?
We could get some cost savings from other cities that have done similar things with CityStat and even the 3-1-1 system. I'm not sure how comparable they'll be to Philadelphia, because our mix of services is different 22 3/12/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080156 and also every city starts at a different place in terms of its productivity. But I'll be happy to provide some estimates for you, if that's helpful.
That's great. Baltimore suggests that CityStat has saved it $350 million over --
-- over six years. I appreciate the focus on citizen service first, and hopefully we'll get some productivity efficiencies down the road as well.
I actually read some of your writings on customer 23 3/12/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080156 service and thought that they were a novel approach. Who would have thought that government actually is here to help us, and I appreciate those sentiments in your work.
I'd like to ask you to give us some examples of how resources will be deployed based on your findings. In my district we have the tale of two cities. You have the 5th District, which I had a ride around in the other day and we looked at the types of crime, the types of police calls in the northern part of my district, which were more of quality of life issues, town and gown issues and things like that, and then there is the 19th, where we are constantly responding to shots fired, constantly responding to types of violence that are of a serious nature. Not to say that quality of life issues aren't for the people in the 21st Ward and others, but they are a different type 24 3/12/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080156 of crime. How would the 3-1-1 system apply manpower, personnel to these problems? How can we quantify the movements? Give me the correlations there. And then, number two -- let's answer that and then I'd like to follow up with a question, if it's okay, Madam Chair.
I think 3-1-1 and PhillyStat will help with that issue. One of the things that we're doing with our first round of PhillyStat is looking at the statistics that we have in various departments and mapping them according to the Police districts. What we're finding is not too surprising, which is that the nine districts that the Police Department has targeted are also areas where other departments are very actively involved in trying to assist citizens. 25 3/12/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080156 So part of what we're doing is to assess that information and how we can better use the resources together, to not work in silos but to work together, particularly at the neighborhood level. I suspect that we will take that beyond just looking at the nine districts and look at hot spots within those districts so that we will be able to do more of the coordinated service delivery, which I think is going to produce better results.
So, for example, if crimes are committed by juveniles after curfew then and we find that disproportionately that happens in one part of the City versus another, we might find more curfew centers --
Second 3/12/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080156 question is, we had MOIS here yesterday, and we understand that 3-1-1 is the front end, the phone call, the receiving end. How will that be processed through our information systems through MOIS and others? Give me a little bit of how that will work.
Well, that's what we're getting the RFP to design and implement. So we will be getting software and system design over the next several months to be sure that we both connect and improve the existing work order systems as well as provide this what's called a customer relationship management portion, which takes all of the data and gives you reports about trends. So we'll be designing that over the next several months and implementing it with the 3-1-1 system.
And I think the spirit of the Chairwoman's question is will that be user friendly for Councilmembers who have from another side 27 3/12/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080156 of -- 3-1-1 may put us out of business --
Well, in other cities that have had 3-1-1, the Councilmembers have loved it, because you get the kind of information that you most need about your district. You get not only the individual calls and some sense about what happens to the request, but you also get this trend information. So that you, just like we're trying to do, you can spot trends early, you can spot needs that might have taken months or years to show up before. So I think that if our experience in Philadelphia is like other cities who have implemented this, it will improve your life as a Councilmember.
Doctor, you promised me two things in our one-on-one. 28 3/12/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080156 We are going to do a police car tour of the 19th. So I'm going to hold you on the record to that, and I look forward to that.
Thank you very much. The Chair recognizes Councilman Kelly.
First of all, I'd like to thank you for the interest and the time you gave me last week in touring the Philadelphia Animal Care and Control facility in North Philadelphia.
I think it's a problem that's been overlooked for many, many years and I'm really gratified to know that the Administration is taking 29 3/12/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080156 a new look at this situation, and I want to thank you again for your interest. I know you're very, very busy and you took the time out to tour that facility. I'm very grateful. My question is not on that issue. It's on arts and culture, the department that you set up. What is your status in finding a new director, a new manager for that department? And if it would be able to help small arts -- the art community in general. Would it be able to give grants and to help financially some of these smaller groups that are involved in the arts community?
I know that we're actively recruiting, and the objective is to try to improve arts and culture of all sizes of institutions. What specific resources and grant-making possibilities that might be available, I can get back to you on that.
Okay. As far as a new director, are you still in 30 3/12/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080156 search for that?
Thank you very much. We've had a couple of meetings about an issue that's very dear to me and I think to Councilman Jones, too, and for a lot of the constituents in the City. Have you provided an update on your office's work to develop a resolution to the driveway issue that we talked about?
I haven't provided an update on that, but I'll be happy to do so.
Thank you. The ability to communicate with our constituents is an important function 31 3/12/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080156 and role of a City Council person. In this regard, my office spends a significant amount of time organizing mailings to my constituents. However, I have recently learned that the City has a call system whereby for seven cents a call, robo calls can be made to constituents to inform them of upcoming events and activities. Can you provide some information on this call system?
I'll have to get back to you on that and provide it, because this is the first I've heard of it.
Because I know I share with you some information. Not that I'm promoting this vendor in any way, but when I looked at the service that they have to offer, which is cost effective, because when we inquired about this to call about a meeting we wanted to have, the seven cents a minute and not a call, and I thought it was fairly expensive considering information we had 32 3/12/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080156 on other systems that are available that give us unlimited access to the constituents, to the point that we could call in a block. The mailing is very costly. The returns are very high, because people move, and we rely on the labeling from the City Commissioner's Office, which is the voter registration, and that's expensive and people are not always there when we try to reach them. And it's important because we don't have the dollars, the budget, in the City Council to do a mass mailing all the time or a constituent letter like we get from our State Representatives, but it's much more effective if we are able to reach out to the constituents to let them know there would be a community meeting, what time and location, and it would save time and money for the City. So I hope that you will give that consideration, whether it's the vendor that we introduced you to or some similar vendor that could provide that 33 3/12/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080156 kind of service to us.
Okay. On of your budget detail, approximately $2.3 million is allocated to providers that have yet to be determined for tree removal and maintenance. Can you describe the process for how trees will be selected for removal and maintenance in the various Council districts?
Okay. And also if this is coming out of your office, what is the connection with Fairmount Park? Because they do tree removal also.
That's a very good point, and I will definitely let you know about that, too.
Let me just say this: We know that you're new 34 3/12/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080156 to the City. There's a lot to learn, and so hopefully a lot of these questions, while we don't get the answer today, alerts you to the benefit of the years of experience we've been here.
So we'll let you know. Back to the driveways, I think maybe we might have had some responsibility for working with the Streets Department. So we'll follow through with that.
Thank you, Madam President. First I'd like to thank Mayor Nutter and you for embracing the issue of 3-1-1 and CityStat or PhillyStat the way 35 3/12/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080156 you have. After years of really frustrating experience and seeing cities like Chicago and Houston do what they do in their 3-1-1 and CityStat system, it was very, very frustrating to not have people embrace it. And the two of you have embraced it to the point where it's very, very exciting what's going to happen. Let me assure all District Councilmembers, this is not to make you -- 3-1-1 and CityStat will not make you obsolete. It will empower you. And what I would suggest is that if you get the chance to take a trip to Chicago and/or Houston, they will graciously show you all of the capabilities of the system, and I think that when you go to a community meeting after CityStat is implemented, you're going to have at your fingertips all the services that were done in your district in that month or that six months and you will be much more informed. 36 3/12/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080156 The other thing I think it does is that it changes the cultural relationship between the citizen and its government and, as important, changes the cultural relationship between the employees and their government, because they feel now empowered to be innovative and to do things right and to think about things outside the box. I just have a couple questions for the record that I'd like to get you to answer. What's going to be different about Philadelphia's 9-1-1 and PhillyStat systems compared to, say, Chicago, Houston, New York, Baltimore?
Well, the first thing that's going to be different is that we can learn from everybody else, because many cities had implemented 3-1-1, many cities have implemented some version of CityStat. Very few cities have implemented both, and I'm not -- I don't know of anyone who has designed 37 3/12/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080156 them together from the beginning. So part of what will be different will be that they will be designed from the beginning as part of a performance management system. We want to incorporate a lot of the best practices in terms of getting 3-1-1 information into the PhillyStat discussions, and we want to be sure that accessibility is really paramount. That's the reason that we're talking not about a call center but a contact center, so that people can be contacted in many ways, and also that we have language ability so that people can contact us even if they're not primarily English speakers. Those are some of the things that I think you'll find that will take the state of the art to the next step.
How do you believe the performance management system will tie to the budgeting process? Will it enable us to budget for outcomes? 38 3/12/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080156
Yes. The whole idea here is to take the budget and to focus it on the result, so that you're really looking at what kinds of activities will produce the result and prioritizing those rather than simply doing the more traditional thing of looking only at a budget and only looking at -- for the department and only looking at changes incrementally from one year to the next.
How have the meetings been going, departmental meetings, and 3-1-1 team meetings? Is it a tough cultural change or has it been accepted or been embraced?
Well, actually, I think it's been quite positive. We've talked to call center managers about 3-1-1. We've also invited others that have run call centers in other jurisdictions or in the private sector to give us advice. I think people are very excited about the possibilities of 39 3/12/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080156 implementing 3-1-1. Same with PhillyStat. As the Council knows, we've started -- we just started them. Because Philadelphia has a lot of data, we decided to do some practice sessions before we go live next month on television, but I think people are beginning to see the connections between departmental activities in ways that they hadn't before, and it's been very helpful to us in understanding what's going on.
Well, it's been a pleasure being involved in some of these meetings. I know the first one that we had, it was probably, in the 16 years I've been here, the first type of meeting where I've actually sat with policymakers in the government and talked about things like this and just changing the culture of the way we approach our business. And I know that every department has a different way of dealing with things over the years, and this kind of unification of this customer service 40 3/12/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080156 and the analysis of what it is we do and how we do it is just really very, very exciting. So I'll be involved as much as you need me, and wish you well.
Thank you. The Chair recognizes Councilman Rizzo.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Good morning, Managing Director.
One of the areas that I have an interest in is being proactive. Our Streets Department people, our street lighting people, they all see the same things that our constituents see. They see a broken stop sign. They see a fire hydrant that is toppled. The Water Department sees that. I would love to see an audit of 41 3/12/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080156 our City where the Streets Department looks for the things that they're charged. I mean, constantly I see signs that regulate parking totally faded where you can't even read what they say. They should be able to see that. So part of this great initiative, I would hope that there's some proactiveness built into it where we're looking for some of the things that the constituents that call Council offices and will be calling 3-1-1. So I think if we start fixing and dealing with some of these issues, that the volume of calls might also even decrease. Because it amazes me, when you go through an intersection -- just yesterday, 31st and Spring Garden, there's some construction work. The contractor or someone just left the -- you need a tank to go through there rather than a vehicle with tires. It's just deplorable. Somebody had to see that. And they're the kind of things 42 3/12/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080156 that we really need to do to have a group, not new people but the people that run street lighting, when they're out at night and they see a street light out, don't just say, Well, somebody eventually will call it in. Do something about it. Same with the condition of the streets and other areas. So if you could develop some proactiveness into the way we run this government, it would be appreciated.
I appreciate your bringing this particular subject up, because it allows me to talk about an aspect of the 3-1-1 system that I haven't mentioned yet, which is just this: That City employees can also access the system. I think everyone is familiar with some of the technology that's already been employed downtown with the business improvement district where there are hand-held devices that you can access and let people know where the problems are. 43 3/12/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080156 If we make it easy for people to report what they see, it's more likely that we're going to get that information on a proactive basis, and I think it will be one of the advantages of the system when it's fully implemented.
One of the things that we have and it's one of the things that actually hadn't cost the City of Philadelphia money is that most of the cell phone providers, Verizon, AT&T, Sprint and Nextel, have provided a citywide star fix number that is a free call. Someone sees something, City employee, whoever, dial star fix, it goes to Streets Department's customer service, which I assume will be collapsed into the 3-1-1 system. But don't let those numbers fall away as this is developed, because that's a free call also from cell customers.
Thank you. 44 3/12/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080156 Thank you, Madam Chair.
You're welcome. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Sanchez.
We are also very excited about the prospect of having a streamlined system. I'm going to address some of the issues around quality of life issues that I want you to bear in mind as you proceed forward. I've only been in Council 66 days and I get referrals from every single City department when they have a language barrier. So as you look at this, I'm not going to assume that this is an important matter, but I'm going to make it an important matter, because while that's what I got elected to do and we will continue to work with the 45 3/12/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080156 departments in serving folks who are coming down to City Hall to access services, bear in mind that this happens very frequently, every day, and it's something that we need. As you streamline and you look, make sure that we have language accessibility throughout not only 3-1-1, but the departments' first responders. It's very important. One of the things that as you move forward, the anti-graffiti piece, which is a problem that is arising again, one of the things I've been told is that while we are still doing a very good job of the clean-up, we have not funded the enforcement and the investigative unit of that, which monitors trends. A lot of the graffiti that happens in parts of my district lead to marking of territory, whether it's drug related, gang related or some other thing. So that I ask as you look at that, there were some practices that we had in the past that we may want to revisit in terms of that. 46 3/12/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080156 All of these guys could be looked up in Face Book, My Space. My kids have shown me how to do this. The kids know who they are. So I think that we need to employ those tactics and use technology again, because it's an issue as I cross the district that is more rampant. And, again, we're doing a very good job in going and cleaning up, but there's a trend, so we want to make sure that we nip that. In terms of some of the programming that I've seen in the past from the Managing Director's Office; for instance, the Youth Violence Reduction Program and some others, moving forward, do you see the Managing Director's Office getting into that type of service delivery? Are you looking at where some of these programs might be better suited?
What we're trying to do with the changes we've made in the Managing Director's Office is to make us 47 3/12/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080156 more of an executive office and less of a departmental operational office. So although some programs start in the Managing Director's Office because they involve more than one department, it's my hope that we'll be able to move them into the regular departmental operations, because I'm hoping that we're going to have more and more departments working together anyway, not just through special programs.
One of the programs that is highly recognized throughout the 7th Councilmanic District and even though it wasn't ours, it was created by my colleague, Councilwoman Krajewski, the CLIP Program. How do you envision neighborhood services having a more enhanced role in terms of delivery of those quality of life quick responses?
I think that the CLIP program is generally very well regarded, and we're going to continue it. It's part of what we've talked about 48 3/12/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080156 already with the Crime Plan, that looking at quality of life issues really helps us address the public safety issues. I'm hoping that we're able to also expand that to the other kinds of City services that we provide in terms of our attitude about coordinating all of these services. So I think you'll be seeing some new initiatives that are along the lines that you're proposing.
I look forward to working with you in that in the 7th Councilmanic District. As it relates to the Vacant Lot program that's coordinated through the MDOs, is that going to continue to be there? Are we going to see Streets and L&I better coordinate some of that? Because sometimes we get a constituent service and it involves three departments and we're making three calls and getting one ticket number here and one ticket number over there.
Yes. I know it 49 3/12/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080156 can be frustrating as you try to coordinate everything. So we will have ways that we can address vacant lots and other quality of life issues, that hopefully we take the responsibility for the coordination and the Councilmember or the citizen doesn't have to do that for us.
I'm particularly concerned about vacant lots, because most of the NTI dollars in the 7th were used for demolition and not acquisition. So I probably have 300 lots that now need some sustainability plan. So I'd like to be able to coordinate that with your office around not only short term, but long term what are we looking at these.
You're welcome. 50 3/12/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080156 The Chair recognizes Councilman Goode.
I'm hopeful during this budget season that we're going to be able to do something significant in terms of tax reform, eliminating gross receipts by 2015 and reducing the net income portion, and I'm extremely excited about 3-1-1 and PhillyStat and believe that if we accomplish much more than that over next year, we'll still be revolutionary. There will still be a concern I believe that may or may not be resolved by 3-1-1, which we discussed when we met in my office, and that's this longstanding issue of regulatory reform, 51 3/12/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080156 the fact that it's still a deterrent to business economic growth. Will 3-1-1 solve that problem and/or beyond that, to what extent are we actually going to streamline regulations and licenses and permits to the point where it's easier to do business in Philadelphia?
I don't think 3-1-1 itself will be the resolution to that particular issue, but I do think looking at the various regulatory processes and how we use technology to support that regulation will help address some of those issues. It's one of the things that I know our new Deputy Mayor for Economic Development and our Commerce Director is very interested in pursing. So I think you'll see some progress in this.
And so you're expecting some of that lead to come from the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development? 52 3/12/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080156
You're welcome. The Chair recognizes Councilman Greenlee.
Thank you, Madam President. Good morning, Dr. Barnett.
Actually, Councilwoman Sanchez beat me to the question on the anti-graffiti network, or anti-graffiti unit. I don't think we call it the anti-graffiti network anymore. But just on a follow-up on that, I certainly agree with what she said. I know that was actually part of the Managing Director's Office. Is that the way it's going to remain, or you haven't quite figured that out yet?
Well, the answer 53 3/12/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080156 is, we probably haven't figured it totally out, but what we want to do is to keep it in the Managing Director's Office as long as it needs that special attention. Anti-graffiti program may or may not function in that way, because it's been going on for a while and it's been very successful. So we'll put it where it is most effective, and we will let you know what that is as well.
I appreciate that. I have to say to just give him a plug, I'm not sure if he's still there, Tom Conway of that unit has just been great. He is about one of the most, if I could say, responsive people.
You can see, he has a lot of fans in here. The other unit, if you will, Mural Arts Program, obviously I think another certainly successful program in the City. I think the way it's been recently -- I think it's kind of moved around, but it's part of Recreation. Is that still again the plan or is that being looked at?
Because, as I said, that's certainly been a very successful program.
It has certainly improved the whole outlook of the City. Okay. Thank you. 55 3/12/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080156 Thank you, Madam President.
You're welcome. The Chair recognizes Councilman Green.
Thank you, Madam President. Based on a question that Councilman Goode asked and also related somewhat to the questions from Councilman Kenney, I was hoping you could talk about what you're planning to do with respect to changing the behavior of employees in the various departments who are now going to have to deal with a different way of getting things done. In other words, the work order entry system will send requests electronically to the departments. Currently, things are done by phone and paper. Are you working to change the workflow processes in the various departments that are going to be part of the initial 3-1-1 implementation, and 56 3/12/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080156 could you just describe that process for us?
Yes. We will be looking at the workflow and also the work order systems, and part of the implementation plan for both 3-1-1 and CityStat will be a substantial amount of training for the workforce in using these new tools. And, once again, my expectation is that providing the appropriate tools is what is the most effective way to change the way that we do business and that we make it easier for the employees to do their job, and that's why they embrace the new way.
Once fully implemented, though, it's going to change -- in theory, it should change, based on experiences in other cities, many job functions within the departments with respect to record-keeping and other things that won't be necessary when everything is electronic.
It should improve 57 3/12/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080156 that, yes.
Yes. Are we planning to build in flexibility in the union contracts that are coming up this year so that people can be retasked or sent to other departments or given different job descriptions as a result of the implementation of new technology?
The contracts with our workforce already have provisions that are called the reinventing government provisions, and our expectation is that we will continue to work very closely with the labor unions and the workforce in redesigning all of this. Our workers know best how to redesign this work, and we want to be sure that we capture that information in our redesign.
I completely agree with that sentiment. Could you talk a little bit about the difference in categories that we should expect to receive in next 58 3/12/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080156 year's budget when you're talking about budgeting for outcomes? In other words, there are very limited number of categories that are given in the budget from the Mayor's budget to City Council, personnel, et cetera, 100, 200, 300. How are we going to judge programs if we get funding by those categories based on outcomes?
Well, of course, the short answer is, we haven't designed the new budget system yet, but in budgeting for outcome systems other places, one of the things that you move toward is more of a program accounting structure rather than a line item accounting structure, and when we're designing what we do for next year, that certainly will be the direction that we'll be moving. How far we'll get in the first year, we don't know yet.
Okay. So that would mean things like people will be -- their actual tasks will be kept 59 3/12/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080156 track of on a timely basis, say, and the Law Department will know how much time was provided for people to Council versus how much time was provided for people in the Administration versus the Streets Department, et cetera, and we can sort of look at the overall costs associated with each function in a much clearer way. Is that the goal?
Part of this will be improving our cost accounting, but most of the kinds of trade-off decisions are probably at a higher level in terms of measurement. We will be measuring primarily what's going on with the outcome for the investment and looking at return on investment that way. It should improve cost accounting, but that's not its major objective or decision point.
In terms of open and transparent government, though, would you say that it's very hard for us to know what anything actually costs the City with our current budget 60 3/12/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080156 classification system?
I think we know a whole lot more about cost than we do about results, and as we try to focus more on knowing what results we're getting, we'll have a better idea of what it's costing us to get those results.
Thank you. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Brown.
Let me underscore the value of the Mural Arts Program for the record. It's actually the largest and the first of its type in this country. So we really do pay attention to our City's firsts. A couple of things. One, are 61 3/12/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080156 you at this juncture able to give us an update on the status of the Office of Arts and Culture and/or the Office of Sustainability?
Thank you. I just have a question or two. On -53, you're showing $90,000 being spent in FY08 and FY09 for remote wireless data acquisition. Can you tell us what this is and what is the total cost of the acquisition?
Thank 62 3/12/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080156 you. Also, on -39 of your detail, you show funding for anti-drug and Town Watch initiatives of $947,627 and 4,283,000 for youth violence reduction programs. Can you supply us with a listing detailing how these funds will be spent in FY08 and how you propose to spend them in FY09?
Thank you. Are there any other questions from members of the Committee? Councilman Green.
One quick question. I asked this question of Terry Phillis yesterday. How far behind is this City compared to other cities that you've been in in terms of years, not just in terms of the use of technology but our whole method of operating, our operations? So technology and then 63 3/12/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080156 operations.
It's improved markedly in the last month. Cities are all different. Some things that Philadelphia does are really state of the art and you are the best practice. One of the things that I've been impressed about is the Five-Year Plan process, because not only do you have a Five-Year Plan and have had one for a long time, but it's independently reviewed and there are consequences for that review. So I think it's one of the strongest strategic planning processes that I've seen. And several of you have mentioned Mural Arts and other initiatives like CLIP and others, and I think that Philadelphia represents the state of the art. There are portions of our 64 3/12/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080156 operation that have good technology and are using it effectively. There's a very strong GIS, Geographic Information System, component. I think our point here is that we want to use it more effectively. Even the places where Philadelphia is doing a great job, we could use it in more places in our City operation. So I'm actually encouraged by what I found in Philadelphia so far. I think there are a lot of strengths to build on, and I think that because of that, we'll be able to make some progress that's both noticeable and helpful to the public.
Thank you. Thank you very much, Doctor, and we certainly wish you every success.
Thank you. 65 3/12/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080156 We are now going to recess until 1:45 so that Councilmembers who wish to attend the rally at City Hall have the opportunity to do so. Thank you very much. (Recess.)
Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for your patience. The Committee of the Whole is now back in session, and the next department to testify? MR. McPHERSON: Is the Police Department.
Will the Police Department please approach the witness table. (Witnesses approached witness table.)
Good afternoon, Commissioner. Welcome. COMMISSIONER RAMSEY: Good afternoon.
Please identify yourself for the record 66 3/12/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080156 and proceed with your testimony. COMMISSIONER RAMSEY: Thank you. Charles H. Ramsey, Police Commissioner, Philadelphia Police Department. I'd also like to have my staff introduce themselves, if that's okay. DEPUTY COMMISSIONER GAITTENS: Good afternoon, Madam President, Councilmembers.
Good afternoon. DEPUTY COMMISSIONER GAITTENS: Deputy Commissioner Jack Gaittens.
Thank you. COMMISSIONER RAMSEY: Good morning, Council President Verna and members of City Council. I am Charles H. Ramsey, Police Commissioner, and I have already introduced the two people seated at the table with me. I'd also like to 67 3/12/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080156 introduce Deputy Commissioners Patricia Fox, Richard Ross, Charlotte Council that are also here with us today. The mission of the Philadelphia Police Department is to fight crime and the fear of crime, including terrorism, by working with our partners to enforce the laws, apprehend offenders, prevent crimes from occurring, and improve the quality of life for all Philadelphians. Mayor Nutter has set forth a bold vision for Philadelphia which includes an emphasis on heightened public safety. The Mayor wasted no time in giving me clear instruction to create an effective crime-fighting plan. As Police Commissioner, I've set forth a strategic four-pillar approach to achieve our mission and concurrently make Philadelphia the safest major city in the nation. The four facets of this plan are intelligent policing, collaboration, prevention, and continuous improvement. The Police Department's 68 3/12/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080156 crime-fighting plan also contributes to five of the City's major results areas. Our efforts will improve public safety, thus contributing to more vibrant and livable neighborhoods, while maintaining ethics, providing higher levels of customer service and high government performance. In the interest of public safety and vibrant, livable neighborhoods, my plan encompasses the addition of 200 more officers on the street performing uniform patrol by May 1st and ensuring officers are where they are needed; the expansion of the existing surveillance camera program; the reduction in the backlog of outstanding warrants for wanted persons; the maximization of technological effectiveness through upgrades; the reinvigoration of COMPSTAT; and the establishment of targeted enforcement zones within the City's nine most violent districts. 69 3/12/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080156 We will improve customer service through monthly Town Hall district meetings and next-of-kin meetings with families of homicide victims, as well as regularly scheduled web chats, improved officer recruitment and community policing. By implementing the aforementioned, we will deliver a reduction in homicides by percent, a 12 decrease in the number of shooting 13 victims by 20 percent, a reduction in 14 Part violent crime by 20 percent, an 15 increase in the number of guns taken off 16 the streets by five percent, an increase 17 in the homicide clearance rate to 65 18 percent, and an increase in the clearance 19 rate for all other violent crimes by five 20 percent. 21 Statistics for the first two 22 months of calendar year 2008 already 23 demonstrate success as compared to the 24 same period in 2007. Homicides for this 25 period reflect a 25 percent decrease, 70 1 3/12/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080156 violent crime offenses are down nine percent and the number of shooting victims down percent. The homicide 5 clearance rate is at 89 percent. 6 Although it's very early in the year, 7 these statistics are promising. 8 The Police Department's Fiscal 9 Year 2009 General Fund budget request is 10 $524 million. 27 percent in Class 300 and 400. 15 The additional Class 100 funds 16 support the salaries of the 200 17 additional officers, bringing our General 18 Fund complement to 6,824, with the 19 associated cost of uniforms and equipment 20 provided through Class 300/400. 21 Twenty-seven new civilians who will be 22 responsible for monitoring video 23 surveillance cameras are also funded through the increased Class 100 appropriations. A state-of-the-art video 71 3/12/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080156 surveillance center was recently constructed and equipped and is located on the first floor of the Police Administration Building.
The Fiscal Year 2009 General Fund Operating Budget supports the principles and strategies of my proposed Crime Plan. It will not only provide for additional officers, but for technological upgrades and better management tools. The focus of the Nutter Administration is the revitalization of a city long known for its hospitality, diversity and history. In fulfillment of this ideal, we anticipate the assistance of the state and federal governments. Through redeployment and additional funds provided by the city, state and federal governments, the Department will be able to increase the number of officers on patrol by 400 by the end of Fiscal Year 2009. 2 million in productivity funds for 72 3/12/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080156 FY08 and '09 respectively to be utilized in the upgrade of various IT systems, including a real-time crime information center pilot program to test and validate RTC concepts and technologies. 5 million from PICA to refurbish and repair our ailing facilities. The Department has embarked on its future. Guided by our Crime Plan, the dedicated and committed members of the Philadelphia Police Department can succeed in realizing Mayor Nutter's vision through the economic assistance of state and federal governments and the cooperation and support of Philadelphia's general public. That concludes my opening statement, Council President Verna, and I'm willing to answer any questions you might have and also members of my staff.
Thank you very much. Commissioner, can you tell us 73 3/12/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080156 how many police officers we have on the force as of today? COMMISSIONER RAMSEY: Yes, ma'am. 6,580 as of today.
I'm sorry. 6,580? COMMISSIONER RAMSEY: Yes. That is not including the Airport officers that are paid for by the Airport. That's an additional 155 officers.
All right. Can you tell us, please, what is the budgeted amount of delay in filling positions that have been assigned to your department? COMMISSIONER RAMSEY: One moment, please. DEPUTY COMMISSIONER GAITTENS: Deputy Commissioner Jack Gaittens. Under the Operations Department, which is Section 21, the delay in filling positions is 6,913,094.
But 74 3/12/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080156 isn't there more under the administration and technology -- DEPUTY COMMISSIONER GAITTENS: Yes, there are.
-- training and staff services? DEPUTY COMMISSIONER GAITTENS: That is correct.