Thank you. Thank you very, very much. Hold on one moment. Thank you. I was having a quick senior moment, but I saw you, Mr. Wilson, in the corner next to Helloise. So thank you so much for all you do on our behalf. I really appreciate you and especially being in the community. We were up in your end last night as well for the town hall. So thank you. Very quickly, I wanted to proceed to Planning. And I just wanted to get these questions on the record. I was reviewing your budget detail, and I know you think I'm going to tangle title, but I'm not going there today, Mark. Okay? I'm not going there today. I'm going to start with the thank yous, okay? Angela, let's start with those thank yous again. So thank you, Jessie Lawrence, Mark Dodds, Angela Brooks, Ami Patel, Michelle, and the entire team. We appreciate each of you. So I wanted to know what your vacancy rate is, how many positions you have budgeted versus filled, and your vacancy rate allowance. And in -- and I've been asking every department that, okay? And in addition to that, I need you to walk me through this, because I was going through your budget detail, and section 56 in particular. And I need you all to tell me who is who for these positions and what's being eliminated or replaced, or if it's just a title change. Section 56, , Department of Planning and Development Executive Administration -- and this is not a -- this is just a true question of who is who and what is what. Deputy mayor under executive administration, who is that?
The Deputy Mayor under the executive administration will probably be me.
Received. Okay. So -- okay, I see what's happening here. So is it that the title deputy mayor is now going to the title director? Is it -- is it title changes that are happening? I don't understand.
I can get in the weeds for you on -- in form of writing, but what I do know is that my predecessor had the same title as me, but the designation was deputy mayor.
Walk me through, because I -- okay. I -- okay. I receive what's happening here. So the director role is technically the former deputy mayor role, and then it's -- right? Because I see an increase and a decrease here. So the new title technically for director is director? And that would be you?
Okay. Hold on. Let me just write this down. And first deputy director, which was formerly the first deputy commissioner, who is that individual?
That's John Mondlak. Okay. Hold on one second. Okay. And who is the deputy director?
We have several. That would include Mark Dodds -- I mean, I don't know which line you're looking at specifically, but there's Mark Dodds, who is deputy director of house -- DHCD. Emily Persico is the deputy director for Development Services.
No, no, no, because in the -- under this tab, this -- I'm on -- I'm on section 56, , schedule 100. This is under general fund, so it's not a grant funded position. It's only one deputy director budgeted here.
So I'm sorry, Councilmember, Kathleen just tapped me. That's Kathleen, our deputy director for Executive Administration and Strategic Initiatives.
Okay. And tell me your name again, I'm sorry.
Kathleen Grady, deputy director for Strategic Initiatives and Executive Administration.
Okay. Hold on one second. All right. And then you have a deputy chief information officer?
Okay. And then you have executive administrative assistant?
Okay. And then you have transfer from other funds $125,000. It does not say a title or who or what that is?
That is the transfer between -- it's a labor allocation that assists in the funding of our executive admin team is related to some -- our deputy director for communications.
Okay. So is the comms, deputy director of comms?
It's -- she's reflected in a different budget line, but it is a transfer of funds between CDBG and our general fund.
Received. Okay. So you're -- so you're taking it from grants funds and putting it into the general fund?
We can provide more explicit detail in writing. It's a -- we have to allocate our time and effort to the grant. And then when other time and effort is outside of the CDBG eligible, we then transfer it to general fund.
Received. Okay. I received that based on the work that has to be done with the grant programs. So let me ask this question, where is Angela reflected here?
Okay. So one of the new or the -- one of the 51 plus new positions?
I believe that's the mayor's office number, but yes, she will be reflected under that budget.
Okay. So you're not here. Okay. I'm only asking because when you initially look at this page, one through seven, those lines, it is -- that's considerable. I'm just going to leave it at that. I'm not going to put the numbers on the record out of respect for all of you sitting here. But when you're looking at it, it is considerable. For one, you know, executive administration. But I see what you're saying is that there's an increase and a decrease in the first four, so that's technically the two. And then it's in addition of the one. And then the other is a transfer from grants to class 100, correct? Okay. All right. Thank you very much for that explanation. I just -- reading the detail -- when you read the detail, it is -- sometime you have to get an explainer about exactly how you all are moving the money, okay? All right. I appreciate the explanation. Thank you.
Majority Leader, you good? I just got here, you are all right?
All right. We're officially in the second-round. Chair of Neighborhood Services and the Homeless, Councilmember, Jamie Gauthier.
Thank you so much, Council President. This is also for Planning and Development. Now that the AMI eligibility levels have been increased for basic systems repair and adaptive modifications, can you explain to us operationally how staff are tracking new applications that come in to make sure that homeowners at 60 percent AMI or below are receiving 90 percent of the funding? We spent a lot of time and a lot of debate on that during the H.O.M.E spending plan process, and I just want to make sure that we're actually putting those systems in place?
So I'll let Dave Thomas speak to that, but I just want to get on the record and make -- for point of clarity that that was expanded, but only dedicated to 10 percent of the funds for funding. So again, we can't spend anything beyond 10 percent of annual funds for anything other -- outside -- beyond the current income limit right now.
Ten percent of funding for BSRP and AMP, I believe, can only be spent above 60 percent of AMI for applicants at or above 60 -- above 60 percent of AMI.
Yes. We're saying the same thing kind of flipped. I'm saying that 90 percent has to go to 60 percent AMI or below. And yes, you are saying that the flip side of that is 10 percent.
How are we tracking that, however way you look at it?
Thank you, Councilwoman. David Thomas, president, CEO. I'm tracking it on a weekly basis right now. I've segregated the money because I need to make sure that I have the right buckets for the right folks. I currently have 60 applications for people 60 percent and above, at the moment, and that's as of March 1st. So I'm not -- I don't have a large number of folks applying. So I'll be monitoring it on a monthly basis with my staff, as I do with everything. And as I get closer, I will raise the red flag and let you know that I'm having some challenges meeting some of these objectives. But I'm not there yet.
Okay. I do think it behooves us to have these processes on paper. I know you all are going to follow up with --
-- the sort of H.O.M.E. spending by program. What sources beyond H.O.M.E, like the Housing Trust Fund and CDBG, are funding each program in total so that we have a sense of how much we really need to, you know, put in this budget. And we do need that operation plan from, like, a process perspective, how we're getting money on the street, but also, like, from a staffing perspective, we need to understand what's going to change. And so I would add to that information request a documented process around how we're tracking to ensure that we meet the amendments that Council put forward. And the -- I have one more question, my last question. Now that monies through the mixed income housing density program are going straight to the Housing Trust Fund, as opposed to just going to the general fund, and that's thanks to a charter change effort that I led with the support of my colleagues. Now that we have, you know, that in place, can you let us know how much money is in the FY-27 Housing Trust Fund from the density bonus payment specifically, and which council districts the money will be spent in?
So we are tracking that in a couple of different places. One, I believe DHCD can speak to that, but also our director of Development Services can speak to the trajectory of the housing bonus.
Mark Dodds as well. Mark can start off with the rundown for HDF.
Sure. In total, the estimates we got from the city's Department of Finance or Office of Finance is a slight reduction, I believe, in recording fee and a slight increase in general funds from the -- from the two different sub funds. And they -- it's pretty much a wash. It's almost exactly the same level in FY-27.
Okay. And what districts will that -- you know, the part of the charter change was we will allocate like the last year's funding for the density bonus program straight to the housing trust fund. The other change that we did through an ordinance was that those monies will be allocated to the council districts where they were generated. Do we have a sense of that?
I think we would have to run some analyses to figure out exactly where the funding is going, yeah.
Okay. I would request maybe a meeting with you guys offline. As we know, the legislative part is sort of the first part and then the next part is implementation. And so I really would want to see how we're tracking that, and staying on top of it.
And what I can say -- so we just released a biannual Housing Trust Fund report. It doesn't -- you know, it's -- there -- it's geographic based in the sense that there are maps in the report to show where we're investing certain services. We also have figures through FY -- the first two quarters of FY-26. So we'll be able to let you know where we're investing currently, and then that will help us to project where we're going, going forward.
Sure. Yeah. Good afternoon. Emily Persico, deputy director for Development Services. We do track spending and kind of receive -- payments received under the Mixed-Income Housing Bonus Program. In fiscal year 26, we received two payments totaling $285,000. Just about -- we've been seeing fewer payments under the mixed income housing program since that change in the cost of the -- of the payment in lieu -- program back in 2021.
So that number has been going down. We are working right now on our mixed income housing report which we hope to be getting out in the coming months. And we're happy to provide, kind of, that trajectory of this funding that we have been receiving through that program.
Thank you. Look forward to continuing working with you all on these initiatives.
Thank you. Second round officially. Councilmember Dr. Anthony Phillips, then Councilmember Rue Landau, then Squilla.
Thank you, Council President. You know, I too have been analyzing this operating budget around the Executive Administration, which is why, you know, this whole responsive government idea that I've been talking about is really, really essential for me. There's no reason why the city of Philadelphia, we should not have service level agreements and a clear understanding for neighbors and to be able to provide a resident with a timeline from application of service, start, to the delivery of the progress. And what I -- I've been asking for this since last budget, and I was hoping that you all would have it together by now, and it's still not together. And I'm looking at -- we have all of these chiefs, essentially, who are being well, well funded by city taxpayer funds, and there should -- you should be working day and night to make sure residents have a clear understanding of a timeline on when they're going to get their service. I just can't accept that. That's important for my support, you know. So I just want to ask again, what should a resident expect in terms of timeline from application to service delivery under H.O.M.E. programs?
Well, again, I think President Thomas spoke to what PHDC is committed to at the moment. And looking at how he can pivot for purposes of getting services out the door quicker. I do think that the consistent funding stream for services will play a big role in consistently being able to roll that out. But again, we are taking the stance of making sure that we can be as transparent in our processes as possible. We are taking that deeper dive on the Land Bank side, on the application side. As that begins to map out on the customer -- CRM perspective, we'll be able to mirror that in a way however possible with PHDC's attempt to make that process a little bit faster. But I do think that we are, you know -- you know, I think we remain committed to making sure that we stay in touch with PHDC's applicants in terms of their services. But --
If it's six to nine months, what I'm asking, which I was trying to ask from him, is that could he provide us with -- residents should know in month one, this is what's happening in month two, this is happening in month three. There should be a sense of, if it's going to be six to nine months, what is transpiring, as opposed to just wait six to nine months. They should have a clear understanding of what all the processes are going to -- how they're being reviewed, how they're being -- it's just transparency, right? We have a chief information officer, what is the role of the chief information officer?
She is our chief information officer for our department. She's --
So that's their role. That person should be solely dedicated to making sure that residents are getting this information in real time, similar to when they're ordering Amazon and DoorDash. And I talk to Melissa Scott all the time about this. I was like, I don't understand why. And she -- you know, her hands are tied in some ways, but why does every department have, like, an information technology person dedicated to this work, and then they're not delivering in a way that they should be when it comes to interfacing with residents?
I just want to be clear about the steps that we have taken toward that, which is One Front Door. It's being able to consolidate, you know, one website that gives people the opportunity to know what they qualify for. So that does ease operations, or begin to ease operations, for us to be able to, you know, compartmentalize and collate what people want is -- or what people -- what services certain people or certain constituencies are entitled to. But we recognize that, you know, we've committed to getting you this one pager that's going to itemize what the steps are in that six to nine-month process. We are obviously committed to -
We want to get to that six and not to the nine. But we're definitely, you know, we're committed to this one pager. If it could be more than one page. I think we alluded to you, we want to get you that information.
Do you think you can give me a timeline on where we can get the multiple pager, one pager, whatever. I just want to walk to neighborhoods and say, this city has an efficient process with this.
I don't want to have to call you Jessie. Like last night, there was a neighbor who was saying that they need home services. I want to be able to say to you, Hey, ma'am, if you apply by this date, here's the process. Here is how you all are going to get updated. And I'm not getting that. I can't guarantee that from her. And I'm looking at this -- the Executive Administration's salaries. I mean, you guys are doing well, you know, for the most part. And I feel like there's no reason why this shouldn't be the most, most, most, most, most, most important thing out of all the things, like, being clear with people and being fair, because a Councilmember shouldn't have to call and ask to jump a line because there's -- we're inefficient, you know what I mean? Like, I just -- you're not proving to me again, Jessie and I -- and I respect you. I do. But I just -- I just want us to do -- I just want you to prove me -- prove to me, that you can -- you can -- that you can be -- you can provide residents with that clarity, you know, that's all.
I'm just going to jump in and let you know, one of the technological assessments that we're, or improvements we're working on as part of H.O.M.E. is having a dashboard where you will have application tracking, similar to what you're referencing from some of the other kind of companies that do that. I don't have a timeline on that, but we are constantly working on that, as well as an app that will allow all of that. So I believe the app is to debut in the fall. So OIT is working with us on that. So it is coming. I know it's probably not in the timeline you want, but there's a lot of nuanced things that go with the applications, and we want to make sure it's functioning, and we're not just rolling out with something just to roll it out. So --
-- we are working on having an app-based website and app that can sync those in a better way.
Thank you. I appreciate it. But that -- but that makes me feel like, until everything is ready, you shouldn't be taking -- you shouldn't be taking new applications, you know what I mean? Like, it's like -- it -- you're creating a wait list and a process. You're going to be taking applications, causing confusion. I don't know. I just -- it's not ready yet. And I feel like you have to have this ready to go in.
Well, the app and the readiness of the dashboard isn't ready, but the programs are implemented and they are flowing. So two different kinds of tracks.
Yeah. The programs are ready, but I'm saying the transparency of the -- is that -- is that ready? Like the transparency --
The transparency of the process, because we are going to -- we are producing on Philly STAT 360 where we at on completions, but you want more transparency from application through actual work being done.
That is what we're working on. So it is coming and the app for sure is scheduled to be done by the end of Q -- calendar year Q3.
Okay. All right. Thank you. And I just wanted to, just for the record. I want to thank the Commerce Department for working for our district, Salim Wilson, and Karen Fegely. Thank you so much. I -- you know, I trust the fact that, you know, when we provide questions, that you all will always respond, so we appreciate. No further questions, Council President.
Okay. Great. Thank you again. One last quick housing question, and I -- sorry if this was already asked and answered, but one of the conversations we were having about the H.O.M.E bond was ensuring that these resources were reserved in part for low-income households, even as the eligibility for these programs were expanded to moderate- income households as a result of the H.O.M.E funds. Of the funds dispersed last year, how many were for households under 30 percent, and how many under 80 percent of AMI?
I believe we do have that information for you, Councilmember. Mark is going to come up here to --
Good afternoon, Mark Dodds, deputy director of DHCD. So of the -- of the programs that we have available through Q2 --
60 -- about two thirds went to zero to 30 percent AMI. And about percent went to 14 30 to 50 percent AMI. 15
Looks -- 13 percent, 30 -- or 50 to 80 percent AMI and then a small portion, it looks like percent or maybe percent for -- from 80 percent AMI and above.
Thank you very much for that. Ready to move to Commerce. I don't want to get cut off. Commerce, first follow-up question on -- you talked a lot about what you did for the businesses that were faced with the BIRT tax for the first time this year, but what we never got was how many businesses do you believe were affected; total number of businesses affected? You told us the businesses that you reached out to and who have responded.
But -- so out of 50,000 businesses, you told us many things, but it seems like you've touched about 4,000.
Yeah, I actually -- I have the updated. The number -- our number is 12,395 through the first three quarters. So -- and I can get you the breakdown to show how I kind of get those.
But those are businesses that you've reached out to offer just free tax prep or?
They've gotten an assistance in some way, whether it's right, one-on-one assistance or -- and/or funding. And you know, we did have a -- we did have a slow start as we were staffing up. We had to RFP some new partners, we had to put some technology in place. So we feel like those numbers are even picking up at this point. But --
These businesses, we've heard from so many of them. They are hurting so badly. And I just, you know, things like free tax prep just doesn't do it for them. It's just -- we've only touched a fraction of them. And then they're hurting really, really badly from the changes. I wanted to ask some outdoor dining, and I also want to touch on the ports real quick. So with outdoor dining, thank you so much for all of the help that you've given us in the expansion of outdoor dining. And you said we're going to get the outdoor dining guidebook, make sure it's up to date.
How are we doing with the outdoor dining book? The guidebook?
Good. It is -- it's -- the draft is in place. It's going to create -- the encouragement is right. We want people to look not just at streeteries, but at sidewalk cafes, at all the different types of outdoor dining. And again, I thank you for your leadership and in creating the sidewalk cafe extensions or for -- and as well as, you know, more areas that don't need variances for -- in order to do sidewalk cafes. So the book is coming along. I don't -- I'm not sure where we can get you a draft, or we'll definitely share it soon. We're doing the book to encourage outdoor dining -- or to encourage sidewalk cafes. And then we're also doing, as you know, the -- we're partnering with Streets and MDO, and we have a experienced design-build firm working on a kit of parts right now that will help with both streeteries and sidewalk cafes.
Great. And can we -- can we -- can you proactively get that to BIDs and other business partners? So we proactively are sending this out to the restaurant community and all of our key partners so that they don't have to come to you?
Yes. Yes, absolutely. We'll rely on all our partners for that.
So a couple quick questions about the ports, which I've introduced a resolution. We're going to have a hearing just to see how we're doing down at the ports. Can we increase the work that we're doing? I took a tour with the maritime pilots, and it was really -- very eye-opening to see what's happening down there, but I saw so much potential of what we could do. I think that ports are such an important asset, and what is currently being done to modernize our ports? And also, would love to know -- that's a good start, and I'm going to come up with a second one. Thank you. What do we -- what is the city doing to modernize our ports right now? And is Commerce invested and involved in this?
We are not directly involved. I mean, we partner with the ports, as they're a huge part of our, you know, economic growth. And we are -- so we sort of work side by side, but we are not directly involved in their -- in -- yeah, in their upgrades and activities.
What -- I know that PhilaPort is a partner on -- it's on your website. It says that you can connect local businesses to international businesses, and I think for the -- us is this is important for everything from, like, groceries to, you know, laptops to get goods off of the ports. It's just a --
Yeah, I mean, we are -- we are uniquely positioned, like, literally geographically positioned right within a day's drive of 40 percent of the U.S. population. The Philadelphia ports just -- we -- are our main destination for food and for other goods. And then we're also seeing all this growth with all the other industries along, sort of, all the maritime industries. And so I think there is a lot of opportunity there. And we are -- we are convening, we are, you know, sort of facilitating things to ensure that that growth continues.
Will you -- I believe our hearing will be in the fall. Will you come to our hearing? I really think --
-- this is a moment. The things that we need in Philadelphia are coming off of ships in the port, and I think it's such a great opportunity for Commerce.
And there is a lot -- you're right, that there's a lot of spin off businesses that happen because we have the ports here as well as all of the manufacturing that's related, yeah.
Thank you. Thank you very much, Councilmember Landau. Thank you for your work on -- we're all so excited that cruising has returned.
I'm so excited. And thank you so much to the longshoreman.
Councilmember Gilmore-Richardson, can I just circle back to a question Councilmember Landau asked earlier --
Sure. Very briefly as we have a few members in the crew. Okay. Thank you.
It is very quickly, and it was about your hotel tax question you asked in the first round. And the short answer is just simply that while the home dollars that we allocated for homeless prevention were specifically for prevention dollars, not necessarily operational costs. So the taxes was really to support the thousand bed shelter initiative. We don't generally borrow funds to pay for operating costs and things like maintenance and staffing. So that's kind of the distinction there. So we do -- we will be working with the Office of Homeless Services around some of the other things, but that's the specific delineation of why we're not using home bonds for some of those specific costs that the hotel tax will be paying for.
Thank you. Thank you very much. The Chair now recognizes Councilmember Bass.
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. So I just had a quick question for planning retaining walls.
When are we getting them done? So -- and I say that because maybe you missed it. There was an article in the Inquirer on Sunday, your name wasn't in it, I don't think.
My name was, but you're responsible. So when are we going to get some movement on some of these retaining walls?
So my understanding is that the last $50 million in NPI is for infrastructure and those retaining walls. I don't know the status of the conversation, specifically around that one. I do know there have been some -- and I'm talking to you as if you don't know this, but, like, there are some complexities specifically with that wall. And I also recognize that that article came out a week before you and I sat next to each other to have the opportunity to talk about it. I would love to dive in deeper with you about that specific wall. But my understanding is that we are committed -- or NPI's last $50 million has been committed to addressing the current roster in queue of retaining walls.
Okay. I appreciate that. Thank you very much. But we've been talking about this wall for years now. The same, same wall. It's only gotten worse. To be honest, I don't want to talk about it anymore. You know, with the administration, I just want to go ahead and get it done. Because we have -- you know, the administration has, I won't say we, the administration has said that they were going to tackle this project, that this was going to get done. It's been years. It's a massive project, I understand that, but it has to be done. It just has to be done.
I think there -- we recognize the commitment, and we're still committed to it. I also know that there've just been some curve balls, if you will, that really have --
There have been some curve balls, but on the -- looking at the other side of it, you know, people are losing the access to homeowner's insurance. People can't use the rear of their homes. You know, like, it's also a tight block. You know, you can't -- people can't park like they have, you know, driveways and all. They can't use any of that. And so we've really diminished what the value of their house is -- their homes are because we haven't done or addressed this wall. Years ago, the city came out and did some preliminary work and went away and never came back. And that was before I was in Council. So that's how long this story is. You know, I would just like a resolution to this, and the resolution being that the wall is fixed, that we have a date for it. We just cannot allow this to continue on. And God forbid if somebody gets hurt, if something begins to crumble, it's very unsteady. And we all know this. This is information that the administration has. We've had engineer after engineer, after engineer. And so the project has to be completed. So, David, I know -- I'm sorry?
I don't know that I have that one, but I certainly can put eyes on it and get back to you in terms of what can be done. I tried to send an engineer out recently for your other wall, Janice Street, I believe it is.
But I can't get to -- I can't -- he can't access the area to assess. So if you can help me get that area cleared --
And then I can give you some answers on that wall and I'll work on your Glen Echo wall.
Okay. We will -- it has to be done sooner rather than later. It's been delay after delay after delay. It cannot wait really a second longer. It has to be done. Because if something happens to someone or someone's property, ultimately the City of Philadelphia bears the brunt of that responsibility because we know that it's in really bad shape. So thank you very much.
Thank you. Thank you so much Councilwoman Bass and we support your efforts relative to the retaining wall. We have very many as well in the 4th, so we thank you.
Thank you. I appreciate that. And I hope that it's picked up by the press that ran the first article in terms of saying that I was the responsible party for preparing this retaining wall. So thank you.
Received, and duly noted. Thank you. Thank you very much. The Chair now recognizes Councilmember O'Rourke.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I'm sorry, I failed to ask a question earlier that I meant to raise. I know that there had at one point been a partnership that had been formulating between the Building Trades and, I think, PHA to acquire Brith Sholom. And I just wanted to kind of get an update on the status of that particular project and how things are coming along with that.
I Believe we're navigating through the MOU. John Mondlak has been managing that process specifically with PHC -- PHA, excuse me. John, can give you the latest update on that.
Thank you, Councilman. John Mondlak, deputy in Planning and Development. We are still continuing to work with PHA. The Trades have offered to lend money to do the -- probably the first mortgage. I'm not a 100 percent sure the position, but I believe it's critical money that they need. We're working through the terms of that agreement. And in addition to that, we also have $8 million of our money to put into that deal to make sure that it happens. And so, as soon as we reach agreement on the terms, we, the City, would be guaranteeing that loan, which is enticing the Trades to do it at a very reasonable rate that allows it to be affordable for PHA to make the project work. I believe they have a GM -- a guaranteed maximum price contract, and it's just a matter of working out the financing.
Got it. So it's -- this is still a deal in the works; this is not a thing that was set?
I see. Okay. Understood. You get the sense that it will happen, it's going to come to pass, or, you know, any -- barring any crazy things taking place, you feel like that will be something that will be completed?
Yeah. Assuming that markets don't go off the rails, the -- this is just a matter of reaching an agreement on terms.
Thank you. Thank you, Councilmember O'Rourke. And to your question, you know that Brith Sholom is in my ward, in the 52nd Ward. And so I wanted to put on the record and thank PHA for answering the call relative to some of the concerns of the neighbors that live in the adjacent property regarding ensuring that that building stays secure, particularly in the rear. So in the front -- you know, you can see that it's all boarded up in the front, but in the rear, we had folks breaking in there. I know we had one unfortunate incident relative to someone passing away, but even after that, we had individuals entering the rear of the property. And so I happened to be out on a Sunday morning walking over there, and I was stopped by two residents in the housing complex, which is directly next door. And they spoke to me about that issue. And so I want to uplift and appreciate PHA for responding to that call and for sending their security officers to the site to ensure that the building was secure. And I just wanted to repeat what you were saying and help me. Did I understand this correctly, the city is guaranteeing the loan?
Okay. So the city guarantees the loan. So then I guess the terms; will Council approve those terms? Will everything come back to us for a review?
I honestly don't know if that guarantee comes back to city council, but we could find out.
-- and just let us know. Okay. I would be interested to find out. Are there --
Yeah. And I know if Councilmember Jones were here, he would say the same thing on behalf of the entire 4th Council District. Now, is this included in the H.O.M.E. dollars?
This is an investment from the Trades, the Trades pension -- pensions for the Trades community.
But meaning -- but we're guaranteeing the loan on the city side? That's what I'm talking about.
Yeah. The guarantee of the loan, if all goes well, it doesn't cost us anything. So we're essentially putting our credit into that loan. And so the goal is not to spend a penny on that guarantee. It's a risk that the Finance Department will have to manage, but it's not a cash infusion.
One, you know, I'm Chair of Finance, but also, two, we just did our line of credit that we probably won't use, right? But we had to still approve it through Council. So that's why I'm asking that question. It still had to come through Council; we still had to have a hearing. It was, you know, brought before the full Council for consideration, and we approved it. The chances of us utilizing the line of credit is very slim; I'm talking about the DNC line of credit. But the approval still had to come through Council. So that is why I'm asking, particularly, because this is an unprecedented financing package relative to a housing complex in the city. So typically, that would come back to us. So I just need you all to work with Finance and with Law to help us understand how that process will work. Okay?
All right. Thank you very much. The Chair now recognizes Councilmember Gauthier. Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't even see that you were going. I'm like, I know she came back. Okay. We'll give Councilmember Gauthier an opportunity to return. Councilmember Jones. Councilmember Jones, do you have any questions?