What are the Discover Works Global 888.557.8650 www.dw-global.com 3/26/12 - WHOLE - BILL 120164, ETC. consequences --
But we don't know -- can I finish my answer, please? But we don't know where we'll wind up.
I understand, but we're creating a bill in advance of that that could, in theory, collect two and a half billion dollars for the School District if the upper limit of your estimate is correct and it's four times, which we would never under state law be able to take back, which would be a permanent tax increase on the citizens of Philadelphia, which would be multiplying essentially what they pay by four times. That's not how this was presented to the public. It was presented as, We know what we're doing, it's a thoughtful formula and it's going to be roughly X, $491 million.
That's not Discover Works Global 888.557.8650 www.dw-global.com 3/26/12 - WHOLE - BILL 120164, ETC. what's in the bill.
No. It is what's in the bill. The formula in the bill 5 gets you to $458 million for the City. What you're talking about is if everything that were done is thrown out by a judge. That's what you're talking about, not what the bill is proposing, but if everything goes wrong through the court system.
The question is what the bill proposes if the savings clause comes into effect because a judge throws it out. That's the question.
The upper limit of that, a billion dollars for the City. Let's --
I don't know what the upper limit is because I don't know where we'll wind up. We can have the same conversation over and over again, but that's what I'm telling you.
If your Discover Works Global 888.557.8650 www.dw-global.com 3/26/12 - WHOLE - BILL 120164, ETC. estimate to PICA is correct, which was three to four times, then it's between 750 and a billion dollars we'll collect. Is that a true statement?
-- I don't know that that's where we'll wind up. And if we wind up at something below 2 percent, then we could get less. But, again, our proposal is the formula that's in the bill, not the fail-safe.
All right, Mr. Dubow. Thank you. I assure you that you will be asked that question again in another forum. The Chair now -- before I go to the next one, I just want to ask you a couple of quick questions. Relating to the proposed new police administration building, two questions related. One, the PICA Discover Works Global 888.557.8650 www.dw-global.com 3/26/12 - WHOLE - BILL 120164, ETC. dollars, could you real quickly define the million in PICA and what further 4 obligation we have with respect to the 9 5 million in PICA and then on the sale of 6 the existing assets, assuming that we 7 build a new facility. And I know in an 8 earlier briefing, there were some 9 conversations about the revenue generated from the sale of those existing assets going to pay off either the debt or the costs associated with the new facility. I believe it was the police administration building, the morgue and I don't know if there are any other --
500 South Broad Street. I think the first part of your question was is there any sort of strings attached to the $9 million. I'm not framing it as eloquently as you did.
No. We plan to request $9 million from PICA our funds that they have for one-time purposes. So Discover Works Global 888.557.8650 www.dw-global.com 3/26/12 - WHOLE - BILL 120164, ETC. there would be no obligation. I mean, as long as we're using it for a one-time expense, the idea would be that there would be no obligation to return that money.
Okay. And the second point, in terms of if in fact we build a new facility, which will be, I guess, the capital -- I guess we'll bond it or whatever -- what in terms of the sale of the then assets be, police administration building, South Broad and the morgue?
I'm assuming we don't have an estimate of the cost or the proposed sale. Would the proposal be to sell those assets and then retire the debt on the new facility or would that money just simply go into the General Fund?
A lot of the details would still need to be worked out. The plan is that we get the $9 Discover Works Global 888.557.8650 www.dw-global.com 3/26/12 - WHOLE - BILL 120164, ETC. million from PICA and spend the next year doing all the design work and schematic and programmatic work that needs to get done in order to understand the full cost of the project and how to best move forward with construction. At that point, we'll be able to figure out how best -- what the cost is and then how best to pay for it, so if we would need to issue bonds. And then it seems like a likely place to go that the cost of -- I mean, I'm sorry, that the money that we get from the sale of the buildings, it would be good to offset the total cost of the project. But a lot of the details would need to be worked out in terms of the timing, because obviously we need to be moved out -- well, not obviously, but you'd have to figure out a way to structure it so that you could get sale proceeds before the debt, if that's what you're saying. There's a lot of details to be worked out. Discover Works Global 888.557.8650 www.dw-global.com 3/26/12 - WHOLE - BILL 120164, ETC.
Well, obviously that's something we're interested in in terms of asset sales, and we have some ideas about how those asset sales should be applied.
But the question is -- and you actually made me a little more concerned based on your response -- is that we would actually be requesting $9 million from PICA and we could possibly conceivably spend the $9 million without having an understanding of how to retire the debt or how the asset sales could be applied to the debt or very specific terms. I mean --
We have ideas about how to do it. There are multiple Discover Works Global 888.557.8650 www.dw-global.com 3/26/12 - WHOLE - BILL 120164, ETC. ways in which it could be done, but I think that my point was that the $9 million is being spent first and then we would know the full cost of the project, because we've gotten varying, really wide estimates in terms of how much it would cost.
All right. I mean, can you share -- I'm assuming PICA will ask similar questions if they're going to give you 9, but we're kind of in the game also. So I'd like to see a more fully flushed out game plan in terms of how we're going to pay for a new facility, which is obviously needed. But my concern is, I talked to you particularly as it relates to this Love Park Garage -- and I'll spare you with that one today -- about us continuing to incur debt and without a game plan of retiring the debt. So we're adding debt on top of debt, and as you said in your earlier conversations, some of the obligations that we have, not only to Discover Works Global 888.557.8650 www.dw-global.com 3/26/12 - WHOLE - BILL 120164, ETC. some of our earlier debt, be it NTI or capital debt, but also pension obligations, at some point we have to come up with a strategy on relieving ourselves of that. So I'd like to get a better sense of how we're going -- if we're going to incur additional debt, what's the game plan on having short-term elimination of that debt.
Thank you. The Chair recognizes Councilman Jones. Oh, wait a minute. Hold on. Hold on. Okay. Councilman Jones.
Thank you, Discover Works Global 888.557.8650 www.dw-global.com 3/26/12 - WHOLE - BILL 120164, ETC. Mr. President.
I first talked about where we would get revenues by way of outstanding tax delinquents. I want to talk about expenditures and particularly from my vantage point of being Chair of Public Safety. I'm looking at your PICA reports, your testimony and the Quarterly City Managers Report, which indicates that we have spent $14.4 million in the first two quarters in overtime, that representing Fire, Prisons and Police, respectively, 13.9 million for the Fire Department, $7 million for Prisons and 1.7 million in overtime for police officers. And I guess what I'm trying to understand is, in some of those categories, we actually increased and hired new employees, but yet overtime still went up, and I don't understand. I want to know, how does the Discover Works Global 888.557.8650 www.dw-global.com 3/26/12 - WHOLE - BILL 120164, ETC. formula work by which a manager says, All right, rather than fill new positions, we're going to go with the overtime expenses and fiscally it makes sense for us to do that versus a tipping point where we say, Okay, we need to make these new hires such as what we're doing in Police, in the Police Department with the new graduating class. Who is making those decisions and is it -- let's start with that part of the question and then I'll ask my followup.
Well, Councilman, I can tell you that the -- and I want to take a step back. Overtime in Fire, which was a large driver of what you just noted, came as a result of us not being able to hire, even though we perhaps wanted to, but we had an issue with the Supreme Court and how it affected our testing that was done. We also had some labor issues we had to get resolved in the courts before we could Discover Works Global 888.557.8650 www.dw-global.com 3/26/12 - WHOLE - BILL 120164, ETC. actually put in a class. So even though we would have wanted -- I think we were down something like at the time 60 firefighters -- we could not put a class in without having those issues resolved. So sometimes you may want to do something and you can't, and you just have to then deal with where you are and use the overtime in order to address the problem, because you have to staff up to a certain level and controlling it as best you can, either with the union assisting or without the union assisting, through other means. So that's one. Second, we do try to manage overtime. I know that one of the things we started many years ago in the Police Department, Commissioner Ramsey put in an overtime unit trying to deal with court overtime and working with people on CJAB and working collectively with the District Attorney, the courts and everyone else to try to control overtime as best we can, and we've seen dramatic Discover Works Global 888.557.8650 www.dw-global.com 3/26/12 - WHOLE - BILL 120164, ETC. savings in that as well. And last --
He's very serious about the timer. I just want to ask two quick questions followup. So that means we won't double that in the next six months --
-- by way of overtime? And then my other question is, the second largest department is the Prisons.
Yeah, not necessarily. I just want to say the Fire is still going to be there because we still haven't had a chance, so the overtime is still going to be used. We are trying to manage it as best we can, but that overtime is still going to be there because we haven't been able to get a class in yet. I think that's the safe --
That's right. Discover Works Global 888.557.8650 www.dw-global.com 3/26/12 - WHOLE - BILL 120164, ETC. In the Fiscal '13 proposed budget, you'll see the Fire Department's overtime projected to go down as they bring on up to 160 new firefighters over the year. But in '12, the problem will persist, unfortunately.
So we should anticipate doubling that overtime from 10 to 28? 11
I'm hoping not, 12 but we have to just deal with it -- I 13 mean, obviously we respond to things that 14 need to be done and we have a staffing component that has to be maintained. So whatever needs to happen has to happen.
So in the case of the Prisons, what is the -- that's $7 million there. What's going on there in the overtime?
The Prisons were at a point where -- we're actually putting a prisons classes in. We're continuing to do that in order to help Commissioner Giorla with his staffing Discover Works Global 888.557.8650 www.dw-global.com 3/26/12 - WHOLE - BILL 120164, ETC. vacancies as well.
The problem with the Prisons is that the census has gone up recently, and that's put pressure on overtime.
That's correct. We had to open up a different place. We had to reopen some places that we've gotten out of. We had to reopen, and that means a new staffing plan had to be put in place, which is basically done by overtime.
You Discover Works Global 888.557.8650 www.dw-global.com 3/26/12 - WHOLE - BILL 120164, ETC. said that I am serious about the timer.
I'm going to stop talking at this point. Thank you, Mr. President.
Thank you. The Chair recognizes Councilmember Kenney.
Thank you, Mr. President. One of the good things and bad things about being around here for a long time is you get to ask the same questions over and over again every year. If I were to ask you what's the outstanding delinquent real estate tax that's out there, what would be the number?
I think the principal amount of what's outstanding is about 230 million.
I think 230 is the principal amount that's outstanding. Discover Works Global 888.557.8650 www.dw-global.com 3/26/12 - WHOLE - BILL 120164, ETC.
What's the number that everybody keeps talking about? Every time we have a discussion, I get e-mails from people and calls from people saying, Collect the $480 million in delinquent real estate taxes before you raise my real estate taxes.
How old is the oldest? Is it years old, 30 years 13 old, the oldest property that's still 14 being counted in this? 15
What's the 18 average time that a bank, lending 19 institution would carry a bad debt, a bad 20 mortgage? They got to write them off at some point, right?
Right. It's probably maybe half of that, but I'm just kind of guessing.
So why are Discover Works Global 888.557.8650 www.dw-global.com 3/26/12 - WHOLE - BILL 120164, ETC. we still adding interest and penalty and having that number rise every year and having it used as a baseball bat to beat us with when we want to do something else? Why don't we just have a policy or pass a law or change the Charter or whatever needs to be done to wipe out ten-year-old debt that we're never going to collect that gives people the misimpression that somehow there's stuff out there that we're not going after.
Well, we've actually significantly changed our policy. It used to be a few years ago that we were still showing 30 years, which obviously got an even bigger number. So we've pulled it down I think based on -- I mean, at ten years there's less of a chance, but still some chance that --
When does it roll off? Discover Works Global 888.557.8650 www.dw-global.com 3/26/12 - WHOLE - BILL 120164, ETC.
It's not reality. It's simply not in the real world. After a certain period of time, you're not going to get that money. You can add all the interest and penalty you want to it; it's just going to make it look bigger.
Well, that's a good point. We can look at kind of when it's appropriate to stop doing that.
Could we Discover Works Global 888.557.8650 www.dw-global.com 3/26/12 - WHOLE - BILL 120164, ETC. get something back and say a certain length of time, a certain age, it's dead and buried.
Right. And we'll look at what kind of constraints we may have and whether that requires a change in law here or whether there's something at the state.
Thank you, Councilman. The Chair recognizes Councilmember Goode.
Thank you, Mr. President. Good afternoon. I'm not going to deal with this as just a financial document anymore. We are not necessarily legally required to approve the Five Year Plan. We will have to approve a budget. Next year when we approve a budget, there will be another Five Year Plan. The Discover Works Global 888.557.8650 www.dw-global.com 3/26/12 - WHOLE - BILL 120164, ETC. purpose for the Plan is a requirement from PICA, but I asked the question last year whether it's also considered to be a strategic plan for the Administration, and I'll amend that question a bit. Is it also a legacy document? At the end of the day, if we look at this Five Year Plan, can we look at what the Nutter Administration will have accomplished over his time in office?
Thank you, Councilman. I think that most documents within the City tell you, especially from a strategic point of view or even an investment point of view, where you're going, and that is a legacy that every Administration I think has.
-- that didn't require a long answer. At the end of the Five Year Plan, what will the unemployment rate be? Discover Works Global 888.557.8650 www.dw-global.com 3/26/12 - WHOLE - BILL 120164, ETC.
What investments are being made to change the unemployment rate under the Five Year Plan?
I think that our Administration has consistently made similar investments. Our emphasis on literacy, our emphasis on workforce development, our emphasis on reentry are the kinds of investments that we believe will help transition people into fully engaged citizens that allow them to be part and parcel of the society.
So can you quantify that in terms of investment over the Five Year Plan?
I would have to just go back and add it up, but I know that we -- whatever those investments --
You can send that through the Chair. Discover Works Global 888.557.8650 www.dw-global.com 3/26/12 - WHOLE - BILL 120164, ETC.
All right. At the end of the Five Year Plan, what will the City's poverty rate be?
Again, I wouldn't hazard to guess. I would state that no matter how you look at whatever the poverty level is, it would be too high.
Can you tell me what those investments will be and can you quantify that and just forward that through the Chair?
What will the City's graduation rate be at the end of the Five Year Plan?
The Mayor has put that out as a policy statement that he would like to have the graduations at 80 percent, and that's also part and parcel of how we are seen and one of the important parts of our Administration. So I would think that that would be what Discover Works Global 888.557.8650 www.dw-global.com 3/26/12 - WHOLE - BILL 120164, ETC. we would hope would be accomplished.
Can you tell me what you envision in terms of those investments and quantify how much will be invested and just submit that through the Chair as well?
I believe we can. I think that our Office of Education is pretty much where our investment has been in order to help collaborate and then move things forward. Obviously the School District itself is not something necessarily with us, but we work very diligently to help them out.
Okay. What will the City's prison population be at the end of the Five Year Plan?
Again, I wouldn't hazard to guess. I know where I would love it to be, because I'd love to close a prison.
That's where I Discover Works Global 888.557.8650 www.dw-global.com 3/26/12 - WHOLE - BILL 120164, ETC. would love it to be.
Can you tell me what investments you will make over the next five years and quantify that and send it through the Chair?
Just very last thing. I will stay within the rules, Mr. President. What percentage of City contract dollars are projected to be awarded to businesses owned by women and people of color by the end of the Five Year Plan?
I will -- I know what our policy is and I know where our investments have been at this point. I know they were a little bit north of 21 percent, but we will deal with making 22 that answer at the end of five years. 23 I'll have to take a look at it and 24 provide that as well. 25
Okay. If Discover Works Global 888.557.8650 www.dw-global.com 3/26/12 - WHOLE - BILL 120164, ETC. the registry is already increasing by 50 percent and we're already above the 4 percent mark at 26 percent, I'm assuming 5 there's a higher goal at the end of five 6 years, but you can forward that 7 information through the Chair. 8 Thank you, Mr. President. 9
10 Thank you, Councilman. 11 The Chair recognizes 12 Councilmember Squilla. 13
Yes. 14 Thank you again. Thank you, 15 Mr. President. 16 The 4 percent increase in 17 Fiscal Year 2014 that's penciled into the 18 budget, end of the Five Year Plan, would 19 that even happen if the assessments did 20 not increase? 21
If we didn't put a 22 new millage rate in place next year, our 23 anticipation is that after we get to 24 actual value, that we will put a millage 25 rate in place next year. Discover Works Global 888.557.8650 www.dw-global.com 3/26/12 - WHOLE - BILL 120164, ETC.
I think after -- I mean, this bill only is a formula, and I think going forward, we want to be able to put specific millage rates in the legislation.
So what we're saying is, you want to be able to increase it that following year from 2013 to 2014 to have a 4 percent increase?
No. Really what we're saying is that we're projecting that assessments will increase again.
If they do not and we put the same millage rate as we have -- as we wind up with in '13, they would not increase if assessments didn't go up.
But what does this state here? Discover Works Global 888.557.8650 www.dw-global.com 3/26/12 - WHOLE - BILL 120164, ETC.
I'm saying that in the legislation it goes up, but we would hope to have actual -- to be done with AVI and have a millage rate by next year.
Okay. Question on the Police. I know they said they want to hire 400 new police officers in 2013.
I think it's on average it's about 116, but it's -- go ahead.
We know how many officers are in DROP, and then we have a projection of how many are leaving that are non-DROP. So overall it could be up to like around 265 or so that are leaving.
So then we Discover Works Global 888.557.8650 www.dw-global.com 3/26/12 - WHOLE - BILL 120164, ETC. have a projection for 2014?
That's right. Basically we have it projected up for the five years that the police are expected to leave in rather sizable numbers for the next five years. The 260 or so in '13 will continue in that range for the next four years. So we have to hire large numbers of classes in order to keep up with that and keep the count up at 6,500.
And our intention is to keep it at 6,500 for the five years?
And the Fire Department, the number that is projected to increase in 2013?
We have an increase of about 160 firefighters, and the numbers are also supposed to be sizable that are anticipated to leave, so that we'll have to hire perhaps even Discover Works Global 888.557.8650 www.dw-global.com 3/26/12 - WHOLE - BILL 120164, ETC. double that to keep up with the level of attrition.
And are classes going to be scheduled along the way to be able to do this? Because, as you know, the less people that we have, the more overtime and the more cost it ends up becoming.
Right. The departments are working closely with our HR department in order to stagger the classes and have enough -- have the classes be large enough and the list be large enough so that we don't run into a problem.
Thank you, Councilman. The Chair recognizes Councilmember Green.
Thank you, Mr. President. Mr. Dubow, to Councilmember Discover Works Global 888.557.8650 www.dw-global.com 3/26/12 - WHOLE - BILL 120164, ETC. Squilla's point, doesn't the formula result in a millage that will be applied to the assessed value?
Okay. So the fact that you have two different formulas, one for 2013 and one for 2014, doesn't that mean that you've, as a result of the formula, put in place two millage rates that you're not, quote/unquote, getting an increase in value, that by its very nature this bill 14 puts in place two millage rates, one that is 4 percent higher than the other? So that if we had an actual increase in property values of percent, the increased millage rate of percent in 2014 would actually result in overall property taxes coming in at percent higher by application of the two millage rates that are in this bill?
No, it does not mean that. I'll take this in two parts. It has an actual dollar amount that we Discover Works Global 888.557.8650 www.dw-global.com 3/26/12 - WHOLE - BILL 120164, ETC. would receive under the formula. So that dollar amount is not percent higher 4 than the dollar amount from the year 5 before. So you would get to that dollar 6 amount. 7
It has a millage rate that is automatically calculated based on the formula. That is how you responded to my question to begin with.
Right, but the one part of the formula is the dollar amount you would collect. So you wouldn't get a millage rate -- you wouldn't have a formula based on an amount you collect --
-- and have the -- let me just finish, please -- and you wouldn't get to a millage rate that then would produce more than the other part of the constraint on your equation, which is how much you collect.
Okay. So aren't we going to have a millage rate in Discover Works Global 888.557.8650 www.dw-global.com 3/26/12 - WHOLE - BILL 120164, ETC. 2013 as an automatic result of the adjustment? The answer to that was yes. We're going to have a millage rate in 2014 as a result of the formula, and we've set two different millage rates, one for 2013 and one for 2014, which are formulaic and one is 4 percent higher than the other. So essentially what you've locked in is a 4 percent tax increase -- a 4 percent increase in the millage rate between '13 and '14. Is that a fair characterization?
But I want to answer your question, because what it shows is an increase in dollar value, right? So the millage rate in each year will depend on where assessments wind up. So the millage rate the first year will go up or down depending on where assessments are, and that would happen the second year too. So if assessments Discover Works Global 888.557.8650 www.dw-global.com 3/26/12 - WHOLE - BILL 120164, ETC. went up percent in that second year over what it was the first year, you actually see the millage rate go down.
That's 6 correct. But it wouldn't go down by -- 7 it would be -- we'd still collect 4 8 percent more than we did in 2013. 9
We would, and like 10 I said to Councilman Squilla, if we get AVI done this year, then next year's we could have new legislation that would have a millage rate.
So why have a millage rate set for 2014 since we have to do a budget next year anyway?
We put that in the legislation in case we didn't get AVI done this year, but I think we can have a discussion about whether we should take out the '14. I think we could do that.
So what is the Administration's assessment -- I think this raises a very important point. What are the odds that we -- if you need Discover Works Global 888.557.8650 www.dw-global.com 3/26/12 - WHOLE - BILL 120164, ETC. to build into the legislation a safety valve in case we don't get AVI done this year, should we be rushing to get it done?
Like I said, I think you've raised -- you and Councilman Squilla have raised some good issues about having FY14 in there, and I think we'd be open to talking about removing that from the legislation.
Thank you, Councilman. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Bass.
Just a couple of quick questions. The first question is, if you prevail and have a win at the STEB Board, do you think the Discover Works Global 888.557.8650 www.dw-global.com 3/26/12 - WHOLE - BILL 120164, ETC. rates will go back to 32 percent or do you think it will be somewhere between 4 and 32? Do you have an estimation on 5 that? 6
So to add another 7 level of complication to this STEB issue, 8 because it's not complicated enough, you 9 have a 15 percent window around the 32 10 percent. So you have to be at at least 11 27.2 percent, and that's where we think 12 we'll be, above the 27.2 percent. 13
Okay. And 14 how will that 27.2 percent affect 15 revenues? 16
If you get within 17 the 15 percent variance, you're allowed 18 to keep using the 32 percent in terms of your common level ratio. So if we get there, then we'll be okay. But I should emphasize again that this is a big risk for every year we haven't gone to AVI that the state will tell us that we have to calculate our taxes differently and that we'll have substantial losses. Discover Works Global 888.557.8650 www.dw-global.com 3/26/12 - WHOLE - BILL 120164, ETC.
Okay. And the other question was on -- just in the presentation that was made in terms of investments in people, particularly folks here in Philadelphia who are at risk. So we're going to increase the money we spend on crime prevention by $1 million, we're going to increase beds at the shelter that's going to be closing on Ridge Avenue by 1.2 million and another 4 million in terms of investments in police. And I guess when you look at this investment at 6.3 million over the investment that we're making between Dilworth and Love Park, which is about 70 million, if I'm correct in that, and so my thought is, how do we justify spending about $70 million on these two areas? Dilworth is already obviously under construction and the proposal is to do Love Park as well, but at a time like this when there's an increased need for human services, it just seems that it might not be so wise to contemplate Love Discover Works Global 888.557.8650 www.dw-global.com 3/26/12 - WHOLE - BILL 120164, ETC. Park at this time.
Let me say a couple of different things. First, there are two different aspects of the budget. One is Capital; one is General Fund. So when -- and I've heard this thing about Dilworth is 50, whatever the million dollars is for Dilworth Plaza and the City's investment. We are actually getting grants for most of that, and a lot of that is federal funding. So that's really not an apples-to-apples comparison. When we're talking about trying to invest in people, we're using the dollars that we have available to us to invest in those people, to invest in making the City safer, to invest in people's services, and we're trying to hold the line as best we can, but we need those investments in order to make sure that those people don't get hurt.
Excuse me. Councilwoman Sanchez has a point of Discover Works Global 888.557.8650 www.dw-global.com 3/26/12 - WHOLE - BILL 120164, ETC. information.
I just want to -- I think where Councilwoman Bass is going is, I outlined earlier how we're getting cuts both at the federal and City level and we're not covering those costs, but we're making additional investments in other areas. So I guess her concern is the decision to add 4 and a half million dollars to the Mayor's budget versus covering the $44 million in state cuts or the $10, $15 million in federal cuts. Who makes that decision?
Well, again, it comes down to capital versus operating dollars, which is what I think --
With services, it's us and our operating money that we are actually putting forward. And the idea that we would actually -- there's no 24 money and there's no ability for us to cover the state cuts directly, and that's Discover Works Global 888.557.8650 www.dw-global.com 3/26/12 - WHOLE - BILL 120164, ETC. what we're trying to help minimize, and we have to always deal with that as best we can. But to say that the capital dollars could somehow be used to cover that --
I'm not mixing the capital dollars. You're saying that -- and I understand your point around capital, but we're making decisions around general operating. One of the discussions we've had continuously is the fact that most of our CDBG money, all of it is grants and that in fact none of that expense is on our general operating fund side, but here you've made a decision to add $4 million in General Fund, but not cover any of the cuts that we're receiving from the feds or the state.
Correct. And the idea is that -- that that is a policy decision. That is a policy decision, especially the 4 million that's going to be used to try to get the police to the Discover Works Global 888.557.8650 www.dw-global.com 3/26/12 - WHOLE - BILL 120164, ETC. levels of providing the services and the safety needs of the City, and we've always had a policy decision that says that safety has to come first. It's the first responsibility of government, and that's what we have to deal with. So, yes, that is a policy decision. It's one that we make and have to make so everything else can flow from there.
The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Bass still, although her time has expired.
Y'all treat me like a substitute teacher here. That's all right.
Thank you, Councilman. Just going back to -- okay. So I understand. Thank you very much. So just going to if we take out Dilworth, which you said we got grants Discover Works Global 888.557.8650 www.dw-global.com 3/26/12 - WHOLE - BILL 120164, ETC. and other funds to cover those costs. Is that the same for Love Park as well?
Love Park is going to be again capital funded, not operating. So, again, it's two different sources.
So that's why they can't really be -- you're spending on one and not the other.
So we're not going to be spending -- well, we are going to be spending about $20 million on Love Park.
-- and other funds that won't come out of the City's budget, as Dilworth is. So there's a difference between the two.
That's capital Discover Works Global 888.557.8650 www.dw-global.com 3/26/12 - WHOLE - BILL 120164, ETC. dollars, not operating dollars. That's correct.
Thank you. A couple of questions on that line. And I was next. This is not the prerogative of the Chair, honestly. I got a witness. The Administration has done a very good job of articulating and even implementing its green strategy. You know it. Most green city in America, and we have taken great strides to really actualize that. More recently, the Mayor has dug his heels in and said we're going to have a crime strategy, and it's clearly articulated in ten points, dealing with everything from bounties on guns and dealing with the bail question, which we played a part of, but you understand his crime strategy with cameras and the like. Kind of sort of you understand his Discover Works Global 888.557.8650 www.dw-global.com 3/26/12 - WHOLE - BILL 120164, ETC. education strategy, which is do over, start over, let's kick everybody out. But what I have not heard -- and I think this speaks to the spirit of my colleague's question -- is his anti-poverty strategy. When we start looking at the fact that we're spending million on 10 Love Park, 40 million on the Plaza, 11 that's respectively closing in on $60 12 million. We have agencies like MOCS, 13 Mayor's Office of Community Services. 14 What is the anti-poverty 15 strategy? And we're talking about 28 16 percent of the City's population living 17 under poverty guidelines. You're talking 18 about many young people waking up in the morning and they are afraid -- or what is that term used, food insecurities. That is really real. And I don't need to have Councilwoman Blackwell talk about the homelessness strategy as of late. Can you articulate our anti-poverty strategy as it relates to Discover Works Global 888.557.8650 www.dw-global.com 3/26/12 - WHOLE - BILL 120164, ETC. your submission of a Five Year Plan?
Well, Councilman, I would suggest to you that one of the things that we have been able to deal with, especially since I was able to sit in this particular chair, is a real reevaluation of what that strategy really should be. There has been for a number of years -- I'm going back 30 years -- where we, as a result of receiving various grants that came either out of Great Society, we have gone forward under various alliterations from the federal government, state government, whatever, that everyone has an understanding of what anti-poverty should look like, and I think that the Mayor's statement -- I'm always struck by it -- is that the best anti-poverty strategy you can have is to give a person the education and a job to get them -- so that they'll be able to provide for their family and their loved ones. That's really the best strategy there is out Discover Works Global 888.557.8650 www.dw-global.com 3/26/12 - WHOLE - BILL 120164, ETC. there, and we have to look at all of our programs with that as our lens and that as our filter. With the decline of the federal government in taking away dollars from the anti-poverty area, we have an entire department that will obviously come up with its -- I guess it's the 38th year or 39th year trying to struggle with what we're doing with housing, what we're doing with work-wise, what we're doing with all of these various things, and the CDBG money that's around that's left is now down to about a paltry $4 million, I think it is, that's coming from the federal government. Our strategy has always been one that comes out of community. Our strategy has been one that says that the places that we are going to get people from poverty and out of poverty is to connect them with the basis of getting jobs and keeping good jobs, and that's the kind of work strategy, that's the economic strategy, Discover Works Global 888.557.8650 www.dw-global.com 3/26/12 - WHOLE - BILL 120164, ETC. all of that is to get people out of poverty.
I think that the basis of -- I think the investments are there when you add them up in total, but I will agree with you that there's no 10 Greenworks that says this is what it is. There's no communications tag to this is what it is, and that's something that I think that I will take away and I'll go back and I'll deal with.
The good thing about the way we do our budget here is that it gives you a heads-up as to what is coming down the pike by a particular department. I applaud the Mayor on his green strategy. I'm down, as they say in the streets, with his crime strategy. I'll be on the corner any time. I understand what he has to do with education. I need to understand what the Discover Works Global 888.557.8650 www.dw-global.com 3/26/12 - WHOLE - BILL 120164, ETC. anti-poverty program is in the five-year strategy, whether it's a part education, whether it's part jobs creation. The Mayor's Office of Community Service is the point person of that, and that plan needs to be articulated by them so that this body, who has -- if I look around each of these District Councilpeople, they have poor people within their -- oh, my three minutes, you can do mine too -- is clear and present and it filters into every other department. The person that doesn't have a job is more likely to not have the education, not have the housing, be involved in other activities. So we really need to kind of hone in on what that strategy is as we approach these other worthwhile goals.