There hasn't been an indefinite waiver approved recently, not -- I don't believe in the last few years there has been any indefinite waivers.
There are. Because if you have doctors that have been on that list since 1976, that had to be an indefinite waiver.
It had to be. And I understand that there are some waivers, and I question those waivers. When I say I question them, I understand that there 99 FY '07 OPERATING BUDGET HEARING - 3/22/06 are some waivers given to some of the employees at the airport that are considered -- what word am I looking for here? Talk about the waivers at the airport.
Well, I have a lot of questions for the Personnel Department, when it is really their turn. So, I will just end now.
Thank you, Councilman. And I know Councilman Ramos is next to be recognized. I have just one simple question, if you don't mind. You mentioned that you are hearing appeals relating to layoff of employees. When 100 FY '07 OPERATING BUDGET HEARING - 3/22/06 were these employees laid off, and how many of them were laid off?
They were laid off last year; a directive from the Mayor, you know, budget cuts. And that is why so many were laid off. It was a directive to us.
Do you have any indication as to how many employees were laid off and how many are appealing?
We can get back to you on that. But we have heard several cases, layoff cases.
We have that information. Just one minute. All right. We have to get back to you on that. That number, we received 67 appeals, 101 FY '07 OPERATING BUDGET HEARING - 3/22/06 total. So of that number, the layoffs were included in that, in that number of 67 who appealed. We will get you that information.
Well, we issued 48 opinions, but we have to get back to you on the outcome, whether they were denied, you know.
Okay. I think we would like to see that information. But, more importantly, I think we are all very interested in knowing and having a complete list of the residency waivers that have been granted. We want to know where these people live and what the title of their jobs are.
All right. We will get that information to you forthwith.
I would appreciate it. Thank you very much. The Chair recognizes Councilman Ramos, who has been extremely patient. Thank 102 FY '07 OPERATING BUDGET HEARING - 3/22/06 you.
Thank you, Madam President. One of my two questions was along the same lines of residency waiver. And Council President, Councilman Rizzo have asked a number of the questions that I had jotted down here. A followup to the question of the part-time physicians. Are these individuals that also probably have another job somewhere else, besides their part-time job with the City of Philadelphia?
So there is a chance that the part-time people that we have extended these waivers for, some of them over years, go back to their suburban homes and 21 have a practice out there, as well; and they 22 come to Philadelphia, they get a part-time 23 job, and get a pension along with it, as well? 24 I mean, that's probably happening; 25 right? 103 FY '07 OPERATING BUDGET HEARING - 3/22/06
I would suspect so. That these doctors are coming here, working part time here, picking up, accruing pension time, yet they probably have another practice or are working somewhere else outside of the city. As the Chairman of the Committee of Labor and Civil Service, the Civil Service Commission, and the Personnel Director, as well as the Board of Pension and Retirement come under my committee. And I have been very carefully studying these other areas outside of labor relations, which is the main area that my committee covers, so that I can, as I fulfill my obligation, get to know the other components of the committee that I Chair. In the Civil Service Commission, Reverend, you and, I believe, Mr. Logan and Ms. Morgan, you three are commissioners. You are not employees of the -- correct me if I am wrong -- you are not employees of the Civil 104 FY '07 OPERATING BUDGET HEARING - 3/22/06 Service Commission, or are you?
You are employees. When you talk about staff, you are talking also about the three commissioners?
So all three of you are staff, as well. But you have other staff, besides the three commissioners?
Yes; we have an administrative assistant and a secretary.
So there is five of you altogether working in that office?
All five of you abide by the same civil service rules as employees of the city on the civil service; 105 FY '07 OPERATING BUDGET HEARING - 3/22/06 right?
And the budget, you are only increasing your budget by a little less than $4,000?
That is correct. No increase for us, if that's your next question.
I wasn't going to ask that. It seemed as though that you are running an operation with, comparatively speaking, you know, a small budget.
Okay. But the three of you are -- are you full-time employees, the three commissioners?
No. No, we're not. At presently we are working three days a week; Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.
You are welcome. 106 FY '07 OPERATING BUDGET HEARING - 3/22/06 Are there any other questions or comments? The Chair recognizes Councilman Rizzo.
For the Personnel Department, could you add to the list for my question on the docs, do we also pay their malpractice insurance, or does the city provide malpractice insurance for these part-time doctors, when they work for us?
You are welcome. Any other questions or comments from members of the committee? Seeing none, thank you all very much. The next department to testify is Personnel. Ms. Orfanelli, it is all yours. And we do have a copy of your testimony.
So you would like me to abbreviate it? 107 FY '07 OPERATING BUDGET HEARING - 3/22/06
I will give you the highlights. Good afternoon at this point, President Verna and members of Council. As I said earlier, my name is Lynda Orfanelli, I am the Personnel Director. And today I have with me Tanya Smith, Deputy Personnel Director, Celia O'Leary, and back in the seats is Dan Earley, our Administrative Services Director for the Administrative Services Cluster. Our budget request this year is for $5,010,141. And the majority of the increase is in Class 100, for salary increases that will be in effect July 1 for civil service employees. In addition, we have increased costs because of the promotional exams for police and fire staffing and funding for our health benefits consultant, which was previously in finance's budget. 108 FY '07 OPERATING BUDGET HEARING - 3/22/06 As you know, our mission is to recruit and select and retain a diverse and effective work force to support the goals of the city. And now that we have shrinking staff, we are trying to minimize the impact on city services. And in order to do that, we have implemented a variety of programs. One of those programs is work force planning. And with work force planning, we work closely with the Managing Director's Office and the Office of the Director of Finance so that we have the information we need to provide the proper staff and to respond to budget constraints that are in effect at various times, as you are aware. In addition, it is important to take into effect the turnover resulting from the DROP employees. So that we are implementing strategic staffing to analyze work force trends and anticipate staffing needs across the government. This year we did requests for proposal for health benefits, for medical, 109 FY '07 OPERATING BUDGET HEARING - 3/22/06 prescription, dental, and for life insurance. And we continue to provide these benefits for 7,000 employees, and life insurance for 39,000 employees. With the help of our consultants, we were able to get excellent prices and we are not asking for any premium -- additional premium contributions for any of the group members. The number of candidates who apply for city employment and promotion varies from year to year. In year '04, we had 54,500 people apply for jobs. In '05, we had 18,279, and that was directly related to the fact that we were not doing much hiring and we were doing layoffs. This year to date we have about 22,000 applications. We have instituted a variety of changes to help manage these large number of applications that we get, which are way beyond the number of positions that we have to fill. I guess the most significant change that we made was the application fee, which 110 FY '07 OPERATING BUDGET HEARING - 3/22/06 has had an amazing impact, I guess, quite a significant impact. One of the big changes that has come as a result of the application fee is that we have a much greater appearance rate. More people who apply actually show up to take the tests. And that's -- the appearance rate has gone from 43 percent to 70 percent, so that over 70 percent now come to take the exams. And as an addition, the number of people who pass the test, the percentage of -- the applicants who pass the test, has also gone up. So that we have an applicant population which is looking more closely at the requirements of the job, and they are more serious about wanting the jobs with the city. Our department is spending less time on the mechanics of administration, and we are able to provide enhanced services. We now notify candidates of the test date in advance. That was always a complaint. 111 FY '07 OPERATING BUDGET HEARING - 3/22/06 Because people applied for exams, but they didn't know when the exam would be. Now they know when the exam will be. We also have scheduled some evening exams. As my testimony indicates, our work force has become more diverse in every category. And our numbers in the testimony compare our work force in 1995 to our current work for, which shows increases in all categories.
We also continue to support employees who are in the military. We comply with the Uniformed Service Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, and our staff routinely works with departments to ensure successful reintegration back into the work force after military leave to serve in the Middle East or anywhere else in the world that they are required to serve. We are working on cost reductions through automation. Since 1990, the Personnel Department has reduced its staff by 35 percent to its current 78 positions. And this has happened primarily 112 FY '07 OPERATING BUDGET HEARING - 3/22/06 through attrition, but we have been able to do that by having additional IT applications which provide efficiencies and eliminate the need for replacing positions. Our current system, our current human resource information system, which was installed in 1980, is slated to be replaced with a new system, which will greatly enhance our ability to provide service. It will give us more management tools, and it will also enable us to get rid of redundant systems. Our customer service center provides information to applicants and employees on vacancies, application procedures, test schedules, scores, and eligible lists. And we have an automated job hot library number, and we can also be reached on the web. This concludes my testimony. I am prepared to answer any questions.
Thank you very much. Ms. Orfanelli, you mentioned that the benefits consulting contract has been 113 FY '07 OPERATING BUDGET HEARING - 3/22/06 moved from finance to your department.
Does this mean that you are responsible for achieving the future savings in the Five-Year Plan for health and welfare costs?
We were always responsible. The fact that the contract was in finance had nothing to do with the responsibility; it was just the payment for the contract. Because the benefits consultant worked with us.
Well, can you explain the benefits and the associated risk to the city? I think this is something that has been mulling over for the last couple of years about self-insurance; is that true? And as it is mentioned in the Five-Year Plan?
The only self-insurance we are doing, we changed to, was for our prescription plan. We did -- an analysis was done in terms of the risk and reward of having 114 FY '07 OPERATING BUDGET HEARING - 3/22/06 self-insurance for our medical, and we decided not to go that route. So we achieved savings without going that route.
What was the savings, do you recall off the top of your head?
That's fine. Do you have the introduction of the Five-Year Plan?
Okay. Well, on Page XYII, it states -- and maybe you can clarify this for us -- "The plan assumes that the city will mitigate health insurance cost increases by $12 million in FY '08 and $46 million over the life of the plan by implementing reforms, such as self-insurance or consolidating prescription drug purchases. By becoming self-insured, the city would 115 FY '07 OPERATING BUDGET HEARING - 3/22/06 eliminate health insurance companies' administrative fees for processing medical claims from the health plan recipients, while consolidating purchases would lower the city's costs by achieving volume discounts and improved terms." Can you tell us what the basis of that statement is?
At the time that the Five-Year Plan was written, those were all things that we were looking into. But, as things evolved, the only one that we really implemented was the prescription self-insurance. And that was after quite critical review of all the details. And, in fact, we are projecting to spend less money on prescription this year than we spent last year.
Well, Ms. Orfanelli, does this put a $45 million hole in the Five-Year Plan?
No; because we achieved savings without going self-insured. 116 FY '07 OPERATING BUDGET HEARING - 3/22/06 We achieved significant savings. Our overall increase for medical this year was less than percent. 5
All right. On of your testimony, you state, "Due to the city's financial constraints, an assessment of resources needed to" -- now this is very, very unclear to me -- "an assessment of resources needed to process applications, prepare materials, and assign staff to provide examination services to those who failed to follow through in the application process and did not report to take the test, changes were made in the application process." Now, that's as clear as blue moon to me. I don't know if anybody else can understand that. Can you tell us what this statement means and what the changes were?
The major change was the application fee. So we eliminated applicants -- applicants who are no longer serious about working for the city don't apply. So we do 117 FY '07 OPERATING BUDGET HEARING - 3/22/06 not have the excess number of applications that we were receiving previously. We had -- 9,000 people would apply for the fire exam and 3,500 would show up. We had to respond to all those applicants. We had to prepare materials for the potential for 9,000 people coming to exam. We had to make sure that we had enough monitors to be in all those rooms, for the potential for 9,000 people to come to that exam. And then less -- a third would show for that test. Now that we have instituted the application fee, we are -- we are getting approximately 3,500 applicants applying, 3,000 show for the exam. So our show-up rate is much higher in terms of the number that are coming. So we have less pieces of paper to handle, we have less time wasted on the administration of an exam for 9,000, when in fact 3,000 are going to come to take the test.
Councilwoman Blackwell, did you want to piggyback on this, or did you want to wait? 118 FY '07 OPERATING BUDGET HEARING - 3/22/06
Thank you, Madam President. Obviously this has been an issue we have been concerned with for some time. And we were upset last year when the city agreed to hold it up, and then reinstated it without coming back to Council. And, so, we hear what you say with regard to the fee. Would you repeat, if I missed it, where we are in terms of some seniors who can't pay, where we are are special positions and the overall fee, what it is now and where you are making some considerations for lower?
Yes, I would be glad to, Councilwoman. Actually, the Personnel Department did meet with the Councilwoman. And, as a result of her suggestions, we have made some modifications. And I think that have made it a fairer fee. 119 FY '07 OPERATING BUDGET HEARING - 3/22/06 If a person applies for a part-time job, they pay half. Actually, a little bit less than half. Laborers, where there is a -- there is less work involved for us, we --
I am sorry. I don't mean to interrupt you. They would pay half.
The fee was 35. For part time, it is $17 now. Laborers, the fee is $10, so that's a dramatic reduction. We are charging a single fee if someone applies for a general and a bilingual specialty, so they don't pay twice. We charge a single fee if there is more than -- if there are two specialties in a job, for example, management trainee, where there is a personnel specialty and a general. In addition, we are seriously considering a reduction in the fee for 120 FY '07 OPERATING BUDGET HEARING - 3/22/06 seniors. In fact, we are doing the analysis right now, as the Councilwoman has asked us to look into it. And at this preliminary look, I believe we are going to be able to do that, as well. So, basically, what's happened is, we have made modifications to the fee to make it a fairer fee and so that is not as onerous for everyone. We do have waivers, as you know, for a variety of people who are on assistance, and we have waived about 10 percent of the fees overall.
Thank you very much, Madam President. We look forward to hearing from them with regard to the outcome of their study on senior fees. And albeit we did not support this at all, we are glad that Ms. Orfanelli, her department, and the Administration, has agreed to compromise so that it is fairer. And thank you very much. And you are you will get back to the Chair? 121 FY '07 OPERATING BUDGET HEARING - 3/22/06
Ms. Orfanelli, you mentioned that you will be implementing a new human resources information system.
What is the estimated cost of that system? Identify yourself for the record.
I am Celia O'Leary, Deputy Personnel Director. We are going to the Productivity Bank Committee to ask for funding for this project. Over five years we estimate it will cost about 7 and a half million dollars, and the payback will be over $12 million at the end of that time.
Can I assume this is in the grants fund portion of your budget?
The grant is 122 FY '07 OPERATING BUDGET HEARING - 3/22/06 funded by the productivity bank. By approving your budget, does the Administration assume we are approving your grant or will you be coming back to City Council for loan approval?
I guess Ms. Reed should be able to answer that with no problem whatsoever.
Dianne Reed, Budget Director. Yes, of course this is a bill that exceeds the threshold of bills that do not -- or items that do not come to Council, so that we would definitely be bringing this back to Council. And this has yet to be voted on, so...
Okay. How will this loan be repaid, as I do not find any repayment in the Five-Year Plan?
The presentation to the productivity bank is still being developed. And I have not seen the latest version of 123 FY '07 OPERATING BUDGET HEARING - 3/22/06 this. But part of it will be, because it is an enterprisewide solution, will be in the reduction of positions that will not be needed because, actually, the activity that some people who have a human resources title now do will be obsolete; replaced by, you know, information technology solution. So that people will either leave the organization by attrition or be retrained and redeployed.
I don't understand why you are doing this now, when you should come to us at the time that you are ready to do this. Question, answer, nothing.
Thank you, Madam President. Ms. Orfanelli, are you aware of vacancies in the Fire Department for paramedics? 124 FY '07 OPERATING BUDGET HEARING - 3/22/06
We're a good team. There was somewhere, the Commissioner reported, in excess of 80.
Okay. Do you think it is the role of the Personnel Department to help fill positions?
Yes. And that's why we have lists. And we do have a paramedic list at this time.
The Commissioner indicated that he couldn't find any paramedics to fill those positions.
We have a list with paramedics. 125 FY '07 OPERATING BUDGET HEARING - 3/22/06
Why are we being told that the reason we are downsizing from advanced life support to basic life support, that we're being threatened to reduce the number of medic units, because we can't find medics because of the residency issue, that they have to live here for a year before they can take the job? Is that the correct scenario?
It would amaze me that a Personnel Department knows that we're short paramedics, that the Fire Department doesn't come to personnel and say, please help us fill these positions. I mean, I can't imagine an organization with 80 vacancies not appealing to personnel to do what you guys do best, fill positions. 126 FY '07 OPERATING BUDGET HEARING - 3/22/06 So if you have got a list of available people, and there are vacancies, no 4 matter if there is 2 or 22, why aren't they being filled?
I can't answer that question. I mean, when a department needs positions, they come to us and ask us. And we will test, if we don't already have a list. Now, sometimes there are budget considerations, or maybe there are other considerations. The fact that we have not --
So you are telling me that the Fire Department didn't tell us facts here, that they didn't ask to fill the 80 vacancies?
It is possible that they don't have the budget approval to go ahead and do it. I really don't --
When you have vacancies, you obviously have the money, because people have left and the money is still there; correct? 127 FY '07 OPERATING BUDGET HEARING - 3/22/06
Could the Finance Director please come to the table and please explain to me how many vacancies we have for paramedics, and do we have the money to fill those positions? Because I am finding out today that we have, apparently, a list, and what Commissioner Ayers indicated is that he doesn't have the people available to fill those positions. So could the budget director come, when you get finished doing the Blackberry, to get the answer to the question? Because this is really frustrating. This is a matter of life and death here. If we have 80 vacancies for paramedics, and the Personnel Department has a list -- how many do you have on the list?
We have on the 22 list, and we are announcing a new test on the 23 27th of March. 24
So there is 26 25 people in queue to be hired, if the Fire 128 FY '07 OPERATING BUDGET HEARING - 3/22/06 Department wanted them this week?
And the have 5 passed, I assume, all phases of the exam? 6
They have. 8 So there is no reason why we 9 couldn't hire them? They would be eligible. 10
If those people are 11 available -- unless they are not available, 12 which, that's possible. But that would be the 13 only reason that I could see. 14
And you would 15 know that, if you reached out for them? 16
No. If they are on 17 the list -- when someone is on the list and 18 the department asks for positions, we certify 19 positions to them. 20 And then they frequently, if it is a 21 large number, they will frequently contact 22 those people to come in for interviews. And 23 if they are not available, that's when we find 24 out. 25
Now, you 129 FY '07 OPERATING BUDGET HEARING - 3/22/06 indicated that one of the issues could be the Fire Department's budget.
Ms. Reed, could you tell us the status? We have 80 vacancies, according to the Fire Department, for paramedics. Is the money in their budget to hire additional paramedics from 1 to 80?
The Fire Department has not hired all the people that it is entitled to hire this year. So I will check with you for sure, but I daresay the money is there. This may be just a matter of delays in the approval process. Because, ultimately, if it is not health and safety position, I have to authorize it myself, and I have not received the request for approvals for these positions.
I think I understand what you said. Let me make sure I got it right. Are you telling me that the Fire Department has not requested you to approve 130 FY '07 OPERATING BUDGET HEARING - 3/22/06 hiring additional paramedics?
I only see the requests at the end of the process, after they have gone through the managing director side of the house and have been approved by budget. So I don't see them preliminarily.
So we got a story spun to us here that part of the problem is that paramedics are very difficult to find, that paramedics are not available, or the Fire Department would have hired them. Now we hear we have in excess of 14 on a list that could be hired. I mean, one 15 thing I always thought this process here was 16 truthful. 17 And what I am hearing today, either 18 there are people that are very misinformed in 19 the Fire Department, and the right hand 20 doesn't know what the left hand is doing, and we are possibly jeopardizing the quality of service because we don't have enough people. I really need the Chair, along with Personnel Department, we need to have the story told or we're going to have to recall 131 FY '07 OPERATING BUDGET HEARING - 3/22/06 the Fire Department, the Personnel Department, you, to get it straight. Because I don't like to be told that this is an issue, that people are not available, and we find out that we have got people available. So one thing I would like to get the story -- I think the Personnel Department needs immediately -- you have a liaison, I would assume, at the Fire Department -- to find out really what the real deal is here. Because I don't like to be told one thing and, because I am being told, believe it because it is coming from a source that should be telling me accurate information. So I will look at what I have been told as maybe just poor communication at this point.
We will reach out to the fire and find out what their intention is, or there is a delay somewhere that we're not aware of.
I would appreciate that. 132 FY '07 OPERATING BUDGET HEARING - 3/22/06 And Ms. Reed, you are prepared to fill the majority of the positions that are open?
Definitely. I mean, the Fire Commissioner has made it quite clear, you know, how urgent it is to fill these positions.
But how come the Personnel Department doesn't know it? Aren't you amazed to hear that, that there is a desperate need to fill positions and you have 20-plus people on a list? You, as a real veteran in this business, how does that story sound to you?
There is some -- something is wrong along the food chain line, and I don't know what that is. But there is something that needs to be looked into.
What's that expression, something stinks somewhere? 133 FY '07 OPERATING BUDGET HEARING - 3/22/06
I'm not going to go there. But there is, obviously, a real problem here. And, I mean, I hope you are as flabbergasted as I am.
I think we all agree. But I am just a little curious. Does the Police Department train for paramedics before they are certified? Who trains them?
Yes, they have ongoing training after they are hired, but they do have certain certifications that they have to bring to the job.
Many of them, Madam President, work for the private sector. You see these private ambulances.
Ambulance service. 134 FY '07 OPERATING BUDGET HEARING - 3/22/06
And that's one of the things that Commissioner Ayers said to me, that one of the problems with the residency requirement in filling these positions is that he can't reach out to Montgomery County or he can't reach out to a trained paramedics in Bucks County or in New Jersey to come work here. I mean, I was working on trying to find out if we could get a waiver -- I even hate to use that word -- to fill these positions. Now I am finding out that all of that would have been an exercise, a waste of my time, because we have got people here. I mean, the Commissioner is telling me that the problem he can't fill these positions is because he can't hire people because of the residency requirement. I think that's kind of starting --
Let me step back here. If he has 80 vacancies, and we have over 20 or our list, and we are going to test 135 FY '07 OPERATING BUDGET HEARING - 3/22/06 again, I think what we will find out is, when we announce again the end of March, we will see how many applicants we get, then we will know whether we have a problem.
My final question, then, if we have a problem, let's say we drain the pool down to the point where we don't have anymore Philadelphians that want to be paramedics, what do we need to do to fill all 80 positions? Can we get a waiver and allow people to apply for this job? Ms. Reed said the Commissioner said that this is a high priority.
Well, if it -- let's say we have the list, we exhaust the existing list, we announce again, and we don't get enough applicants to fill the actual number of vacancies that have to be filled. Then I think we could go back to Civil Service Commission and ask for a class waiver for one year, for people that will still have to move into the city. But that works. I mean, people do 136 FY '07 OPERATING BUDGET HEARING - 3/22/06 move into the city.
Right. I mean, I have had people, after hearing me speak about this, say to me they would love to come from other parts of the country, that have all the credentials to come do, like you said, what they bring to the job, but the residency issue. They're not going to come here and move here and not be assured that they have a job. I mean, would you pick up and move to Philadelphia from someplace else, and have to live here for a year before you know if you have a job? No way.
So when we do this test, and if we can't get enough candidates, then we will go back to the Commission and ask for that class waiver. But we still have to -- we have to announce it and see what we get, then we will know.
That's fair. But 137 FY '07 OPERATING BUDGET HEARING - 3/22/06 all I am is really troubled today to hear that we have got these 80 vacancies, you have got on a list, and we don't have them hired. 5 So I would appreciate it, because I 6 know you are committed to trying to make this 7 a good place, that we just can't have 8 paramedics out there working a tremendous 9 amount of overtime to fill the holes, when we 10 have got the money, according to the budget 11 director, to hire these people. Let's get 12 them hired. 13
Thank you very 17 much. 18 Are there any other questions or 19 comments from members of the committee of 20 these witnesses? Seeing none, I thank you all very much.
Thank you. And we will get back to you with all the information you requested. 138 FY '07 OPERATING BUDGET HEARING - 3/22/06
Please do. MR. McPHERSON: The next department is the Human Relations Commission.
Good afternoon. Kindly identify yourself for the record, proceed with your testimony. And I would ask you to please abbreviate your remarks. A copy of your testimony will be given to the stenographer and it will be transcribed in full. Thank you.
Good afternoon, President Verna and members of City Council. I would like to thank you for the opportunity to testify today regarding the Fiscal Year '07 Operating Budget and PCHR activities. My name is Rachel Lawton. I am the Acting Executive Director, Commissioner on Human Relations. With me is Jackie Henry, Deputy Director of Administration. PCHR is the city agency charged with enforcing civil rights laws under the 139 FY '07 OPERATING BUDGET HEARING - 3/22/06 Philadelphia Fair Practices Ordinance. PCHR is also charged with addressing all matters of intergroup conflict and neighborhood disputes within the city. We also provide full-time staff for the city's Fair Housing Commission. The Commission on Human Relations and the Fair Housing Commissioner are requesting a combined budget of $2,156,825 in Fiscal Year '07, which reflects an increase of $121,744 over Fiscal Year '06 estimated obligations. We got a contract with the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to investigate discrimination complaints that have been filed with both agencies. In federal Fiscal Year '06, we received a contract to investigate 314 cases for $170,760, which includes $1,200 for training. To date in Fiscal Year '06, we have closed a total of 250 discrimination cases. We projected that we would close approximately 360 cases by the end of Fiscal Year '06, and we are on target to meet that projection. We 140 FY '07 OPERATING BUDGET HEARING - 3/22/06 are projecting to close 400 cases in Fiscal Year '07. We anticipate complainants receiving over $800,000 in Fiscal Year '06 from negotiated settlements. Our Community Relations Division is dedicated to responding to intergroup tension throughout the city and promoting intergroup communication and understanding. I will give you just a brief summary of the activities within the past year. We assisted the Latino Partnership Initiative in identifying and developing solutions for issues that disproportionately affect the Latino community. We continue to work with the Northeast Prevention Task Force, which was created in 2004 to address the increase in violence in that community. We organized diversity workshops to promote diversity awareness between students. One particular school, Furness High School in South Philly, has been experiencing racial tensions between African-American and Chinese 141 FY '07 OPERATING BUDGET HEARING - 3/22/06 students. And we assisted --
Furness. We assisted students in organizing a dialogue on race relations forum to enable students of different races to talk about race issues in the school and then enable the students to provide recommendations to improve the school. Ongoing PCHR intervention was requested in the Kensington, Fishtown, and Port Richmond neighborhoods by a number of public and parochial schools. These outreach initiatives help to strengthen school and community ties and dispel rumors and stereotypes about differences that lead to tension and possible violence both in and out of school. We assisted Roxborough High School in these tensions around fighting between groups of female students of different ethnic backgrounds. PCHR conducted two meetings in an 142 FY '07 OPERATING BUDGET HEARING - 3/22/06 effort to better coordinate the front-line agencies dealing with violence in our city. Over agencies and social activists attended 5 the first meeting, at which each agency had 6 the opportunity to introduce themselves and to 7 meet others involved in the area of quelling 8 violence. 9 PCHR has joined with Ed Schwartz and 10 the Institute For the Study of Civic Values on 11 a Safe School, Safe Neighborhood civic values 12 campaign. 13 Part of that campaigned will be the 14 dissemination of information regarding 15 activities to combat violence. 16 We have continued to hold bimonthly 17 interagency civil right tasks force meetings. 18 These meeting provide a crucial communication 19 link, enabling participants to collectively 20 share information and address problems before tensions in the neighborhood get out of control. We have met with several international delegations from Central and South America, the Middle East, and Asia 143 FY '07 OPERATING BUDGET HEARING - 3/22/06 sponsored by the International Visitor's Council of Philadelphia. Discussions involved addressing intergroup conflicts and how civil rights laws are enforced in Philadelphia. And, finally, we are planning a forum on May at the Convention Center with 8 agencies and community organizations that 9 provide services to immigrant and refugee 10 communities throughout the city to assess the 11 greatest needs of these emerging and growing communities. This concludes my summary.
Thank you very much. Are there any questions from members of the committee? Seeing none, I thank you. Thank you very much. The committee will stand in recess until 1:45, at which time we will hear from Community College. And after Community College, it will be SEPTA. Thank you very much. (Short recess.) 144 FY '07 OPERATING BUDGET HEARING - 3/22/06
Thank you all for your patience. We will reconvene the Public Hearing of the Committee of the Whole. And we are now ready to hear from Community College. Thank you for waiting.
Good afternoon, President Verna and members of City Council. My name is Rhonda Cohen, and I am here as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Community College of Philadelphia. With me today is a fellow Board member, Tom Butler.
My colleagues on the Board are dedicated civic and business leaders. Each of us gives our time because we recognize the importance of Community College of Philadelphia, which provides access for many residents who might not otherwise earn a degree or even consider continuing their education. On behalf the Board of Trustees, we thank Mayor Street for recognizing the work of 145 FY '07 OPERATING BUDGET HEARING - 3/22/06 our faculty, administrators, staff, and students. We are grateful that, while the City Council has had fiscal difficulties, the Mayor and City Council have not reduced the college's funding over the past several years. The city support is vital, if we are to continue to help the growing number of workers who need new skills to remain employable, and the many students who seek to transfer seamlessly from Community College of Philadelphia to one of the region's many prestigious four-year universities or colleges. Founded in 1965, Community College of Philadelphia has grown from an educational institution with 700 full-time and part-time students, to a school that now has educated close to 600,000 Philadelphians. We offer more than 70 career and transfer programs in business, humanities, allied health, science and technology, and the social and behavioral sciences. We have day, evening, and weekend 146 FY '07 OPERATING BUDGET HEARING - 3/22/06 classes, as well as distance learning and continuing education courses. We also offer off-site tailored courses to meet the needs of the local business community. As you can see, despite our budget challenges, we have made quality education and student-centered services our top priorities, but much of our future hinges on what is done during this critical budgetary period. While we thank you for your support over the past several years, we ask that you consider our growth and the growing demand for our programs. The city's financial support is critical, if we are to continue to keep pace with the needs of our student body. I would now like to introduce the President of Community College, Stephen Curtis.
Thank you. My name is Stephen Curtis, and I thank you for the opportunity, once again, to testify before 147 FY '07 OPERATING BUDGET HEARING - 3/22/06 you. You have my written testimony, and I am not going to read that. But I would like to summarize one or two of the principal points in that testimony. As our Board Chair has indicated, we recognize the economic constraints that the city has faced in the past four or five years. And we have been very appreciative that City Council has expressed its support in very tangible ways in the face of those economic constraints. But I want to share with you today the cumulative effect of the city's difficulty in advancing the funding of the college over a period of what will now be six years. Each year we present a proposed budget for the college and a proposed allocation to the city. For the coming year, we had asked for an additional $2 million in the city's allocation to the college. I believe that the city budget that is before you for your consideration, once again, keeps our allocation at a flat level. 148 FY '07 OPERATING BUDGET HEARING - 3/22/06 If that were to be approved, that would be the fourth year in a row that our allocation would be exactly the same. If you went back two previous years, in one of those years the city allowed us an extra $300,000 as part of our allocation, and in the other an additional 400,000. So in a six-year period, the City of Philadelphia will have provided for us an additional $700,000 total over a six-year period. In that six-year period, we have absorbed thousands of new students. While we are not setting a record this year, up to a couple of years ago we were setting all kinds of records in our credit programs. And the cost of absorbing those students, plus the normal costs that increase to do business each year, will have added about $30 million to our budget. And, again, the city will have contributed $700,000 to that $30 million total. I need to share with you the implications of the city's inability to 149 FY '07 OPERATING BUDGET HEARING - 3/22/06 achieve a regular increase in our allocation. There are two. The first is that the range and depth of our programs and offerings have been diminished. Starting about two years ago, we eliminated more than a dozen degree and certificate programs. We took some services which we think are important, but are not necessarily directly attached to our core mission -- and I would cite a summer youth camp as an example -- and we eliminated those kinds of services. We have reduced the number of sections in our credit offerings, in our noncredit offerings. And that has affected all of our sites; our four principal campus sites, as well as community sites and other places where we offer courses of different kinds. The second implication for us is the cost of education to our students. Before we entered this period of economic constraint, we already were serving the least affluent 150 FY '07 OPERATING BUDGET HEARING - 3/22/06 student body of any Community College in Pennsylvania. And we already had the highest tuition of any Community College in Pennsylvania. Within the last two years, because we have not been able to achieve the kind of public resources that we need in order to meet our mission, we have increased the cost of tuition fees to our students by a total of 27 percent. We are about to take another proposed increase to our Board of Trustees within the next few weeks, and we expect next year's increase to be in the 9 to 10 percent range. For our students, this is becoming an enormous burden. In pure dollars, we continue to maintain a differential in total costs for our students between us and the four-year institutions in our region. But that is a singular premise of community colleges, that finances will not be an obstacle to providing access to post-secondary education for the residents of 151 FY '07 OPERATING BUDGET HEARING - 3/22/06 our community.
So it is a core value, a core premise of what we are about. On my campus, I now have to tell students that last year was the single largest increase for them in cost in the history of our college, this year was the second largest, and next year will be the second or third largest. For students who are receiving federal financial aid -- and that's about half of our student body -- they are also faced with the fact that the federal government is not increasing the amount of Pell grants. So what a Pell grant buys is diminishing each year. And Pell covers not only tuition costs, but also fees, books, and other classroom-related expenses. So students who are receiving financial aid at our institution now have less capacity through their own financial aid. For those that are not receiving financial aid, they are paying more and more, unusually high increases for us, out of their pocket. For your information, at the state 152 FY '07 OPERATING BUDGET HEARING - 3/22/06 level, about two or three years ago the state was also encountering very difficult economic times, and for a period of about two years cut community college budgets. That exacerbated things in terms of our own local budget. This year the state did begin the process of reinvesting in community colleges. There was an increase this year; and the Governor has proposed a small increase for all community colleges next year, as well. We are asking that the city step forward in the same way and begin to reinvest in Community College of Philadelphia. More specifically, I am asking that the city reconsider the original $2 million request that we made in additional city funds for next year's budget. I know from talking with each of you personally that you feel strongly about the investment that CCP represents in this community, and I want to leave you with two specific examples of that investment. Many of our students are looking to get a Bachelor's Degree, and we offer the 153 FY '07 OPERATING BUDGET HEARING - 3/22/06 first two years of a Baccalaureate program. Our students then transfer to Temple University, other universities and colleges in the region. We now know that percent of every 7 Temple graduating class consists of CCP 8 students, so there is a return on that 9 investment. 10 There are students coming to us that 11 are indeed achieving that Baccalaureate. And 12 they are doing it as almost half the cost, had they had to attend the four-year university throughout their career. A second example. Half of every graduating class at our institution does not go immediately for a Bachelor's Degree, they go immediately into the workplace. In the most recent graduate survey that we undertook, the average salary -- and that includes allied health and a whole range of other programs -- the average salary for our graduates going immediately into the workplace was $41,000. Again, that is a return on the 154 FY '07 OPERATING BUDGET HEARING - 3/22/06 investment not only to the individual and to the individual's family, but to the tax base of the city. The core funding that we are receiving from the city is not enough. About five years ago that core funding represented about percent of our Operating Budget. As 9 we speak today, it is down to 19 percent. 10 And that differential has, over 11 time, been transferred to students. They are 12 paying the difference of what the city or 13 state is not able to provide at any given 14 time. 15 We respectfully ask for 16 reconsideration of our original $2 million 17 request. Our top priority -- if we receive 18 that money, we will be able to add to a number 19 of the programs that we do across the city; 20 but our top priority will be to reduce the 21 level of increase in tuition and fees that we 22 are about to ask our Board to undertake. 23 We will be happy to answer any 24 questions you might have.
Thank you, Doctor. 155 FY '07 OPERATING BUDGET HEARING - 3/22/06 Have you in fact met with the Administration regarding your request for the additional $2 million? And, if so, what has the response been?
We have met. We have met with the Mayor directly. We have met with members of the Mayor's Administration. I think as there is -- as I meet with members of City Council, there is an indication of interest and support. We have not had a specific response to the $2 million request, so I don't presume to speak for the Administration on that. I think there has been --
But you got no 17 indication whether they were considering?
I had the impression that, yes, they would look at that request, re-examine it. I can't speak beyond that. But, we have made exactly the same plea to the Administration.
And I believe your testimony further indicates that the federal government will be also cutting your budget by 156 FY '07 OPERATING BUDGET HEARING - 3/22/06 approximately $3 million?
There is the potential. We are hoping that won't happen. When I wrote the testimony, President Bush's proposed federal budget included huge cuts to the Department of Education, and I tried to translate that locally into how it would affect us. But even within the last few days, the U.S. Senate, particularly under the leadership of Senator Specter, has begun the process of restoring at the congressional level some of the proposed cuts. So, as we speak, I think there is a move afoot within Congress to try to undo some of that original proposal. We are supporting the congressional efforts to restore the monies that the executive budget proposes cutting.
As I indicated a few minutes ago, the Governor has proposed an increase for community colleges; specifically, 157 FY '07 OPERATING BUDGET HEARING - 3/22/06 there is a proposed percent increase in Operating Budget for all community colleges across the state as a group. That doesn't mean each one will get exactly 4 percent, but the entire budget would be increased 4 percent. And there is a small amount of capital dollars, I believe about $4 million, that would be added to the capital line, again, for all community colleges. For Community College of Philadelphia, because of the backlog of capital requests on the part of our sister institutions, we would not expect to have access to any of the capital funds from the state next year. We would expect to have access to a considerable part of that 4 percent, which, for us, would probably translate to about an additional $800,000 in our budget.
Thank you very much. The Chair recognizes Councilman Nutter. 158 FY '07 OPERATING BUDGET HEARING - 3/22/06
Sorry. Thank you, Madam President. Good afternoon, Ms. Cohen and President Curtis. President Curtis and Ms. Cohen, I really appreciate your testimony here this afternoon, and for any number of reasons. But probably the most important is, in many situations -- and, of course, you are a more independent component of city government, but, nonetheless -- I deeply respect the fact that you have come in today to ask for something on behalf of the institution and young people, most importantly, in the city, at a time when, in many instances, other departments or agencies or entities that receive city support will pretty much take whatever they get and be glad about it, while knowing within their own heart and soul that whatever the funding level is probably will not serve the mission. And, so, I respect and deeply appreciate you standing up for the institution, for the mission, in trying to make progress and laying things out in a way 159 FY '07 OPERATING BUDGET HEARING - 3/22/06 that is easily understandable. The facts are in front of us. And all it requires, really, is the political and guts to do the right thing. So I want to commend you for that. I want to ask a couple of questions for information purposes. President Curtis, you made reference to the cost presently. I guess it is usually referred to as costs per credit. And that Community College of Philadelphia, our rates -- and I recall seeing a chart in the paper some time ago that seems to indicate that our costs per credit is in some instances significantly higher than community colleges around us. Is that the case?
Could you, to the extent that you have that kind of information, just for comparison purposes, if you could forward any of that to the Chair, at least for any of the community colleges in Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery Counties, and if there is anyone else nearby, or even 160 FY '07 OPERATING BUDGET HEARING - 3/22/06 some on the other side of the river. I think for comparison purposes, that would be very helpful.