The ayes have it. Resolution 120032 has been DiscoveryWorks Global 888.557.8650 www.dw-global.com 2/2/12 - STATED - 2ND READING adopted. The Clerk will please read the title of Resolution 120039.
A resolution appointing Councilmembers Marian Tasco and Curtis Jones, Jr. to the Philadelphia Gas Commission.
Thank you. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Brown.
Thank you, Mr. President. I move for the adoption. (Duly seconded.)
The ayes have it. The resolution is adopted. Would the Clerk please read the DiscoveryWorks Global 888.557.8650 www.dw-global.com 2/2/12 - STATED - 2ND READING title of Resolution 120041.
A resolution urging the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare to reconsider its proposed asset test in order for needy Pennsylvanians to receive benefits under the Supplement Nutrition Assistance Program.
Thank you, Mr. President. I'd like to speak to the Resolution 120041.
I promised you last week that I would refrain from commenting so much, but Ms. Stowall spoke and really touched me. I'm encouraged that Governor Corbett has removed the $2,000 SNAP test and raised the ceiling to $5,000. That's a step in the right direction, but it's not far enough. DiscoveryWorks Global 888.557.8650 www.dw-global.com 2/2/12 - STATED - 2ND READING When we think about the fact that compelling argument of seniors at the most vulnerable, financially vulnerable, point of their lives having to make a decision whether to heat or eat or whether to accept food stamps or do away with a burial savings, $5,000 just doesn't cut it. I buried my father close to six months ago. It cost twice that much to bury him. We should not, in the greatest country in the world, force people to make that kind of decision. President Obama awarded Pennsylvania over $1 million to increase SNAP enrollment for the elderly. He did not -- and I repeat -- did not include an asset test. It's clear to me, if you listen to candidate Romney, that he believes from some planet Xenon that the poor have a safety net that actually catches people. But let me say this to you today, that we have to speak out and speak truth to power whenever we have an DiscoveryWorks Global 888.557.8650 www.dw-global.com 2/2/12 - STATED - 2ND READING opportunity in this body. Thank you, Mr. President. I move for the adoption of the resolution. (Duly seconded.)
Thank you, Mr. President. I too will be brief. I agree with everything that Councilmember Jones has said and all of the comments about this ill-timed and ill-conceived idea, but I've been around Harrisburg, in Harrisburg and around it, for the past 35 years, and I don't understand, if you're not going to help us, could you just leave us alone. I look at some of the legislation that's bubbling up there, from voter ID to people messing around with modest control of guns and gun DiscoveryWorks Global 888.557.8650 www.dw-global.com 2/2/12 - STATED - 2ND READING violence, I look at immigration, I look at the attack on immigrants and poor people, this SNAP thing, I mean, if you're not going to help us, I understand you don't want to help us, you don't care about us, just leave us alone and don't hurt us. (Applause.)
So I concur with my colleague's comments and I hope going into the future that we can help work on our problems together, even if Harrisburg is not going to be a partner, but, you know, leave us alone. Thank you.
The Chair thanks the gentleman. The Chair now recognizes Councilman Johnson.
Thank you, Mr. President. I want to also commend Ms. Stowall for stepping up to the plate and supporting Councilman Jones' resolution in regarding to the resolution DiscoveryWorks Global 888.557.8650 www.dw-global.com 2/2/12 - STATED - 2ND READING which I call, from the Harrisburg standpoint, mean-spirited in its approach and, more importantly, assault on those who are most vulnerable. And so, Councilman Jones, I do commend you for stepping up to the plate. And just to briefly add to what my colleague Councilman Kenney just mentioned in regards to Harrisburg, it's important and it's imperative that we still advocate as a city and let those in Harrisburg, who do not have our best interest at heart, know that we will not stand for this type of legislation and we are putting them on notice and that we are paying attention to the type of legislation that is being passed. It has a direct impact, particularly on Philadelphia, but poor people throughout the State of Pennsylvania as a whole. Thank you, Mr. President.
The Chair thanks the gentleman. The Chair now recognizes DiscoveryWorks Global 888.557.8650 www.dw-global.com 2/2/12 - STATED - 2ND READING Councilmember Green.
Thank you, Mr. President. I just want to commend Councilman Jones on this resolution and say he is correct that $5,000 is not the appropriate limit, even though most people who get benefits from this program don't have $5,000. The insidious part of enforcing this regulation, which has been on the book for 30 years or so, is that it will require the 1 million or so people who benefit from a program like this to provide documentation, to bring things that they don't currently have to bring, and that slows down the process of getting benefits and creates a backlog that there is not the staff to support at the state level. And so while we're solving this problem of the dollar limit, we also have to deal with in the future as a city as we go advocate, as Councilmember Johnson said, against things like this, the requirement for documentation and other DiscoveryWorks Global 888.557.8650 www.dw-global.com 2/2/12 - STATED - 2ND READING things, that is really intended to slow down or prevent people from getting benefits who otherwise deserve them, even if they have less than $5,000, because they're tired of going back, because they forgot this piece of paper, that piece of paper, et cetera, and that's the real insidious part of the corporate decision to really enforce this regulation. Thank you, Mr. President.
Thank you. The Chair thanks the Councilman. No other speeches on this particular resolution? (No response.)
Thank you, Mr. President. I move for the adoption. (Duly seconded.)
It's been moved and seconded. All in favor? DiscoveryWorks Global 888.557.8650 www.dw-global.com 2/2/12 - STATED - 2ND READING (Aye.)
The ayes have it. This resolution is adopted. Thank you. (Applause.)
The Chair again recognizes Councilmember Jones for Resolution No. 120042.
Resolution No. 120042, entitled "A Resolution authorizing Council's Committee on Public Safety and Committee on Housing, Neighborhood Development and the Homeless to hold joint hearings on the City and State's preparedness for the influx of returning veterans from war, including Iraq and Afghanistan."
Thank you, Mr. President. I move for the adoption DiscoveryWorks Global 888.557.8650 www.dw-global.com 2/2/12 - STATED - 2ND READING of the resolution. (Duly seconded.)
It's been moved and seconded. Those in favor? (Aye.)
The ayes have it. Resolution 120042 is adopted. The Chair now recognizes Councilmember Bass.
Resolution No. 120045, entitled "A Resolution calling on the Philadelphia City Council Committee on Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs to hold public hearings to determine and identify Parks and Recreation Department resources, along with other City departments' programming, universities, cultural institutions, social and non-profit organizations focused on DiscoveryWorks Global 888.557.8650 www.dw-global.com 2/2/12 - STATED - 2ND READING youth, which can be utilized to aid in the academic enrichment and supplement the academic needs of Philadelphia public school students," introduced by Councilwoman Bass.
Mr. President, I move that the motion be adopted. (Duly seconded.)
It's been moved and seconded. Those in favor? (Aye.)
The ayes have it. The resolution is adopted. Thank you. That completes the Calendar for today. Thank you. I've been told that we have additional resolutions. Would DiscoveryWorks Global 888.557.8650 www.dw-global.com 2/2/12 - STATED - 2ND READING the Clerk please read the title of those resolutions.
A resolution honoring John Dougherty on his selection as the Grand Marshal of the 2042nd Annual Saint Patrick's Day Parade, introduced by Councilman Henon.
Thank you, Mr. President. I move for the adoption of this resolution. (Duly seconded.)
It's been moved and seconded. All in favor? (Aye.)
And a resolution honoring Mary Ann Torres, introduced by DiscoveryWorks Global 888.557.8650 www.dw-global.com 2/2/12 - STATED - 2ND READING Councilwoman Tasco.
Mr. President, I move for the adoption of the resolution. (Duly seconded.)
It's been moved and seconded. All in favor? (Aye.)
And a resolution recognizing and acknowledging Delta Sigma Theta on the occasion of its Fifth Annual Philadelphia City Council Delta Day, introduced by Councilwoman Tasco.
Thank you. DiscoveryWorks Global 888.557.8650 www.dw-global.com 2/2/12 - STATED - 2ND READING Councilwoman Tasco.
Mr. President, I move for the adoption of the resolution. (Duly seconded.)
It's been moved and seconded. All in favor? (Aye.)
And a resolution honoring and recognizing Cheryl McClenney Brooker on her retirement from the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and her tireless commitment to the art, cultural and civic community of Philadelphia, introduced by Councilwoman Brown.
Thank you. The Chair recognizes DiscoveryWorks Global 888.557.8650 www.dw-global.com 2/2/12 - STATED - 2ND READING Councilmember Brown.
Thank you, Mr. President. I move for the adoption. (Duly seconded.)
It's been moved and seconded. All in favor? (Aye.)
And a resolution honoring the life and achievements of Fatimah Ali, introduced by Councilwoman Reynolds Brown.
Mr. President, I move for the adoption. (Duly seconded.)
It's DiscoveryWorks Global 888.557.8650 www.dw-global.com 2/2/12 - STATED - 2ND READING been moved and seconded. All in favor? (Aye.)
And a resolution honoring and celebrating Philadelphia's living legends, Reverend Dr. Wilson Goode, Sr., Walter P. Lomax, Jr., Bill Ellerbee, Dr. Walter Palmer, Louise Williams, Dr. Audrey Bronson, Robert Bogle, Sonia Sanchez, Queen Mother Falaka Fattah, Mary Mason, Sonny Hill, and Gamble & Huff, in the areas of government, music, religion, education, athletics, and activism, as part of the commemoration of Black History Month, introduced by Councilman Jones.
Thank you, DiscoveryWorks Global 888.557.8650 www.dw-global.com for the adoption. (Duly seconded.)
It's been moved and seconded. Those in favor? (Aye.)
There are no other resolutions on the Final Passage Calendar, Mr. President.
Thank you. That completes our Calendar for today. Are there any speeches on the part of the minority? (No response.)
Any speeches on the part of the majority? Councilman Kenney. DiscoveryWorks Global 888.557.8650 www.dw-global.com
Thank you, Mr. President. With the recent tragic passing of the great Don Cornelius yesterday, I wanted to make a comment relative to his impact and the show's impact on our country. I think it probably was one of the most important television shows that we've had an opportunity to see that created racial harmony and brought the races in our country together at a very difficult time in our nation's history. In addition to that, it was the TV show that I actually learned how to dance for real on.
Councilman, I was wondering where you got those wonderful moves from.
That was it. So in honor of him and one last time, I'd like to say to Don Cornelius, I wish him love, peace and soul. (Applause.) DiscoveryWorks Global 888.557.8650 www.dw-global.com
Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you. I probably should have looked at it a little more, because I can't dance. Thank you. Any other speeches? (No response.)
The Chair now recognizes Councilmember Brown for a motion to adjourn.
Thank you, Mr. President. I just wanted to speak briefly about the School District budget crisis and what's been happening in the last week, not just in our local media but in the national media with respect to DiscoveryWorks Global 888.557.8650 www.dw-global.com and the statements they've made and the response or irresponsible response from our City Controller. The School District School Reform Commission has met with members of City Council who are interested in meeting with them. They have made clear that they are going to deal with the budget crisis of $61 million in this fiscal year. The comments that are being bandied about in the local and national press through the words and actions of our Controller, that the people who work in June won't get paid in July, were made by the School Reform Commission to us and publicly in the context of that being the reason they are going to have to make difficult and hard choices that they don't like and that none of us will like. The School District of the City of Philadelphia is a going concern. Thank you, Mr. President.
DiscoveryWorks Global 888.557.8650 www.dw-global.com you, Councilman. Any other speeches by members? Councilwoman Sanchez.
Thank you, Mr. President. I wanted to acknowledge the presence of several members of the stakeholder community, Judith Von Seldeneck from the Chamber of Commerce, members of the Take Back Your Land, Rick Sauer from the Pennsylvania Association of CDCs. And I especially want to thank my co-sponsors on this land bank legislation, Green, Jones and Henon. Councilwoman Blackwell and our staff, both Herb, Sophie and Jennifer, who have worked really hard to create some synergy with what's going on in the state and the wonderful opportunities that I think this land bank legislation will offer to the City of Philadelphia, I think it goes in unison to what you, Mr. President, also introduced around the development zones. We look forward to having many briefings with our Council colleagues and DiscoveryWorks Global 888.557.8650 www.dw-global.com definitely one of those things that in working in collaboration with the Administration, we need all hands on deck so that we can break the tide or cut the tide that we currently have with 40,000 vacant structures in the City of Philadelphia, our investment of over $20 million a year in the maintenance of it, and over $70 million in back taxes on these blighted properties. So I look forward to working with all my colleagues and all these stakeholders, many who were here today, on this very important issue. Thank you.
The Chair now recognizes Councilmember Johnson.
Thank you, Mr. President. I just want to briefly DiscoveryWorks Global 888.557.8650 www.dw-global.com the recent apprehension of four individuals involved in the murder of a young lady who was participating in a homicide case in Councilwoman Sanchez's district. I do applaud the Philadelphia Police Department for stepping up to the plate and apprehending those individuals. Most of you know that my background has always been focused on the issue of youth gun violence and also the issue of making sure my streets are safer. So I do want to publicly acknowledge the Philadelphia Police Department for their efforts in apprehending those individuals. Thank you very much.
DiscoveryWorks Global 888.557.8650 www.dw-global.com none, the Chair again recognizes Councilwoman Brown.
Yes, Mr. President. I too was a fan, enthusiastic listener, and dancer with the Soul Train dancers, and so as we move to adjourn for Thursday, February 9th, 2012 at 10:00 a.m., I will ask my Councilmember Jim Kenney to lead us down the Soul Train line. (Applause.)
Councilman, it's already been moved and seconded.
Mr. President, what some of us may not know is that the theme of the Soul Train was written by Philadelphia's own Gamble DiscoveryWorks Global 888.557.8650 www.dw-global.com & Huff. So we'll make arrangements to have music for that to happen on Thursday, February 9th. Thank you, Mr. President.
Thank you. It's been moved and seconded that Council stand adjourned until Thursday, February 9th, 10:00 a.m., 2012. All in favor say aye. (Aye.)
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