I am curious about the different support staff that the Defenders actually employs. Can you tell us more about the peer advocates and the CAU specifically and how are you trying to bring this practice to other youth units? And if there's time, I'd love to know about the Partners for Justice team.
Yes. And it was with support of our budget allocation 4/16/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. last year and with support of DHS that we were able to bring on four peer advocates. They started three weeks ago. These are all older -- well, younger adults who have all been through the dependency system. So we think that for the Dependency Unit bolstering our interdisciplinary model where it's a lawyer, a social worker, and now a peer advocate to focus on the older youth in their representation will achieve better outcomes, and that's a model that other dependency units across the country have and it's a model that works remarkably well. So it's four peer mentors or peer advocates, and we are excited that they're finally on board, and we want to thank Council and DHS for supporting that endeavor. And your second question, Partners for Justice?
Yeah, Partners for Justice. 4/16/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC.
Again, it was through City Council's support last budget cycle. We are -- we have three client advocates through Partners for Justice. Partners for Justice is a national organization that works with defender organizations and places client advocates in those organizations, and what those client advocates do and what the data has already showed for us and shows nationally with their partnerships is that if you pair a client advocate or a social worker doing case management with a client and they are with that client for the entirety of their justice system involvement, that their outcomes are much better and recidivism rates are lower. So our client advocates do everything from let me try to find you housing to let me get you furniture because you have no money for furniture, let me help you make sure you have access to transportation to get to your job 4/16/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. interviews, let's work on writing your resume, this is how you do a job interview. They literally are just with our clients at every step of the way, and the outcomes are much different for clients at the end of it. So the model we're trying to have with our social workers is to do more like that where they're able to be paired with, starting with youth, to do all the things that we think our clients will need to thrive in society.
Well, thank you very much for that. Again, thank you for the work that you all do.
It's crucial to bringing about justice in our city, and so grateful for, again, your advocacy and the work that you do at the Defender's Association.
This is the one who asked about -- he wanted to make sure Defender's Association was okay. Go ahead, sir.
Could you, I guess, just talk to us a little bit about the demographics of the attorneys that are at the office and particularly the class that you say is 21 attorneys coming in in the fall class. 22 Can you tell us the demographics of that 23 class and the overall makeup of the 24 office? 25
Yes. And I'm 4/16/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. proud to say that since I've been Chief Defender and since we have been much more intentional and aggressive, again with Mr. Gillison's help, in trying to recruit a diverse staff, for our fall class of 2023 we set a goal of 50 percent diversity. We wanted at least 50 percent of the attorneys in the fall of 2023 10 to be Black and brown attorneys. We set 11 a goal of 70 percent for this incoming 12 class in the fall of 2024, and we have 13 reached that goal. So 70 percent of the 14 20 attorneys -- actually, 70 percent of 15 the 26 attorneys for both criminal and 16 our dependency side are attorneys of 17 color. 18 And, again, we're trying to do 19 everything that we can to increase our 20 recruitment, but on the other hand, we need to retain the staff, the diverse staff, that we are bringing in. So we are meeting the goals that we are setting. It's now making sure we can keep them. 4/16/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC.
So I've been getting mixed, I guess, information from folks who were prior public defenders than the information that we've been -- that you and I have talked about. So can you tell us what are some of the challenges with the retention, particularly with the attorneys of color?
I think part of the challenges regarding retention have to do with salary. I think they also have to do -- when you ask -- and this is something I did when I started. I pulled all the exit interviews for every diverse public defender who left in the previous five years, and I read all of them to see why were they leaving, and the predominant -- the three reasons why people were leaving had to do with salary, it had to do with benefits, it had to do with lack of kind of the ability to advance in terms of if they wanted to be in a supervisory role or a managerial role, and it was regarding 4/16/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. whether or not they felt that there was enough priority and support on DEI and equity issues in the organization. And so prioritizing putting -- what I've done in my time here is to put in a distinct role for diversity, equity and inclusion and to put people in that role to not only take part in the diversity recruitment, but also to ensure that our predominantly white attorney staff is working with and collaborating with and understanding and are culturally competent with our client population but also with their colleagues.
Do you provide any cultural training for any new attorneys that are coming on board at the Defender Association?
We do. Again, since I've been Chief Defender, we make sure that that is part of the incoming fall class's training. We are very proud of our training program. We start off with a five-week training before our 4/16/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. attorneys go into courtrooms, and diversity, equity and inclusion is part of that five-week training. We also, as I said before, have someone in that role, but we also -- right now we're doing a mandatory LGBTQ training for all staff. That's mandatory, and that's something we've been doing every year, as well as ensuring, again, that our attorneys of all races and backgrounds understand the issues and the Philadelphia issues. One thing we have changed is for attorneys who have not studied in Philadelphia, understand Philadelphia. So what does the MOVE bombing mean and some of the areas where our clients are coming from and they live -- and the impact of redlining, for example, that our attorneys who are not from Philadelphia understand Philadelphia and that when our clients say West Philly or South Philly or North Philly, what are you talking about and what does that have 4/16/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. to do with who that client is that you're looking at and that you're representing. So we ensure that, again, our attorneys are trained on -- all our staff are trained on those issues.
I have one more question, Mr. President, if you don't mind. Thank you, sir. Can you talk to us about the issue that pertains -- that your office experiences when there is conflict counsel appointed for some of the -- particularly the juvenile offenders and talk about the experiences of the, I guess, the time that it takes for these cases to play itself out through the court system when there is a court-appointed attorney going through that process?
I was very pleased to hear Councilmember Landau ask about court-appointed attorneys today. They play a very critical role. We represent 70 percent of the people who come through 4/16/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. the criminal justice system, and we cannot represent everyone, again, because of resources, but there are conflicts, and of course there are people who can hire and can afford to hire private counsel. But the role of court-appointed counsel is very important, and we also have to understand that poor people are the ones who get court-appointed counsel. It is by virtue of a conflict that they don't get the Defender's Association. But what happens with court-appointed counsel, there was a recent article today regarding the fact that it takes sometimes months for them to get paid. In that article, an investigator who I have worked with in the past, Diane Cowan, who is incredible, has said that she will no longer take court-appointment cases as an investigator. And court-appointed counsel have to submit vouchers to the courts, to 4/16/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. the City to be able to have investigation, any experts, all the resources that they will need to access in their representation. Representing kids is a specialized practice. It is a unique practice. You need the training, you need the expertise. We have the best Children and Youth Justice Unit in our office and the best Juvenile Special Defense Unit in our office. Though small, they are really excellent at what they do. We also have the training and expertise to know what we need to do in and outside of the courtroom to better ensure that our clients are not being detained as long, and if they're going to be placed, they're not going to be out in placements as long. We really are experts. And so you will see that we are engaging with our clients. We have the ability to. We have more resources than 4/16/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. sometimes court-appointed counsel does, even though we need more, and that is why you may see that the length of stay looks different for Defender-represented clients than court-appointed clients. It comes down to, again, the touch points, that we represent the vast majority of the children at the JJSC. The courts know us, the judges see us every day, and you may not have that level of expertise from court-appointed counsel representing children.
Thank you. Any other questions from members of Council for this panel? (No response.)
Hearing none, at this time, I want to thank you for, first and foremost, your 4/16/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. dedication, your hard work that you have been doing. Since you took on this position, you have been moving this office forward, and I'll just wrap up, you have taken the out-of-the-box approach, right, assigning housing counselors, assigning education attorneys, assigning social workers. That just changes the dynamics of how you work with defenders, because at the end of the day, having that opportunity to interact with them while they're going through whatever case it may be, right, can really transform their lives from a prevention standpoint. They might have made that mistake that introduced them to the system, but then you have that opportunity to interact with them. Me, I had a probation officer. That's who Judge Reynolds assigned me to, right? And at that time, she would pop up on me when I'm on the corner, see what I was doing, and that just encouraged me 4/16/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. to start looking at applying to schools. I went to Mansfield University, and at this time, homicide rates in the City of Philadelphia was already 500. And then when we say it depends on who is in the position, well, we had Castille, Lynne Abraham, but the homicide rates were still going up and it didn't change. So at some point in time, we got to look at things a little differently, right, and this is to try to help people at an intersection where you can transform their lives, then maybe think about doing something different or maybe putting an option in the front of them that they may have never thought of, because in most of these neighborhoods -- and I'm speaking from lived experience. Most of the neighborhoods, this is all some people know, right? I come from the era where you didn't venture really downtown but so much, because we had thriving business corridors, so what's the point of going 4/16/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. downtown, and that's all you know within your corridor, your block, right? And so when you do get in a situation, you have that opportunity with your social worker, case manager to kind of maybe hopefully help somebody think about the life choices that they are making and hopefully provide the resources. So just keep up the good work. With that being said, I'm going to ask for -- and also just welcome back, Everett Gillison. For those who may not know, part of the Nutter Administration. - - - (Applause.) - - -
Deputy Commissioner for Public Safety, correct?
We have met plenty of days around this same topic of keeping the City of Philadelphia 4/16/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. forward. But it's good to see you back still doing the same work, which we know that means it's in your heart, because you're back still doing the same work that you were doing when you were part of the Administration. With that being said, thank you very much. Will the Clerk please call the next person for testimony.
Renee Garcia, City Solicitor. (Witness approached witness table.)
Good morning. SOLICITOR GARCIA: Good afternoon. Don't take us back to the morning, Council President. 4/16/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC.
I had a long day yesterday. SOLICITOR GARCIA: It's been a long day.
I had a long day yesterday. Before you state your name and your title and begin your testimony, I want to congratulate you on your position. SOLICITOR GARCIA: Thank you.
Congratulations on your outstanding legal work as it relates to us fighting the gun manufacturer, particularly around the issue of ghost guns. I think that deserves a round of applause. - - - (Applause.) - - - SOLICITOR GARCIA: Thank you.
As a District Councilmember, I remember introducing legislation to deal with just 4/16/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. the actual parts, and then we got sued and you stepped up to the plate and said, hey, we are going to take on these giants as it relates to ghost guns and how they're flooding the streets of Philadelphia. So we just want to personally, on behalf of this body, just say thank you. We appreciate your hard work and your dedication around that particular issue. And with that being said, go ahead and begin your testimony. SOLICITOR GARCIA: Thank you, Council President. Renee Garcia, City Solicitor. Good afternoon. I am joined here by my executive team, which are all here behind me, and pleased to provide testimony on the Law Department's Fiscal Year 2025 Operating Budget proposal. My remarks will be somewhat brief today, because I was with you just about four weeks ago, so you know -- you've heard a lot about the Law Department's 4/16/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. initiatives. We employ over 360 attorneys and professional staff who have dedicated their professional careers to serving the City. I, along with my entire team of the Law Department, have the esteemed honor and pleasure of applying innovative legal strategy on behalf of our City clients to achieve equitable solutions to some of the most complex challenges facing Philadelphia. Continued investment in the current and future legal operations of the Law Department will benefit the City socially, economically, and environmentally. As this City Council knows, the Law Department's work touches every part of the lives of this city's residents, from supporting contracts and real estate transactions that allow public parks and playgrounds to be built, to initiating litigation to improve quality of life and reduce gun violence, to protecting our most vulnerable 4/16/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. children and ensuring they have room to grow, thrive, and be the future of Philadelphia. Law's work is integral to ensuring safer, cleaner, greener, and economically vibrant future of our city. In the past five years alone, the Law Department has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars in settlement funds, tax revenue, fines and fees on behalf of the City, boosting the General Fund and enabling the City to apply those funds to efforts to address safety and quality-of-life issues across Philadelphia. This commitment to investing in Law's staff is crucial to both retention and our ability to attract and hire a diverse set of the best and brightest legal minds, which we need as we work together to solve some of the City's most complex challenges. Our proposed General Fund budget totals 28,266,870. The budget 4/16/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. submission includes an overall decrease of $2.788 million, with 3.45 million coming from Class 200, which removes funding for the implementation of a new case management system, and we have an increase to Class 100 in the amount of $622,000 to fund new positions. And with that, I'll take any of your questions. Thank you.
Thank you very much. The Chair recognizes Councilmember Quetcy Lozada.
I can't even believe I'm first. Welcome. Thank you so much for all the work that you do. Thank you for the support that you've given to me and my staff as we worked to build legislation over the course of the last 17 months. Extremely grateful for the support. As we work to better improve quality of life in the district and 4/16/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. across the City, it's no secret that we have many nuisance businesses within or across the City. How is the Law Department working with the Department of License and Inspection to better tackle this issue now that the License and Inspection Department has been divided in two? SOLICITOR GARCIA: Yes. So we did not obtain in this budget new staffing positions in our budget for nuisance businesses for essentially our code team. So we are in conversations with L&I and Cleaner and Greener and the Police Department, and we will determine as they determine what their needs are going into the new year how they can support our budget with new attorneys and staff, but we are in many, many conversations and we have a very ambitious slate of commissioners obviously supported by a very ambitious Mayor. So as I was listening to the 4/16/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. Mayor's budget address, I was thinking legal work, legal work, legal work, right, on down the line. So there will be a need for sure to increase the staffing, particularly in our code team. And we already did staff up. So last year City Council was able to give us $500,000. We hired four new attorneys and three new support staff, and they're up and running, and I can tell you the numbers of referrals that we got from L&I just in this last year, 3,000 cases, plus the board appeals, and now I'm expecting even more on top of that.
What do we or what do City residents have to do to, I guess, target a business or mark a business or make a business a nuisance business, right? We get calls all the time about a very specific business who is consistently violating whether it be quality-of-life issues or whether it be liquor license issues. How does a person make an 4/16/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. establishment a nuisance and how long does it take the Law Department to actually execute or take this business to court? SOLICITOR GARCIA: Yeah. A lot of it kind of depends on what the nuisance is obviously. But we are also beholden to the referrals that we get from L&I, and I believe they are staffing up as well. So we have to wait for the referral to come in, but what we are seeing and I think what you are seeing is a game of Whac-A-Mole in the drug paraphernalia space. We cite them, they take it down, they bring it back up, right? In the tobacco space, we cite them, they take it down, they bring it back up. And so depending on the violation, certainly there are ways to go to the most egregious, which is to take away a Commercial Activity License, and we do do that absolutely, but what we are 4/16/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. looking at now, and we can have discussions offline, I think there probably could be code amendments to help with the enforcement as we are working with the new Commissioners and figuring out where our target will be, because we are also feeling the frustration of multiple offenders.
I just heard you mention that you guys hired up, right? Are you at a place in your department where you feel like with the work that this current Administration wants to do, are you at a point where you feel that you have the necessary staffing to be able to respond to the type of work that we are looking forward to doing in the future, and if not, what would it take? SOLICITOR GARCIA: Well, we did ask for 67 new positions, which I know is pie in the sky. We got 500,000, which will be about five positions, and we have three positions from the MDO. So we're 4/16/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. at eight. Like I said, we're going to each of the operating departments who got funding to figure out what they can pay for, because certainly we can't -- for litigation, for defensive litigation, I can't control what comes in, right? What comes in, either we're going to handle it internally or we're going to send it to outside counsel, which is just Class 200. So I've reached capacity in Labor and Employment and capacity in Civil Rights and I'm sending work out. With contracts, I can't control the flow of contracts, right? I hate to tell people I can't work on your -- and I mean "I" in the sort of royal "I," right? I can't work on. So certainly we're upscaling, and the MDO positions will help us there. And then in our affirmative, right, our code, our tax, our affirmative litigation, which does the ghost guns, you know, that is -- you don't see it as optional, but that we can control a 4/16/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. little more, but obviously we want to push ahead and push ahead and push ahead. So these conversations that we're having with the different operating departments is crucial, what is your need going to be, how can I pivot the work that I'm already doing, and how much more can you support the Law Department's budget.
You're welcome. The Chair recognizes Councilmember Nina Ahmad.
Thank you, Council President. Good afternoon. I have a quick question about in your testimony you said that you're helping -- I don't know how you say it -- O-P-A-L with the transition over to a new program called the Workday Program. This is on of your testimony. Can you please talk more about the legal work that's involved in 4/16/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. this? SOLICITOR GARCIA: Okay. OPAL, I call it OPAL, and I will admit I am not the best person to do a deep dive into OPAL and I think we're getting together something for City Council to hear, but it will be moving all of the contracts onto a new system. So we are unfortunately dealing with systems in the City, and you've all experienced this, they were built in, I don't know, the '70s, the '80s. They look like they're DOS space. I don't know. But they don't work well, right? And so the flow of contracts in particular between Law, OEO, Procurement, Risk, Finance, Budget, the Controller, all of the parties, is not efficient, right? So what we are doing to prepare for OPAL right now is going through different kinds of contracts and shoring up basic terms and processes and procedures and how can we make it more efficient for us. So that's part of it, 4/16/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. is kind of getting ready for OPAL, making sure we have all the contracts -- we know where all the contracts are, right, to get them on. And then of course there's the other side of it of doing the contracts necessary to run OPAL, which is doing the tech contracts. And, again, I'm not the best person to talk about the contracts there. So there is a tremendous amount. And I think you heard the MDO this morning talk about there is a recognized need across the board to improve the contracting process, full stop. Law handles about a third of that process, but like I said, we are going through right now trying to update our contracts, trying to make them more consistent so that when we do start rolling through OPAL, we can have more of a seamless process.
So we will be reducing the time a customer, so to speak, sees when their contract is 4/16/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. executed. This is going to -- SOLICITOR GARCIA: This is all in furtherance of that, yes. I know, it drives me nuts as well. There's so many pieces, and for good reason, right? There has to be checks and balance, and I understand that, but I'm really excited about OPAL and what it can bring to our contracting process.
Second quick question is that your testimony states that the Law Department withdrew its motion to end overcrowding at the Philadelphia Juvenile Justice Services Center because as of November 8th, the population reached acceptable levels, and you will continue to advocate on behalf of the City. Can you explain how you're doing that? Because this is a very sacred space and difficult space. 4/16/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. SOLICITOR GARCIA: Yeah. So thank you for the question. So just to be clear, our lawsuit stands, right? So we filed against the Commonwealth. Our lawsuit stands. We had filed emergency pleadings to have the state take the children to get our numbers below 184. They did that. They haven't taken all the children that they should take, and you heard in the line of questioning earlier that these children, they're not -- their time is not running, they're not getting the services they need, right? So they should be taking more kids, and that is why our lawsuit stands, right? So that we can continue to go through to judgment and have something permanent on the record. There was just not a need for the emergency motion because the numbers have come down. And I think it's blipped up a couple times. I'm looking at my First Deputy here. But for the most part, we have been under the 184. We've even hit in the 170's, which 4/16/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. is very exciting.
And you still have your eyes on that and that lawsuit is -- SOLICITOR GARCIA: Yes. But we are going forward to judgment, no 8 question.
Okay. And the last question is, you mentioned that you're supporting the Office of Sustainability and operating departments on climate resiliency and environmental justice issues. Can you provide some insight about your role in this space and your capacity to address environmental issues? And one contract issue that's going to be coming up is Covanta. That's coming up in 2017 -- I mean 2027. SOLICITOR GARCIA: For this I'm going to call up my Chair of the Corporate and Tax group, Valerie Robinson, who can talk about the support of the Office of Sustainability. We have an environmental unit 4/16/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. that is assisting them on many, many different areas of air quality. From the litigation perspective, I'll also say we are filing affirmative action. So we filed the PFAS case, for example, to recover money that we need to clean out our water because of the forever chemicals that are polluting. (Witness approached witness table.) SOLICITOR GARCIA: So, Valerie, if you could talk just a little bit about the work that our regulatory team does for the Office of Sustainability.
Good afternoon. My name is Valerie Robinson. I'm the Chair of the Corporate and Tax group, and as Renee said, one of the divisions in my portfolio is the environmental division. So we provide advice and counsel to the Office of Sustainability. We draft and negotiate all of the agreements that they do. We help them work on regulations, all of which is to help ensure that we're 4/16/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. living in a cleaner, greener, safer city.
Okay. That's good. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. President.
The Chair recognizes Councilmember Nick O'Rourke.
Thank you, Council President. Hello. SOLICITOR GARCIA: Hello.
Good to see you. Law's proposal includes three new budgeted positions that are attorneys meant to aid the MDO's Office specifically. SOLICITOR GARCIA: Yes.
Is this boost tied to the new initiatives that MDO is undertaking, like clean and green, triage centers, et cetera? SOLICITOR GARCIA: I'll tell you all three of them. So one will be a 4/16/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. compliance position focused on public safety and primarily the Prisons. Another will be a position to support the Office of Homeless Services in a compliance and contract position. And then the third is to support the Capital Program Office. So those are the three that we've been approved for.
Okay. Is it kind of concomitant with MDO's plans for whatever they're planning right now for you all to increase that staff or is this something that you wanted this to happen outside of what MDO is doing? SOLICITOR GARCIA: It is to support everything that you heard testified about this morning. Absolutely.
Okay. Thank you. I wanted to turn our attention to of Law's budget detail to the obligated payments to Hangley -- I'm about to mess these names up -4/16/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. Aronchick, Segal and Pudlin, I apologize, set aside for the purpose of what's labeled "select committee." It's my understanding -- please correct me if I am wrong on this -- these payments are legal fees tied to the impeachment of the DA and that taxpayers are footing the bill of $240,000 for this last year alone. That case is still winding up to state Supreme Court. So we are wondering in our office, do you foresee Philadelphians paying more in the coming fiscal year for impeachment-related legal fees than they have in the last year? SOLICITOR GARCIA: I hope not. I don't have a crystal ball. We have a different makeup of the General Assembly now, so if it comes down, it may not be in the same posture. So I wish I could tell you what the court was going to do. I would say that it's possible. I don't know if that's possible or probable. 4/16/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC.
Right. But I am accurate, though, that that's what that's for? SOLICITOR GARCIA: Yes. Yes. Absolutely.
So we're paying the bill for said thing. Okay. Affirmative civil litigation is always of interest to our office, particularly as it concerns suits related to climate change. SOLICITOR GARCIA: Yes.
Prior conversations with Law have pointed to some specific roadblocks on that front. Still encouraged to see the issue addressed in your testimony via written. Could you give some insight into some of the viable litigation strategies that Law is pursuing as it relates to holding companies that contribute to climate change effects in Philadelphia accountable? SOLICITOR GARCIA: Yeah. Some 4/16/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. of it will be privileged information. I do have some ideas, but we are following what is going on around the country, and PFAS is a really big one. Lead paint is -- lead in the water, lead in the soil is very big as well. We are working with environmental justice partners throughout the country to try to get ideas. So I have some very specific ideas, but I don't want to give away my secrets in public.
Okay. Understood. SOLICITOR GARCIA: Happy to talk further with you about it, though.
Just this is not so much in the Commonwealth, you're looking across the nation at some trends? SOLICITOR GARCIA: It is across the nation, absolutely. We have a network of solicitor county attorneys across the nation, and we are actively talking about these issues constantly, 4/16/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. right, what can we do in the space of climate change, of environmental justice, absolutely.
Okay. Thank you very much. SOLICITOR GARCIA: Thank you, Councilmember.
You just say my formal name today. You know that I am a huge fan of the Law Department too. I have worked with, I think, more individual lawyers in the Law Department than many, many others 4/16/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. in the City, so a huge fan. First question is the new consumer protection bill. SOLICITOR GARCIA: Yes.
Which is very exciting. It's to give the powers to the Administration through the Law Department to fight a lot of the bad guys, folks who are scamming our residents, elders, limited English folks. How do you see -- how will it be implemented? How do you want to get cases? What are you going to choose? Do you have your eyes on anything? SOLICITOR GARCIA: Yes. So there is a Consumer Protection Task Force, which I think is maybe sunsetting. It's been around for two years, but that's partnerships with the Law Department, the Attorney General's Office, CLS, different advocate groups around -- I think SeniorLAW is involved, and I was really excited after you introduced the bill and I was able to 4/16/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. take a call with them and to say, look, like now we have the tool that we needed to go after like an MV Realty, right? That's the prime example. But it was also mentioned, I believe, this morning the targeting on elders has just ramped up. I mean, I even see it on my phone, right? Your package is not being delivered, please call us and give us your credit card, you know, all of those things. So we now have the tool. I believe I said in my confirmation hearing we are starting with sort of the big schemes, right, the big classes, the repeat offenders over and over again. I expect there will be a lot in the housing space. That much I know is your area of expertise. So I am working with this task force to start to send in -- I've given them kind of these are the cases I'm looking for and start sending us referrals, and we're going to start 4/16/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. investigating, but it is going to take a community and I'm so thankful that we have all of these partners to rely on. It's going to take a while to work up some cases, but I'm really excited to get that work started.
You said you thought the task force was going to sunset. Was it created by resolution or something? SOLICITOR GARCIA: I think it was a two-year.
By resolution? SOLICITOR GARCIA: By resolution, two years. Maybe there was an executive order. I can't exactly remember.
I will help you extend that. SOLICITOR GARCIA: But the work continues, right? I don't think anybody is just going to drop the work regardless of what is sunsetting, because obviously 4/16/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. with this new shiny toy that I have, I'm going to need everybody.
Yes. Excited for the shiny toy. Next question about the gun violence preemption case where you're trying to challenge the way in which people are interpreting preemption for all of our gun bills. Where exactly -- it's pending at the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, and what's the status there? SOLICITOR GARCIA: Correct. It was argued in September. Again, your guess is as good as mine. They don't do the same as the U.S. Supreme Court where they drop everything in one horrible week in June, but, you know, it could come any day, truly.
Okay. Thank you. And I want to -- two more. One is just going back to contracting again. I have to. I'm having a better understanding of how court-appointed 4/16/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. lawyers are paid now, and it seems that it's approved by the court itself. So it goes through various measures. You go and take a case. The judge signs off, yes, you were here. It goes through their internal administrative system. Yep, it was this person, they were here, they worked this amount of time. And it comes to the City, and we do a review as well. Can we just take the court's word for it and speed it up a little bit that way and at least cut that part out to just like here's your check, here's your check? The alternative is to give the money to the courts so they can pay. They're court-appointed attorneys, but I think they say there's a conflict. They believe there's at least a perception of a conflict of interest. They're appointing the attorney and paying the attorney, right? SOLICITOR GARCIA: So the issue 4/16/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. is that -- I'm not going to throw Finance under the bus, but for real there are actual documents and information that has to be provided so that Finance and the Controller can sign off on everything, right? And that is where -- the court is signing off on the amount, but the attorney has to get in all of the documents. I'm sorry. I don't know all the specifications. It's not a good system. So I'm actually actively working with the courts to figure out a better system. Apparently this is a relic of the Nutter years that there was an MOU that the Managing Director would do this. I don't know that it's the greatest place for it. So we are going to be speaking with the courts. We realize there is an issue, absolutely. We're on top of it. I speak to the courts quite frequently to try to figure out at least for now the quality assurance, can we figure out what the 4/16/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. systemic issues are so we can make payments a little faster. But it's not a great system overall.
Okay. Thank you for that. I'm going to try to slip one more in real quick. It might be too long. Okay. I am going to pause for a minute. I might come back for one more. Yes? Do it now. SOLICITOR GARCIA: Thank you, Councilmember.
Okay. I know that you're working with DHS to secure additional grant funding to hire more attorneys that will allow Law to engage in anti-racism work. I'm very concerned about Family Court and the ways in which there are too many barriers to family reunification. I think we -- very similar to what we just talked about with the Chief Defender. Let's do what we can to keep families together, to get the resources to the family if possible, and 4/16/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. hopefully keep them out of the criminal justice system. And I know that you've been wanting -- you've been working with DHS to get some grant funding, I believe, for like anti-racism work and work with the courts. What resources are needed to ensure the City's most vulnerable children experience positive outcomes after interaction through Family Court? Because we want to make sure that we provide them with the best legal representation and employ the right attorneys to make that happen, and can you just speak to that? SOLICITOR GARCIA: Yes. I'm going to call up my First Deputy, Meghan Goddard, who is our resident expert on all of these matters. (Witness approached witness table.) SOLICITOR GARCIA: And she can speak to our racial justice work as well as the funding that we're trying to 4/16/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. figure out with the Commonwealth, because some of it comes through PA DHS, then through our DHS, and it's quite hard to figure out what they're funding and when they're funding it. DEPUTY SOLICITOR GODDARD: Good afternoon, Councilmember. I'm Meghan Goddard, First Deputy. So we are working -- the Child Welfare Unit in the Law Department is working independently and with DHS on all DEI initiatives, because as you mentioned, recognizing that the youth and families that come into our system are primarily of color, knowing how -- like our attorneys need those skills to know what they are working with. So we do have grant funding from the state. So we are working with DHS to ensure more attorneys to lower caseloads and to continue that DEI training.
Thank you. And this is also for 4/16/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. court-appointed attorneys? DEPUTY SOLICITOR GODDARD: We're focusing right now working with our attorneys in the Law Department in the Child Welfare Unit doing both Law Department training and working very closely with DHS, so we're on the same page.
Excellent. Thank you very much. SOLICITOR GARCIA: And I'll just put a plug in. So some of the things we are doing in the DEI space, we created an inclusive language guide for our attorneys to use when they're in court. So we're trying to get rid of words like "grandfathered," right, trying to use gender-neutral pronouns, trying to call, you know, a person the parent rather than the mother, right, trying to use the language that fits the society we're in today. And I'm so proud that our inclusive language guide has been sent out to various partners and the ACLU 4/16/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. is using it and other partners are using it. So that is some of the work that's really important for us in the DEI space and particularly in child welfare.
Excellent. I'll take a copy. SOLICITOR GARCIA: Yes. Absolutely.
Thank you. The Chair recognizes Councilmember J. Young, Esquire.
Thank you, Mr. President. Just questions regarding Act 135. Just correct me if I'm wrong. Does the City get notices for every Act 135 petition filed? SOLICITOR GARCIA: We should 4/16/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. be, and we have worked out -- if you're asking, we've tried to work it out when it comes to us that we are allowing the Councilmember's office to have a courtesy copy of that, if that's a particular question.
Yeah. So what are the impediments to that then, for providing that information to Council offices? SOLICITOR GARCIA: It just hadn't been put in place before, but now when we get them, we reach out to your -- we figure out what Council district it is and we should be reaching out to your office to let you know that we got it. And if that's not happening, please let me know.
Okay. So I don't know if any were filed in my district in the last, I guess, what, three months. I'm unsure, but I will be reaching out to find out. Along the same lines, what do 4/16/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. you do with this information once you get it? Like once you are, I guess, served or whatever, receive the petition, what does the Law Department do with that petition, that information? SOLICITOR GARCIA: I'm going to call up my Chief of Staff, Sam Scavuzzo, who came from our tax unit.
Hi. Good afternoon. Sam Scavuzzo. I used to be in the tax unit, so would handle these cases on occasion. So it would kind of depend on whether or not there was any City debt. Usually a property in the situation might have some back taxes. So we would kind of work to ensure that the City's credit -- the debt obligations are honored. We wouldn't necessarily enter ourselves as parties to these cases, but we would monitor them and make sure that 4/16/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. opposing counsel or the person -- the petitioner for the conservatorship is working in the best interest for the City, the neighborhood to take off the blighted property and restore it to good use and to make sure the City would get paid on its debt obligations as well.
Has the City ever filed to intervene in a matter, in a conservatorship matter?
Has the City ever filed a petition to be appointed the conservator over a particular property?
From the conservatorship? I've only experienced it myself in the debt perspective, so I would have to follow up and get you an answer to that question, Councilmember.
If it's a policy of the City, if Council agrees that this is something that the City 4/16/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. needs to, I guess, be more present in, that the City needs to follow up on these matters a little bit pressingly, is the Law Department opposed to affirmatively intervening and/or filing petitions in Act 135 matters that City Council deems needs to be -- to protect the best interest of the City according to what District Councilmembers particularly understand? SOLICITOR GARCIA: This is the first time that has been asked of me personally, so I will follow up with your office and we can have a discussion about that.
You're welcome. The Chair recognizes Councilmember Isaiah Thomas.
Good morning -- good afternoon, Council 4/16/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. President. I'll be very brief. First of all, I just want to say congratulations again, and thank you to you personally. I know the great work that you've done specifically around the driving equality legislation. I'll also say that when I first came into City Council, I was one of those Councilmembers who was very skeptical about the relationship between the City Solicitor and the Admin, and not that you've been in this position for a long time to be able to speak to that dilemma with any substance, but I do have a lot of faith and confidence that you'll be able to balance both based on the work that you've done in the past and how closely you've worked with my team and my office as well. So thank you so much for what you've done, and congratulations. Just one or two quick questions. The Mayor has a compliance lawyer in the MDO's Office for her staff. What would be that focus? Why would the 4/16/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. Admin need a compliance lawyer that's different than the work that the City Solicitor's Office does, and what would be the focus of that particular position that's different than the legal support that your office provides? SOLICITOR GARCIA: I think you're talking about a compliance position funded by MDO that has -- it's funded by MDO, but it sits in my department. It has to do with the American Disabilities Act. So this is actually a new position that we've created. I think it's funded by the Streets Department. There are a lot of ADA issues that come up in right to way and homeless services. And so we've consolidated all of the different ADA issues into this one position that's being funded through the MDO's Office.
Thank you, Council President. Thank you again. SOLICITOR GARCIA: Thank you. 4/16/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC.
You're welcome. Any other questions or comments from members of this Committee?
Thank you, Mr. President. And on a similar line of questioning to Councilmember Thomas' question, the Mayor's Office also has a chief legal counsel position. Could you tell us what the role of that particular individual is versus what the role and the advice that the Law Department plays? SOLICITOR GARCIA: Kristin Bray is the Chief, and she still reports to me. So she is on the org chart as reporting to me. She is building out PhillyStat, which I think you heard about this morning, and you should definitely ask her for a deep dive, but she is 4/16/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. assisting primarily in the Mayor's Office on that. She's also helping with our encampments, because she is the resident expert on encampments. But she has a dual role from the Law Department and as a Director. There is a provision in the City Charter that essentially lets the different departments loan out. And so she's on loan to the Mayor's Office but still reports to me.
Is she in the Law Department's budget or the Mayor's Office budget? SOLICITOR GARCIA: She's moved to the Mayor's Office budget, which is not uncommon. We have lawyers on different budgets. We have on DHS budget, we have Water budget, we have Airport budget. We have lawyers on budget through that mechanism through the Charter where we're kind of loaning out. Revenue is also on the Revenue's budget.
Okay. 4/16/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. President. SOLICITOR GARCIA: Thank you.
Any of my members need an extra lawyer? Y'all good?
You need a couple? Ms. Garcia, listen, we look forward to continuing working with you to move the City of Philadelphia forward. Again, congratulations. Keep up the good work. I'm also going to give you kudos from my colleague Councilwoman Jamie Gauthier, the hard work you did to help her. So just keep fighting the good fight. We look forward to working with you. Okay? SOLICITOR GARCIA: Thank you, Council President. Thank you, Council. We appreciate your support.
You're welcome. 4/16/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. At this time, the Chair recognizes Councilmember Isaiah Thomas for a motion to adjourn.
Thank you, Council President. I move that the Committee of the Whole stands in recess until Wednesday morning, April 17th at 10:00 a.m. (Duly seconded.)
It has been moved and properly seconded that the meeting and the bills and resolutions before the Committee today stand in recess until Wednesday, April the 17th, 2024 at 10:00 a.m. All those in favor signify by saying aye. (Aye.)
The ayes have it, and the meeting is adjourned. 4/16/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. - - - (Committee of the Whole adjourned at 4:24 p.m.) - - CERTIFICATE I HEREBY CERTIFY that the proceedings, evidence and objections are contained fully and accurately in the stenographic notes taken by me upon the foregoing matter, and that this is a true and correct transcript of same. -------------------- MICHELE L. MURPHY RPR-Notary Public (The foregoing certification of this transcript does not apply to any reproduction of the same by any means, unless under the direct control and/or supervision of the certifying reporter.)