COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA PUBLIC HEARING BEFORE THE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS - - - Room 400, City Hall Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Thursday, June 11, 1998 11:05 a.m. - - - BILL 980532 - An Ordinance authorizing transfers in appropriations for Fiscal Year 1999 within the General Fund from the Department of Public Property, city subsidy for SEPTA, to the Council. - - - PRESENT: COUNCILWOMAN JOAN L. KRAJEWSKI, Chair COUNCILMAN MICHAEL A. NUTTER, Vice Chair COUNCILMAN W. THACHER LONGSTRETH COUNCILMAN RICHARD T. MARIANO COUNCILWOMAN DONNA REED MILLER COUNCILMAN ANGEL L. ORTIZ COUNCILWOMAN ANNA C. VERNA COUNCILMAN DAVID COHEN COUNCILWOMAN MARIAN B. TASCO COUNCILMAN FRANK DiCICCO - - - VINCENT VARALLO ASSOCIATES, INC. Registered Professional Reporters Eleven Penn Center Plaza, Suite 600 Philadelphia, PA 19103 (215) 561-2220 I N D E X BILL 980532 Steve Brookens, Representative, TWU------------ - - - PUBLIC MEETING--------------------------------- 7 - - - 3 BILL 980532
Good morning. The Committee on Appropriations is now in session. Will the clerk please read the bill.
Bill No. 980532, An Ordinance authorizing transfers in appropriations for Fiscal Year 1999 within the General Fund from the Department of Public Property, city subsidy for SEPTA, to the Council.
Thank you. Is there anyone from the Administration here to testify? All right. Please state your name for the record.
As you well know, SEPTA's funded by city, state, and federal government. At the present time the Transit Workers Union is currently on strike. And the city's losing money, the union and its membership is 4 BILL 980532 losing money, and everybody is losing money except SEPTA. SEPTA is right now being paid for service that they are not providing. So we are certainly in favor of this transfer bill that's presented here today, putting the money back into the General Fund. SEPTA should not be rewarded for not having service in the City of Philadelphia. And that's our position.
Thank you. Are there any questions from members of the committee? Councilman Ortiz.
You are in favor that Council transfer this money in appropriations. Could you state in a clearer manner the reason why you feel that this is necessary at this point?
Yes. Because there is not an even playing field out there. If SEPTA keeps making money because there is a strike, there is no reason for them to end the strike. While everybody else is losing, they 5 BILL 980532 are making money because they are not paying the employees. So we all need to be on the same playing field in order to try to end this strike. If they also are losing money because they are not giving the service, because we are losing money because we are not giving the service, then maybe we can resolve this. But as long as they are making money and we are losing money, they will never want to resolve it.
And the willingness to negotiate along the lines that you have put forward is still present within the TWU?
Absolutely. We have offered to negotiate, binding arbitration. We accepted City Council's resolution as written. And SEPTA is the one that keeps refusing, not us.
Thank you. Is there anyone else? Thank you, Mr. Brookens. Is there anyone else here to testify 6 BILL 980532 for or against? Thank you. That ends our Public Hearing. (Public Hearing adjourned.) - - - 7 COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA PUBLIC MEETING of the COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS - - - Thursday, June 11, 1998 - - - Public Meeting conducted by the Committee on Appropriations, held in Room 400, City Hall, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on the above date, to consider action on the following: BILL 980532 - - - PRESENT: COUNCILWOMAN JOAN L. KRAJEWSKI, Chair COUNCILMAN MICHAEL A. NUTTER, Vice Chair COUNCILMAN W. THACHER LONGSTRETH COUNCILMAN RICHARD T. MARIANO COUNCILWOMAN DONNA REED MILLER COUNCILMAN ANGEL L. ORTIZ COUNCILWOMAN ANNA C. VERNA COUNCILMAN DAVID COHEN COUNCILWOMAN MARIAN B. TASCO COUNCILMAN FRANK DiCICCO - - - 8 PUBLIC MEETING
Now we will go into our Public Meeting. Councilman Nutter.
Madam Chair, I move that Bill No. 980532 be reported out of this committee with a favorable recommendation, and a further recommendation that the Rules of Council be suspended so as to permit first reading at our next session. (Duly seconded.)
All those in favor. Opposed? Okay. Therefore, Bill No. 980532 will be reported out of this committee with a favorable recommendation, with a suspension of Rules as to permit first reading at our next session of Council. Thank you all very much. (Applause.) (Public Meeting adjourned at 11:10 a.m.) - - - 9 C E R T I F I C A T I O N I HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing proceedings of the Council of the City of Philadelphia of Thursday, June 11, 1998, were reported fully and accurately by me, and that this is a correct transcript of same. RE: COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS _____________________________________ DEBRA A. WHITEHEAD, RPR