m. - - - BILL 990117 - Amending Section 19-201 of The Phila. Code entitled "City Depositories" by authorizing the City Treasurer to deposit funds in Summit Bank, under certain terms and conditions. BILL 990326 - CDBG application RES. 990337 - Authorizing OESS to apply, on behalf of the City of Philadelphia, to the Department of Community and Economic Development, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, for funds for a project for the prevention and alleviation of homelessness in Philadelphia. PRESENT: COUNCILWOMAN JANNIE BLACKWELL, Chair COUNCILWOMAN PRESIDENT ANNA C. VERNA COUNCILMAN DAVID COHEN COUNCILMAN JAMES F. KENNEY COUNCILMAN MICHAEL A. NUTTER COUNCILWOMAN MARIAN B. TASCO COUNCILMAN RICHARD T. MARIANO - - - VINCENT VARALLO ASSOCIATES, INC. Registered Professional Reporters Eleven Penn Center, Suite 600 Philadelphia, PA 19103 (215) 561-2220 6/1/99 FINANCE COMMITTEE I N D E X Page Bill 990117 Douglas Smith, Deputy City Treasurer. . . Res. 990337 Sally Fisher, Director. . . . . . 6 Office of Emergency Shelter and Services Bill 990326 John Kromer, Director . . . . . . 16 Office of Housing and Community Development Belinda Mayo, Director. . . . . . , Metropolitan Career Center 23 Barbara Coscarello, President . . . . 28 Campus Boulevard Corporation Argo Simpkins, Director, CBC Job Training . 30 Martin Nock, President. . . . . . 34 Communities and Schools of Philadelphia Anthony McIntosh, Executive Vice President. 49 Philadelphia Housing Development Corporation Stephen Mullin, Director of Commerce. . . 62 Dainette Mintz, Director. . . . . . 71 Special Needs Housing, OHCD Kevin Brooks, Director. . . . . . 76 Employment and Training, OHCD Curtis Jones, President, PCDC . . . . 90 Bill Hankowsky, President, PIDC . . . . 114 Chas. Wingfield, Mill Creek Council Dev. Corp. 152 Taylor Frome, Executive Director. . . . ) Gloria Guard, People's Emergency Center . . 168 Sister Mary Scullion, Project Home. . . 169 Alicia Christian, Dignity Housing . . . 173 Liz Hersch, Director. . . . . . . 176 Blueprint to End Homelessness Reverend Dr. Paterson . . . . . . 194 Rick Sauer, Director, Phila. Assoc. , District Council 33 . , AFSCME Dist. Council 33. , Law Department . . . 212 Elsie Wise, President . . . . . . 216 John Leatherberry, Vice President . . . 221 Ruth Adams, Member. . . . . . . 222 West Powelton Concerned Community Council Brad Blumberg, Blumberg Associates. . . 218 Lionel Drain, Aspen-Olive CDC . . . . 224 Shirley Brotman, President of the . . . 229 Board of Directors, Edith R. Rudolphy Residence for the Blind Michael Erdman, Ralston Mercy-Douglass House 233 Barbara Easley, Advocate CDC. . . . . 241 Joann Jackson, Executive Director, ACDC . . 242 Paul Steinke, Executive Director. . . . 243 University City District Delphyne Dukes, Executive Director. . . ) Herbert Reid, Maze Group. . . . . . 251 Lee Capkin, Executive Director. . . . 255 Housing Consortium for Disabled Individuals Ed Schwartz, President. . . . . . 260 Institute for the Study of Civic Values Judy Berkman, Esquire . . . . . . 282 Regional Housing Legal Services Maitrey Roy, Horticultural Society. . . 290 Sharon Olson, Friends of Gorgus Park. . . 293 Paul Snipes, Private Citizen. . . . . 296 Francis Walker, President . . . . . 300 Dunlap Community Citizens Concerned. John Wagner, Director . . . . . . 307 Housing and Homeless Services, Catholic Social Services, Archdiocese of Philadelphia Vivian Vanstory, President and Founder. . 311 Community Land Trust Corporation Edward Franklin, Director, Colt Coalition . 317 Vernard Johnson, Healthy Family Healthy Life 330 Jide Sokale, Director . . . . . . 338 Comar HIV and Mental Health Services Jimmy Lee Smith . . . . . . . . 344 North Central Empowerment Zone Connie Winters, President . . . . .
349 Germantown Business Association Deborah McColloch, Deputy Director, OHCD. . 361 5 6/1/99 FINANCE - Bill 990117 P R O C E E D I N G S
Good morning. We would now, like to begin our finance hearing. We have three bills before us this morning. We would like to thank all of you for coming out on this very important day as we hear the Community Development Block Grant application. Before that, we have two other bills which should only take a few moments to hear. For the purposes of a quorum, let me say that to my right is President Ann Verna. To her right, Councilman Michael Nutter. And to my left, Councilman Jim Kenny. Also in the room is Councilman David Cohen. The first bill that we will hear this morning is Bill No. 990117, and we will ask the clerk if she would please read the title of the bill.
An ordinance amending Section 19-201 of The Philadelphia Code entitled "City Depositories" by authorizing the City Treasurer to deposit funds in Summit Bank, under certain terms and conditions.
All right. 6 6/1/99 FINANCE - Bill 990117 Would you please identify yourself for the record and begin your testimony.
I'm Douglas Smith, Deputy City Treasurer, and the City Treasurer, Whitney Reid, had to be out of town, so I'm here in his place. Shall I read my testimony?
I'm here today to testify in support of Bill 990117 that amends section 15 19-201 of The Philadelphia Code relating to authorize City depositories; specifically, to add Summit Bank to the list of financial institutions in which the City is authorized to deposit funds. To this end, I've reviewed the financial information provided by Summit Bank and have determined that the bank meets the basic criteria for becoming an authorized depository. Summit Bank has, one, been in business for the pass five years; and, two, has been profitable for the last two years. It is federally insured and 7 6/1/99 FINANCE - Bill 990117 it has assets of over $100 million. This concludes my written testimony. I'm available to answer any questions that you may have. Thank you.
Thank you. Are there any questions from members of the committee? (No questions.)
Okay. Thank you very much. Seeing none, then we will go on to the next bill. Would the clerk please read Bill No. 14 990337. This is a resolution and not a bill, I do believe.
A resolution authorizing the Office of Emergency Shelter and Services to apply, on behalf of the City of Philadelphia, to the Department of Community and Economic Development, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, for funds for a project for the prevention and alleviation of homelessness in Philadelphia.
Thank you very much. 8 6/1/99 FINANCE - Res. 990337 Good morning, Sally. Would you please identify yourself for the record and give your testimony.
Good morning. My name is Sally Fisher, and I'm the Director of the Office of Emergency Shelter and Services. OESS supports the resolution. The resolution is for permission to apply for and to accept and to expand the DCED funding, that's the Department and Community and Economic Development. To date, OESS has been informed that $280,147 will be awarded to Philadelphia this year. The specific projects being funded are a shelter rehabilitation project for $150,000 through St. Barnabas Mission, a children's initiative, and an adult literacy support program. The match for the St. Barnabas is being provided by Episcopal Community Services, and the match for the children's program and literacy support is proposed from the existing City General Funds that are being used for the shelter services contract. If additional DCED funds become 9 6/1/99 FINANCE - Res. 990337 available later in the year, OESS has identified additional projects. And we urge Council to approve this resolution. And I can answer any questions if you have any.
Miss Fisher, you said $150,000 goes to St. Barnabas. The other programs are not per se in shelters, or are they?
No. The other two -- the St. Barnabas program is a rehab project. The other two programs -- the children's initiative and the adult literacy program -- are both essential services. So there is support programs for individuals that are currently in the shelter.
The St. Barnabas missions that's currently at 64th and Haverford Avenue. The Episcopal Community Services has identified another site, which is on Lancaster Avenue. That they're proposing to use these dollars as well as match dollars as well as other funding to relocate the program to a new building.
So in each of 10 6/1/99 FINANCE - Res. 990337 these categories, the St. Barnabas program as well as the children and adult literacy, they all have other matching funds?
Miss Fisher, can you tell us where the Lancaster Avenue site is.
I don't have the exact location of the new site. I can get that for you. I don't have the address with me, but it's on Lancaster Avenue, and I believe that whoever is Councilmatic district we're in, we've been in contact with the City Councilperson.
Well, that's interesting because St. Barnabas, at 64th and Haverford, that's in the 4th District.
I don't recall you and I having a conversation about that. I talked to the St. Barnabas people some time ago, and they indicated an interest in moving.
But we've had no 11 6/1/99 FINANCE - Res. 990337 discussion about this particular grant.
I know I have a propensity to ask questions that I already know the answer to, but in this particular case, I actually don't know the answer to that question.
Okay. I think a follow-up after the hearing, and if you could share any information with the Chair, I would greatly appreciate that.
Yeah, we'll make that information available to all members of the committee if you get that information to me.
I'd like the detail of the grant and the match and what it's used for in writing. And then we can get the 12 6/1/99 FINANCE - Res. 990337 information to every member of the committee and anyone else who's interested.
Early this afternoon, I can provide that information. I'll pull it all together.
Miss Fisher the resolution indicates that the City would be able to apply for up to $1.5 million in federal funds for the Emergency Shelter Grants Program. I quickly took down some of numbers that you indicated. I got the impression that we were applying for about 200-some-odd thousand dollars?
We actually did already apply in April for the funding. We applied for in excess of $1 million, but we were notified that the amount of funding that would be available for Philadelphia this year was the $280,147. Initially, we applied for a number of projects which we still have on the table. So if there's additional funding, we would entertain possibly funding the other projects. 13 6/1/99 FINANCE - Res. 990337 But, yes, we have -- we applied for much more than what we were granted.
Okay. Did I understand from what you just said that even though the hearing is here today, that the Office of Emergency Shelter and Services has actually already made the application?
That's true because the resolution was not heard, or the paperwork was not submitted to get approval for the actual resolution until late. But the approval that we're requesting is not just necessarily to apply but also to expand and to administer the funding. So we haven't received any money yet, so we're requesting authorization to -- after the fact for the application; but more particularly, to expend the money and to administer the grant.
Thank you. Are there any other questions from members of the committee? (No further questions at this time.) 14 6/1/99 FINANCE - Res. 990326
Thank you very much. We will now ask the clerk to read the title of Bill No. 990326, which is the CDBG (Community Development Block Grant) application.
An ordinance authorizing the Mayor, on behalf of the City, to file an application with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), as required by Section 104 of Title I of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 (P.L. 93-383), as amended, including all understandings and assurances contained therein; and designating the Mayor and the Director of the Office of Housing and Community Development (Housing Director) as the authorized representatives of the City to act in connection with the application, to provide such additional information as may be required, and to accept the grant under certain terms and conditions; and further authorizing the Housing Director to file an application, including all understandings and assurances therein, with HUD to participate in the HOME Investment Partnership 15 6/1/99 FINANCE - Res. 990326 program under Title II of the National Affordable Housing Act of 1990 (P.L. 101-625), and to take any and all other action necessary to participate in that program; and further authorizing the Housing Director, on behalf of the City, to file 7 an application with HUD for a Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA) grant, under the AIDS Housing Opportunity Act (42 U.S.C. 12901), including all understandings and assurances therein, and to take any and all other action necessary to participate in that program; and further authorizing the Housing Director to file an application, including all understandings and assurances therein, with HUD to participate in the Emergency Shelter Grant Program under Title IV of the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act of 1987, as amended (P.L. 102-550), and to take any and all other action necessary to participate in that program; and further authorizing the Managing Director, on behalf of the City, to file 22 an application or applications and, if an application is accepted, to execute a contract or contracts to obtain grants from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (The Commonwealth), under the Act 16 6/1/99 FINANCE - Res. 990326 of April 12, 19 1956, P. L. 1449, Section 4, as amended, to prevent and eliminate blight; and further authorizing the Mayor to file an application or applications, including all understandings and assurances therein, with HUD to use the Section 108 Loan Guarantee Program to enter into an agreement with HUD to implement the loan guarantee program, and to take any and all other necessary action to participate in the Section 108 Loan Guarantee Program.
Thank you very much. Good morning. Please identify yourself for the record and begin your testimony. Thank you for coming.
Good morning, Councilwoman Blackwell, Council President Verna, members of the committee, and members of City Council. I'm John Kromer, Director of the City of Philadelphia Office of Housing and Community Development. And I'm here to testify in support of Bill No. 990326 and am also here with a request that the bill be voted out of committee with a favorable recommendation and request to suspend the rules to 17 6/1/99 FINANCE - Res. 990326 allow first reading at the next Council meeting. I have submitted written testimony previously, and because of the number of speakers that have signed in, the Administration's opening testimony will be brief, but I wanted to touch on a few points. First, during the coming year, Community Development Block Grant Year 25, the City expects to receive $68.7 million in new entitlement funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. In addition, an additional 8.6, nearly $8.7 million in program income is budgeted. And 1.6 in prior years' funds are being reprogrammed under this proposal. I really want to take this opportunity to thank the Finance Committee and to thank this City Council for its consistent support of the Community Development Block Grant Program. This past seven and a half years has been a very exciting time in the history of the program, and much has been accomplished. But all of that has been made possible by the foundation of support that City Council, through the Finance Committee, has established for the program. 18 6/1/99 FINANCE - Res. 990326 During the past -- this program is now years old. During the past five years of the 4 program, we have acquired more vacant properties 5 and produced more housing than in any other ten 6 years during the entire history of the program. 7 Our Homeless and Special Needs Housing Program is 8 totally different from what it was ten years ago, 9 and hundreds of new units of transitional and 10 permanent housing managed by capable service 11 providers with neighborhood support have been 12 produced and are being produced now. 13 We have the largest first-time home 14 buyer program in the country. We brought 10,000 15 first-time home buyers to the single-family sales 16 housing market during the last 6 years, and we 17 have one of the largest repair programs for 18 owner-occupied housing in the country. 19 The Redevelopment Authority won a 20 national award for its management of the 21 Philadelphia Home Improvement Loan Program, and 22 the Authority has consistently been able to obtain 23 all of Philadelphia's share -- or, in several 24 years, more than Philadelphia's fair share -- of 25 low-income housing tax credit funding and Penn 19 6/1/99 FINANCE - Res. 990326 homes funding from the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency. So this has been a very, very productive time. And the foundation of that productivity really has been City Council's support. And I wanted to thank this committee and this Council for that ongoing support, which has just been invaluable. We have two very brief presentations this morning. One is from Belinda Mayo, Director of Neighborhood Program Coordination for the Office of Housing and Community Development to present some information about employment, training, and job-readiness programs that are proposed to be supported through the Block Grant Program.
Thank you. And while she's grabbing the mike, let me also note the attendance of Councilman Mariano, Councilwoman Tasco to my left. Thank you.
Good morning. My name is Belinda Mayo of the Office of Housing, and I'm the Director of Neighborhood Program Coordination at the Office of Housing and Community Development. 20 6/1/99 FINANCE - Res. 990326 I have copies of my testimony. I also have three other presenters this morning: John Rice from the Metropolitan Career Center, Martin Nock from Communities and Schools, Inc. Of Philadelphia, and Barbara Coscarello from the Campus Boulevard Corporation. All three are currently funded as providers of training and skills and education programs through the Office of Housing. Over the last three program years, OHCD has committed to support education, employment, and training opportunities in cooperation with the Philadelphia School District, the Private Industry Council, and more recently, with the Greater Philadelphia Works Program. CDBG funds have been used to leverage other public and private-sector funding in support of these activities. CDBG funds have also been targeted to individuals transitioning from welfare to work and chronically unemployed workforce between the ages of 17 and 25. With the onset of welfare reform, legislative and regulatory changes at the federal level, OHCD will begin in Year 25 to assist the 21 6/1/99 FINANCE - Res. 990326 impact of these changes on current programs and funding. As new state and federal regulations are developed and implemented, we will work with the Private Industry Council, the Philadelphia Jobs Initiative, the Jobs Policy Network, and the Greater Philadelphia Works Program, as well as training providers to identify the appropriate use of CDBG funds in support of education, training, and other workforce development programs. While providing funding to organizations that assist individuals in meeting new TANF requirements through community service programs, it is important for those individuals not ready for training and full-time employment, our policy and approach has been to utilize CDBG funding in support of programs that help individuals acquire the skills and education needed to obtain full-time permanent employment that pays a living wage, benefits, and the opportunity to advance to positions that provide a higher level of compensation and a higher level of job security. During Year 25, OHCD intends to continue support of these activities through a 22 6/1/99 FINANCE - Res. 990326 network of community-based and citywide organizations, as described on the attached chart. These programs are designed to address the human resource needs of companies and corporations within the city. Training providers work hand in hand with the private sector to design training programs and develop specific skills identified by the employers. This approach ensures that a majority of the program participants will be successfully replaced in jobs at the end of training. For the last two program years, we have worked with the Greater Philadelphia First Corporation to further develop employer-driven job training and placement programs through the establishment of employer advisory committees and the data-intensive precision manufacturing and hotel and hospitality and tourism industries. The advisory committees provide feedback on the types of jobs currently available in their respective fields, the development of training curriculum, and projects as related to the future human resource needs of the job market. This information is used to structure training programs 23 6/1/99 FINANCE - Res. 990326 and recruit program participants. As we move forward in our efforts to support education, training, and workforce development in the ever-changing environment of state and federal regulations and resources, the need for coordination among providers and funders becomes even more critical.
I assume that these are people to talk about this Job Works Program?
Yes, yes, they are. They're going to provide testimony as it relates to their specific programs.
Right. Do I assume that this chart, although we will hear testimony, then ask questions, that these jobs are -- is this a plan or are people working in these slots?
These are the programs that we funded over the last three years, and those are the placement objectives for each program.
All right. Then we will wait until the end to ask questions 'cause we certainly would like to know if people 24 6/1/99 FINANCE - Res. 990326 are working there now, if it's a plan or if it's a real job and the people are working down there now, how many of the objectives have been met. But we'll wait till the end and certainly would like to hear all of your testimony with regard to the jobs programs now. Thank you.
Please identify yourself for the record -- good morning -- and begin your testimony.
My name's John Rice. I am the President of the Metropolitan Career Center. I don't have my testimony printed, but I do have some appendix material about our programs available for each member of the committee.
I have been with the Metropolitan Career Center for years. We 20 provide a range of programs to help unemployed and 21 disadvantaged Philadelphians move into jobs with 22 career potential. 23 This year, our organization will serve 24 over 800 Philadelphians, and we provide a variety of programs that are listed on the first sheet of 25 6/1/99 FINANCE - Res. 990326 the attachments that you have there. Specifically, OHCD, through the CDBG, funds the MCC Computer Technology Institute. We have just opened a new branch for our Computer Technology Institute on Broad Street. We had began developing this program back in 1992. And at that time, we were looking ahead to identifying an industry which would be growing into the future and would provide persons with long-term employment. We developed our computer technology program in consultation with 60 companies. That was back in 1993. And on the second page of the attachments, which I have provided, you will see the range of jobs that we focus on, including PC user support, hardware installation and maintenance, network administration, and office administration. And then on that second sheet in the packet, if you look to the bottom, you will see a range of companies which have actually hired our graduates. And they are, through the alphabet from, Aetna and Amtrak, all the way through Vanguard. 6/1/99 FINANCE - Res. 990326 Then I would ask you to look at the last page of the attachment, which gives a summary of first three years in which we ran a pilot program. The program enrolled 127 persons, and we completed 110 or 87. And 88 of those persons, or 80 percent of our students, were placed in jobs in computer hardware and software technology, with an average starting wage of $22,000 a year and benefits. From the first year of placement, we placed 27 people. And at our last check-in, which was just before the new year, of those persons 14 were retained on job much. 15 Now, that's a lot of statistics. 16 You'll actually also see that from our enrollment, 17 that fully half of those enrolled were welfare 18 recipients, and half of these enrolled were young 19 men. And one of the things that we wanted to do 20 when we started this program was do a program that 21 would be particularly attractive to young men. 22 But because we're having our 25th 23 anniversary on Sunday, and I've interviewed some 24 graduates, I wanted to tell you the story of just 25 one of our graduates, Lynette. Lynette was in the 27 6/1/99 FINANCE - Res. 990326 very first group. She was on welfare from age 15 to age 35. She has seven kids and two grandchildren. She finished our computer technology program more than two years ago and qualified for a job paying $32,500 at the Philadelphia College of Textiles and Science. She's still at the College of Textiles and Science. She's, over that period of time, gotten promotions. And she has a plan that all her children will go to the Philadelphia College of Textiles and Science where they can go free without having to pay tuition. And her dream is to graduate in the near future from that college with her oldest child. So the significance of this program are, briefly, the fact that these jobs exist in the computer world. And that good-paying jobs exist. And we know that we've demonstrated that it's possible, with a well-framed program, to help persons who were previously unemployed, laid off, low-income, through a year's instruction, and then a private-sector externship to be able to transition into a private market and retain a 28 6/1/99 FINANCE - Res. 990326 full-time job. Lastly, I'll tell you about a young man who graduated last June, has only been in the job market almost a year. He is now making $50,000, he's working some overtime. But persons are moving into jobs that are paying much more than our staff. Thank you very much.
Good morning, Councilwoman Blackwell, Council President Verna, and members of the Finance Committee, members of City Council, ladies and gentlemen.
My name is Barbara Coscarello, and I'm the President of the Campus Boulevard Corporation. I do have copies of my testimony if you would like them.
On behalf of CBC, my colleague to my right, Argo Simpkins, and I are grateful for the opportunity to present testimony before this committee regarding the Year 25 Community Development Block Grant. 29 6/1/99 FINANCE - Res. 990326 By way of background, CBC is a unique consortium of medical and educational institutions in northwest Philadelphia whose basic mission is to improve the neighborhoods in which the CBC members -- which include the Albert Einstein Health Care Network, Germantown Hospital and Community Health Services, the Pennsylvania College of Optometry, LaSalle University, Moss Rehab, Mana Bible Institute, Central High School, Philadelphia High School for Girls, and the Widener Memorial School -- are all located. We have met this mission in many ways in our 20-year history. In recent years, we began concentrating on programs which partner the assets of the CBC member institutions with the assets of our community residents -- namely Fern Rock, Ogontz, Belfield, Germantown, and Logan neighborhoods. The cornerstone of that partnership is CBC's highly successful and award-winning job training programs for city residents who secure entry-level positions with various employers, including, the CBC member institutions mentioned above and their affiliates. 30 6/1/99 FINANCE - Res. 990326 All of our students are low-income, primarily welfare recipients. Our funding is primarily from the Philadelphia Private Industry Council, and the City's Office of Housing and Community Development with support from CBC member institutions and a few private foundations. We seek your support today for the Year block grant's general allocations and its 10 specific allocation for CBC's job training module 11 program in the amount of $185,000. 12 And now, Miss Argo Simpkins, CBC's 13 Director of Job Training, will explain briefly how 14 our training program is conducted, who it serves, 15 and what our anticipated results are. 16
Good morning, members of 17 City Council, ladies and gentlemen. My name is 18 Argo Simpkins. I am the Director of CBC's Job 19 Training Programs. 20 The CBC module program consists of a 21 two-day assessment of each student, three weeks of 22 adult basic education, and a clerical core 23 curriculum of approximately 13 weeks. All our 24 students receive training in business 25 communications, math, keyboarding, PC 31 6/1/99 FINANCE - Res. 990326 applications, and office procedures. Life skills and soft skills training, for which CBC is most recognized, are a consistent part of the training, along with daily case management. Depending on the student's ability various, modules can be selected for additional training, such as medical terminology, medical billing, advanced data-entry, and bookkeeping. Time for preparation for job searches and actual employment interviews are also included. Since this program is open-entry, open-exit, students in effect receive very personalized attention. As students can enter the program at key periods throughout their training, CBC has also developed a unique relationship with the Albert Einstein Health Care Network, one of CBC members institutions, which will allow 19 students from among the 75 admitted to be program 20 to be employed at Einstein for 20 hours per week, at a salary of 8.89 per hour while they're in training with us. After training is completed, our students are employed in many cities, suburban, and even rural companies, both large and small, in 32 6/1/99 FINANCE - Res. 990326 positions such as medical billers, admissions representatives, customer service representatives, secretaries, and bookkeepers. I believe it is important for Councilmembers to recognize that CBC's record of training, placement and retention is outstanding. For example, the last training program, we completed and admitted 69 low-income city residents, graduated 63, and placed 59, with an average wage of 10.59 per hour, with full benefit packages. If you contrast this income of approximately $1,836 per month, not including the value of company benefits, to the welfare payments which these same students have been receiving in amounts of $200 to $597 per month, you can see why the CBC job training program has been cited as a model for the United States and Pennsylvania Departments of Labor, the PIC, and OHCD. In addition, CBC has recently received the Outstanding Economic Development Program Award in the United States by the National Council on Urban Economic Development, the Outstanding Job Training Program in the County awarded by the 33 6/1/99 FINANCE - Res. 990326 National Association of Counties, and the Outstanding Job Training Vendor Award by the state of Pennsylvania. Our retention rates are equally impressive. A study performed last year indicated that approximately 93 percent of our students were still employed after six months to one year of work, and 63 percent have received salary increases and/or promotions. Another way of looking at the economic impact of the CBC job training programs, which OHCD has funded in the past and Philadelphia City Council has approved, is to determine the total in salaries which are our students have realized since we began our training program five years ago. That number is conservatively calculated to be $4,400,000. And this figure does not even include the savings to the taxpayers for the cost to support our students while they were collecting welfare.
On behalf of the Campus Boulevard Corporation and the many city residents who have benefitted from our training, I urge your continuous support of our program 34 6/1/99 FINANCE - Res. 990326 through the funding allocation in the Year Block Grant Proposal. I earnestly hope this information, though brief, has been helpful. Miss Simpkins and I are, of course, available for questions. And if you have no 7 objections, I'd like to include our testimony as part of the record of the committee. Thank you very much.
Good morning, members of 11 Council. My name is Martin Nock. I'm the 12 President of Communities and Schools of 13 Philadelphia. 14 My testimony was sent last week, and I 15 only have a couple copies of it, and I'm hoping 16 it's in your package. 17 I am pleased to come before City 18 Council today on behalf of the Office of Housing 19 and Community Development. My organizations, 20 Communities and Schools of Philadelphia, has 21 worked with the Office of Housing Community 22 Development for approximately four years, 23 primarily in the area of youth employment and 24 development. 25 Communities and Schools of Philadelphia 35 6/1/99 FINANCE - Res. 990326 is a nonprofit organization that works within the School District of Philadelphia to bring curriculum enhancements, innovative programs, and supportive services to high-risk students. By providing funding for staff salaries and student stipends, the Office of Housing and Community Development has helped Communities and Schools of Philadelphia to provide paid work experience for more than 2,000 public school youth during the summer and part-time during the school year. Most recently, the Office of Housing and Community Development has been a primary partner with us in bringing American Allies Travel Academy curriculum to students enrolled in Communities and Schools' National Academy of Travel and Tourism. We currently operate the National Academy of Travel and Tourism programs along with another one of our partners, the National Academy Foundation in New York in ten comprehensive high schools. The high schools are: Audenried, Frankford High, Kensington High, Olney High, South Philly High, John Bartram, Simon Gratz, Martin Luther King, Roxborough, and Strawberry Mansion. 36 6/1/99 FINANCE - Res. 990326 The American Airlines Travel Academy, funded by the Office of Housing and Community Development, is a nationally-recognized curriculum providing professional-level training in the automated reservation systems and related skills used throughout the travel industry worldwide. The program is currently housed at the Community College of Philadelphia. With funding from the Office of Housing and Community Development, we are giving Philadelphia's high school youth the opportunity to acquire training and expertise that will prepare them to enter the exciting field of travel and tourism, one of the fastest-growing industries in our city and throughout the country. Over the years, we've been able to work so closely with the Office of Housing and Community Development's Director, John Kromer, and Belinda Mayo, the Director of Community Development, because our agencies share common goals. The most important of these goals is to help young people develop their potential to the fullest through relevant educational programs and work experiences that open the door to genuine 37 6/1/99 FINANCE - Res. 990326 career opportunities. We would not have been able to accomplish all that we have for Philadelphia's public school students in all of our Councilmatic districts where Communities and Schools' National Academy of Travel Tourism's programs where are without the support of the Office Housing and Community Development. We have used the Office of Housing and Community Development funds wisely and efficiently. We serve the maximum number of students possible. We appreciate they're partnership. We hope that City Council recognizes, as we do, the value of OHCD to our young people in our communities. We urge you to continue support of this agency and the very fine work it accomplishes for the residents of Philadelphia. Thank you.
Thank you very much. Certainly, we are glad to hear about all these jobs programs. And I for one have -- my first question is that we need the ability to avail ourselves of this information. We have a 38 6/1/99 FINANCE - Res. 990326 lot of students etc. who frequent our offices, as well as adults who could take advantage of this training if we had a way to access it. Some of it was neighborhood-based in various neighborhoods. Certainly, the Councilperson in those areas could be helped if they knew where to refer an unemployed person or students in schools programs, etc. So I would request that if you would give us the information so that we can use it so that we can have this information available to the Council people, it would be very, very helpful. I for one have created a program, West Philadelphia on the Move, and my own jobs program because I didn't know we were this far along on this one. But this, in addition, certainly to whatever else we can create would be very, very invaluable.
The chart that was attached to my testimony lists the programs that we supported. However, we're facing some real serious changes in the way that Philadelphia residents are recruited for our programs. In the past, we've worked through a network of not only training 39 6/1/99 FINANCE - Res. 990326 providers but recruitment and assessment agencies that are normally housed in community-based organizations. However, the Workforce Investment Act that sort of takes effect on the federal level on July 1st, will change the way that people are recruited for these programs. Instead, there will be a series of other types of recruitment and assessment agencies that are funded through the Private Industry Council to assess the job skills levels and needs and educational needs of residents of Philadelphia in a one-stop-shop sort of approach. So as of July 1st, and more likely as of January 1st, when these regulations will take effect, we'll have to reevaluate the way that we recruit people for the programs because instead of a low-income person being able to apply to one of our programs, instead they have to go through the one-stop-shop centers and receive a voucher, and then they would go out and try to find the appropriate training program for themselves. So right now, to provide any additional information to providing about these programs 40 6/1/99 FINANCE - Res. 990326 might be helpful, but you should just know that as of January 1st, those things are going to change.
In terms of this chart, Job Training/Skills Development Programs -- and I see you have the number of slots. What is the -- how many people are actually in these jobs for this? You said these are goals when I generally asked the questions. Well, who's working and who isn't? How do we assess the success of this program based on this chart?
Well, Campus Boulevard and the Metropolitan Career Center spoke briefly about the success in their programs. OHCD provides funding for these number of individuals in the program. Our retention rate has been traditionally very high. Most people end up in permanent positions, which is our goal. And I can provide some additional information on exactly how many people have been through the training programs and who have gotten employment and are still employed in those positions.
Yes. Again, 41 6/1/99 FINANCE - Res. 990326 our interest is that we have these programs that we're funding, and we're glad to do that, but we need the ability to access them for the people who come to our offices. And that is our goal, that we receive information in a form that we can use for our constituents. Do any members of the committee have questions? Council President Verna?
Thank you. Can you tell me how much CBC was allocated by OHCD during Year and how much is 13 being allocated for FY 25? 14
It's $185,000, 15 Councilwoman, last year and this year, the same 16 amount. 17
We have in the past provided 18 additional funding to Campus Boulevard during the 19 program year to fill gaps in funding that's 20 provided by the Private Industry Council. So in 21 effect, in Year 24, CBC received, or will be 22 receiving, by the end of the program year 23 $230,000. 24
I ask that question because in reading some of the testimony, 42 6/1/99 FINANCE - Res. 990326 I notice that Youth Build's budget is slated to remain stable at 1.2 million. However, the overall employment and training budget is slated to decrease by 9.9 percent. Which groups are being decreased?
Well, in Year 25, because of the changes at the state and federal level and the way the job training dollars are provided, we have not allocated our entire job training budget for Year until we know what those changes are and 12 how we can best to utilize our funds in support of 13 whatever programs are established through the new 14 federal regulations. 15 In the past, we've funded at least 16 three community-based organizations to do 17 recruitment and assessment. That is, they do 18 outreach in the neighborhoods and on a citywide 19 basis to bring people into the programs, such as 20 Campus Boulevard and MCC. 21 Because things are changing, the 22 federal regulations are changing, and no longer 23 will these providers be funded directly to provide 24 training in the same way that it's been done in 25 the past, we're waiting to see what those changes 43 6/1/99 FINANCE - Res. 990326 are to allocate the balance of our job training budget in support of those activities. So it hasn't really been reduced. It's just that we haven't allocated all of our funding.
We would note that Youth Build is, I'm sure, as the Director knows, and we talk about every year, they have an excellent program, and we certainly would not want them to be cut.
Well, Youth Build doesn't fall under the same funding category as the other job-training programs. And most of the funding that we provide for Youth Build also covers some of the program costs itself.
Well, I'm just saying we do not want them cut. They do an excellent job. They help so many young people. They've even taken people that they don't even get paid to try to educate. They've graduated someone who's 35 years old that they just carried. I mean, they're committed to doing their part. So certainly, we would not want to see Youth Build cut. 44 6/1/99 FINANCE - Res. 990326 Councilwoman Tasco?
You talked about the new regulations, federal regulations which will require applicants to be recruited from one-stop locations. Could you tell me, in your opinion, is that better? Or would the present program activity, in terms of what community-based programs recruit would be better for the residents?
It's a little early for me to pass judgment, if you will. The regulations on the federal level have only been published on an interim basis. And the state regulations that will follow won't be published until the federal regulations are finalized. And I really don't have all the information about how Philadelphia will set up centers, so I can't say whether it will be better or worse. The opportunity to be able to go to one place and get information about employment, regardless of your income, seems to me to be a good approach, but I'm not sure of all the 45 6/1/99 FINANCE - Res. 990326 particulars of the program.
So those agencies have not been identified in Philadelphia that you know of?
So you're saying that these agencies -- Metropolitan and Campus Boulevard, and Community and Schools -- they also can recruit now? Are they considered community-based organizations?
They are considered community-based organizations. And in the case of Campus Boulevard and MCC, they will enter into contracts with PIC to provide training in the same approach as of July 1st through December 31st. And if the regulations under the new Workforce Investment Act have been finalized, then that may change in January. It was just too soon to tell right now.
Okay. I'd just like to say that two of the centers I do know, Metropolitan Career Center -- it was "Collegiate" when I first met you some years ago when you were calling our office to seek help -- and Campus 46 6/1/99 FINANCE - Res. 990326 Boulevard, I'd like to say that when the Women in Municipal Government Board met here in the summer of '97, we took them on a tour of the training program. And the members of that committee included mayors and council members from across this country. We wanted to show them what was going on in Philadelphia. And it certainly is a very good program, both of them or. But, John, I just happened to take them downtown to see Campus Boulevard. And, certainly, the quality of students and the end product is very good to the point that when I called for a secretary, they told me that I wasn't paying enough and that they could find their clients a better-paying jobs than what we were paying here in City Council. So I want to thank you both for the wonderful programs.
Thank you. Are there other questions? Councilman Cohen, did you have a question for this panel?
Yes. Just one technical question. 47 6/1/99 FINANCE - Res. 990326 In two places on the chart, there's reference to 1.2 million, which includes acquisition and construction costs. And I don't see any explanation of what that's about -- in the Campus Boulevard chart and in the Youth Build chart. That's the second page of the charts. One is in the block for fiscal year '90 and fiscal year 2000 for Campus Boulevard; and in the year '98, Fiscal Year '98, for Youth Build.
Is Youth Build here? I know we told people what time they were scheduled to speak so they wouldn't have to sit around all day.
Could somebody just explain what that amount of money represents, what it's for? .
The 1.2 million proposed for Youth Build represents their operating costs primarily. But the director of Youth Build and some of their staff will be here later today to testify.
How about Campus 48 6/1/99 FINANCE - Res. 990326 Boulevard, is it 185,000 plus million? Or is it. . . I just can't tell what the chart indicates.
Mr. Kromer, wasn't it the intention to increase Youth Build? Weren't they supposed to be expanding to just about every section of the city?
On several occasions during the past four years, and if we had more funding, we would expand it again. But for this year, we're simply proposing that funding --
So they won't be able to expand the way they wanted to.
Their director can testify as to that. I'm not sure whether they would or not. The 1.2 million reference in the note on Campus Boulevard is apparently an error. The other figures are the funding proposed for Campus Boulevard. The 1.2 million provides the Youth Build.
Thank you very much. Are there any other questions for this panel? Mr. Kromer, let me ask, is Anthony MacIntosh a part of this? He's to come next?
All right, and then after that, Steve Mullin, I assume?
Thank you very much. Thank you. (Anthony MacIntosh comes forward.)
Would you identify yourself for the record and begin your testimony.
Good morning. My name is Anthony McIntosh. And I'm the Executive Vice President of the Philadelphia Housing Development Corporation. 50 6/1/99 FINANCE - Res. 990326 Over the past five months, PHDC has concentrated its efforts on the improvement of service provided under the Basic Systems Repair Program. We have focused on increasing production, decreasing the backlog of cases, and streamlining the time gap between application for repairs and delivery of service. In November of 1998, we were faced with a backlog of over 1700 cases, with an average waiting period of weeks or more for initial 12 inspection. 13 I have some charts here that I would 14 like to share with the members of the committee. 15
No, it isn't. But 18 . . . 19 Now, if could you take a moment while 20 the charts are being passed around, over here, we have a larger chart which basically depicts the status of the backlog. And in looking at that, it starts with this fiscal year, and it goes all the way back to July 1. And in looking at that, we came aboard in November of 1998, at which time 51 6/1/99 FINANCE - Res. 990326 there was a backlog of 1700-plus cases. Each month, thereafter, the chart shows the number of clients waiting decreased. Now, if I could bring your attention to Chart No. 2 in your packet. Chart No. 2 is a Basis Systems Repair Program monthly production analysis. And while the other chart was showing the status of the backlog and the subsequent decrease on a month-toe-month basis, this chart shows production numbers increasing as cases are completed. , and, again it's depicted on a month-by-month basis. The last chart that we have is a chart which is a production analysis of our Year 16 versus Year 24. And this is a monthly production 17 analysis by tier. So for each program, we could 18 take a look on a month-by-month basis of the 19 increase in the overall production while also 20 increasing our response time. 21 Today, six months later, I am pleased 22 to report that PHDC has made major strides in 23 reducing the backlog in the Basis System Repairs Program. Over 1849 cases have been completed, which resulted in a 62 percent increase over Year 52 6/1/99 FINANCE - Res. 990326 completions. In addition, we've been successful in reducing response time to requests for service. Our ability to achieve this level of production is as a direct result of the staff and their dedication and commitment to serve the people in our neighborhoods. In closing, we plan to continue to make this program more effective and responsive to the responsive to the needs of low-and moderate-income homeowners by making continuous improvement of operations and services our ongoing goal. Thank you.
Yes. 17 Mr. MacIntosh, I think that this is an 18 absolutely wonderful program, and I know that in 19 checking with a member of my staff, we get at 20 least 15 people that call for assistance, I guess, 21 on almost a weekly basis. Is there an overall 22 decrease of 9.3 percent in the budget for these 23 activities?
Yes, that's what's proposed. 53 6/1/99 FINANCE - Res. 990326
You know, I think we address the most troublesome emergency repairs of homeowners, and we all know that I guess we have more senior citizens, we're becoming a city of senior citizens, and many of these people need the necessary repairs that we're able to provide them. Why are we decreasing this budget?
Well, I agree with your concern about the need to sustain a repair program. The budget is proposed to be decreased because there is still some funding from the current fiscal year that we expect will support the program during some months of the coming fiscal year. The reason why that money for current fiscal year hasn't been spent already is because of a delay in receiving Section 108 funding that had been allocated to the program that hadn't been expected but had been delayed due to new requirements that HUD had imposed on the program. So because OHCD got the funding later 54 6/1/99 FINANCE - Res. 990326 than expected, PHDC got the funding later than expected and was not able to deliver the funding as quickly as expected. Now, in the past, City Council has supported, and we've documented in the plan, an approach in which if other programs such as the Rental Development or the Sales Housing Development are not producing on schedule if developers experience delays and find that they can't produce in the year that they propose, their funding can be reallocated to the Basic Systems Repair Program and other activities. And through that combination of the current year's funding, the funding that's proposed in Year 25, and other funding that if needed can be used to supplement that, I am anticipating a full-year program that will be available during the entire fiscal year.
With that being said, can you tell me why the 18th Street Development Corporation is losing their $50,000 in funding for their repair program?
Yes. The 18th Street Development Corporation, which has been funded 55 6/1/99 FINANCE - Res. 990326 through the program for several years now, is still in the process of spending out the funding commitment that it has received previously. And we anticipate that the spending of those currently available funds will take up most or all of the coming fiscal year. With other nonprofit groups of that kind that are in that kind of situation, if we find that there's an increase in performance and an expenditure of funds during the fiscal year, then we amend the program to provide the funding that's needed to keep them busy during the course of the entire year. And if we find that that is the case with respect to 18th Street Development Corporation, that is that they spend the funding allocated to them --
How much could they possibly have left from this year's allocation to carry them into the end of next year?
Well, the program has, frankly, been slow in performing, and by the end of the day, we can provide you with the 56 6/1/99 FINANCE - Res. 990326 statistics. But our commitment to them is to keep the corporation as busy as it can be during the next fiscal year, and we will amend if we need to to make that happen.
Let me ask you, is it just the area residents that would solicit them for help? Or does some of the requests come from OHCD for many of the buildings in that community that need repair?
In my experience, most or all of the requests for the service of the 18th Street Corporation come from the immediate community.
Thank you. Are there other questions regarding the Basic Systems Repair Program?
Thank you, Madam Chair. Mr. MacIntosh, did you get a message from my office on the 28th, which was the date 57 6/1/99 FINANCE - Res. 990326 that I received your printout regarding the Basic Systems Repair Program Status Report Councilmatic District No. 4, these were received in the office on May 28th. I placed a call to a Sandra Barnhill (ph.), is she a deputy in your office.
Okay. The request was, was it possible to compile the data in such a way that we would be able to see full expanse of the BSRP Program and a layout by number of properties and treatments and dollar amounts by Councilmatic District? Would you happen to have that information?
The total budget for the program is -- in this year's plan, it appears to be 10.6.
10.6 for the BSRP 58 6/1/99 FINANCE - Res. 990326 Program?
Wait, I'm sorry. Hold on, Mr. Kromer. I thought the previous number you gave me was 10.6 million for the total budget.
It's about 10.6, 59 6/1/99 FINANCE - Res. 990326 Councilman.
Yeah. Okay, on of the plan, if I could draw your attention to that. Okay, and looking at Year 25, we have 3.3 million in State funds. That's a part of our Tier I Program. And our Tier II Program, it's about 7.8 million. And then there's for Tier III, there's an additional $800,000. And that's Year 25.
Okay. And you said you'd be able to get us -- when can we have all ten Councilmatic districts and the breakout of BSRP programs by Council district?
We could have that for you in about five days, sir. 60 6/1/99 FINANCE - Res. 990326
Well, didn't each District Councilperson get the same report that I got on May 28th?
But you asked for a further breakdown of the distribution.
What I'd be interested in is just getting the information. If I have the information, I can do my own analysis.
Council districts and forward them to the Chair, you can have those, probably, in about ten minutes, right?
Just to be clear, so the totals for each Council district on a single so that you can compare them.
Right. The report I have, the last page, , says, "Councilmatic District Total." The total count is 257 properties, the total dollar amount is $324,588.88. What I would like to see is each direct, the total number of properties that were treated and the total spending.
'Cause I'm trying to figure out if your figures are now -- if you have $11.9 million in the BSRP, I'm trying to figure out why you only spent $324,000 in one district. So I'd like to see where the rest of the money went.
Are there other questions from members of the committee 62 6/1/99 FINANCE - Res. 990326 about the Basic Systems Repair Program? (No further questions at this time.)
Stephen Mullin, Director of Commerce, has some brief testimony regarding the economic development portion of the proposed plan.
Good morning. Would you identify yourself for the record and begin.
Yes, good morning. My name is Steve Mullin. I'm the Director of Commerce for the City. I'm here joined by Deputy Commerce Director Mjenzi Traylor, by PCDC President Curtis Jones, and by PIDC President Bill 19 Hankowsky. I'd like to offer a quick bit of testimony for the economic development portion of the Year 25's block grant and offer my support for the passage of the fiscal year 2000 Consolidated Plan. Before I begin, I'd like to join John 63 6/1/99 FINANCE - Res. 990326 Kromer in thanking the committee and City Council for agreeing to expedite the public hearing in consideration of this bill and am looking this morning to summarize it, and in some cases, expand on the economic development section of the Consolidated Plan. We take very seriously the notion that Philadelphia's neighborhoods play a pivotal role in the City's economy. Most of the City's economic activity takes place in its neighborhoods. To ensure the quality of life for the majority of our citizens which reside in our neighborhoods, we targeted neighborhood economic development as our number-one priority. The City's approach to the economic development -- neighborhood economic development encompasses three goals: number one, assisting small neighborhood businesses; number two, investing in neighborhood physical infrastructure, including housing, to improve the business environment near residential areas; and, three, fostering the growth of community economic development skills and capacity.
Mr. Mullin, we 64 6/1/99 FINANCE - Res. 990326 can't hear you very well.
And they're asking if you would speak a little bit slower; they can't understand what you're saying. Thank you.