2418 COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA PUBLIC HEARING BEFORE THE COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - - - Monday, March 18, 2002 9:54 Room 400, City Hall Philadelphia, PA - - - CONTINUED FY '03 OPERATING BUDGET TESTIMONY (BILL NO. 020001) PRESENT: COUNCIL PRESIDENT ANNA C. VERNA, Chair COUNCILWOMAN JANNIE L. BLACKWELL COUNCILMAN FRANK J. DICICCO COUNCILMAN JAMES F. KENNEY COUNCILMAN ANGEL L. ORTIZ COUNCILMAN FRANK RIZZO - - - VINCENT VARALLO ASSOCIATES, INC. Registered Professional Reporters Eleven Penn Center, Suite 600 Philadelphia, PA 19103 (215) 561-2220 2419 3/18/02 COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE INDEX (CONTINUED FY '03 OPERATING BUDGET TESTIMONY - 020001) WITNESS MOCS Ralph Blakeny, Executive Director............... 2421 Pat Smith, NTI Director......................... 2428 Thomas Conway, Deputy Managing Director......... 2431 FAIRMOUNT PARK COMMISSION William Mifflin, Executive Director............. 2465 Mark Focht, Enviromental Ed./Land Restoration... 2468 Paul Nice, Deputy Director...................... 2480 MOIS Diana Neff, Chief Information Officer........... 2511 Oliver Thornton, Business Center CIO............ 2523 Howard Baker, Public Safety CIO................. 2531 Dr. Karl Bortnick, Chief Program Manager........ 2557 * * * 2420 3/18/02 - CONT'D OPERATING BUDGET TESTIMONY - 020001
Bill No.'s 020030, 020031, 020035, 020092, 020144, 020145, 020116. Bill No. 020031 will be recessed until tomorrow Tuesday March at 9:30. The other bills are 6 recessed until Monday April 8th at 9:30. 7 Those tax bills in front of the 8 Committee of the Whole are being recessed are being 9 recessed at the request of the Chamber, as the 10 Chamber and other institutions asked for some 11 additional time to review the bills so that they 12 can give testimony. 13 Today is a continuation of the hearings 14 on Bill No. 020001. 15 And the first department we would like 16 to call back is MOCS, the Mayor's Office of 17 Community Services. 18 (Witnesses come forward.) 19
Thank you, Madam Chair. Good morning. First let me say that I deeply appreciate you coming back today, Mr. Blakney and Tom Conway and Pat Smith. I think 2421 3/18/02 - CONT'D OPERATING BUDGET TESTIMONY - 020001 on the day of your original appearance here in Council, unfortunately, I was in the building that day but was in another meeting with some constituents, which I could not get out of at that time, so I appreciate your returning. Therefore I did not have an opportunity to ask some questions at that time. I just had a couple items and I'd appreciate your assistance in trying to get to them. One is, I've had a couple discussions with you, Mr. Blakeny, and other people involved with MOCS, and it would be very helpful if you could explain at this time, I guess, the nature of the relationship or the interrelationship between MOCS and the Neighborhood Transformation Office which will run the Neighborhood Transformation Initiative, the number of employees, the interworking between the two entities, and some level of an organization chart, and maybe some are short explanations as to who reports to who or whom under what circumstances and who directs who or whom to do what.
Thank you. Ralph Blakeny, Executive Director of the Mayor's Office of 2422 3/18/02 - CONT'D OPERATING BUDGET TESTIMONY - 020001 Community Services. The Mayor's Office of Community Services, since the beginning of the Neighborhood Transformation Initiative, has been involved. Primarily, we have a number of workers who have been involved and are identifying people in the community who are interested in being involved with NTI. MOCS has been taking direction regarding our involvement in neighborhood transformation from the Neighborhood Transformation Office. So I would like to refer things to Pat Smith, who could talk about what she has asked the Mayor's Office of Community Service to do regarding NTI.
I appreciate that. Before we get to that, I need to, for the moment, be at a very fundamental level.
MOCS existed before the NTI existed, before the Neighborhood Transformation Office existed. How many people work at MOCS?
We have, as of December 31st, 300 employees. 2423 3/18/02 - CONT'D OPERATING BUDGET TESTIMONY - 020001
Okay. Are they all throughout offices in various neighborhoods in Philadelphia and are there any in what's generally referred to as the "downtown triplex"?
People are working out of a number of offices, and for some people on the MOCS payroll, their supervision is actually in other City departments.
Okay. For the 300 people as of -- you're saying it's as December 31, 2001
That's what you have, okay. Could you provide to us, through the Chair, a detailed listing of all of the sites that MOCS has? You have offices in different parts of City, right?
Okay, give us a 2424 3/18/02 - CONT'D OPERATING BUDGET TESTIMONY - 020001 detailed listing of all of the work locations and what people work at what locations and what their position is.
Okay. As a result of the last testimony, we did furnish, through the normal channels, responding to questions, a list of our various program sites and the number of people who are working at each site.
Okay, yeah, all right. One day I'm going to ask for an explanation about "normal process," of how the information gets from the person who asks for it to how it ultimately ends up here. Apparently, something came in this past Thursday or Friday, and I think it's working its way to the rest of us. What I have is a piece dated March 15th, in response to a question apparently asking you to provide a breakdown of MOCS employees, including information on race. Is that what you're talking about?
And it has program... So it's really question 3, I guess, or 2425 3/18/02 - CONT'D OPERATING BUDGET TESTIMONY - 020001 maybe it's and 4: "What is the cost of renting MOCS office facilities?" which, I guess, that gives you a listing of the facilities. What does question mean?
And is that something that runs throughout the system? Or those five people, are they located in a particular place or --
Yes, they actually work out of MOCS's main office, 909 Spring Garden Street.
Okay. Did the Councilman ask at the time -- again, I know you 2426 3/18/02 - CONT'D OPERATING BUDGET TESTIMONY - 020001 have that breakdown by type of program. Did the Councilman ask for any listing of staff by site, by work site?
We did furnish -- in question number 4, the response does give the total number of staff in the respective programs.
Okay. Again, I'm regretful that I missed that hearing. Maybe we could have had all of this kind of coordinated. What would be helpful for me today is to understand where everyone works, where the different programs are, and probably some combining, I guess, if you will of the information on question and 4, and the response in question 3 and question 4 would help me to get a better understanding of the program and the -- or the agency and how it functions and operates and where people are and what they do.
So would adding the actual address to number 4, another column, would that suffice, Councilman? 2427 3/18/02 - CONT'D OPERATING BUDGET TESTIMONY - 020001
Yeah. Or you -- I mean, I think if you could -- I mean, let me ask this question: For everything that's listed in 4, do all of those items take place in the locations that are listed in 3?
Not necessarily. Well, is there a location of a program in 4 that's not listed as one of your sites in 3?
What I'm saying is that some of the people who are listed in number 4 actually work in the field.
Right. They work out of locations that are listed in number 3, by and large.
We do have people whose supervision is in other departments, and so those locations are not listed.
Okay, all right. Well, why don't we do this: Why don't you take all of the people who are listed -- the people in the 2428 3/18/02 - CONT'D OPERATING BUDGET TESTIMONY - 020001 programs that are listed in item number and associate them with the location from which they work, that you've listed in your response to number 3. And if a person is being supervised by somebody who's not actually at that site, make a note in another column, a comment column that, you know, five of these seven people are actually supervised by somebody over somewhere else.
We would be very happy to furnish that information, Councilman.
Okay, thank you. And then in the context of what you were you were just trying to share with me or take me through, it would also be helpful to get a fairly detailed organization chart of the entire MOCS operation. And then, now, if you want to transition to Miss Smith and talk about how any of the MOCS people, staff, if they are supervised or directed by someone else possibly over in NTI or if they're supervised by someone else, you can tell us that here this morning. And also, if you can give us a detailed explanation as to how the two agencies work, what the nature of the relationship is, and 2429 3/18/02 - CONT'D OPERATING BUDGET TESTIMONY - 020001 as I said earlier, who directs who or whom to do what, that would be most helpful. It has been a little difficult for me.
My name is Patricia Smith, and I'm Director of Neighborhood Transformation Initiative. From the outset, we recognized that as we go out into communities with respect to different components of the Neighborhood Transformation Initiative, one of the most important pieces would be outreach into communities. As you know, with respect to NTI, there's two, I think, fundamental projects which are going forward. One is the Vacant Lot Cleaning Program, which we kicked off last June and is on -- underway. With respect to that citywide Vacant Lot Cleaning Program, there are organizers who work out of the office of MOCS, who go out and, as the crews clean lots, reach out to neighbors, businesses, and other individuals in those communities. They're there to answer questions about what's going on, to 2430 3/18/02 - CONT'D OPERATING BUDGET TESTIMONY - 020001 encourage people to play a role on a volunteer basis in terms of maintaining the lots after the City leaves. If there are any community meetings, which are being set up, the MOCS organizers are there to answer questions and things of that nature.
But why don't you walk me, kind of step by step, through that process. We've now experienced it and so we have some information about it. And then I'd like to talk about going forward. Let's go back to the kickoff with the vacant lots.
My recollection is that we were contacted -- this is the event that was on a Saturday.
Right? I think it rained in the morning and then a little sunshine in the afternoon. 2431 3/18/02 - CONT'D OPERATING BUDGET TESTIMONY - 020001 We were contacted and asked to make a recommendation on a particular lot, and we gave one. Who actually does the work?
Yes, the City, for the first year, has set out in our financial plan that last year hired temporary workers, which are under the direction of the Managing Director's Office. Mr. Conway is the immediate supervisor of those individuals who are cleaning lots.
I can defer to Mr. Conway, 'cause the hiring was done by the Managing Director's Office.
My name's Thomas Conway, Deputy Managing Director. There's approximately 80 employees in the Mayor's Office of Community Services with regards to the vacant lot cleaning. Most of them are temporary employees. 2432 3/18/02 - CONT'D OPERATING BUDGET TESTIMONY - 020001 We also have about L&I employees who operate the equipment, front-end loaders and trash trucks and so on and so forth.
Yes, in the Department of 8 Licenses and Inspections, they are full-time 9 employees. 10
The 80 employees, the 15 majority of them, are temporary employees. 16
Well, they're hired for a 19 year, and basically when the time's up, we're 20 looking at different avenues to pursue regarding the maintenance of the vacant lots, you know, contracting out or other means of keeping 'em clean.
Okay. And how did you hire them, where did they come from? What was 2433 3/18/02 - CONT'D OPERATING BUDGET TESTIMONY - 020001 the process of hiring people?
Basically, I think it was through community activists and outreach in the neighborhoods to hire as many people that care about the community and want to make a difference in it, and the attempt to put them right back in their own communities to make sure that they're going to make a difference.
Tell me a little bit about the nature of the outreach. I mean, in every neighborhood of the City, you talked to people about making recommendations for people who wanted to work; was that the process?
That's correct. And we also looked at different drug-treatment facilities to work with them, the people that need a second chance to come out of there with a temporary employment opportunity.
Well, the cleaning started last June. Basically, they were hired last June.
Well, you didn't hire them all in June. 2434 3/18/02 - CONT'D OPERATING BUDGET TESTIMONY - 020001
Okay, all right. So you hire the people. And then, Miss Smith, you made mention that around about the time of the cleaning, there's some organizing activity that goes on?
They're sort of, like, answering and having the presence on the street while the -- 'cause, as you know, when the City goes out in any type of, you know, visible way, a lot of times people in the neighborhoods come up, they ask questions, they want to get information, they want to know what's going on. So we thought it was very important so that the individuals who were doing the work could, you know, do what they had to do to have, you know, someone there to answer questions. So we looked to the existing MOCS organizing staff to play that role. We gave them the name of the Neighborhood Transformation 2435 3/18/02 - CONT'D OPERATING BUDGET TESTIMONY - 020001 officers. We spent time with them to talk about different programs and services in the City. I think we even brought them and had a series of workshops around, you know, housing programs and L&I's role and things of that nature, so --
Okay. Now, the MOCS organizers are full-time people who work at MOCS?
Okay. And before NTI came along, what did MOCS organizers do?
Prior to NTI, we had a number of people called "community organizers," and they actually worked out of different offices, MOCS offices, providing what we would be akin to constituent-type services, making referrals, actually helping people to make applications for entitlement programs and those types of things.
Okay. Are they still doing those things, or have they shifted over into NTI orientation?
We are providing some level of those services in addition to -- developing block captains was another one of those services. 2436 3/18/02 - CONT'D OPERATING BUDGET TESTIMONY - 020001 What we found is that the types of things that the community organizers were doing was easily -- a easy fit for what we were trying to achieve with neighborhood transformation.
Okay. So people went out, they cleaned the lots, you have your organizers, and that was last year's activity. What's to be anticipated for this year?
Well, I mean, that's ongoing activity. You know, the lot cleaning program, as structured, we anticipated cleaning the 31,000 vacant lots over a one-year period of time, so the organizers are still working with the crews and still go out to answer questions. Looking forward, we also know that once we begin the demolition activity that we are planning, you know, a great deal of community meetings, working with the District Councilpersons, you know, to schedule those meetings. And we think it's very important again to have the MOCS organizers to do a couple of things: Leafletting, letting people know about community meetings, you know, before the activity, to get the word out, to touch base with community 2437 3/18/02 - CONT'D OPERATING BUDGET TESTIMONY - 020001 leaders, churches, you know. So it's sort of a outreach to say that, you know, we're scheduling a meeting to talk about the demolition activity that's taking place in your neighborhood. So that's sort of what like what I would call the "pre-demolition activity." We also, in anticipation and based on experience, recognize that often as demolition work is going on, issues, you know, come up. You know, there may be a problem. Historically, the organizers oversee the demolition contractor. They take -- you know, historically, they've been taking neighborhood complaints, but we thought to augment that so that the MOCS organizers would be there, so that if an issue comes up, they become kind of the interface, you know, into government. If a question comes up about, let's say, you know, unfortunately, there's an issue about a damage to a property, and instead of having an individual trying to figure out government on their own, they'll know to refer that person to, like, the Risk Management Office. They'll have brochures and information on, you know, what is a dangerous building, why is it dangerous, that sort of thing. 2438 3/18/02 - CONT'D OPERATING BUDGET TESTIMONY - 020001 So it's kind of like a education piece and the idea of a liaison and entry point.
All right. You mentioned that the lot-cleaning is ongoing. One, how many -- since the kickoff last year, how many lots have been cleaned?
As of March 15th, 22,500 vacant lots have been cleaned, with 15,000 tons of debris removed.
Okay. And the game plan going forward is that we're just going to continue to do this?
Well, we're going to continue doing it this way until July 1st.
And then we're going to look at different options regarding contracting out the work or other avenues.
One of the things, if you recall from the Neighborhood Transformation Program 2439 3/18/02 - CONT'D OPERATING BUDGET TESTIMONY - 020001 framework, we always envisioned, because of the scale of the problem and the amount of debris, that the City would go in and try to get the lots down to a manageable level, something akin to the abandoned-car program, you know, so like it's up front, let's get the backlog taken care of. Then what we had contemplated is, how do we begin to do other -- involve other people. So, like, we were talking about issuing an RFP or a bid document to solicit community groups who may want to say, We want to bid on cleaning lots within our neighborhood. We haven't completely figured out kind of like the follow-up mechanism, but we're looking at all kinds of options from doing a -- it's not actually a request for a proposal, but a bid document through the traditional procurement mechanism, looking at, you know, both for-profit and nonprofit as a way to carry on the regular cleanup activity. One thing I want to stress is that we always envisioned this is not to be a maintenance program, but after the initial cleaning, to be a periodic cleanup, so that things don't get out of 2440 3/18/02 - CONT'D OPERATING BUDGET TESTIMONY - 020001 hand so -- in that sense. And we haven't completely structured it. That's what we'll be working on this spring is a delivery system going forward. We may want to keep a blend of continuing to use temporary workers combined with, you know, contracting out some of the work.
When do you think you'll have a decision as to what the final program is going to be?
Okay, all right. Tell me a little bit about any protocols that have been developed either presently or that you anticipate going forward. Obviously there's going to be a tremendous uptake in work and activity between MOCS, NTI, and citizens, as well as the need to coordinate with a variety of elected officials. What is -- let me rephrase that. Is there a protocol in terms of the work that MOCS may be doing or NTI workers who are directed by MOCS, or MOCS workers who may be directed by the NTI 2441 3/18/02 - CONT'D OPERATING BUDGET TESTIMONY - 020001 Office, in terms of work to be done in the neighborhood and the nature of your contact prior to with any of the elected officials or other representatives in the area?
As we indicated, again, in the NTI Program framework, we always envisioned particularly around the demolition activity to work with the District Council office in terms of setting up community meetings. Once the, you know, we've gotten the date and the location, then we can think of the MOCS workers kind of like the foot soldiers. You know, they'll put out the brochures, they would attend the community meetings, they would be there to answer, again, questions. I mean, one of the things that we know from experience is that when you go into a neighborhood meeting, you may go with one particular, you know, agenda or objective, but often, if there's other issues within the community around City service people, you know --
Well, I understand about the demolition-related activity; I'm also asking about other activities that may take place in the community that are not related to 2442 3/18/02 - CONT'D OPERATING BUDGET TESTIMONY - 020001 demolition. And, again, what is the -- is there an informal or formal or written document that details what MOCS or NTI people are supposed to do when they set up meetings, again, not related demolition but a wide variety of other services that may be provided in terms of notifying elected representatives as to what their doing?
Mm-hmm. The other respect to NTI that's significant is the lot-cleaning activity and what we have been using some MOCS workers is that we were able to raise some dollars to do some greening. So the MOCS workers have been working with individuals in and around the original eight kickoff sites, because we were able to get some private dollars to get what we call "stabilization work" on that lot; you know, putting in some topsoil, some tree planting, and some greening activity. But their primary role, with respect to NTI, is, one, being deployed along with the cleaning crews, if people are interested in playing a volunteer role in terms of ongoing activities with the lots, we have an application so that they 2443 3/18/02 - CONT'D OPERATING BUDGET TESTIMONY - 020001 can become a caretaker of the lot, and we're trying to work with, you know, just giving people support that way. And then the second major area that we contemplated was with respect to the demolition activities. We weren't using them for other types of community services. Those are the two areas related to the vacated lots and the demolition.
Okay, I understand that, and those are primarily NTI-related activities.
Let me ask Mr. Blakney. Mr. Blakney, you and I have had a couple conversations about the need to coordinate activities by MOCS personnel out in neighborhoods, whether it's meetings or community information and the like. What direction do you give to staff as it relates to the need to be in touch with local-area representatives if MOCS is organizing an activity in the neighborhood?
Basically, we've been 2444 3/18/02 - CONT'D OPERATING BUDGET TESTIMONY - 020001 responding to the request of elected officials. In the one meeting that you and I had, you had expressed a concern about not being informed of a community meeting.
So as a result of that meeting, if I can use that for an example, we had agreed that MOCS community organizers would do whatever is possible to make you aware of activity, you know, in your respective district. Other Councilpeople have not necessarily made such a request, so we have not been doing that across the board. But we are, you know, most certainly willing to cooperate and respond to requests of the individual Councilperson or to Council as a whole.
Excuse me. I don't think that Councilmembers should have to make such a request. I think that you automatically should notify the Councilmembers as to what activity is going to be going on in their districts.
Thank you. We will comply with that, Council President. 2445 3/18/02 - CONT'D OPERATING BUDGET TESTIMONY - 020001
Thank you, Madam President. And you are actually correct. And it's not -- I mean, I'm not asking -- you and I didn't have that conversation because I'm newsy about what you do and how you do your business; it's primarily because we all work for the same people, we're trying to provide representation and service to folks, but we also should do it in a coordinated fashion so that at least the citizens have some reason to think that we actually know what we're doing and that we're working hand in hand to support each other's efforts. You are correct, we had that meeting, we had this discussion, and with regard to that particular situation, it has worked out very well. We are having continual discussions about a particular project out in West Philadelphia, and the organizers have been most cooperative with my office, for which I'm very appreciative. On the other hand, I did receive a copy of a flyer the day before a meeting was proposed to put together, and I'm assuming that the 2446 3/18/02 - CONT'D OPERATING BUDGET TESTIMONY - 020001 arrangements for the meeting were done not the day before, when I found out about it. This is related to schools and school safety; again, obviously something that I'd be very interested in and very concerned about. I have a member of my staff who works on school issues, and it was not by way of notification by MOCS. It's my understanding that we learned about this particular meeting but by other people in the community. Again, I would say, Mr. Blakney, this has not helped the nature of the relationship between the various elected offices and the MOCS operation. To the extent that we can better coordinate what we're all doing, be involved in the start of the process, and help in any way we can do to support what MOCS is trying to do, but also share either insider information with the agency so that the meetings can be productive so that people can participate, it would certainly be very helpful. It is not a good position for our office to be in a situation where if people have questions about what you guys are doing and the first response is, "What meeting?" That doesn't portend 2447 3/18/02 - CONT'D OPERATING BUDGET TESTIMONY - 020001 well for your office, doesn't portend well for my office. It doesn't make the government look like it really knows what it's doing, so why would anybody listen to us if we're not even talking to each other. All I'm saying is, if somebody wants to have a meeting, be in touch with us. We're not an obstacle, we're not a barrier. We will be cooperative. But I can't participate in something that I don't know anything about. That one's a really hard one for me. If I know about something and don't participate, that's my problem, but if I don't know about something and you go ahead and do it anyway, that makes it very difficult to come up and support what it is that you're doing if it appears that you're working across purposes. And I'm not you directing that at you personally; it was not your meeting. But, as you well know, when you're a director of an agency, oftentimes you hear a lot of stuff from people; some you know about, some you might not know about. I'd be glad to give you a copy of the flyer. Again, at least to a lack of 2448 3/18/02 - CONT'D OPERATING BUDGET TESTIMONY - 020001 coordination, and quite honestly, it's hard to have a good feeling about an agency, if not what your level of cooperation might be with the agency, if you don't think that they're working well with you.
Yeah, I'd be very happy to receive a copy of the flyer. And I can assure you that the lack of notification to your office was an oversight on our part. We will be, you know, working more diligently to make sure that all staff who are involved in respective Council districts, that we at least notify the District Councilperson in the future.
Well, let me just add on to that. I mean, you obviously have to run your agency. I think, and in conjunction with what the Council President said, there's notifying someone that you're going to do something, and then there's calling someone and telling them, This is what we're thinking about doing. We'd like to seek your input, your insight, you ideas, and your suggestions about what our thought is. If you call me the day before a meeting and say, I just want to let you know we're having a 2449 3/18/02 - CONT'D OPERATING BUDGET TESTIMONY - 020001 meeting tomorrow at such-and-such a location, you're not going to go to get any brownie points for that. As a matter of fact, all you're really going to do is really piss me off. So that doesn't get you anywhere. What gets you somewhere is, We're thinking about having a meeting in about two weeks at such-and-such a location. What do you think about that? This is the purpose of the meeting, this is who we're thinking about inviting, this is what we're trying to get done. Could you help us with that? Then I'll be real interested in that conversation 'cause that's a true partnership. If you're just inviting me late, I mean, you know, that's the guy that's going down the list, and the first three girls said no, and you're just getting the last invitation.
Okay. Lastly, I understand that there is -- you have a new service-request form?
We have a form that we use 2450 3/18/02 - CONT'D OPERATING BUDGET TESTIMONY - 020001 internally, and it's primarily used just to document requests being made by various, you know, people in the community.
Would this be the form? (Councilman Nutter holds up document.)
Okay, but this is not to be used external to the NTI office?
No, it's a form that MOCS uses, that the Neighborhood Transformation organizers use to documents requests for service.
Okay. Is there anything that our offices should be using in terms of communicating with MOCS or with the NTI Office in terms of service requests, whether it's block cleaning or anything like that? Or is it just a phone call, is it a fax, is it on a form, is it not on a form, is it a blank sheet of paper, 2451 3/18/02 - CONT'D OPERATING BUDGET TESTIMONY - 020001 stationery? Do you have any particular way that you like to receive information?
We have not developed anything to -- actually a tool to give to Council offices at this time, but that's something that we can definitely explore, and any such tool would be overseen by the Neighborhood Transformation Office.
Okay. Well, then what I would like to request, similar to reports that we receive on a regular basis from the Streets Department and L&I -- we get at a minimum, I believe, a monthly update on work done by those agencies, whether it's street repavings. If you check with Streets Commissioner Johnson, I think I get almost a weekly report of activities in the district from the Streets Department, L&I gives you an update on demolitions, clean-and-seals, and a wide variety of their activities. What I would like to request is a monthly report showing service requests or services performed by the NTI Office, and your internal form indicates that you're asking not only for Councilmatic District information, but also census 2452 3/18/02 - CONT'D OPERATING BUDGET TESTIMONY - 020001 tract designation. So it would seem that you'd be able to computerize it in such a way that you would be able to give us a district-by-district breakdown.
Right, it's already computerized in that fashion. We can actually provide you with the service requests in your Councilmatic District to date.
I can't give you the actual day, but we began using the form in July of last year.
All right. So you could give us from July to date by district all of the requests that have either been received or actions performed?
Okay. If you could provide that to us through the Chair, I'd appreciate it. Thank you.
Thank you, Madam 2453 3/18/02 - CONT'D OPERATING BUDGET TESTIMONY - 020001 Chair.
I want to thank you for providing us information on some of the questions that we asked the last time you were here, and I noted that it said that in my district, there are approximately 46 vacant lots of which MOCS has responsibility to arrange caretakers. How many of those lots have been adopted? And do we first offer the lots to the adjacent property owner for purchase before asking if they're interested in being a caretaker?
However, is it with the understanding if you're going to be the caretaker, that the City will start to implement the necessary steps for the acquisition of that lot?
It really depends on the interest of the individual. Not everyone wants to end up with the legal title to the lot. 2454 3/18/02 - CONT'D OPERATING BUDGET TESTIMONY - 020001
But, yes, we want to move to the point where we initiate the acquisition, like, through the Small Vacant Lot Abatement Program, if the property is eligible under that program. And under that program, it does speak to the adjacent owners. You know, we have very clearly set out policies and procedures. What we're finding is that the number of requests so far, at this point in time, has outstripped our capacity to process all of them. We are -- I can get you a report on the number of small vacant lot applications that we've received and the status on that. We're looking at that. But we will be honest in that the number of requests for title, to start through the abatement process, is -- far exceeds kind of like our ability to mush it through, and that's one of the things we're focusing on, how we can expedite some of those applications.
And once the people acquire the lot, naturally, they have to pay taxes on the lot. 2455 3/18/02 - CONT'D OPERATING BUDGET TESTIMONY - 020001
Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. And I see that in one block, apparently there are eight lots that were cleaned, and maybe that's something that NTI should be looking at. If we have eight lots in one block, there should be some program for that block.
With this -- with respect to when we have large parcels and they're not in public ownership, we are doing things to -- that's something that you may not give away as a side yard, under the Side Yard Program.
I understand that, but many of them are not adjacent to each other. You can one at one end of the block and then another at the other end. I'll talk to you about that privately.
Are there any other questions from members of the committee? The Chair recognizes Councilman DiCicco.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Good morning. 2456 3/18/02 - CONT'D OPERATING BUDGET TESTIMONY - 020001 When I was up speaking to the Council President, I apologize if this question was answered. I think during the questioning round with Councilman Nutter, someone made mention of the fact that some of the people who are hired to do some of the lot cleanups are the -- their names are being submitted from community-activist groups or community organizations; is that correct?
How does a community organization know to contact your department?
Well, basically, we work with the Mayor's Office of Community Services on that, doing outreach in the areas where we'll be cleaning the lots up prior to that. It's the same type of concept that used for the Anti-Graffiti Network where we try to get as many community activists as possible involved in the process.
Is there a specific number of individuals who you look to retain in a particular neighborhood, or does it depend on the volume of work or a combination of both?
Well, basically, it depends 2457 3/18/02 - CONT'D OPERATING BUDGET TESTIMONY - 020001 on the lot, what's on a lot, per say. All of the lots were categorized in three different areas. One was a heavy short-dump lot; the other two was just maybe a medium-sized lot with debris on it, little amounts of debris, where we just use workers; and the other lot is just a small lot that just needs to be raked and the grass cut. What we do attempt to do is definitely put them back in their own communities, so they know the area, they know the civic groups, the block captains so that they can all work together.
That's a good idea, but are these people the ones that eventually become your part-time employees, or is it just for that lot, or lots, and then -- is it that temporary or is it a year temporary job?
Is there any attempt to notify the District Councilperson about the need for X-amount of employees in that district, or do you just go right to the community groups?
Councilman, I would think that you are a community activist, so 2458 3/18/02 - CONT'D OPERATING BUDGET TESTIMONY - 020001 why wouldn't you be --
Well, that's my -- I've resigned from being the president of the two nonprofit that I created a few years ago, and I do appreciate the work that you do, Tom, and you know that.
But I think Councilmembers are community activists, too.
Well, I would agree. So I'm just curious as to whether or not -- I mean, the Italian Market Civic Association-I'll just use that as an example -- was the group that I founded. I don't know if they've ever been contacted about this. My guess is, they were not, and I'm not suggesting it for any specific reason. But how would they know? I mean, is there a notification that goes out, or how does a community group, notwithstanding what I think the Councilpeople should know, how does a community group know that you're coming into their neighborhood to clean up a certain number of lots and that you will accept names of individuals from that community to participate in the lot cleanup as employees? How do we get to that? 2459 3/18/02 - CONT'D OPERATING BUDGET TESTIMONY - 020001
Well, the 80 temporary employees, approximately 80 temporary employees that we have now have been on board for the last, I guess, seven months, and I guess we can do a better job at outreach to the various Councilmembers to see if they have a list of names of people that they need to be hired temporarily.
You know what my concern is? I'm a politician, and I don't have a problem with that. But, you know, a year out from an election, a year and a half out, I'm under attack, and a lot of people in this room may be under attack from opposition; that's the political process and I understand that. But as an example, without mentioning names, I know an individual who is funding, or will be funding, someone to be running against me, who is also -- the person who's funding someone is also the president of the community group. My guess is that as the president of that community group, he's going to try to access you folks to make sure he puts on 10, 15, 20 people in my district to work in my neighborhoods -- my neighborhoods being the district that I represent -- and get some political 2460 3/18/02 - CONT'D OPERATING BUDGET TESTIMONY - 020001 mileage out of it. And I don't want to turn this thing into a political football, but the reality is, that can happen, and I know it will happen. And I'm not suggesting that I need it all; I just want to be a part of that process. I'm elected to represent these folks until 2003. Whether I get reelected or not, you know, who knows? I'll worry about it at that time. But it's already happening in my neighborhood, a couple of weeks ago with some meetings that were taking place and which were basically a setup to attack me, and that I don't do anything in a particular neighborhood in my district, that I'm some sort of a ghost, as they claim. So I have to be sensitive to that. I mean, that's the political world that I live in -- I don't want to drag you into it, but you get dragged into it anyway. You understand what I'm saying? So I would think that it would be important that the District Councilpeople are given notification that, as Councilman Nutter, I think, 2461 3/18/02 - CONT'D OPERATING BUDGET TESTIMONY - 020001 pointed out, that, hey, you're going to be coming into the community and you have a need for a number of people, 'cause I get applications all week long for full-time jobs, part-time jobs, you name it, and I don't pick and choose individuals who I may be able to assist in seeking employment by the neighborhood that they live in; I just want to see if I can help people in general. And I get that information from ward leaders, community people, community groups. So we're kind of like this central nerve system, this bank anyway, so I think it might actually even make your job easier, and it would cause us probably less aggravation, and we won't take that out on you in the end and say, Why did you give so-and-so five jobs. You know, we're getting close, we're a year out -- actually less than a year out. And, again, I can't help but speak that way because it is a reality of where we find ourselves in, unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on how you look at it, and I just want to make sure that I'm a part of that process. And, again, I do thank you for all of 2462 3/18/02 - CONT'D OPERATING BUDGET TESTIMONY - 020001 the work that you do, you've done a great job in my district, I've never had any complaints. Tom, I call Tom up about removing posters and things like that all the time you. And guys get out there and ladies get out there and you do the job. So I'm not criticizing you; I'm just asking you for cooperation and a level of cooperation that I think will make all of our days a lot easier. thank you. Thank you, Madam President.
Thank you The Chair recognizes Councilman Rizzo.
Thank you, Madam Chair. 2463 3/18/02 - CONT'D OPERATING BUDGET TESTIMONY - 020001 Based on the fact that it sounds like there's going to be more information flowing, we're talking about the District Council -- the distribution of District Councilpeople, I'd appreciate you sending to this at-large member everything you have, and I'll tell you what I don't want, okay?
So representing the entire City, I want to be aware of what's going on in every neighborhood, and don't perceive it to be a burden. And also publicly, I'd like to express my condolences, Mr. Blakney, in reference to the loss of your dad.
Thank you. Are there any other questions from members of the Committee? (No further questions.)
I'm sure all Councilmembers offer their deepest sympathy on your 2464 3/18/02 - CONT'D OPERATING BUDGET TESTIMONY - 020001 loss. We're sorry.
I wanted to reiterate my sympathy as well, and certainly to thank the MOCS Office for what they do -- I see Joanne Kilabrew (ph) and Marty Cabry (ph), who work hard in our area. And certainly with regard to employees, we've had this discussion in our meetings with the Administration on NTI and, obviously, we agree that it's less complicated when the issues, the controversial issues or choice issues come through the District Councilperson. It just makes life easier for everybody and then, obviously, doesn't put them in a position to have to make a political statement that we're happy to make. So, again, we want to say thank you and thanks for the work that you do.
Thank you. Are there any other questions from 2465 3/18/02 - CONT'D OPERATING BUDGET TESTIMONY - 020001 members of the committee? (No further questions.)
Thank you all so very much. The next group to testify?
Please identify yourself for the record. Thank you.
My name's William Mifflin, the Executive Director of the Fairmount Park Commission. I'm accompanied here this morning by Mr. Paul Nice, Deputy Director of the Fairmount Park Commission; Mr. Dennis Waller, Deputy Director for the Fairmount Park Commission; Mr. Mark Focht, who is the Project Administrator for the Natural Land Restoration Program in Fairmount Park.
Thank you very much. I assume that we will take questions, and 2466 3/18/02 - CONT'D OPERATING BUDGET TESTIMONY - 020001 then you will field answers; I assume you have no 3 specific testimony.
Thank you. Councilman Nutter, you had questions for Mr. Mifflin?
Yes, thank you. Two primary things: Thank you for coming back.
I had a faint recollection that a question had been asked, and I subsequently confirmed from the notes of testimony that Councilman Rizzo had asked a question -- it's on of the testimony from when you were here with regard to the Environmental Education Centers and some staffing issues. Now, I had a faint recollection about it, but as you may recall that day, there were a wide variety of topics that were discussed.