COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA STATED MEETING Thursday, June 4, 1998 (Conclusion, recessed meeting) Room 400, City Hall Philadelphia, Pennsylvania PRESENT: COUNCIL PRESIDENT JOHN F. STREET COUNCILWOMAN AUGUSTA A. CLARK COUNCILWOMAN JANNIE BLACKWELL COUNCILMAN DAVID COHEN COUNCILWOMAN JOAN L. KRAJEWSKI COUNCILWOMAN ANNA CIBOTTA VERNA COUNCILMAN JAMES F. KENNEY COUNCILWOMAN DONNA REED MILLER COUNCILMAN MICHAEL A. NUTTER COUNCILWOMAN HAPPY FERNANDEZ COUNCILWOMAN MARIAN B. TASCO COUNCILMAN ANGEL L. ORTIZ COUNCILMAN FRANK DICICCO COUNCILMAN BRIAN J. O'NEILL COUNCILMAN RICHARD T. MARIANO COUNCILMAN W. THACHER LONGSTRETH COUNCILMAN FRANK RIZZO PAT RAFFERTY, Clerk VINCENT VARALLO ASSOCIATES, INC. Registered Professional Reporters Eleven Penn Center, Suite 600 Philadelphia, PA 19103 RECESSED STATED MEETING - RESOLUTION ON SEPTA STRIKE ARB. P R O C E E D I N G S
If I can have your attention. I have recently been informed that the stenographer did not understand that we were going to come back in session and is no longer us. Not to be deterred, the Chair recognizes Councilwoman Verna for a motion that Councilwoman Miller serve as secretary, the secretary of this body for these proceedings.
Pat (Rafferty) will be acting as the chief clerk. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Verna for the motion.
That Councilwoman Miller serve as the secretary of this body for this part of our proceedings.
All those in favor, let it be known by saying aye. Those opposed, say nay. RECESSED STATED MEETING - RESOLUTION ON SEPTA STRIKE ARB. Thank you very much. Councilwoman Miller, it is now your duty and responsibility, under the rules of this Council, to take accurate and complete notes of everything said and done. It's all being done by our friends in the media we appreciate it.
In addition to which. . . The Chair recognizes Councilman Cohen.
A bill hasn't been offered. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Verna for a resolution.
Thank you, Mr. President. I offer one resolution. RECESSED STATED MEETING - RESOLUTION ON SEPTA STRIKE ARB.
The clerk will please read the title of the resolution.
A resolution calling upon the SEPTA Board of directors to authorize binding arbitration with Transit Workers Union Local 234, provided the arbitration results in neither an increase in fares for City Transit Division riders nor a decrease in service in the division, nor any increase in the local government subsidy paid by the City of Philadelphia to pay for the contract.
I move the adoption of the resolution. (Duly seconded.)
All those in favor, let it be known by saying aye. Those opposed, say nay. The ayes have it. The resolution is adopted. The Chair recognizes Councilman Cohen.
I was not going to RECESSED STATED MEETING - RESOLUTION ON SEPTA STRIKE ARB. speak on the resolution.
Oh, I see. Well, then. . . the resolution is adopted. This brings us to the end I believe of our business.
No, it does not. I have another item unrelated to this.
I understand that. Councilman Cohen, would you like to be recognized in the speeches part of our -- I think that's where we -- I think that's where we are now. The Chair recognizes Councilman Cohen for comments in the nature of a special order of business.
Yes. This has to do with the hearings yesterday and with the action.
The subject of what I'm going to speak about deals with the fact that the hearing yesterday on the sidewalk RECESSED STATED MEETING - RESOLUTION ON SEPTA STRIKE ARB. control bill, as I understand the hearing by the Committee of the Whole, ended with the Chairman, yourself, sir, stating that the hearing was recessed until the call of the Chair.
About 11:30 or 12 o'clock last night, I began hearing radio reports over KYW that there was going to be a meeting or a hearing and there was going to be a decision by the Council Wednesday. I thought they were clearly in error because whenever hearings are in recess until the call of the Chair, you know, another advertisement is needed, and generally that requires two days' notice for the newspaper to get it into the paper. And so it was expected, just as it was when Councilman Nutter announced that he was suspending -- that he was recessing his committee on economics development, until the call of the Chair. That meant that the matter was, for all purposes, dead for this session of City Council. That is the session ending June RECESSED STATED MEETING - RESOLUTION ON SEPTA STRIKE ARB. 18th. Then this morning, I heard very directly that there is a hearing on Wednesday, and my investigation indicated that prior to the end of the hearing yesterday, that the Clerk's office was ordered to send out a notice for a hearing next Wednesday on the sidewalk control bill. This kind of stunned me. And so I'm asking you in the first place, Mr. President, was the hearing yesterday recessed to the call of the Chair or what?
And a hearing has been advertised and it is scheduled for next Wednesday.
The ad was placed whenever it would have been necessary for it to be placed in order to have a hearing next Wednesday.
Could we be told RECESSED STATED MEETING - RESOLUTION ON SEPTA STRIKE ARB. when that was? Was it prior to the termination of yesterday's session by you?
I don't know when the ad went in the paper, Councilman Cohen.
When did you authorize the holding of a hearing next Wednesday is my question? Because if you authorized it before the end of the hearing yesterday, then why didn't you tell us the facts when you finished the hearing yesterday? Because you know you know as well as I know that all you needed to do was to recess the hearing until next Wednesday, and the people that were present at the hearing yesterday would have known last night that the hearing's being recessed till next Wednesday. Why did you go through the procedure of not letting anybody know at the hearing but separately taking an action which appears to be completely deceptive?
Councilman Cohen, I will tell you why I did it. Because when I ended that hearing at 5 minutes to 8 last night, you weren't here, nor were most of the RECESSED STATED MEETING - RESOLUTION ON SEPTA STRIKE ARB. people interested in that hearing.
Can I finish? I would like to finish. By my advertising, I let it be known that we were going to have a further hearing on that bill. All I did was reinforce and strengthen the process and the Sunshine Law requirements. If I had simply recessed the hearing until next Wednesday, only half a dozen people would have known about it. Now the entire city knows about it.
All you had to do was announce that that was what you were going to do and make sure everybody else knew about it. You had authorized a notice to go into the press announcing to the public that by Friday morning or Saturday morning, whenever it appears, that there would be a honoring next Wednesday.
Councilman Cohen. I have heard you. I did what I did, and I appreciate your concern. RECESSED STATED MEETING - RESOLUTION ON SEPTA STRIKE ARB.
Because I think it was done to deceive people into believing that the hearing was terminating the matter for this session, and I do not appreciate as a member of this body having the Chairman of a hearing, president or not president, take the actions you took yesterday.
Thank you very much. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Verna.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I move that Council stands adjourned until June 11, 1998, at 10 a.m. (Duly seconded.)
All those in favor, let it be known by saying aye. Those opposed, say nay. This session stands adjourned. (Adjourned at 5:10 p.m.) C E R T I F I C A T E I HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing proceedings of the Council of the City of Philadelphia of the recessed hearing of the Stated Meeting of Thursday, June 4, 1998, were reported and accurately by me, and that this is a correct transcript of same. RE: STATED MEETING RESOLUTION CALLING FOR BINDING ARBITRATION ON SEPTA STRIKE __________________________________, JOSEPHINE CARDILLO, Registered Professional Reporter