Or the City Treasurer does. 40 Whole - 5/4/04 - Bill No. 020455
So while these investigations are going on, while we're checking out whatever it is we're checking out, if you just put a hold on the person's check. If you just don't deliver it to them and say, When you come over and give us your information, we'll be glad to turn over your check this week, I bet you'll get every piece of information that you need.
Just by holding it in the office. Just send them a little e-mail, a little note. So let me ask about this person in Classification 14. What's 14?
We have someone on here whose original appointment date was April 3, 1996? 41 Whole - 5/4/04 - Bill No. 020455
I think I 12 asked you that already. That's in two 13 different places. 14 All right. And lastly, 28? 15
Okay. The 18 President asked you and Councilman Goode asked 19 you about this fee issue with regard to test 20 taking. Now, you said in FY04 to date, you 21 had 51,000 applications, you tested over 22 15,000 people. So, first, are you telling us that 36,000 people just dropped out of the process?
And then you had a much smaller dropoff from the number tested to 11,455 candidates on more than 350 eligible lists. So does that mean that 11,455 people actually passed the test?
And then you go on to say that only 1,300 were actually hired or promoted. Now, I'm assuming part of that is a function of either how many people leave government just on their own or DROP or who can make it through the process since we actually have a hiring freeze on, right?
So if we didn't have a freeze on, that number might actually be a little higher?
Now, you said that, which I wrote down, you said that the number did not include laborers in your 43 Whole - 5/4/04 - Bill No. 020455 calculation. Which number did not include laborers?
Our average number of applicants, our average annual number of applicants that we're using to make our calculation did not include laborers. That number was the 26,000 number.
Our average in the last three years of applicants is 26,000. That did not include laborers. We test for laborers every other year, and that number could be as many as 13,000 just for laborers.
26,000 number is the number of people who on average apply for our tests. That would be police, engineers.
I thought 44 Whole - 5/4/04 - Bill No. 020455 you said in FY04 you had 51,000 people apply.
This year we had our laborer exam, a holding for laborer. That's why it was so high.
All right. So out of the 51,000, you're saying 26,000 were laborers?
I must be having a hearing problem or something. People come in to take the test. The fee is proposed to be what?
And if the person says they can't pay, what are we going to do? 45 Whole - 5/4/04 - Bill No. 020455
If they're on public assistance or on unemployment, then we're going to waive it.
And what, they'll have to come back and show you documentation?
They'll have to bring -- it will be on our announcement about how it will work and what documentation you'll need. So that will be on our web, that will be in our Customer Service office.
The Chair recognizes Councilman Goode for a point of information.
Very quick, they have to show you documentation for unemployment compensation or they have to actually be unemployed. I guess my question is, do you know how many of the 51,000 or 26,000, whatever number it may be on average, do you know what percentage of people who 46 Whole - 5/4/04 - Bill No. 020455 apply for City jobs are actually unemployed?
Do you have a way of finding out what percentage of people are actually unemployed?
Do you have a way of finding out what percentage of people who will be applying for City jobs are actually unemployed people?
Based on New York State's experience, theirs was 14 percent. 15
We don't have 18 that information at this time. We will after 19 we start doing this. 20
So if you 21 have any number of people whose unemployment 22 compensation has run out, but they're still unemployed and applying for City jobs, you intend to charge them?
Unless they're 47 Whole - 5/4/04 - Bill No. 020455 on public assistance, yes.
Councilman Nutter, can I just get one issue cleared up in my mind?
Are we also charging for laborers to file, the $35 fee?
If they're not on public assistance or unemployment, yes. As a matter of fact, in the City of New York, the application fee is $60 for laborers because they had so many applicants that they didn't need. We have so many applicants that we don't need in terms of -- I mean, we have 15,000 people --
I'm so tired of hearing about New York. We don't do everything that everybody else does.
Let 48 Whole - 5/4/04 - Bill No. 020455 me just ask you a question. If the test is given every two years, how do we still save or how do we generate revenues of $600,000 every year?
I thought every Civil Service list was good for two years.
That's correct. But we test -- the large holding, the biggest holding, is laborer and police recruit, and we don't test for laborer every year. We test every other year. Right now we've been testing for police every year.
Thank you. So let's walk through this. A person shows up. If you use Councilman Goode's example, they were on unemployment, their unemployment has now run out, they show up to take the test, they're not on public assistance and they don't have the money. 49 Whole - 5/4/04 - Bill No. 020455 What happens?
Unless they're applying for a difficult-to-recruit position, then they don't apply. We don't accept their application.
Well, they're probably not going to be applying for the physician exemption, that's for sure. Let's say that they are on unemployment, but they don't bring their document that day. They miss the broadcast on the web site, because I don't know, maybe their computer was down or something. What happens?
Most of our announcements are open for at least two weeks. Some of them for longer.
That's correct. They can mail it. They don't have to walk in.
Okay. And suppose in the first year of implementation the program is just wildly successful and the 50 Whole - 5/4/04 - Bill No. 020455 word goes out, application fee, hiring freeze, all of that. I mean, you cut your frivolous, what you're referring to as frivolous applications, to five percent. What happens to your revenue?
Our revenue projections are based on an assumption that we will have less applicants.
I thought Mr. Dubow said that the five-year plan was carrying 600,000.
Using our average number of applicants and multiplying by 35, this is without promotional, without laborer, actually amounts to $824,765.
I understand. And you're not charging 51 Whole - 5/4/04 - Bill No. 020455 promotional?
That number doesn't even include -- that number that I gave you is strictly open competitive calculation.
Will people have to pay a fee to take a promotional exam?
So you're saying a public employee who is presently on the payroll, if they want to take a promotional exam, they have to pay a fee?
I know that we're in tough times and we have to try to be as creative as possible, but I have to tell you that there is just something about this that both doesn't feel right and just seems like it's wrong, and that there must be any number of other ways to cut down on what is being characterized as frivolous applications. We actually, I think, because I've not heard any testimony about this, we 52 Whole - 5/4/04 - Bill No. 020455 actually don't know why so many people decide not to take the test. Maybe they were lucky enough to find other employment, although that's a whole other story given the job situation here. Maybe they've looked into some other opportunity. But both on the front end as a deterrent, I mean, it seems to me that one of the reasons you get a lot of people trying to pursue a limited number of jobs is because people are desperately seeking employment in a city where they know that the government already has a hiring freeze. I mean, some of the same people who are probably filling out our applications are also probably spending a fair amount of time in the lottery line, which at the present state, you probably have a better chance of hitting a few of the numbers at 7 o'clock at night than you have in getting a job with the City of Philadelphia. So they're just taking a chance and then something else happens in the interim. But it just seems that there really is something wrong about -- and I'm not 53 Whole - 5/4/04 - Bill No. 020455 commenting on any other government. Each situation is different, but solely as a means where your dual purpose as a means to discourage people for applying for jobs in their government and, second, as a revenue generator, that somehow we're actually banking on revenue in our five-year plan as a part of our financial situation is just a step or two short of absurd. And you're saying that you can do this by regulation and that you don't need any approval from City Council to do this?
Most likely it will be on the May agenda of the Civil Service Commission.
And the way that process works is, a regulation goes to 54 Whole - 5/4/04 - Bill No. 020455 the Commission, the Commission takes action and then it sits over in the Records Department for 30 days?
After the Commission takes action, the Ad Board has to approve it, then it sits over for 30 days for comment.
Okay. Last page of your testimony, this is my last question, you talked about "the Personnel Department again partnered with the Finance Department to hire consultants to assist in evaluating our existing medical plans and negotiate rates with our health plan providers." Can you give us your perspective on how many health plan providers do we have at the moment?
We have one medical provider, two prescription providers, two dental providers and one vision provider.
Who are the two prescription providers? I thought we only had one. 55 Whole - 5/4/04 - Bill No. 020455
One prescription provider, two dental. I'm sorry. It's one prescription.
I thought you said two. And why is it that we only have one medical?
In the year 2000 or 2001, the City went all Blue, because Blue Cross gave the City a better rate. Also, there are very few medical providers in the area.
Aren't they projecting a rather significant rate increase?
Aren't they projecting a rather significant rate increase for us?
Across the country, all over, medical costs are skyrocketing. But there really aren't -- there are very few other medical providers in this region that have the network and the hospitals that compare and can compete with 56 Whole - 5/4/04 - Bill No. 020455 Blue Cross.
Well, is that because they kind of wrapped all the rest of that business up as well?
At one time there were several HMOs. They merged. You know, a lot of things happened. U.S. Healthcare went away.
Right. Okay. The 7,500 City employees that you administer the comprehensive benefits program for, we in City Council are part of that 7,500; is that correct?
Now, who represents our interests or concerns as it relates to the healthcare plan that we have?
Does anyone in particular represent our interests? Obviously, the union employees get representation about their healthcare by their respective unions. We're then in a 57 Whole - 5/4/04 - Bill No. 020455 non-represented class. You go out and procure the services for us.
What I'm asking is, who is responsible for working with this group of about 200 people on what healthcare benefits we get?
There's no 10 medical board for the procurement of medical benefits for this group. The only union people that are covered are union DROPs. There's no representation for any particular constituency in this group.
So we just get whatever you negotiate and no one ever talks to us about what our interests are or our needs are or our concerns?
As a general rule, I meet with the President to discuss where we are in negotiations and what our options are going to be before we make final decisions.
I was going to say that sounds like, This is what we're 58 Whole - 5/4/04 - Bill No. 020455 doing, this is what you're going to get and we'll let you know when it gets done, as opposed to what happens in the rest of the government. I guess what I'm suggesting to you is that -- I mean, I know we're kind of a small group and kind of a little lower on the totem pole, but it would just be nice if we had a higher level of contact than it's -- what do you call that period in December?
Right. It's open enrollment, get your form in by the end of the week or you'll have no healthcare. I mean, that's about the extent of the contact --
No. We've had representation on our RFP process from City Council as well.
Okay. I think there needs to be a little more contact with the rest of us. You're going to get us an updated 59 Whole - 5/4/04 - Bill No. 020455 list on the out-of-City employees?
You're welcome. The Chair recognizes Councilman Rizzo.
I want to follow up on something Councilman Nutter just said. There are a few of us, I think very few, that have come from the private sector, and as retired from that sector, don't require the City's medical insurance or coverage. I don't. And I get a chuckle every year when I get this little check for a few hundred dollars that's supposed to compensate for the fact that I don't take any medical coverage from the City of Philadelphia. I'm not asking for me personally, but I'm asking. I don't know how many people are in that category. I assume a few. Maybe some of the people on this list that you 60 Whole - 5/4/04 - Bill No. 020455 provided today that are exempt from City residency. Could you send some information to the Chair on how you calculate the value of a year's worth of medical coverage being 4, $500?
That isn't the value of the medical. It's not a question of -- I mean, it's not a calculation based on that. It's actually a number that had been determined as a fiscal measure more than anything else.
Could that be revisited, or whose responsibility is it to revisit that? Because that is kind of like inappropriate.
In the City's current status, fiscal status, I don't think the Budget Bureau would be very inclined to increase that number.
I didn't say increase it. I said look at it to be realistic. It is inappropriate, in my 61 Whole - 5/4/04 - Bill No. 020455 opinion -- if a person waives their coverage, has no medical coverage or no expense to the City, either there should be a zero check or an appropriate amount. I just have been curious about that for a lot of years and now that Councilman Nutter asked a question in that area, I thought I would just -- I think it really needs to be -- the policy might be 25, 30 years old and never been revisited, and I don't think that the people that waive insurance should be responsible to entirely help the fiscal condition. I think the Administration could fix the fiscal condition of the City by doing some things that need to get done. The program where people are going to apply and have to pay this fee, will you accept a credit card?
The City is moving in that direction, but we're not there yet. 62 Whole - 5/4/04 - Bill No. 020455
Because the Register of Wills was here yesterday and he indicated that he accepts credit cords.
Certain entities have already worked it out. This is brand new, so we haven't gotten to that point yet.
So could you include that in there? I think that would be convenient.
I think that's something that we'll be working with down the line.
And I think I will speak out against a person that is employed by the City, a sergeant that wants to become a lieutenant and wants to take a promotional exam, to have to pay for the right to advance within their corporation or their city. I think that's kind of ridiculous to include that. So I'd like to express my displeasure with that. I would never want to discourage someone. Because part of the process, as you 63 Whole - 5/4/04 - Bill No. 020455 know, Ms. Orfanelli, is learning how to take a test. And many people who take a test don't succeed the first time. They take it a second time and they do much better. So I wouldn't want to discourage any City employee. And if you would like, share the numbers of these frivolous examinations that you call frivolous, how many of those, because I think that's not a good strategy, to charge people to take an employment advancement test. Please tell me about internships. I was also surprised to find out that many of our operating departments hire interns, and I don't know whether they're internships that are with no compensation associated with it, but I understand that we're hiring a group of interns, Water Department, from outside the City. Could you tell me why that would be?
Well, for example, the Water Department hires a lot of interns from Drexel University. So they are here in the City while they're in college, but their permanent address may be Seattle, 64 Whole - 5/4/04 - Bill No. 020455 Washington.
I know about the Drexel co-op program and I know they hire them in the summer as well.
A person that goes to Villanova University, suburban, right?
Ms. Orfanelli, I think Mr. Dubow would like to respond.
We do have a summer 65 Whole - 5/4/04 - Bill No. 020455 internship program, but it is unpaid, and I think there are people from all over who apply.
That's fine. As long as it's for experience. And hopefully we can recruit some of these people also, correct?
Well, I think there are, the ones the Personnel Director was talking about. But the summer internship that you were talking about where there are people from all over the county, that's an unpaid internship.
I want to finish up with Ms. Orfanelli. So we have an internship like the co-op program from Drexel that a person is living here in the City?
While 66 Whole - 5/4/04 - Bill No. 020455 they're in school.
I mean, they may end up being recruited and come and work for us and move into Philadelphia.
Do you think it's a significant number of people that are in that situation? Do you have a feel for it?
But I'm concerned that our young people that live here are getting first opportunities for some of these internships, because I've gotten some letters from people telling me that they were denied an opportunity for an internship that live here in the City. And then I do a little research and find out that there's a bunch scheduled to come from outside the City, and I don't like that.
I'd like our 67 Whole - 5/4/04 - Bill No. 020455 kids to get first opportunities.
You're welcome. Are there any other questions from Members of the Committee, any comments? (No response.)
When do you think we can get the list that we requested?
Thank you. The Free Library is next. I see Reverend Goode is sitting in the back of the room. I would just like to say welcome.
Please identify yourself for the record and proceed with your testimony.
Thank you. I'm Elliot Shelkrot. I'm President and Director of the Free Library of Philadelphia. And with me this morning is Kevin Vaughan, the Associate Director of the Library; Helen Miller, who is our Director of Public Services.
And Bill 15 Flemming, who is our Administrative Services Director. And you did acknowledge that Reverend Goode, who is the Chair of our Board of Trustees, is here. I also might point out that Peter Benoliel, the Chair of the Library Foundation, is with us.
And Marcy Madeline, a long-time supporter, former member of our Board and a long-time supporter of 69 Whole - 5/4/04 - Bill No. 020455 libraries and other things about reading. I'm not going to read my whole testimony. I am just going to --
If you would abbreviate it, we will certainly give a copy of your testimony to the stenographer and she will transcribe it in full.
I just thought I would mention some items that I believe are important that Council would like to know, and I appreciate that we are here. As you know, I'm the President and Director of the Free Library where people, I'm pleased to say, are borrowing more than ever before in the history of the library, and that it's the same place that you know many City dollars, as well as state and private dollars, are spent for important services to children, 70 Whole - 5/4/04 - Bill No. 020455 teens and families and communities all over the City. Today we are requesting a total budget of $45,743,000. 2 million in grant revenue, which comes from the Commonwealth. 25, for the Mayor's commission on literacy, which will become part of the Free Library as of July 1st. This past year has been a challenging year but a good year in many ways. First, a few of the highlights. Some of the highs this year were in the circulation of materials, the number of visitors to our libraries, the number of volunteer hours and the number of children, nearly 54,000, who participated in the summer reading program last summer. The use of the computer and the web hits continues to amaze us. It's reached nearly 60 million hits as Philadelphians 71 Whole - 5/4/04 - Bill No. 020455 continue to discover the many uses of the library's web site. I'm also pleased to say that this past January Reverend Goode and I and some staff were in the White House where First Lady Laura Bush presented to the Free Library what is regarded as the nation's highest honor for a library, the National Award for Library Services, and she praised our libraries as exemplary learning institutions that have strengthened the foundations of the community. We are making progress on our renovations. Nearly complete in all branch renovations, with the Walnut West Library and the Widener branches scheduled to open later in fiscal year 2004 -- later in calendar year, excuse me, 2004 even. And we are focusing, as many of you know, on the renovation expansion of the Central library. In December, the Mayor announced the selection of Moshe Safdie as the architect for this urgently needed project. Mr. Safdie's past projects include main libraries in Salt Lake City and in Vancouver. He has built the 72 Whole - 5/4/04 - Bill No. 020455 National Gallery in Ottawa and has done major projects all over the world, and we're very impressed with his understanding of the potential of a new library. The library is not just a place that stores books, but the role of a library in the modern day is to encourage people to come in, to reach out, to bring light in both the literal as well as the intellectual sense to people. Financing the Central library will be a combination of public and private money, much as our branch renovations were, and the Mayor, as you may recall, has committed City support of $30 million towards this, and the Library Foundation will conduct a capital campaign for additional public and private funds. This last year was a year in which security issues took the front place throughout the library, and, of course, this is a result of the assault on a young girl at our Independence library. And we've taken a large-scale review of security policies and 73 Whole - 5/4/04 - Bill No. 020455 procedures in every one of our 55 libraries. At all locations staff immediately reviewed such procedures as how the restroom keys are handled, that they are not just left on the librarian's desk, but they, in fact, are put in a drawer and out of the way, and in some cases, depending on the local situation, it is the security guard who handles that to be sure that we have a closer control of what is going on. We have a vendor of security staff in addition to our regular personnel, but this is to fill in when there are vacancies or when we don't have our own security person, and that vendor has been changed to provide a better and more continuous service.
This is in no way to indicate that there was no 19 security available at Independence branch at that time. That was working very well, but when an issue such as occurred last February, looking at our security staff and our process is a big part of that. A variety of other things have occurred already, but I do want to let you 74 Whole - 5/4/04 - Bill No. 020455 know that our task force on security composed of library staff, the Philadelphia Police Department and -- our staff, I should say, includes union representation -- has been meeting on a weekly basis. Kevin Vaughan has been the Chair of that committee. I believe they have finished their last meeting today, and we will be preparing a report, which should be out early in June. The task forces work with the District Attorney's office, as well as the Law Department to study what our -- the kinds of things and get a better understanding for us on what are those things that should be referred to the police and what are the things that our security staff might be able to handle. And we also have been looking very closely at best practices in libraries around the country and taking up ideas also from our own staff. I'd like to mention for a moment some of the things that we are doing with children. Our main early childhood initiative is the Books Aloud Program, which we believe 75 Whole - 5/4/04 - Bill No. 020455 is the City's premiere program for early literacy training. The City funded this at $85,000 last year. It's called Books Aloud, and it focuses on training some 3,000 child care staff and parents in effective use of books and working with young children. It also participates in the early literacy program of United Way and will be doing so with the School District's Early Reading First Program, which is operated by the School District's Office of Early Childhood. 3 million in the LEAP, our after-school program, in every one of our branches. And it provides homework help for children, as well as teenagers. And a survey that we did last year indicated that there were some 85,000 kids who have participated in that after-school program. That's different children have been in that program during the year. It focuses, in addition to helping youngsters learn to use the computer and to 76 Whole - 5/4/04 - Bill No. 020455 find the best information they can, it also has special cultural programs and, as I said before, homework help. We're now beginning a two-year project of evaluating the outcomes. We know what goes into the program. We know what kind of courses they have, what kind of classes they have, but we want to see what is it actually doing in terms of increasing literacy, increasing reading and library use. And we're also looking at the same thing with our youth program that works with teenagers. In the area of technology, we have two new items to report. An overhaul is going on right now of our web site to make sure that it is easy for people to use, that people want to come back to it. The ways that people navigate the site is being changed and it will provide a much greater flexibility. We also are looking at what the content is and how the content can be best accessed. A lot of the funding for this is occurring through private funds that we've been able to raise in excess of a quarter 77 Whole - 5/4/04 - Bill No. 020455 million dollars, I might say. The second technology initiative is the expected completion in fiscal '05 of upgrading our basic library system that is online; in other words, the catalogue, looking up items, the circulation records and so on. And new services are being added now, which will be even easier to use, renewing books by telephone and easier search procedures. We have, of course, had to manage with fewer resources.
As you know, the state budget cut hit us very, very severely this last year, and I'm sure many of you are aware that we have temporarily stopped buying most new materials in December and will resume buying those materials when the new fiscal budget period begins. We have also through new contract been able to -- will be upgrading our PCs in our branches, but that will result in a reduction of our leasing costs of somewhere near $190,000. At the Central library, we've merged several departments, the theatre collection 78 Whole - 5/4/04 - Bill No. 020455 and the rare book collection, as well as -- and that in itself enabled us to save $70,000 in staff costs. We've reduced costs in our Processing division and our Office of Public Service Support, and cut the staff in those units percent, and we will be reengineering 9 our Homebound Service to save another $100,000 10 through staff reassignment. 11 And as you know, we are looking for 12 ways to raise revenue, and the Mayor has asked 13 us to consider very seriously the charging of 14 users for borrowing videos and DVDs. 15 In sum up, I want to use the words 16 of Charles Dickens in the Tale of Two Cities. 17 It's the best of times and it's the worst of 18 times. This is a time when we are serving 19 more people than ever before, which is what a 20 library is all about. At the same time, the budget cuts that we are facing from the state and the budget crisis in the City is forcing us to cut back in so many different areas. But we know that budget crises do pass, that over periods of time budgets become 79 Whole - 5/4/04 - Bill No. 020455 a little more flexible and other times they become a little more stringent. So we are focusing on planning for the future while we are tightening our belts today. And that includes the technology changes that we are making, as well as the exciting state-of-the-art Central library, which will vastly improve its ability to meet the needs of Philadelphians, not only in the Center City neighborhood in which it resides, but for our libraries across the City, to provide a lively and make sure that all of our libraries are lively and open and encouraging people to come in, to use the resources. Because we believe that not only boosts the community, it boosts education, boosts economic development and will enhance significantly the Parkway. And I thank you for your time and welcome questions.
Thank you. Thank you very much for all the fine work you do. Mr. Shelkrot, you mention in your testimony that you are being reduced from 705 80 Whole - 5/4/04 - Bill No. 020455 general fund positions in FY04 to 699 in FY05. However, you were budgeted for 738 positions in FY04, not 705. So our calculation is that you're really being reduced by 39 general positions, they're full-time positions. Would you agree with us, if you look at the budget?
Yes, I do. I believe the difference in those two numbers is one of the most recent payrolls, which indicated -- an April payroll count, which indicated 705. And so my testimony reflects the number of people --
But weren't you budgeted for 738 positions in FY04?
So calculate for me. How many positions are you actually losing?
We are losing 700 and -- we're losing 39, I believe it is, 81 Whole - 5/4/04 - Bill No. 020455 yes.