COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - BUDGET - - - Room 400, City Hall Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Monday, April 23, 2007 10:15 a.m. - - - PRESENT: COUNCIL PRESIDENT ANNA C. VERNA COUNCILWOMAN JANNIE BLACKWELL COUNCILMAN DARRELL L. CLARKE COUNCILMAN W. WILSON GOODE, JR. COUNCILMAN WILLIAM GREENLEE COUNCILMAN FRANK RIZZO BILLS 070114, 070115 and 070116 RESOLUTION 070128 - - - V A R A L L O Incorporated Litigation Support Services Eleven Penn Center 1835 Market Street, Suite 600 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103 215.561.2220 215.567.2670 2
Good morning. This is the continued public hearing of the Committee of the Whole, and the first to be heard will be the City Commissioners. Good morning. Please identify yourself for the record and proceed with your testimony. I know these are hectic days for your department.
Yes. Good morning, Madam President. My name is Bob Lee. I'm the Voter Registration Administrator for the City Commissioners Office. I'm here to present testimony on our FY08 budget. The City Commissioners proposed General Fund spending level of $8,995,597 for FY08 is allocated as followed: Personnel services, $5,345,789; purchase of services, $3,048,011; materials and supplies, $551,652; and equipment, $50,145. Also within our budget are payment to other funds, and these are generally Help America Vote Act grant 3 4/23/07 - WHOLE - BILL 070114, ETC. funds. Although the level is listed there as $18,007,956, not all of those funds will be expended during this fiscal year. There are some funds that may carry over into the following fiscal year, and some of that money has already been spent for voter education programs in FY07.
So you feel as though the City Commissioners Office can live with the budget that's before them?
There are a number of concerns that we have and one is personnel levels. We feel since '95 with the addition of the National Voter Registration Act and all the mandates under that law and especially since January of '04 with the Help America Vote Act and January of '06 with implementation of a new statewide voter registration system and new requirements in processing registrations, that the staffing levels are barely minimal to 4 4/23/07 - WHOLE - BILL 070114, ETC. suffice right now. We are lucky this primary. The last day we only got about 2,800 paper applications. That's an abnormally low --
Paper voter registration applications. There have been mayoral primaries in the past or presidential generals where we've gotten as many as 30,000 to 40,000 on the last day. With our old county system, we were able to get 40,000, 35,000 in there in about six or seven days, get them in the system, get them processed so they would appear in the poll books. In the '06 general when we processed the work for the gubernatorial general, I believe we got about 13,000 the last day and we barely got them done 5 4/23/07 - WHOLE - BILL 070114, ETC. in six days, and that's because there are extra steps that we're required to take in processing an application before we can approve it and put on the rolls of Philadelphia. We have to check to make sure they're not registered anywhere in the Commonwealth before they can be approved here. And a lot of the processes in the statewide system require operator intervention. They require an operator to do it on screen, whereas some of the processes with our old county system and our old city system, it would be doing those tasks at night when we're all home in bed. They would be run by computer jobs and computer applications. The Commonwealth has finally realized that the system is not adequate for a jurisdiction our size. They know they have to go elsewhere. The contract is up in July of '07. So they've taken the option that they're going to use the current system and then try to improve it on their own. They're going to end the 6 4/23/07 - WHOLE - BILL 070114, ETC. contract with the vendor and improve it on their own. But there can be some pretty trying days, especially when we get around to the '08 presidential general. We may have some serious problems getting people on the rolls. It requires more people, more work stations. And the work stations naturally come from Harrisburg now, not from the City. There are some other issues. I mean, we're always getting sued. We don't conduct elections here; we litigate them. But we have a new lawsuit that was just filed regarding polling place accessibility, even though we just finished one. The U.S. Justice Department is here and we're working on a settlement agreement regarding bilingual assistance and assistance for disabled. So all of these things are requiring that we implement new programs that are going to cost us more money. For instance, this year, this November, we're going to be providing a cell phone 7 4/23/07 - WHOLE - BILL 070114, ETC. to every polling place. That cell phone is to be used to contact our office but, more importantly, to comply with the agreement. If someone comes at a polling place and they do not speak English, we are using a contract interpretation service where the judge can contact that service over the phone and they'll interpret any one of 173 languages so that the voter is able to get information in their native language and then go ahead and vote without trouble. We have to put many more bilingual English-Spanish translators on the street. We're estimating we're going to have to cover about 300 divisions. We have to put some Asian interpreters out as well. So all these things are increased costs and increased work. Just the time to get the cell phones prepared to distribute and get them back and make sure you get them back is a job in itself. 8 4/23/07 - WHOLE - BILL 070114, ETC.
Mr. Lee, with all of that being said, I will ask you, can you live with the budget that's before you at the present time?
I wasn't involved in preparing the total numbers on this, so I'll have to say yes, but I would like to see our employees up at 190.
Can you tell us what the $18 million in the Grants Revenue Fund payment to other funds is for?
They're Help America Vote Act grant funds. At one point, nine million was to be used for what they call Title III requirements, and that was used -- we used approximately $693,000 of that on a continuing basis. We're still using that money to bring in additional employees and fund those employees with these federal grant funds, provided those employees are solely working on new tasks that are required by the Help America 9 4/23/07 - WHOLE - BILL 070114, ETC. Vote Act. We hired five full-time employees on that. Right now we also have five temporary employees that are being paid out of that fund. That money was also used to conduct approximately a half a million dollar voter education program before the '04 general election, where we mailed a voter ed card to every voter before the election telling them where to go vote, whether they needed to bring ID, about their right to vote by provisional ballot. That program again was repeated before the '06 federal general. Much of the 1.9 is pretty much spent, except for the money we have in reserve to pay for these HAVA employees going out another year probably. There are some funds there -- there was 5.3 million that was set aside by Congress as a direct reimbursement to the county for replacing its lever machines. Ninety percent of that money is here in Philadelphia, it's in our bank 10 4/23/07 - WHOLE - BILL 070114, ETC. account in the Election Fund account and is probably ready to be transferred over to the City. The state withholds ten percent until the entire program is done, which could be as late as June of '09. But 90 percent of that 5.3 million grant is in the account right now. There will be additional funds that will be used to reimburse the City for procurement of the electronic machines and get rid of the lever machines, and that's approximately 6.8 million. Those funds are not here yet, although we've requested they be distributed to Philadelphia. That request went in in September. They're still reviewing the request, because there's a lot of different facets and a lot of other expenditures on that list and an extraordinary amount of documentation that has to go along with it to get the money out. I would hope that that 6.8 million probably should arrive in Philadelphia the end of April, 11 4/23/07 - WHOLE - BILL 070114, ETC. mid May, and my hope is because in that request there's also money -- (Council President Verna speaking without microphone.)
I haven't been told anything. All I know is, I have the 4.8 million in the bank and it's there now. The 6.8 should be down here in about a month. When we're told where that money goes, then I'll write a distribution approval form for the three Commissioners assigned to give to our Budget Officer and she would go through and work with Finance on transferring the money.
Is Ms. Reed in the audience? Ms. Reed, good morning. I'm sure you heard all of the testimony. Can you tell us where the $6.8 million once 12 4/23/07 - WHOLE - BILL 070114, ETC. received will go? Will that go into the General Fund or where will that be used?
Dianne Reed, Budget Director. When the funds are received, the loan item in the capital budget for the voting machines will be credited. This is not a General Fund expenditure. And the appropriation level of 11 million, there could be a little 12 over-appropriation in there. That was in 13 anticipation of how much money we would 14 be receiving. 15 And we still need to decide 16 what to do if there is any margin left 17 over, whether we're going to defease the 18 bonds or spend that capital money some way. If we decide to spend it, we will be coming back to City Council for approval. We will be coming back to City Council for approval for a spending decision in capital if that's what is decided.
I'm 13 4/23/07 - WHOLE - BILL 070114, ETC. sorry. You said that would go into the credit accounts?
It would credit the loan item in the capital budget for the voting machines. So that money has already been spent. That has to be credited, and then the decision has to be made whether to use the remaining, whatever may be remaining, to defease or to bring back to Council for a decision on the capital spending option, whatever that might be at the time.
I still have a lot of questions on this. I will not pursue it because I understand the Library is next to testify. Mayor Goode is here to also testify and he has a commitment at 11 o'clock. But we will have to talk about this further.
The Chair recognizes Councilman Rizzo. Well, since he's on the phone, Councilman Greenlee. 14 4/23/07 - WHOLE - BILL 070114, ETC.
Thank you, Madam President. Very briefly. The provisional ballot, how would you characterize -- have they been working the way they were designed? Are most people once they're turned in, are those votes counted or are a lot of them not filed correctly?
It's a two-edged sword. Under the whole process here, if you went to your polling place and you were not in the book and you went to a court and got a court order, you went back to the polling place and voted on the machine, your vote was counted.
It was there. This process now is, you don't have to go to court. You have the convenience of voting on the provisional ballot at the polling place. When those ballots come back, we check to make sure, number one, you're registered and, number two, we compare your -- if you are 15 4/23/07 - WHOLE - BILL 070114, ETC. registered, we compare the districts you're qualified to vote in in your home precinct with the ones in the district where you actually cast a ballot. And under the law, we count the ones that you're qualified to vote on had you voted in your home precinct. The concern with provisional ballots is that they are subject to challenge. So, I mean, any time after the election, if it's a close election, every one of those ballots is something to challenge and may not be counted, depending on the type of challenge. There's a lot more steps involved in casting the ballot. They have to fill out an affidavit, sign an affidavit. And there's possibilities of challenging because of their incompleteness on the affidavit, whereas before they would vote on the machine. So I have mixed feelings about whether it's better for the voter or not. It does work. It costs us a lot of money 16 4/23/07 - WHOLE - BILL 070114, ETC. and a lot of time. We take and put 20 people on that job. We get ten days to unpack 70,000 provisional ballots, sort them and account for all the ballots, whether they're blank, spoiled or voted, see if they're registered, what districts they live in, determine what we're going to count, mark the secrecy envelope so we know what to count, separate the secrecy envelope from the name so we don't know how somebody voted, then take the ballot out and if they're not qualified for anything, you got to over-vote them by running a marker through them for what they're not qualified for. Then you have to scan them and resolve under-votes and over-votes on the screen. It's a lot more work than it was had somebody gotten a court order, vote and the vote was in the machine.
And I would advise any voter, if you're at the wrong polling 17 4/23/07 - WHOLE - BILL 070114, ETC. place, don't vote the provisional ballot. Find out where you belong. Find out where your name is in the book and put your vote on the machine.
I wonder if that was the bigger problem. Sometimes they're using it as almost convenience rather than going to where they're supposed to be voting.
I haven't seen evidence of that. One thing I fear when they started this, that everybody who worked in Philadelphia and lived in the surrounding counties would pop into a Philadelphia polling place at quarter to 8:00 and vote for Governor. But fortunately, when they passed the Pennsylvania version, if you vote in a county in which you do not reside, that provisional ballot is not counted. And it also would prevent any case of double voting. But in the November 2004 general for President, we had 12,002 18 4/23/07 - WHOLE - BILL 070114, ETC. provisional ballots. We counted approximately 6,300 of those. The remaining were either registered out of the county or they were not registered anywhere at all. And we do an extensive check. We have one crew check them first, and anybody we're getting ready to reject and not count, we have supervisors go through and review them a second time just to make sure that we're not disenfranchising anybody. But it's best to make sure that they find out where to vote and vote on the machine.
Right. Got you. Okay. Thank you. Thank you, Madam President.
You're welcome. The Chair recognizes Councilman Rizzo.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Good morning. And, again, your 19 4/23/07 - WHOLE - BILL 070114, ETC. organization does great work and I know it is a hectic job. I have a question. I got an e-mail from a constituent. Was there ever a time, Mr. Lee, where the voter registration forms, the postage was paid for those?
Yeah, there was, and that's been quite a while ago. What happened was the state prints and provides the voter registration mail application, and at one time, they were printing and providing a separate form for each of the 67 counties with a postage paid on the envelope so that the voter or the applicant wouldn't have to pay postage. When the NVRA, or the National Voter Registration Act, came in in 1995, they changed the law and they changed their process so that they now provide one uniform form or application form throughout the Commonwealth, and because it's uniform across the Commonwealth, 20 4/23/07 - WHOLE - BILL 070114, ETC. they eliminated the prepaid postage and the process of maintaining 67 different postage accounts in each of the counties. So that was a decision that was made by the Commonwealth.
If someone would drop one -- and I'm not suggesting people listening or watching. If someone would accidentally assume that it's postage paid, do you accept them?
We accept anything anybody delivers to us. The question is will the mailman deliver it. Sometimes I've seen some come in without postage on it from the mail. Other times I've gotten complaints from voters that they were returned to them.
You would think, though, if an error -- most people, businesses at least, if something is mailed to them, they at least have the option to accept the pay to postage. It will say postage due. And the reason I'm asking that question is, that's exactly 21 4/23/07 - WHOLE - BILL 070114, ETC. what happened. A person mailed their voter registration card a few days before the due date and they wound up getting it back and now they're not registered to vote.
If it's post marked, then you can show me the post mark and I'll take it.
My question, is it fair to say that that document can be mailed with one first class stamp on it?
And it is throughout the Commonwealth all voter registration, all the counties have the 22 4/23/07 - WHOLE - BILL 070114, ETC. same deal, there's nobody that has prepaid?
No. It's the same throughout the state. The state changed that back in 1996.
Could you possibly check to see? And I'm not suggesting everybody just dump them in the mailbox without postage, but if one would come rather than the post office returning it, that they give the option, especially when we're getting close to the deadline, that we assume the -- I don't know how big a financial burden that would be, but rather than return it, accept it and if there was postage due, to pay the postage.
We have a business reply account that we use for mandated voter removal programs. We're required to send them a postage envelope. If they were to present me with an application, I would just advise them to charge it against that account. 23 4/23/07 - WHOLE - BILL 070114, ETC.
I can contact the post office that handles our work and ask them what they're doing. I do know when they first changed it, unfortunately there were still a lot -- you know, these forms sit around for ages. There are still prepaid forms from '94 laying around in committeemen's homes or something. The first couple months we had a big problem, because when the post office got that and the state had closed the account, they were boxing all them applications up and shipping them down to Atlanta. And when we finally found out what was going on, we called their office in Atlanta and had them ship everything up, and we got two full boxes of applications from them.
It's a shame to see a new resident of the City, assuming they should have paid attention, 24 4/23/07 - WHOLE - BILL 070114, ETC. but they didn't, they put it in the mail thinking it was -- because I think a committeeman told him that it was postage paid, and they got it back --
I'm sure you're going to have a few busy days ahead of you. And, again, thanks.
Are there any other questions of this witness? (No response.)
Thank you. MR. McPHERSON: The next department is the Free Library.
President, as always, good to see you. 25 4/23/07 - WHOLE - BILL 070114, ETC.
Thank you. I understand that you have a commitment, so I'm sure that if you have testimony, Mr. Shelkrot would not object to your going first.
I want you to keep your o'clock 10 appointment. 11
Thank you so much. Good morning, Council President Verna and members of City Council. I'm W. Wilson Goode, Sr., Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Free Library of Philadelphia. It is a pleasure to appear before you this morning and to report on the state of the Library. In a word, it is outstanding. There are many things that make up the fabric of a vibrant city, and I can think of few more important than the thriving Library system. And the Free Library of Philadelphia system is thriving and an 4/23/07 - WHOLE - BILL 070114, ETC. institution that we can all be proud of. The Free Library provides our citizens with a wide range of materials, programs for young people and adults, access to the Internet and so much more. In just the past year, we have hosted John Hope Franklin, Barack Obama and Norman Mailer at the lecture series. We've won awards for our children program from the Pennsylvania Library Association and from the Library of Congress and for the Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped. We've developed cutting-edge programs to address the national shortage of librarians, particularly minority librarians, and to equip our young people with the knowledge and skills to deal with conflict in a non-violent manner. This past weekend we hosted the first ever Philadelphia Book Festival. More than 25,000 people were in and around the Central Library. And I know Elliot will share more about this 27 4/23/07 - WHOLE - BILL 070114, ETC. successful event when he talks with you. These and many more achievements are laying the groundwork for the construction of a spectacular addition to the Central Library, which will enhance the services we provide to all of our citizens. The new library will increase access to the Library collections. It will include a new teen center and a new children's department. It will be a new public meeting space, and the number of PCs, personal computers, available to the public will increase. My thanks to Mayor John Street and City Council for their early commitment to this project and your belief that Philadelphia deserves a world-class Central Library. In closing, I want to acknowledge some news that you already know. After 20 years of dedicated service to the Free Library, the City of Philadelphia and, most importantly, to 28 4/23/07 - WHOLE - BILL 070114, ETC. its citizens, Elliot Shelkrot has advised me that he will be retiring at the end of 2007. During his tenure, the Free Library has taken on new roles, expanded its vision and programming, and met the challenge of meeting the needs of citizens of this citizens change in population. Elliot has poised the Free Library to build an addition to the Central Library. It is a record of achievement. And I want to publicly thank Elliot for all he has contributed over the past two decades and for leaving us, though not for some months now, in a position to move the library forward and becoming the library of the future. Thank you, Madam President, for your courtesy, and I'll be glad to answer any questions at this time.
Well, I am sure that if there are any questions to be had, Mr. Shelkrot can answer them, unless you want to just wait and hear 29 4/23/07 - WHOLE - BILL 070114, ETC. what some of the questions are.
Thank you, Madam President. I will wait for a few more minutes.
Very good. Mr. Shelkrot, we do have copies of your testimony, so if you would like to abbreviate them, we will make certain that the stenographer transcribes them in full. And I'm so sorry to hear that you will be leaving. You've done a fantastic job and I want to publicly thank you.
Thank you very much, Council President. As you know, I'm Elliot Shelkrot. I am President of the Free Library of Philadelphia and I'm here to testify on the 2008 Operating Budget. And I will not go through all of the details. I will just hit some of the high points. But first let me thank Dr. Goode for his kind remarks and you, 30 4/23/07 - WHOLE - BILL 070114, ETC. Council President Verna, for your remarks. It's been a -- well, to use a very trite phrase, a labor of love. I believe that libraries can do so much for people to give them the kind of information, ideas and inspiration that people need. And we've accomplished a great deal because of the support from Council and because of the support of a wonderful and creative staff and our Board of Directors and Board of Trustees. When I came here years ago, 15 there was no Ogontz Library, there was no 16 Independence Branch, that Changing Lives 17 campaign that redid all of the branches 18 and put technology into them wasn't even 19 a gleam in anybody's eye. And now, as 20 many of you know, there are more than seven million items borrowed from our libraries, including CDs, DVDs, and all of our libraries are open on Saturday. And this is due to the support of City Council and the Mayor and, as I said 31 4/23/07 - WHOLE - BILL 070114, ETC. earlier, a wonderful staff and a Board -- both the staff and the Board coming up with ideas of how we can do better. In Fiscal '08 we're requesting a $40.6 million General Fund budget to provide the highest level of service possible for Philadelphia. In the Mayor's report on City services, 87 percent of the respondents said that they were very satisfied with the Library's services and the website. Ninety-two percent said they appreciated the help from personnel. I might also add that the City now has -- the libraries now have some 851 PCs and enable the Library to be the largest provider of free Internet access in the City. Our after-school program continues to be successful with 85,000 young people, with homework help, as well as with other educational activities. And a recent program, the Philadelphia Partnership for Peace, a federally funded 32 4/23/07 - WHOLE - BILL 070114, ETC. program, collaborates with the House of Umoja, Atwater Kent Museum and WXPN working to help young people learn the skills of resolving conflicts. We're also pushing to have a greater variety of non-English materials, in Spanish, Chinese, Polish, Arabic and others, to respond to the changing needs of the people in our neighborhoods. I might also add that we now have downloadable audio books, music and soon have downloadable videos. I might mention -- well, I thought maybe Councilman Rizzo was here. I was going to assure him that we would have no 17 downloadable X-rated videos. And the most recent proof of the value of the website, last month in March we had over ten million hits to that website. And the Book Festival that was held this last weekend was just an amazing success, over 25,000 people, as I understand it from the estimators, and one of the neatest things was hearing 33 4/23/07 - WHOLE - BILL 070114, ETC. people say to me as one woman did, I've been meaning to go to the New York Book Festival for the last several years. Now I don't have to go there. We have our own Philadelphia Book Festival. The children in the children's department and out at the stage, everybody was -- it was just a -- the Library was bubbling over into the streets and all around the Library. So it was very exciting. And in terms of any details in the budget, I'd be happy to answer any of the questions that you or other members of Council may have.
Thank you. I'm just realizing this will be the last budget hearing that you will be attending, and I'm sure you're probably saying, Am I ever grateful for that. Mr. Shelkrot, you mention in your testimony that you are being reduced by ten full-time positions in FY08. You 34 4/23/07 - WHOLE - BILL 070114, ETC. don't have to do this now if you don't have the information at hand, but can you tell us the titles of these positions?
Oh, well, as a matter of fact, I don't have the specific titles. I know that we believe that with some tightening up of processes and a variety of other things, that we will be able to continue the excellent service that we've been providing. But I will look -- I can get information on those titles for you another time.
Would you please mail that information to me? Thank you. You indicate that you will absorb this decrease through attrition and new efficiencies. I would like to know -- and I think I want it to be made very clear -- that you're saying that this reduction will have no operational impact on the Free Library.
This reduction will have no impact on the services that 35 4/23/07 - WHOLE - BILL 070114, ETC. the people of Philadelphia receive from the Library, and that is what we intend and we believe that is accomplishable.
Can you tell the members of Council how many emergency branch closings have occurred so far this year and what were the reasons for the closures?
I can tell you -- I will turn to staff to see if they can give us the exact number of emergency closings, but I can tell you that they are, of course, as a result of building emergencies and in some cases because we don't have -- we can't get staff there quick enough to get the library opened.
Mr. McPeak will respond. MR. McPEAK: Good morning, Council President.
Good 36 4/23/07 - WHOLE - BILL 070114, ETC. morning. MR. McPEAK: My name is Joe McPeak. I'm the Operations Director for the Free Library of Philadelphia.
Welcome. MR. McPEAK: And I can affirm along with Mr. Shelkrot that our emergency closings have been due almost entirely to building emergencies. We've had a number of floods in the Independence Branch. We've had closures due to HVAC problems. These were unanticipated closures that occurred which resulted in branches closing for anywhere for two, three weeks, one branch closing for a month. So the closings have been due almost entirely to building emergency situations.
They have nothing to do with the shortage of personnel? MR. McPEAK: No. Very few. And when we have shortages of personnel, 37 4/23/07 - WHOLE - BILL 070114, ETC. by and large, although not in all instances, we redeploy people from our regional libraries to our branches to cover. Sometimes there's an hour or two gap when that happens in the morning, but most of our emergency closings have been due to buildings emergencies this fiscal year.
Mr. Shelkrot, you mention on your testimony that you hope to break ground on the expansion of the Central Library in 2008. Has the parking issue been resolved, and, if so, how?
Council President, I'd like to ask Linda Johnson, the CEO of our Foundation, who is managing the Central Library project and all of its components, fundraising and all. 38 4/23/07 - WHOLE - BILL 070114, ETC. So, Linda.
My name is Linda Johnson. I'm the CEO of the Free Library of Philadelphia Foundation, and in that capacity, I'm responsible for the design and construction of the new addition, as well as the fundraising, both annual and capital campaign. With respect to the parking issue, it's clearly at the top of our priority list, and since taking on this responsibility, I have had several meetings on this issue with neighboring property owners, in particular those who are interested in working with us to resolve the issue. There are several developers who own property to the north of Callowhill Street that might be interested in such a project. They are currently in the stage of their planning 39 4/23/07 - WHOLE - BILL 070114, ETC. where they have flexibility to incorporate parking into the plans that they have to develop their sites. At this point, we do not have any concrete plans, but I will tell you that as recently as two weeks ago we've been meeting on this issue, as we do consider it to be one of our top priorities.
I'll proceed because other members may have -- excuse me. Just remain, please. Councilman Clarke.
Thank you. I just wanted to, while Ms. Johnson is up, I wanted to follow up on the parking issue, if I may. There was a forum recently at the Library on parking, and at that time, was there any discussion, any level of specificity about the proposed parking 40 4/23/07 - WHOLE - BILL 070114, ETC. opportunities, or did we just kind of just give a general --
-- was not involved in the forum. It may have been before my tenure began.
This is Elliot Shelkrot. There was a forum at one of the other Parkway institutions. It wasn't at the Library, but it had to do with the report that was done by the Planning Commission and the Department of Commerce.
And at that time, there have been -- that report does indicate a specific number of spots that 41 4/23/07 - WHOLE - BILL 070114, ETC. is believed to be necessary for the neighborhood as a whole, and at this point, it's not just the Library's need, it's other neighboring institutions as well, and so I have, in addition to talking to developers, been working with our neighbors to see if we can't work together to meet the total demand.
All right. Well, let me understand this, because I know early on when the discussion about the expansion came to me and then subsequently to Barnes, discussion came to me and it was clearly a parking issue. And I said at the time that I wasn't comfortable with proceeding on either one of those projects until we had a reasonable parking strategy. It was my understanding that we were going to adopt an approach that would look at parking for all of the institutions to accommodate the existing need, because we already have a parking problem currently, and then the subsequent needs once these 42 4/23/07 - WHOLE - BILL 070114, ETC. things get developed. So are you saying that the Library is working on parking solutions separate and aside from that broader plan or are you going to be a part of that plan?
We're looking at both. We hope to be able to work in conjunction with our neighbors. That would be the ideal situation. We're a little bit further out than the other institutions in terms of our planning, but as I've told them, I have the fortitude to wait if need be, because I think it's important that we do work together. We'll obviously come up with a better solution that way.
Okay. The only reason I ask that question, because the assumption is that at some point it's going to cost the government in terms of subsidizing the parking, and I would really like to see some sort of consolidated effort, because I know -- 43 4/23/07 - WHOLE - BILL 070114, ETC.
We are aware, Councilman, of your very strong and specific direction to us that prior to proceeding with this project, that you wanted a plan for parking, and you may recall that we also met with the Mayor in a meeting on this.
And so we are very, very clear of your strong desire to have a comprehensive plan on parking prior to proceeding with the construction.
All right. I guess what I'm just trying to get a -- thank you, Mr. Mayor. I just want to get a sense that we're coordinating these efforts together so we can kind of feed off each other.
Because I've seen some of the report and I know the hope is with the advent of the Art Museum parking, that that will alleviate 44 4/23/07 - WHOLE - BILL 070114, ETC. some of the parking needs. And then there's going to be this issue with respect to changing dollars on a number of the on-street parking to accommodate some needs.
I think the City owns maybe two or three parcels just north where there's some potential for some parking.
Thank you. It is said that the ground-breaking will take place in 2008. When do you expect the project to be completed? 45 4/23/07 - WHOLE - BILL 070114, ETC.
Schedule -- (continued) is planned for a 27-month period, and that's if all goes exactly as planned.
Can you tell us what the projected budgetary impact to the Central Library will be when this project is completed?
We believe that the impact will be a five to eight percent increase over the current budget.
Have additional funds been added to the out years of the Five-Year Plan for the expanded facility?
I believe that's 46 4/23/07 - WHOLE - BILL 070114, ETC. a question we'd have to ask the City Budget Office. I don't know if the Budget Director is here still.
Yes. Ms. Reed, front and center, please. Did you hear the question?
Dianne Reed, Budget Director. Yes, thanks, I did. The Five-Year Plan is flat in the out years. I think that future Councils will need to decide what is going to be done at the point that the expansion is completed and it's time to add staff.
If you put the expansion, how do you not put the people? It certainly should appear in the Five-Year Plan.
We're not exactly sure what the timing will be for the completion, and given the constraints of the budget, there is no opportunity to do that. 47 4/23/07 - WHOLE - BILL 070114, ETC.
Ms. Reed, do you think it's going to take more than five years before this project is completed?
I really don't know, but I think the fundraising is not completed and so to me it's unclear exactly what the timing will be.
I think it was mentioned when the anticipated completion date will be. Would you mind repeating that, please.
Twenty-seven months from the breaking of ground, which is expected to be at the end of 2008.
-- Fiscal '12 budget. I don't think we want to put five percent in the budget now for something that's that speculative. We also cannot do that because we have very 48 4/23/07 - WHOLE - BILL 070114, ETC. huge tax cuts in those years, $50 million of wage tax cuts in both years, for a total of 150 million out of the budget.
Well, the question becomes why are you doing the expansion?
No, no, no. I don't think you're the Finance Director.
The expansion is an initiative of the Library, and the City is making a contribution to that both directly from debt and also, I think, possibly through the $150 million borrowing. There's also been a proposal to PICA. The City is trying to get funding in place to do this. We don't know what the prospects are.
I just don't understand the logic here again. Don't we own the Library?
Ms. Reed, I don't want to keep everybody waiting. This is another issue that we're going to have to discuss. So I am sure that before this budget is passed, we're going to have to sit down and see just where we're going. Any questions of Mr. Shelkrot?
A quick comment, kind of backing up what you said earlier. I just wanted to say to Mr. Shelkrot congratulations on the great job you've done for these years. As 19 the Inquirer said, the libraries around 20 the City look much different when you first took over, and all those changes have been overwhelmingly positive. And if we're going to tackle some of the problems in the City with crime and whatever, some of those programs that you 50 4/23/07 - WHOLE - BILL 070114, ETC. have put in place in libraries over the years will hopefully be a big step towards that. So on behalf of everybody, thank you.
Any other questions for the Free Library? (No response.)
Seeing no one, thank you very much, Mr. Shelkrot.
Again, thank you and good luck to you. MR. McPHERSON: The next department is the Civil Service Commission.
Good morning. Please identify yourself for the record and proceed with your testimony.
Good morning. I'm Tanya Smith, Personnel Director, acting 51 4/23/07 - WHOLE - BILL 070114, ETC. for Chair of Civil Service Commission, Repsie Warren.
We do have copies of your testimony. I would ask you to please abbreviate and we'll make absolutely certain that the stenographer transcribes your testimony in full.
Okay. Thank you. The total budget request for the Civil Service Commission is $169,209, which consists of $142,000 in Class 100; $24,500 in Class 200; $2,062 in Classes 300 and 400, and it represents an increase of $5,486 over FY07, which will be used to reflect the negotiated wage increases for Civil Service staff. The Commission in FY07 received 66 appeals and issued 41 opinions and orders resolving appeals, and some of the opinions and orders related to appeals were initiated in FY06. With this budget, the Commission can continue its important 52 4/23/07 - WHOLE - BILL 070114, ETC. work of assuring the preservation of the Philadelphia merit system, as mandated by the Philadelphia Home Rule Charter. And that concludes the testimony.
Thank you very much. How many residency waivers have you granted this year and what are the position titles of the waivers granted?
I'll get that for you in one minute. There were seven class waivers granted in 2006 for Electrician I and II, Firearms Examiner, Local Area Network Administrator, Programmer Analyst I, Programmer Analyst Trainee and Water Technology Assistant.
And I'm sorry. I was distracted. Do you mind telling us again what those positions were?
No problem. Electrician I and II, Firearms Examiner, Local Area Network Administrator, Programmer Analyst I, Programmer Analyst Trainee and Water Technology Assistant.
All right. Now, with the seven waivers, do we give those employees a year to move in the City?
Yes. These were all recruitment waivers requiring that each of these employees that receive a waiver move in the City within one year.
We follow up, meaning the Personnel Department. We work with the Commission. When the waivers are expired or going to expire, we send notification to the departments 54 4/23/07 - WHOLE - BILL 070114, ETC. where these employees are residing.
Can you explain for the record what personal services contracts the Commission approves?
And can you also tell us how many have been granted this year?
There were ten personal services contracts awarded in this fiscal year.
Can you get us a listing of the contracts and the dollar limit?
Thank you. Are there any questions from members of the Committee? (No response.)
One thing I have to add, Commissioner Warren wanted me to 55 4/23/07 - WHOLE - BILL 070114, ETC. point out that there were residency waivers rescinded in 2006 as well.
You're welcome. 14 MR. McPHERSON: The next 15 department is the Department of 16 Personnel. 17
Good morning, President Verna and members of City Council. I am Tanya D. Smith, Director of the Personnel Department. With me today is Deputy Personnel Director Celia O'Leary. I am here to present testimony in support of the Department's Operating 56 4/23/07 - WHOLE - BILL 070114, ETC. Budget request for $5,298,426 for Fiscal Year 2008. Our proposed budget contains $4,098,488 in Class 100; $722,530 in Class 200; $55,609 in Classes 300 and 400; and $421,799 in Class 800, which is related to the repayment of the Productivity Bank loan to implement an up-to-date human resources information system. Our total budget reflects an increase of $338,386 over FY2007 and a significant amount of this increase is reflected in our Class 800 expenditure. The mission of the Personnel Department is to attract, select and retain a qualified and diverse and effective workforce to support the goals of the City. This mission is a critical component in any plan to maintain quality services to the citizens of Philadelphia in an environment where we, like many other major cities, often experience a scarcity of resources. I would like to describe for you some highlights of 57 4/23/07 - WHOLE - BILL 070114, ETC. programs and initiatives planned or underway to ensure our mission's success. In the area of strategic staffing, in FY2007 testimony, we reported that the Personnel Department was in the process of establishing a Strategic Staffing Unit. This unit is now in place and is a general planning process that results in a workforce with the right mix of people and skills to achieve the goals and objectives of an organization at the right time. This new approach will assist departments facing continuing turnover resulting from the DROP program and other workforce issues through the tracking and analysis of employment data and consideration of internal and external recruitment and employment factors. The unit will work to ensure that qualified and timely replacements are available to fill critical positions; that realistic staffing projections are provided for budget purposes; that 58 4/23/07 - WHOLE - BILL 070114, ETC. recruitment resources are effectively used; that more focused investments are made in training, retraining and developing employees; and that the City's diversity profile is appropriately maintained and that our stakeholders and customers are satisfied. Additionally, related to those goals, the Personnel Department recently began to establish a citywide Recruitment Advisory Council composed of staff from City operating departments to address those occupations that continue to present hiring challenges. This Council will be charged with sharing information, knowledge and resources to cooperatively work to attract and retain a diverse and qualified workforce. Initial efforts will be targeted at improving recruitment of candidates for positions in the skilled trades. In the area of ethics training, throughout Fiscal Year 2007, the Personnel Department, in collaboration 59 4/23/07 - WHOLE - BILL 070114, ETC. with the Ethics Board, supported the delivery of ethics training to the entire City workforce. To date, 23,421 City of Philadelphia employees have received this training. In regard to health and welfare, the Personnel Department continues to administer a comprehensive benefits program for about 7,000 City employees and a life insurance program for over 39,000 represented employees and retirees. We continue to negotiate aggressively with our medical insurance providers at each annual renewal, and bid out coverage when appropriate. For Calendar Year 2006, the City Administered Plan realized over $4 million in savings by negotiations resulting from a bid process. For the Calendar Year 2007, the City Administered Plan achieved $800,000 in savings through renewal negotiations and the awarded vendor. In 2008, the prescription drug coverage may be put out to bid. Although 60 4/23/07 - WHOLE - BILL 070114, ETC.
this coverage was bid for the 2006 year, the current medical carrier has developed its own prescription drug plan that has potential to achieve CAP savings. Enhanced employee health management strategies will also be investigated for potential future savings. This could entail improved disease management programs for employees with specific health issues and/or employee consumerism education programs. Such programs promote better health management by educating employees regarding questions to ask their doctors, providing information on generic drugs and mail order, pharmacy programs and encouraging completion of health risk assessments to guide positive changes. For example, in an effort to support the Administration's goal of promoting healthy life-style choices, the Personnel Department partnered with the Mayor's Office of Health and Fitness and conducted two health fairs for City 61 4/23/07 - WHOLE - BILL 070114, ETC. employees providing healthy diet information, medical screenings and numerous other informational services directed at health maintenance and illness prevention. In the area of the Human Resources Information System, the implementation of a new HRIS system has begun in order to replace the current system, which was installed in 1980. Following approval of this project by City Council in the fall of 2006, the Personnel Department and MOIS have partnered to identify a qualified project team of City and consultant resources to implement the Oracle HRIS. When completed, this system will reduce the number of resources needed for the administrative tasks of Personnel management, such as address changes, pay step increases, benefits selection, beneficiary updates and so on. Current processes will be streamlined and reports will be readily available, reducing and 62 4/23/07 - WHOLE - BILL 070114, ETC. eliminating the need for small HR systems many departments have adopted. Reporting and analysis of employee data will also become available and more powerful as a result of the new HRIS capabilities. The Personnel Department staff continues to serve as advisors and consultants to many employees, supervisors, managers, human resource generalists and members of the general public, who frequently turn to us for information and guidance on how best to achieve their goals while maintaining the integrity of the City's merit system. This function pervades every aspect of our business. We value and take pride in our ability to serve in this capacity, and endeavor to continually improve the quality and quantity of information we are asked to provide. This concludes my testimony. Thank you for your attention, and I would be happy to answer any questions that you may have at this time. 63 4/23/07 - WHOLE - BILL 070114, ETC.
Thank you very much. What is the minimum funding for your department as required by the Home Rule Charter?
It's one half of one percent of funds appropriated by City Council for salaries for folks in the Civil Service. I'm sorry. Celia O'Leary, Deputy Personnel Director.
Thank you. Does this budget comply with the Charter?
Traditionally it has not met the one and one half percent allocation.
Well, how can you not? If it is required by the Home Rule Charter, how could you not meet that requirement? 64 4/23/07 - WHOLE - BILL 070114, ETC.
We work with the allocation that we are granted by the Office of Budget.
But aren't you required to give one half of one percent -- or receive?
So are we saying the Home Rule Charter doesn't mean anything?
No, we're not saying that the Home Rule Charter does not mean anything.
Is that your doing or is it the Department of Finance's doing?
I'm not exactly sure where the shortfall or why the allocation is not as per the Home Rule Charter.
Okay. I don't want to put you on the spot. I would ask Ms. Reed to please 65 4/23/07 - WHOLE - BILL 070114, ETC. come up front and center, please. Do you have an opinion from the City Solicitor that you could do less than required from the Home Rule Charter?
Dianne Reed, Budget Director. I will have to check on that. I know this subject has come up before. It may just be the result of the budget strictures that we live with, but I will find out and get back to you.
I will have to get back to you on that. I understand the question.