And before we hear what you wrote down, would you identify yourself.
My name is Norman Mashore. I work with the School District. 87 4/27/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc.
And I just wrote a couple of budget ideas down. I wrote down, all City Hall workers take a 50 percent pay cut, workers that make $40,000 a year and up. Add money to the budget. All people that took DROP program, return money to the budget. Start a cell phone police department or squad. Hire to 50 14 people. They cover the whole City. They 15 work eight hours a day, three shifts. 16 Collect fines, add to the budget. 17 Term limited for 18 Councilmembers. Cut down Council staff 19 and add that to your budget. 20 I'm just one voice for the 21 community. It only took me one minute to 22 figure that out. Now, if Nutter want to 23 come down and talk to me, I can help him 24 out. 25 (Applause.) 88 4/27/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc.
Thank you very much to City Council for giving me a few moments to speak. My name is Stanley Daniel. I'm a real estate investor and a realtor doing business in Philadelphia. I own multiple properties in the City and pay real estate taxes on these properties. I've been sitting here for the past hour, hour and a half and I've heard testimony from people that have specific interests in maintaining funds for various projects and causes. I've heard suggestions like the gentleman just said, pay cuts. I heard that the Mayor should take a pay cut, things of that sort. Many of these testimonies are proper and have merit, but I think we really have to address the situation, and, that is, we 89 4/27/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. have to increase the revenues that the City now has. I am in support of Mayor Nutter's Actual Value Initiative in reassessing real estate taxes for the City of Philadelphia. The financial woes of the City are not the fault of this Administration. It goes back -- I don't know how many years, probably 15, 20, maybe even years. The Administrations 12 have been either unable, unwilling or 13 unknowledgeable in reassessing the real 14 estate in the City of Philadelphia. I'm 15 not sure even members of City Council 16 realize how low the taxes are in the City 17 compared to the surrounding areas. 18 As a realtor, I have access to 19 TrendMLS. I went in there and I said 20 show me what the taxes are on all the 21 properties sold from January 1st of this 22 year to April 10th. I did that in the 23 City and in Delaware County, Bucks, 24 Chester, Montgomery and Camden, 25 Burlington and Gloucester Counties in New 90 4/27/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. Jersey. The average hundred-thousand-dollar house in the City of Philadelphia had taxes of $932 a year. The average of the houses sold in that time period outside City limits for a hundred thousand had taxes of $3,188. I own property in the City. I have a property, a five-bedroom, two-bath house, and I can open up my big mouth because it's in a fictitious name, you can't find me. I have a five-bedroom, two-bath house in University City, rehabbed house. My rent income is $1,500 a month and my taxes are less than the $300 proposed trash tax that you guys are talking about. That's the problem in the City of Philadelphia. You should not hesitate to make the adjustment on the taxes, and even if everything is reassessed and taxed accordingly, your taxes will still be half of what it is in the surrounding areas. I, again, am in support of 91 4/27/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. Mayor Nutter's Actual Value Initiative. And I will deliver to each member of City Council personally before the week is over a proposal on how to do it at no 6 out-of-pocket cost to the City of Philadelphia. I repeat, no out-of-pocket up-front cost to the City of Philadelphia. Thank you.
No. 17 We're not -- Sir, are you testifying? AUDIENCE MEMBER: I'd like to know what the average income is of those counties where you said their property taxes were $3,000.
I do not have that information, but I don't think -- AUDIENCE MEMBER: We're working 92 4/27/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. class and we're kind of poor here. So you're comparing apples with oranges.
Wait a minute. We're not going to have a debate. (Audience members and witness talking without microphone.) AUDIENCE MEMBER: Where do you live?
To answer the question, I do not own any real estate outside of the City.
Sir, we're not going to have a debate. We are not having a debate. We're going to hear everybody's concerns and whatever testimony they have. Are you testifying, sir? Pull 93 4/27/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. your chair up, speak into the mike and identify yourself for the record.
Mark Williams and I work for Philadelphia Coca-Cola Bottling Company, and I'm a resident of this great city. And basically I'm just here about the soda tax. I'm a father of three, and my budget is already stretched two and three times past what I think that it should be. And this soda bottling tax will hurt me tremendously. I buy at lease three two-liter sodas for one-week period. Now, if I have to change my budget because the soda is going up or either doubling, then that mean that I will have to make some more cuts. I will buy less soda for my family, and eventually that going to hurt the company. If everybody that got a realistic budget, half of the people that I know don't have no extra income to pay for all of this money that soda is supposed to be raised by, and basically 94 4/27/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. they will have to stop buying as much soda as they buy now. If I cut one bottle of soda out of my budget a week just to make my financial budget go a little bit longer, I'm just thinking, what is the next person going to do? What is this gentleman going to do? What is the next family going to do? And eventually that will hurt my company, and my company will produce less sodas and they're going to have less people to distribute the soda, so that mean it going to be less jobs. People cannot spend any more money that they don't have. And basically what I'm saying, that if we pass this soda tax, this soda tax really going to hurt families like mine's and family that is represented here, because we won't buy as much soda. Then it will hurt our budget and it will hurt our job budget. My job, I was employed last year. I've been on my job one year and a 95 4/27/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. day, and I'm certainly blessed to be there, because this job afford me to raise my family and not to be on unemployment, because I know that the unemployment benefits is stretched way and far too much. If this soda tax goes through, I know that I will have to go back on unemployment, because my job won't be able to afford to keep me and some of my co-workers. I know within a year that they will have massive layoffs at my job and probably at our brother job, Pepsi-Cola, at Canada Dry, because people will actually buy less sodas.
We have two 96 4/27/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. more, Ayana Powell from Temple University and Larry Raye. (Witness approached witness table.)
My name is Ayana Powell. I'm with the Temple Group. We're graduate students, but I'm also a registered dietician. I hadn't planned on talking, but my ears bled listening to some of the things that I've heard, so I wrote down a few things. Earlier someone mentioned that the City needs to worry about the status of our education system instead of the soda tax. As a registered dietician, I am qualified to describe the role that poor nutrition plays in the development of the child and how it influences their educational career. Without adequate nutrition, proper brain development cannot occur in 97 4/27/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. toddlers. During the school-age years, poorly nourished children are unable to concentrate. I also heard someone yell that it starts in the home. I am from Philadelphia. My mom was one of the few mothers who didn't allow Kool-Aid, Hugs, soda, doughnuts or any of that crap, because it is crap. However, because there was a corner store on every single corner or a Chinese store on every block, I was able -- I went to public school. I went to Taggart in South Philly and Furness in South Philly. I was able to purchase sugary beverages from corner stores that sold white bread, candy, nothing but calorie-poor foods, nothing but it. So it starts in the home, but we also need to change the environment, too. It's two things. It's education, it's socialization within the family and it's the environment. It's a health hazard to have a 98 4/27/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. high concentration of corner stores that sell nothing but crap to communities that they supposedly care about. Education is not enough. I've been a clinical dietician for three years at Mercy Philadelphia Hospital. I educate all day every day. I was a WIC nutritionist for a year. I educated all day every day, but if you go outside and all you see in your community is poor nutrition and sodas and candy and Hugs, that's all you're going to get. Just education is not enough. I educate. I'm an educator. That's what I do. I'm passionate about nutrition. I'm passionate about diabetes reduction, cardiovascular disease reduction, and it's important, the last thing I heard. I'm just appalled at how many parents are saying that the soda tax is going to hurt them and their kids. It makes no sense. Just there, just that there shows that there's a problem. It provides evidence that parents are 99 4/27/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. feeding their children soda for breakfast, lunch and dinner. When I was a WIC nutritionist, I saw babies come in the office with -- it's called baby bottle tooth decay, from sodas being in their bottles, sipping on sodas and sugary beverages. We need to feed our children water and 100 percent fruit juice, which counts as a fruit serving, not soda. That's all I have to say. Thank you.
I see that Councilman Darrell Clarke has arrived. He's to my very extreme left. Thank you. Our next witness?
Is Larry Raye here? (Witness approached witness 100 4/27/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. table.)
Welcome. Please identify yourself for the record.
My name is Larry Raye from the Mt. Airy area. Do I just go ahead?
My primary concern for being here today is the proposal for the trash tax and as a landlord who has been providing affordable housing in the City of Philadelphia maybe the last 19 years, and I think a trash tax would put 20 an additional burden on those landlords that provide housing for low-income people beyond that which they can stand. Things continuously change and escalate, but poor folks still don't have any more money to pay for these things. 101 4/27/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. And if it was pushed over to them, it would take some time and I think in a city which is probably pretty much a tenant-oriented city anyway, it just puts an additional burden, which I think will result in the lack of some good affordable housing for people of eager means. I just heard someone speak about the disparity in the tax system here in Philadelphia as opposed to the surrounding counties, but I also heard a rebuttal as to what can those people afford to pay. So I guess it's a two-edged sword, but it's very -- it seemed like it would be a real hardship for me to try to pass on or for anyone to try to pass on to people who can hardly afford to pay what they pay now an additional $300 per year. So my concern is that in the long run, this is going to hurt the most needy people. So I would certainly like to advocate to oppose the institution of 102 4/27/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. such a tax.
Thank you very much. We appreciate your testimony. Our next witness?
We have one person that could not make it tonight that asked that her statement be read into the record. That's Ms. Maya Travis. And we have one additional witness, Mr. George Tyler. (Witness approached witness table.)
Good evening. Please identify yourself for the record.
Good evening. My name is George Tyler and I represent Pepsi Beverage Company, and I hope I'm representing most everyone in here who spoke, and I'm thankful for them for being here. I'm quite sure you've heard enough, or maybe not. But this tax on soda is just -- you're looking at a lot 103 4/27/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. of people losing their jobs, and if you don't understand that, I have about 40 to 50 guys who report to me every day and go out on the street and deliver soda. And every day I look at them and they got this feeling, something is wrong if this goes through. These are hard-working men. I'm quite sure that you members didn't get where you got being dumb. You're, in my mind, smart people, and with all due respect, snap out of it. This is not the thing to do. If you want to know how I feel about that, do I want my child to come in and smoke a cigarette or drink a soda? Tax cigarettes. See how that works. I think more people are dying from cigarettes than soda. Now, if that's a State issue, call Mayor Rendell -- or Governor Rendell, ask him to come down. I'm quite sure there's quite a few people would express their feelings on what to tax. Soda is not the greatest thing 104 4/27/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. in the world, but I'm quite sure it beats smoking cigarettes. And I thank you again for your time.
The next witness is Mr. Coker Thomas. (Witness approached witness table.)
Good evening. Good afternoon, Councilmembers, people that are here. I haven't heard anyone kind of like put a personal face on a lot of these taxes, other than the age issue and things like that. I represent the so-called ma-and-pa store. I've been in 105 4/27/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. business for years here in the City, and I've seen a lot of things go on in that time. I've seen my personal property taxes increase over 100 percent. I've seen my utilities go up anywhere from to 30 percent. I've seen my 8 insurance increase over 300 percent. In 9 the last seven years, due to the economy, 10 my business has dropped 20, 30 percent. 11 At the same time, I see companies like 12 Comcast get a 25-year tax abatement. I 13 see people who buy properties, new 14 properties in the City, get a ten-year 15 tax abatement. Sodas represent 30 percent of my business. That's on average 65 percent gross profit off of that. I finally, after seven years, have seen my business increase by a mere three percent. Okay? This soda tax is going to represent about 30 percent. You do the math. I'm right back where I started again. Okay? I don't know what the answer 106 4/27/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. is, and I know you guys are looking for answers. I've heard people say stuff like flat taxes. That would mean that if you are a non-profit or a rich person or poor person, two percent, three percent. Whatever it is, that's what you pay. I think that is better than individual shots at different companies and people like myself or just plain old poor people. I just can't see it. Education, in my opinion, is the key to better health. Diet is a choice, okay, that we make. Some of us, we make poor choices, and you can see it in obesity and so forth and so on. I don't think it's a good idea. I think we need -- I think it has to be rethought, that particular portion.
Tracee Hunt. 107 4/27/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. (Witness approached witness table.)
Thank you. My name is Tracee Hunt. I am from the Philadelphia Coca-Cola Bottling Company, and I do appreciate having the opportunity to speak. I too have been very attentive throughout this session, and there are a couple of things that I want to say because I know them to be firsthand. Being part of the leadership team at Philadelphia Coke, I do know for a fact the impact that it will have on our industry from a numbers perspective. We don't need to sit here and go through numbers. I'm speaking because I'm very passionate about the topic personally as well as professionally. Number one, it's an absolute fact that the higher cost will cause 108 4/27/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. volume declines. It's an absolute. And when an employer -- when an industry has a primary or a core product, there is no 5 way you're going to be able to say that its secondary brands will make up for those volume declines. So what's going to happen is, we'll have volume declines, which will ultimately result in less production, less distribution, which ultimately will absolutely result in less jobs. And when you think about the fact that we have life-sustaining jobs -- I sit on the Workforce Investment Board. I do a lot with the youth in Philadelphia, because I'm passionate. I grew up in a city, not Philadelphia, but growing up a city child who took three buses to school, I had a very similar situation and I had corner stores on every corner as well. So I had the choice to drink soda, eat chips, did all of the above, Now and Laters, the whole nine yards, and I'm sure you can understand exactly what I'm talking about. But when you stop and 109 4/27/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. you think about the fact that Philadelphia Coke as well as the other beverage manufacturers offer life-sustaining jobs that don't need to be augmented by City funding, City services and so forth and so on, they are your homeowners in these various districts. Philadelphia Coke in particular has been a major leader in economic development. It went from 600 jobs to 1,200 jobs over a span of a number of years, and we continue, in a bad economy, to continue to hire people. We did not do any layoffs. When you think about the fact that from a community perspective, all the initiatives that we support - walks, runs - we're giving thousands of dollars to all these different events, that these are the things that would absolutely be impacted. So it's also those other secondary revenue streams you have to think about coming from our industry that 110 4/27/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. would have to be ended. When you think about the fact that -- you also have to give major consideration that -- one person said earlier it's about additives and preservatives. You look, there's sugar in almost everything we consume. I don't care what it is. And when you think about how you really should impact that, it is about education. It is about calories out as well as calories in. A well-balanced diet contains some of everything. I have to personally say as a mother of two, I let my kids drink soda. Do I let them drink it every day? No. As a parent I have to manage that. But are either one of them remotely obese? Absolutely not. And at the end of the day, there's many people in the beverage industry who are contributing to this City's well-being and its economic development going forward, and without that, you're going to hurt a major industry. 111 4/27/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. So I think that it's important that we not just get caught up in the hype about it's sugar and juice. I heard some comments about juice. I know children whose teeth have decayed from just apple juice bottles sitting in their mouth all night long. So I think it's -- I'm very passionate about it, and I think our industry has to be passionate, because at the end of the day, these are life-sustaining jobs that are at risk and we can't take it lightly. Thank you.
I think we have completed our witness list. Is there anyone in the audience that would like to testify? Please approach the witness table. We are pressured for time. (Witnesses approached witness 112 4/27/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. table.)
Good evening. Kindly identify yourself for the record and proceed with your testimony.
Good evening, everyone. My name is Carolyn Alexander. I've been working with home and school, starting home and school volunteering in several schools, Head Starts around here. Presently I'm the Secretary of Home and School at Wagner Middle School. I heard a lot here. It's not about the soda, the non -- the sweeteners, you know, or the non-sweeteners and so forth. It's about us, people caring about people and supporting one another's ideas. I believe that from -- and there's a lot of people that know me that if it weren't for I, my husband and my children, the love I have for my children and people, that a lot of children wind up being honor roll, going to special 113 4/27/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. academies and stuff because I took money out my pocket, not sugar but love, and gave to these children. Because to see a child that cry and say they hadn't eaten that morning in the school yard, I start searching through my child's bookbag in kindergarten to feed that child. You know, that's things like that that perturbs me, you know, what's happening, who is taking care of that child, you know, why is that child not cared for. And I maybe probably brought it to the attention of the principal, Rowen, me at Head Start, what-have-you. Basically right now my son's 14. Jordan Alexander was in an accident, and I heard this young man, Mr. Brown (sic), speak of kidney donations and so forth, organ donations. I as well offered to give my organs or my children, what-have-you, organs to a donator in the event that they would expire. Jordan is now -- he has a spinal cord dysfunction, gait and so forth playing football. I 114 4/27/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. wasn't there at the time in Holmesburg when this occurred when they played last week. He was there with his father. But the thing that I begged him was to rethink your direction, and your direction is what God puts in your heart and your spirit. And one thing I learned was my mother -- I always respected my mother's love and my mother's opinion. You know, they would say, listen to your mother, and even in the Bible it says love thy mother and father. And so I'm saying that my son is probably not going to ever play football again. He has a collar up on his neck, because the boy rammed out of anger into him, because they were winning the game, into his neck. So, you know, right now they going to -- he's not probably going to be in the school another week or so because of his injuries. He can't carry a bookbag. He's like 6'1", 14. So I see here and I just want 115 4/27/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. to cry, you know, for everyone. You know, everybody is thinking about soda, water. It's about life. You know what I'm saying? Nobody is going to give my son a new spine. Okay? And so forth. So, you know, like I'm really not happy with the situation and so forth that -- people -- adults say, you know, this is from the Hornets, okay. The Hornets, right, Adams Avenue, so forth, took my child -- it was the storm they had two months ago, and the window blew out in his face and my husband. But, see, I have fibromyalgia from accidents and falls off the sidewalk cement and stuff like that, you know, cheap cement and so forth like that, when I know I wasn't standing on the side. And it's not because I weigh 300 pounds. It's just that, you know, people just don't build like they used to and stuff. And basically what I'm saying is that we need to build support together. I came here to join with a 116 4/27/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. bond with everyone here when I received a letter from Ms. Marian Tasco and so forth. I try not to be all this time, you know, the only person there, but I beg people to help because of my 12-year battle with fibromyalgia and neuropathy. So now I have to sit and watch my other child and maybe the one that's years 10 old because of poor decisions, not just 11 coming from sugar or whatever, you know. It's just war. People don't care.
You know, it's not a joke or nothing like that. I don't want nobody applaud to me or nothing like that or say that I'm special, because I do get that and have gotten it all my life from people. I'm special because I do believe in God and I believe that we all are children of God, good or bad, and the only way it's going to make a difference is the ones that have the wisdom to know to help.
God bless you, and thank you for coming in to testify. 117 4/27/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. Our next witness?
My name is Brenda Williams. I live in Mt. Airy. I'm a retired worker for the Department of Public Welfare. I've seen too much poverty. I've seen too many families that can't afford the things that most of us take for granted. I've seen a lot of people that are unemployed. We can't pay for -- when I say "we," I include myself, because I'm retired and I'm making less money. We can't afford all these taxes. Every time you turn around, there's more taxes, taxes on everything, and for you to put more tax on soda, something that kids enjoy, sure it may be detrimental, but so is alcohol, so is tobacco, and I don't see anybody doing anything to stop those things. They kill people and they cause disease. Sugar is a problem, but it's been around, and if parents are educated, they know what to give their kids and 118 4/27/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. what not to give them. But to cause parents to be -- fathers to be out of work that can't pay child support, they have to turn to welfare, it's not fair. We can't pay our electric bills, gas bills, water bills. Everything keeps going up on top of that. And I would be willing to bet that even if we get the sugar tax and the disposable trash tax, there's going to be another tax come behind that, and there's going to be no 13 stopping. Well, we can't tax this anymore, but let's tax over here and let's tax over here. I can't afford to even live in my house. My mortgage is $900-and-some a month, and I have to pay electric and gas and heat and all that. Where am I going to get the money when I'm making half of what I used to make? I mean, where is it going to stop? Whenever you get a new set of people in office, the first thing they do is start taxing. I'm tired of it. I 119 4/27/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. don't know where I'm going to live. (Applause.)
I'm tired of paying more taxes. And then I can't even come out of my house because of the drug dealers. They don't pay taxes. (Applause.)
They sell all the drugs they want and they don't pay an extra penny for anything, and I got to pay extra money. Now they're talking about who is paying $3,000 in another county. I'm paying all the real estate taxes I can pay now, and I can't even go in town to park. I went in town to park. Twenty-five cents only got me six minutes of parking. And I come out and I got a $36 ticket. I put $2 in the meter. I put $2 in the meter. (Applause.)
So you know where I'd rather go? If I have to, I'd rather spend the money to go to New Jersey to shop, because I don't have to 120 4/27/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. pay for parking in New Jersey, whereas you go and just to get a sandwich, come out, you got a $300 ticket because you mistakenly parked at a handicap meter. I'm sick of taxes and I'm sick of politics, because they're not doing anything for me. And I worked 40 years and now they're -- every year I got to pay $1,300 more in taxes to IRS. I raised my children, my grandchildren, and now all of the sudden, I can hardly make it because I chose to leave my job. I couldn't work anymore because I'm disabled. I have arthritis. But you want more money from me every time I bat my eye. I'm tired. I'm really tired of it. (Applause.)
And I'm also tired of the fact -- I worked for 24 years as a police officer and I was in City Council when they invoked this 121 4/27/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. program with the retirement, the --
DROP program. They didn't know how they were going to finance it. So they went ahead and put it through, and now they're trying to figure out how they're going to pay for it, and they're going to pay for it on the backs of the people who work every day and make five to seven dollars an hour. (Applause.)
Thank you. Kindly identify yourself for the record.
Good afternoon. My name is Leonard Francisco. I'm here in representation of the Dominican Association of Business Owners from Pennsylvania. I heard earlier Mr. Brown say that there is a disease problem in our communities. 122 4/27/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc.
I'm sorry. I apologize for that. But I heard him say, you know, that there is a disease problem, which I do agree we cannot neglect. We cannot turn our eyes from it. However, sugar and sugar tax is not the solution, because when they find out that trans fat was making people sick, they didn't tax trans fat. They didn't put a tax into trans fat in order to get revenue for these companies making sick our people. So basically what we're saying is, All right, you, soda bottling companies, you're making our people sick, so you got to pay us some more taxes, because we need money to find programs so you can keep getting our people sick. And what I'm trying to say with this is 123 4/27/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. that we do not need more taxes. If this is making our children -- making us sick, just putting a tax into it is not going to help any better, because I heard before we're going to be creating programs for healthier children and health education. However, just last year, just this year, we're cutting our school programs funded. We're cutting our kids programs in the school. So what I'm trying to say here is, you already heard from everybody else that this tax is going to be affecting the jobs, the communities, the small business owners. It's going to be affecting every single one of us, because as I can see, you Council, you're drinking soda. You're drinking those kind -- I don't know if you pay for it or they were just here.
I bought it for them. They didn't pay for it. I bought it for them.
What I'm trying 124 4/27/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. to say here is, it's going to be affecting you, because you also are a consumer of this kind of product. And, again, we need the City of Philadelphia to start working for the people and not being taxed -- not putting more taxes on our backs, because right now we're paying too much. (Applause.)
Thank you. We appreciate your testimony. Thank you again. Good evening.
Good evening, panel, and I want to -- my name is Gerald Wright. I live in the Germantown section 21 of Philadelphia. I work for the North Philadelphia Human Services Development Corporation, which is under the umbrella of Greater Philadelphia Urban Affairs Coalition, and I guess I want to comment 125 4/27/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. on all of those things. Personally I want to thank Councilwoman Miller. Last year when the Mayor cut out a couple recreation people that closed and into a pool called Pickett Pool, which had an active and vibrant competitive swim program. Three teams that swim there are PDR, Sailfish and Polar Bears, and it's probably the only program like that that I know of in the City, and parents are paying to make sure the coaches are there, but without the Rec staff, they can't function. So when the Mayor said we cut the swim program, we couldn't get in, because we're indoor and we're competitive and people didn't understand what we're talking about. So I want to thank Councilwoman Miller for helping us to keep that pool open. And, in fact, on Friday, we're having a swim explosion, 6:00 to 8:00. So if you want to come and see what tax dollars are helping young people do to stay fit, not obese, to be 126 4/27/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. healthy, to learn about nutrition and have an active life-style. Those are the kind of things that I think we need more of. We keep talking about what causes things to happen, but we're not talking about -- we don't have gym in school anymore. A lot of schools don't have gyms. I just talked to a charter school in North Philadelphia, Darrell Clarke, Walt Palmer School at 1415. They're struggling to find a place to have a gym so that their kids can have activity. So they take them out front of 1415 and let them have gym out there, and that's only on, of course, good days. So as we talk about our children, I would like to say, who are part of our families, we need to be kind. We need to stop calling them obese, and we need to think about how we're going to have a structured program to make it a part of their life, not an add-on, not an extra, not because you can afford to pay 127 4/27/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. more dollars for it. So the school becomes a place for that. And one of the things that we said North Philadelphia Human Services Development Corporation, we're seeing more people coming in needing food, nutritional food. The Food Trust did a study -- well, let me not get into that, but we're seeing more people who need food, clothing, housing, affordable housing, and they definitely need employment. And so with all of the discussion, we're always locked up into these discussions that don't answer these bread and butter issues. Where do we get more jobs for people that pay a living wage so they can afford to take care of their families, they can afford to buy the nutritional food, they can afford to participate in the economy, and they can respect themselves and recognize they are participants in this economy, not just people collecting a check someplace. And I guess the last thing, the 128 4/27/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. 2 billion, and within that they are proposing an amount of money that they don't even know if it's real. So I just want to say to both you and as the people with ultimate appropriation authority over the budget, let's not let our School District do that again. We just did it last year. We constantly put our educational process into such a dilemma that parents are now struggling with just how do I get my kid to school, how do I get my kid into one of the better schools, and no one is really holding anyone's feet to the fire about why is it taking so long to turn schools around when all of the models exist. And just in Philadelphia, at one point there was something called restructured schools. Now we're talking about renaissance schools, but there was something called restructured schools.
That is the only thing that has ever been proven to move the academic achievement 129 4/27/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. level of kids in a particular school rapidly from underachieving to achieving on the level that we want to see. That model has just been thrown out, and we keep reinventing the wheel, and every time we reinvent the wheel, it costs more money. So with all of that, after listening to the testimony today, I wanted to, one, say we need to start looking to service our people in the City. We need to bring people together, like today, and just talk and figure out -- I think a gentleman said, I have some ideas. Well, we all have ideas, and I think if we could get together and focus our discussions on some real solutions that may not cost a lot of money. Now, you may not need a whole bunch of experts either. So, you know, at some point in just -- the one thing I want to say is, in 1973, we had less credentialed teachers and, to some extent, more attention to education. We 130 4/27/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. now have a lot of credentials and we have a lot of models, a lot of studies, and we can't seem to get it right. Nearly every one of the neighborhood high schools is considered to be lacking the ability to move kids to adequate yearly progress. There is a crisis. There is a crisis, and we expect these kids to be able to function in this economy. We've got to address that crisis, because they're coming out of school with a high school diploma reading below the 10th grade level. 5. That's her tested reading level. And we have people, graduates, who are barely reading at the same level as she is. And she attends a Philadelphia public school. So there's a disparity. We know how to educate, but then somehow it doesn't translate into everyone. So I know I've gone over my time, and I thank you for allowing me. 131 4/27/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. I'm very passionate about that, for those of you who know me. I'm very passionate, but let's talk about instead of one item like soda, let's talk about how do we put gym back into the mix so that the kids think about doing activity every day, and let's talk about improving stuff and bringing the community in to work together. Like when we had to fight for our Pickett pool, we were told by the City, You can't even attempt to raise money to keep that pool open, because you got to put it all into one pot. You don't know how discouraging that was, but we were able to ultimately get the support of Councilwoman Miller, the Recreation Commissioner Slawson and one of the Deputies, Marissa Washington I believe is her name, and a Program Deputy were very, very helpful in ultimately getting that pool back open, and now there are probably about 75 kids on a regular basis coming in, along with a bunch of others. They come in every day. 132 4/27/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. The pool is open Monday to Friday, and it's a great thing to see. I think if you try and do that in each of your districts, it will be a great way to promote our physical activity. Sorry if I went too far.
Your testimony was very interesting. Very interesting, and thank you for your involvement in your community. Would you please identify yourself for the record.
Yes, ma'am. My name is Arthur James. I'm an employed male who works for the National Comprehension Center for Fathers, and to be very, very frank, my spin is a little bit different than everything that I've heard today.
My spin on what I've heard today is a little different, and I'm hoping that I don't get lynched 133 4/27/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. or mobbed when I get ready to get up and walk out of here, because I'm going to say what I'm going to say, too. Now, what I'm going to say is, you have a very, very difficult job. The economy is not what it used to be. It is changing, and hopefully it will get better. The revenue streams aren't the same anymore. The demand for services are getting higher. The more people you get in the City, the demand for services increases. Somebody has got to pay for some of this, and how do we pay for it. There ain't but too many things you can do. And I'm looking around to see what can you do to do it. The only thing is that word none of us likes is taxes. It's unfortunate, but it's a reality of what we're dealing with and it's a reality of our economic time set. Now, hopefully it's going to change, but at the moment, finding a viable way to augment the lack of revenue streams seems to be taxation. 134 4/27/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. I looked at that $300 piece and I said that comes down to about $25 a month. It ain't the end of the world. Now, I know that it's a terrible thing to do. What I'm more concerned about is how long will you keep it on. It would seem to me that a compromise might be to say we're going to do this tax thing for two years and it's done. And in two years, the economy may change. There may be additional revenue streams. There may be a more vibrant economy. And what you have is, for this particular period now, you're taking care of -- it's a Band-Aid. You're putting a Band-Aid on this particular approach, but it solves the problem for the moment and takes it off the backs of people sometime in the future and you've already decided that by the way you enacted legislation. One of the things that affects us as a non-profit organization; that is, the National Comprehension Center for Fathers, is that when things -- when the 135 4/27/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. revenue streams are down, it affects our funding, and the things that are provided by non-profit organizations really affects the quality of life for all of us, when people can't receive the services that are provided by people other than the City government. It's drama, from reentry down to helping the elderly. So for me, I don't think it's a terrible thing to pay the $300 at $25 a month. I think what you must do is limit how long you keep it in effect.
And what is your daughter's name? MISS PATTERSON: My name is Talia.
Very pretty. Thank you for coming. 136 4/27/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc.
She forced me to come up here. I wasn't going to come up here at first, but she had a lot to say and she wanted to speak through me. So she said, Daddy, if you lose your job, we're not going to be able to do the things we used to do. So I want to know who is going to tell my baby I can't send her to school and do the things we usually do? Daddy is not going to be able to pay tuition. I'm not going to be able to pay my car note, mortgage, take her to Sesame Place, do nice things I usually do with her. If the tax go through, I will lose my job. There's no doubt in my mind. I was employed by Coca-Cola, thank God, two years ago in May. In May it will be two years. And since I've been employed by Coke, things have been, you know, working out. It's not perfect, but things are getting better. And I know what it is to be unemployed for six months at a time and struggle and have a 137 4/27/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. car repossessed and have to borrow money to get the car back just so I can make it to work. I know what that's like. I know what it's like to make less than 20,000 a year. Before I started working at Coke, I held eight jobs in a year. I've been fired. I've been laid off. It's crazy. It's really crazy, and I can't imagine going through that again. I don't know what else to do if I was to get laid off from Coke. I don't know.
Let's hope that tax don't go through. That's what I'm hoping for. I can't look my little girl in the face every day. She's going to school and she's going to have to leave her school because I can't pay the tuition. She's going to have to leave her friends and the teachers that she love. I can't -- I don't want to look at her in the face and tell her that. 138 4/27/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. She wanted to say something. MISS PATTERSON: And I also have a little sister. Her name is Veronica.
And is she as pretty as you are? MISS PATTERSON: Yes.
And I pay tuition for both of them. So if I was to lose my job, I will have to explain to them why or try to explain to them, and I really don't know why. I understand obesity. I understand, you know, that is an issue, but to put that all on soda or the sugar tax isn't fair. McDonald's should be in here right now, Burger King -- (Applause.)
-- KFC. All of them should be in here right now. All of them should be in here. All of them play a role in that obesity thing. Now, I'm a big guy. I'm a big guy, and I didn't drink soda for years. 139 4/27/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. I didn't drink soda. And I'm not going to say I got big from soda. I know I eat my KFC and my McDonald's and everything like that, but they're not here.
Thank you very much. We appreciate your coming in to testify.
Good evening. Please identify yourself for the record and proceed with your testimony.
Good evening. My name is Majeedah Rashid. I'm the Executive Vice-President of the Nicetown Community Development Corporation, and I'm also the Executive Director of the Nicetown CDC/NAC, and I'm pleased to be here this evening, Honorable Councilmembers, especially my Councilwoman, Donna Reed Miller. 140 4/27/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. From hearing everything today, there's a lot that has to be evaluated, and I realize just looking at you guys that you have a tough job, but I do want to say that some of the things that the Nicetown CDC has faced over the years, it makes me realize how you have to make critical decisions. And in terms of the needs of Nicetown and the surrounding communities for the Nicetown NAC, our service area extends from Census Tract 203, which is at Germantown and Rising Sun, that's where the tip of our service area begins, and it ends up here to Census Tract 268, which means that we share Councilpeople in terms of the NAC service area. And as a matter of fact, today we've outgrown the office that has been facilitated to us by the Ogontz Avenue Revitalization Corp up here. We were formerly at 6812 Ogontz Avenue and now we are at 2001 Tulpehocken Street. Councilwoman Tasco, I'm quite sure you're familiar with that, the West 141 4/27/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. Oak Lane Office Center. That is now the satellite office for the Nicetown CDC/NAC as well. So we have two offices, with many needs. As a matter of fact, right now I'm supposed to be at a prayer walk for addressing a murder that happened in a bar on Wingohocking Street a couple weeks ago. You may be familiar with that. A security guard was killed there as well as another individual. We had a major community meeting at the church on 16th and Wingohocking, and one of the outcomes of that was to keep the community mobilized. This is one of the things that NACs do, we mobilize people. And it's a job that we take very seriously. And our first point of contact is block captains. Councilman Jones, you have an excellent program with your block captains. It's something that we're looking to emulate in the Northwest, and we're looking to have a block captain 142 4/27/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. summit that we put our own spin on, and we need our Councilpeople's assistance with that. I don't know if there's any budgetary funds that would help NACs to do something like that, but in terms of everything that's being discussed, education is the key. We have to educate people. We have to start with the block captains, make block captains younger, with junior block captains, and then we can address issues like obesity and drinking sugar unnecessarily and things like that and having farmers' markets and community gardens and things like that. That's the things that we promote. But we need cameras. Councilwoman Miller, we need cameras in critical places and things like that. We have a lot of needs. I can sit here for long periods of time and talk about the needs, but one of the things I do want to say is, when people work together and they make critical decisions to do the 143 4/27/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. best, things good happen, and some good things have happened to the Nicetown CDC over the years. Right now we're engaged in a number of projects, commercial corridor revitalization. , who founded a program called the Housing Tax Fund, the CDC tax credit program, that allowed us to be the receipt of HTF funds and a partnership with Comcast and things like that. So things do work out when people get together and do things in the community, and I just want to thank everyone here, the entire Council, especially where it affects our district. I'm very grateful as an administrator and a community activist and doing all the things that we've done over the years. I'm not just sucking up to anyone. I'm 144 4/27/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. saying to everyone here, you know, it's a hard job. I don't envy you at all.
It's very tough, especially when I hear my friend over here, Tracee Hunt from Coca-Cola, I know what she does in the community. She's funded our organization with our festival and different things like that. Jobs are very important. You know, jobs are very important. So I want to say God bless you in the works that you do, and I hope that you're able to do the good works that you do with the hard job that you have. Thank you.
Thank you. Good evening. Please identify yourself for the record.
Good evening. My name is Esther Carpenter. I'm a concerned citizen, concerned mom, concerned aunt, and I'm concerned about community sports in the neighborhoods, 145 4/27/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. and the concern that we have is the funding that's available for these community sports to continue. So with that said, I had a question regarding the City of Philadelphia, if we were doing any funding for the major sports leagues, like the Eagles or the Phillies. Is there any funding or subsidies that will be given to these organizations that maybe we could turn that around and probably give some funding to the community sports?
I'm asking if the City of Philadelphia, if we're providing any funding to the --
Okay. Is there a possibility of any funding to help with some of the community sports leagues for our youth? 146 4/27/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc.
We have the Activities Fund that you can apply to your District Councilperson for and apply for funding for your program. A lot of programs, sports programs, are funded through that mechanism. It is part of the City's budget and it's appropriated through the City Council, through the District Councilmembers. Are you in my district? Who is your Councilperson?
The Chair recognizes Councilman Clarke. 147 4/27/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. But I think if you call either Councilwoman Tasco's office tomorrow or Councilwoman Miller, they can check what district you're in.
Thank you, Madam President. Good afternoon. Since you referenced the Eagles and the Phillies, during the course of the debate for the City to authorize the building of the two new stadiums, part of that arrangement -- and, actually, I think this program was facilitated by Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown -- there was a commitment for the teams to pay approximately $30 million to a children's fund, and my 148 4/27/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. assumption is that that could go towards supporting such programs as you reference. So what I would suggest -- and there's a 30-year. So I guess we're probably five, six years into the deal, so there should be money left. I would suggest that you call Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown's office, because she was the person that was most intimately involved in that program.
You're welcome. In addition to the money that you can get from Councilwoman Tasco.
I'm sorry. Councilwoman Miller. I'm good about giving away other people's money.
All right. 149 4/27/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. Thank you.
Hi. My name is Pat. I'm the "Heart of Philly" community liaison. First of all, I'd like to give God some praise. Let's give God some praise up in here. This is what we forgot. Let's give God some praise. (Applause.)
Because, first of all, we in his house. We need to give him some praise. I didn't hear nobody say nothing about God yet. First of all, I wanted to say -- is my mike working? (Yes.)
Because I know I might have people get mad at me, but I 150 4/27/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. really don't care, because I sit in City Council just about every Thursday and watch how hard y'all job is. I take my wig off to y'all on the real deal. It's kind of hard for us to be in the City of Philadelphia and going through what we going through and people really thinking it's y'all that's the one that causes the problem. We had this problem ten years ago and we just trying to fix it up. And I always tell people this, we got to help one another. We have to help City Council. I mean, I know they probably get mad at me, which I really don't care, because I see a problem and a need. I'm out here in the street. Even though I'm under Councilwoman Donna Reed Miller's Eighth District, I'm in everybody district, going to see what I can do to help somebody else. And it's not always on the City. It's on the people. You know, we got to start taking care of one another, be each other's eyes and ears. 151 4/27/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. If I'm wrong, tell me I'm wrong. I want to thank you, Tracee, at Coca-Cola. I mean, the tax and all that, yeah, I understand that people are going to be upset with it, but we can have Kool-Aid with no sugar and sugar with no 8 Kool-Aid, but we still got to learn to help one another. This is our city. We got to take it upon ourself to bring our city together. If we don't bring our city together, we're going to be messed up. You talking about taxes after taxes? It's going to be more taxes after taxes. I understand what the lady was saying about her kids. We taking our kids out of public schools, where the money could be going, into private schools where the money is going somewhere else. We got to start taking care of our own city. We putting the blame on our Mayor and our City Council. Our police is not checking upon the drug dealers. You got drug dealers in your 152 4/27/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. neighborhoods. You know who they are. Snitch on them. We waste more money on our city in the Police Department knowing who shot Tom. Everybody saw Kevin shot Tom, but nobody won't say nothing. They spend $10,000 trying to find out who shot Tom. So that's money going to waste right there. I mean, tell me if I'm making any sense. You saw him get shot, but you ain't going to tell it, but the City going to spend $10,000 with detectives investigating who shot him. That's money going to waste. That's tax money you can use for the soda. You understand what I'm saying? This is what gets me really revved up. And then the man was talking about they had sodas there. I bought them sodas in here. They didn't ask for no sodas. I seen they looked like they was thirty, so I went and got some sodas. Then I went and got water. We got to stop knocking each 153 4/27/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. other. Stop pointing fingers at one another. We got three pointing back at us. Let's start taking care of our city, stop depending on other people to do it for us. Do I come clean your house, Tracee? Your house dirty? Do I come clean your house? You clean your own house. We got to clean our own house before we go downtown and try to clean up City Hall. That's all I'm saying. I hope y'all ain't mad at me, but I get really upset when people be downing y'all, because they really don't know how hard it is for y'all. I know for Councilwoman, sometimes she go home with a headache. She wake up with one. You know what I mean? I heard the man ask about y'all job. Ain't got nothing to do with y'all money. Y'all understand what I'm saying, Darrell? And I don't want y'all to be 154 4/27/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. mad at me neither. I'm just being real. I'm in the City. I'm out there. Stop pointing fingers at the City Council and look at the three that's pointing back at you and get out here and work and do something. We got the kids in the mobs. Let's take care of our kids, man. Our kids are in trouble. Forget the soda tax.
Let's do something with our kids. They're our future. What's going to happen to our future?
I love y'all. I'm going to be quiet, because they told me to shut up now in a nice way, so I'm going to leave it alone. Thank you.
Thank you very much. Thank you. We appreciate what you do.
Before we end, I just personally want to thank everyone for coming out. Thank you for 155 4/27/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. your testimony. It's been a real education for me, but it becomes clearer and clearer that maybe we need to be doing more education and help people understand City government and budgets and et cetera. And we wanted you to come out tonight because we wanted to hear what you're thinking, and we also wanted to have some ideas or get some real good thoughts from you. So we're just happy you came out. Thank you.
Thank you. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Tasco.
Yes. I'd just like to add my thanks to you for coming out. It was a nice crowd. Some of you testified, some of you listened. But, again, I agree with Councilwoman Miller, we need to have more town meetings so that you can understand the governmental process, because it's not as 156 4/27/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. easy as you might think it is. We appreciate your patience. We appreciate your listening, and have a nice weekend, and Happy Mother's Day, Happy Father's Day.
Thank you. This hearing will be recessed until Tuesday, May 4th, 2010 at 1:30 in Council Chambers, Room 400, City Hall. Thank you all very much. (Committee of the Whole recessed at 7:05 p.m.) - - - 157 CERTIFICATE I HEREBY CERTIFY that the proceedings, evidence and objections are contained fully and accurately in the stenographic notes taken by me upon the foregoing matter on April 27, 2010, and that this is a true and correct transcript of same. ______________________________ MICHELE L. MURPHY RPR-Notary Public (The foregoing certification of this transcript does not apply to any reproduction of the same by any means, unless under the direct control and/or supervision of the certifying reporter.)