The 5/16/13 - STATED - 2ND READING ayes have it. Resolution 130392 is adopted. Mr. Decker, please read the title of 130398.
A resolution authorizing the Commissioner of Public Property to execute and deliver to the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority, without consideration, deeds conveying conditional fee simple title to certain City-owned lots or pieces of ground with the buildings and improvements thereon, situate in the Seventh and Thirty-Seventh Wards of the City of Philadelphia.
Thank you, Mr. President. I move for the adoption. (Duly seconded.)
It's been moved and properly seconded. All those in favor? (Aye.) 5/16/13 - STATED - 2ND READING
The ayes have it, and that resolution is adopted. Mr. Decker, 120823-AA.
An ordinance amending Chapter 19-500 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled "Taxes and Rents - General," by changing the allocation of delinquent payments.
This bill having been read on two separate days, the question is shall the bill pass finally. Mr. Decker, please call the roll.
Aye. The ayes are 17; the nays are zero. A majority of members present voting in the affirmative, the bill passes. Mr. Decker, please read the title of 120775-AA.
An ordinance amending Title 19 of The Philadelphia 5/16/13 - STATED - 2ND READING Code, entitled "Finance, Taxes and Collections," to provide for a private right of action to enforce certain tax laws, including penalties for nonpayment.
This bill having been read on two separate days, the question is shall the bill pass finally. Mr. Decker, please call the roll.
Aye. The ayes are 17; the nays are zero. A majority of all members present voting in the affirmative, the bill passes. Mr. Decker, please read the title of, I believe we have, 130014.
An ordinance amending Title 4 of The Philadelphia Code by amending Subcode "F" ("The Philadelphia Fire Code"), by modifying a subsection providing for the types of premises identification required on new and existing buildings.
This bill having been read on two separate days, the question is shall the bill pass 5/16/13 - STATED - 2ND READING finally. Mr. Decker, please call the roll.
Aye. The ayes are 17; the nays are zero. A majority of members present voting in the affirmative, the bill passes. Mr. Decker, do you have any additional resolutions?
A resolution recognizing May as Hepatitis Aware Month in Philadelphia, introduced by Councilwoman Tasco.
Thank you, Mr. President. I move for the adoption of the resolution. (Duly seconded.)
It's been moved and properly seconded. All those in favor? (Aye.)
Those opposed? (No response.) 5/16/13 - STATED - 2ND READING
And a resolution honoring, recognizing and commending Marjorie Margolies-Mezvinsky for her lifelong professional success and her commitment to advocacy training for women throughout the world, introduced by Councilman Johnson.
Council President, I move for the adoption of the resolution. (Duly seconded.)
It has been moved and properly seconded. All those in favor? (Aye.)
The 5/16/13 - STATED - 2ND READING ayes have it. That resolution is adopted.
And a resolution recognizing the Project on the Status of Girls and Young Women in Philadelphia, introduced by Councilwoman Reynolds Brown.
Thank you, Mr. President. I move for the adoption. (Duly seconded.)
It's been moved and properly seconded. All those in favor? (Aye.)
And a resolution honoring Canaan Baptist Church on its 5/16/13 - STATED - 2ND READING 105th Anniversary and recognizing its contributions to the community, introduced by Councilwoman Bass.
Thank you, Mr. President. I move for the adoption of the resolution. (Duly seconded.)
It's been moved and properly seconded. All those in favor? (Aye.)
And a resolution recognizing and honoring 8th District resident Chris Rabb for his achievements, introduced by Councilwoman Bass.
The 5/16/13 - STATED - 2ND READING Chair again recognizes Councilwoman Bass.
Thank you, Mr. President. I move for the adoption. (Duly seconded.)
It's been moved and properly seconded. All those in favor? (Aye.)
The ayes have it, and that resolution is adopted.
And a resolution recognizing the Morris Estate Advisory Council for its efforts at the Morris Estate Recreation Center, introduced by Councilwoman Bass.
Thank you, Mr. President. I move for the adoption of the resolution. 5/16/13 - STATED - 2ND READING (Duly seconded.)
It's been moved and properly seconded. All those in favor? (Aye.)
And a resolution recognizing the creation of the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance's Cultural Cabinet, introduced by Councilwoman Bass.
Thank you, Mr. President. I move for the adoption of the resolution. (Duly seconded.)
It's been moved and properly seconded. All those in favor? (Aye.) 5/16/13 - STATED - 2ND READING
The ayes have it, and that resolution is also adopted.
And a resolution Commemorating and Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Saint John's Hospice, introduced by Councilman Oh.
Thank you very much, Mr. President. I move for the adoption of the resolution. (Duly seconded.)
It has been moved and properly seconded. All those in favor? (Aye.)
There are no other resolutions on the Final Passage Calendar, Mr. President.
Thank you very much. This concludes our Calendar for today. Are there any speeches on the part of the minority? The Chair recognizes Councilman Oh.
Thank you very much, Council President. I just wanted to alert everyone that I have passed out flyers to each of the Councilmembers that we have a distinguished delegation of six Councilmembers coming from our sister city Incheon, South Korea along with six administrators visiting us. They're going through New York, Washington, but made a special trip to visit us here in Philadelphia on the occasion of our 30th Anniversary as a sister city. President Clarke and myself and other members of City Council in the Caucus Room at 2:15 to greet our guests. They certainly have been very much a partner with us as we try to develop international opportunities and investments to benefit people here in Philadelphia. So that will be at 2:15 to 3:15 in the Caucus Room. And this is being hosted by IVC and our Sister Cities program. Thank you very much.
Thank you, Councilman. The Chair recognizes Councilman Kenney.
Thank you, Mr. President. In keeping with the resolution we just passed with Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown about young girls and women, I would like to make an announcement that we will be conducting a lacrosse clinic June 8th, Saturday, in South Philadelphia from 10:00 a.m. to noon. You can sign up for the clinic by logging on to phillygirlsinmotion.org. And this is a continuing series of bringing lacrosse, women's lacrosse, to the inner city. As you know, in the suburbs lacrosse is a major sport in most of our elementary schools and high schools giving young women the opportunity to attend college under Title IX. In the inner city, however, and in many parts of all of our city, lacrosse is pretty much an unknown sport. We are hosting the 2013 Men's NCAA Lacrosse Finals this coming Memorial Day weekend. So I -- and also the clinic will be conducted by the Big Six universities' women's lacrosse teams and their coaches. So not only will the young ladies be exposed to a sport and learn the rules, you don't need to bring equipment. We will provide sticks, head gear, teeth protection, mouth guards. the clinic will all be Division 1 players from our Big City Six, along with their fabulous coaches. So in addition to learning the sport, they'll have exposure to young, strong women athletes who are serving in our community. It's wonderful. We did it indoors during the winter. We had about 150 young ladies who were being exposed to the sport. June 8th on a Saturday we're moving outside to the two fields down at the Edward O'Malley Athletic Association at 144 Moore Street in South Philly. It's free. Come on down, have a good time in South Philly for two hours of learning lacrosse and meeting young women athletes. So thank you, Mr. President, for allowing me to announce that.
Thank you so much. The Chair recognizes Councilman O'Brien.
Thank you, Mr. President. Councilman Kenney's resolution gave me cause to remember and celebrate my longstanding relationship and friendship with HMS. They were present to demonstrate their advocacy at my very first rally for individuals with disabilities in Harrisburg, and a few weeks ago I had the occasion to visit HMS and engage in a very robust question and answer period. There was one question and answer that I'd like to share with my colleagues today. Councilman, do you have any talents other than being a politician, to which I proceeded to sing "Life is Just a Bowl of Cherries." And I understand that a review will be forthcoming in a newsletter. However, I'm not optimistic that I'll get more than one star out of five. Last week, Mr. President, there were 358 violent crimes that were reported to the Philadelphia Police five homicides, 81 gun robberies, 53 aggravated assaults with a gun. Since January 1st, we've had 89 families lose a loved one to violence in our city. As I said last week, the good news is that our numbers are trending downward from this time last year, but we must do better. A trend does not bring someone back to their family. A trend does not give a victim a feeling of safety, and a trend does not make a community whole. In 2012, Anthony Braga, Criminal Justice Policy and Management Senior Research Fellow at Harvard University, and David Weisburd, the Director of the Center of Evidence-Based Crime Policy at George Mason University, published the scholarly work entitled "The Effects of Pulling Levers - Focused Deterrence Strategies on Crime." Braga and Weisburd found their jurisdictions -- that jurisdictions suffering from gun violence over drug markets and repeat offender problems strategies to their existing portfolio of prevention and crime strategies and interventions. The existing evidence suggests that these new approaches to crime prevention and control generate noteworthy reductions in crime. I believe we should be pulling the levers of focused deterrence strategy here in Philadelphia, because empirical data shows it's effective in reducing violent crime. Thank you, Mr. President.
Thank you, Councilman. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Blackwell.
Thank you, Mr. President. This is a reminder that immediately following Council there is a briefing by AmeriHealth Mercy and their family companies in the Caucus Room where they will be providing a briefing of their Keystone VIP Choice program. Maria Battle. She's been involved certainly in the planning of this. John Backus, President of Medicare, a specialist in his field, as well as Maya Stewart, Community Relations Program Director, will be making the presentation. They have really prepared a formal lunch for Councilmembers. We hope that you will come. If you can't come, please assign a staffer, because they really worked hard to prepare a wonderful lunch for us. Thank you, Mr. President.
Thank you, Councilwoman. The Chair recognizes Councilman Johnson.
Thank you, Council President. Just a couple brief statements before we wrap up this day. First and foremost, I want to echo the sentiments of the former Speaker of the House of Pennsylvania, my new colleague, Councilman Denny O'Brien, regarding utilize the effective strategy of focused deterrence and really going after gangs and groups of individuals who commit the most heinous and violent crimes through gun violence throughout the City of Philadelphia. And the initiative thus far as a pilot has been introduced in the 17th Police District as well as in Councilman Mark Squilla's 3rd Police District, and we have had several call-out sessions thus far where -- and a call-out session is where you organize those individuals who are on probation and parole who are responsible for doing more than 90 percent of the gun violence and violent crimes, specifically in the South Philadelphia part of my district. And so I want to commend my colleague as well as be supportive that as we move forward, we really take a look at the effectiveness of this strategy, which has proven results throughout the country. Second, on this Saturday at 25th and Spruce, which is the Schuylkill River Dog Park, I will be hosting my first Doggie Ball. And so if you're a dog lover, a pet lover, I want to encourage you to bring out your pet during that day. The proceeds are going towards PAWS, which is the Philadelphia Animal Welfare program, and it's all in an effort of having a good day and bringing out your pets. I have a Blue Cane Corso, who is kind of sick right now, so I haven't been having a good day. But nevertheless, hopefully she'll be fine by Saturday. And I just wanted to put that out there, starting from 10:00 a.m. ending at 12:00. Today, along with the support of my colleague Councilwoman Maria Quinones-Sanchez, we redefined a hardship deferral bill which will serve as a safety net in extraordinary cases where homeowners cannot afford to pay their increased real estate tax bills as it so as we debate the -- as we move forward and we debate AVI and we come up with different relief measures as well as the tax rate, this is a measure that we believe is targeted for those who face losing their homes because they cannot afford to pay for their homes anymore as a result of their tax bills. And this specific bill, the eligibility requirements are narrowly tailored so that it will have no meaningful impact on the overall tax rate. To this day, I still remain very concerned about the accuracy of the property assessments put forth by OPA and I still believe that the AVI process is flawed and nevertheless rushed, but in the event that we do move forward, I want to make sure that those who are most vulnerable and those who will be impacted as we move forward with this new system have some level of protection, some level of relief. I want to make sure that to the best of my ability, we don't have an throughout the 2nd Councilmanic District and actually reversing the progress that we have been making as it relates to housing development and new homeownership throughout the 2nd Councilmanic District. And that's not only new residents, but we're talking about old residents, we're talking about market-rate housing down to those who homes are low income and subsidized as well who will be impacted by us going to AVI. And so I just want to state that for the record, and I want to be very consistent on my position as we move forward. Thank you, Council President Clarke.
Thank you, Councilman. I understand you continued concern. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Bass.
Thank you, I introduced a resolution along with Councilwoman Tasco regarding the Medicaid expansion resolution, and I just wanted to make a few notes on that. With funding crises popping up on a seemingly weekly basis, Pennsylvania and the City of Philadelphia cannot afford for Governor Corbett and Senate republicans to pass up an opportunity to receive a $4 billion infusion of federal funds. Therefore, the State Senate must cease its delay and call for Senate Bill 12 for a fair up or down vote on the floor, and I commend Senator Vincent Hughes for filing this Discharge Resolution. Medicaid expansion will provide health insurance to more than 500,000 Pennsylvanians and, according to a non-partisan independent fiscal office, the expansion would also generate 154 million in savings for the state budget in the first fiscal year. While members of this body are desperately trying to bridge a drastic budget gap, Governor Corbett and Senate republicans are refusing to participate in a program that, according to an economic impact report released by the Pennsylvania Economy League, would create over 10,000 jobs in Southeast Pennsylvania and generate nearly $2 billion in economic activity. That's money that could be freed up to go to our schools and to our social safety net. So to the State Senate, please adopt this resolution and bring up Senate Bill 12 for a vote. Thank you.
Thank you, Councilwoman. The Chair recognizes Councilman Green.
Thank you, Mr. President. I want to associate myself with Councilmember Bass' comments, on the topic of education, I want to stress that the fact of the matter is that have the funding been maintained from the previous governor through today, the School District would have a balanced budget this year. And so that is the main cause of the crisis we find ourselves in with respect to education in terms of just purely dollars. There was an administration in the early 1980s that said its hallmark was giving people bad news before the good, or said another way, telling them the truth. The fact of the matter is -well, frankly, I'm reminded of a, I guess you'd call it, a parable where -everybody is familiar with it, where the man is drowning and prays to God for help, and a boat comes by and says, Hop in. He says, No. God will save me. And then a rope is thrown from the bridge and the person says, No, no, thank you. And he, of course, drowns and goes to heaven and says, What happened? I prayed for you to save me. And God says, Yeah. I sent a boat and a person with a rope. The School District is a drowning man in terms of its performance and in terms of its monetary funding, and with all the news and press conference today about the $95 million in potential funding, the rope won't reach the drowning man and the boat will run out of gas before it gets to the drowning man. So the School District is living on a prayer. And while I support the Mayor's revenue proposals for schools, they are unlikely to pass the General Assembly and, frankly, miss the point. Even if they do, there is no more help coming from the General Assembly, so there will be a $200 million gap. The City is simply not capable of filling the gap for the current failing system by itself. The issue today is far more at the School District. The question is, as I asked in my most recent position paper on schools, is whether the District is too big to succeed. The District continues to propose marginal and incremental change that condemns tens of thousands of students every year to a system that produces proficiency below 40 percent in most neighborhood schools. No case for transformative change has been made to significantly improve outcomes for the students in our system. When they focus on presenting a realistic budget that balances income and expenditures and provides transformative change, we should help. That's the debate we need to have, because what we have now doesn't work and we will be back here every single year if we have the same SRC, the same School District, and the same system that is producing unacceptable results and making only you, Mr. President.
Thank you, Councilman. The Chair recognizes Councilman Jones.
Thank you, Mr. President. We've heard a number of opinions today. All of them come from a place of careful consideration and logic and conviction by all members, whether it's an announcement about a cause or announcement about a budget or announcement about an issue that they hold dear to their hearts. I want to remind everyone within the sound of my voice that there is no such thing as an off-year election. That's a misnomer. All elections are important. And we are coming up on one Tuesday, May 21st. I encourage everybody, whether you are an R or a D, whether you think you're from a red state or a blue state, to come out and make by your vote. All else is air. Everybody has an opinion, but until you come out and participate in the democratic process, that's when your opinion has a voice and it is heard through the ballot box. So whether you're voting for coming out for the judges or the controller or the district attorney, come out and participate, and remember that the proponents of voter ID are still lurking out there. So if we can get ID, let's get them, but if not, don't be dissuaded. They cannot disqualify you this election for not having a photo ID. And come out. Your vote is your voice. Say something.
Thank you, Councilman. And the Chair recognizes Councilman Oh.
Thank you very much, Mr. President. I actually speak on behalf of the Council President in inviting everyone to the Veterans 2013 Veterans Resource Fair, which will be held on Wednesday, May 22nd from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. in the City Hall Courtyard. And for the second year in a row, under the leadership of the Council President and the Veterans Advisory Commission, there will be a free series of activities, including 25 vendors that will support and help veterans from everything from health screenings to federal assistance from city, state, federal agencies, as well as food and entertainment. So if everyone can come out. We have 80,000 veterans in Philadelphia, with 14,000 expected to return. Thank you.
Thank you, Councilman. There being no other speeches, at this time I would like to recognize Councilwoman Brown for a motion to adjourn.
Thank you, Mr. President. I move that City Council stand adjourned until Thursday, May 23rd, 2013 at 10:00 a.m. (Duly seconded.)
It has been moved and properly seconded that the Council stand adjourned until Thursday, May 23rd, 2013 at 10:00. All those in favor? (Aye.)
The ayes have it. Council shall stand adjourned. Thank you all very much. ) 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, and that this is a true and correct transcript of same. MICHELE L. ) A 68:18 Airport 33:7 anti-bullying areas 49:15 ability 10:25 71:8 administrators alert 91:16 10:22 arranged 21:18 101:25 91:21 Alliance's 47:7 anymore 101:9 arrests 64:7 able 19:24 63:14 adopt 47:13 89:14 apologize 2:15 art 14:10 17:25 absence 5:9,14,22 104:16 Allie 30:2 apparently 21:25 asked 107:4 absolutely 68:23 adopted 26:17 allocated 69:13 appears 2:10 asking 13:6 abuse 71:5 73:23 75:3 76:7 allocation 76:13 applauded 8:21 assaults 96:4 accept 47:15 85:4 86:3,23 allow 16:17 64:9 Applause 11:21 Assembly 64:9 accompanying 87:20 88:15 allowing 94:21 15:4,22 20:15 106:18,21 20:24 89:11 90:7 91:3 allows 73:5 26:22 29:11 assessments account 71:17 adoption 73:12 amazing 17:6,22 30:8 101:16 accuracy 101:15 74:15 75:20 17:22 apply 10:17 37:23 assets 65:17 66:4 accurately 112:5 84:16 85:15 Amen 3:24,25 49:8 112:20 66:17,22 achievements 86:12 87:8 88:4 amend 49:13 appreciate 6:6 assign 98:11 46:17 87:23 88:24 89:19 amending 35:22 10:21 67:12 assistance 110:13 acknowledge 90:16 37:18 39:17 appreciated associate 104:24 29:21 adult 24:12 70:19 41:20,23 43:13 13:22 Association 94:15 acquire 54:7,15 advanced 24:16 49:4,6 51:14 appreciative 72:2 athletes 94:7,19 54:21 advise 30:22 52:2,5 56:19,23 approach 69:18 Athletic 94:14 acre 54:8,16 Advisory 46:23 76:10 78:25 70:18 attached 49:20 Act 47:17 88:17 110:2,8 81:17,18 approached 52:10 55:2 57:4 acted 13:3 advocacy 40:6 amendment 62:24 65:6 attempted 16:7 acting 13:9 85:9 95:7 43:25 67:17 attend 64:24 action 6:9 79:4 Affairs 23:19 24:4 Americans 63:20 approaches 97:6 93:12 active 22:18 25:2,6,8 26:6 AmeriHealth appropriate 20:9 attorney 63:7,19 activities 110:10 affirmative 78:20 97:22 34:22 36:6 38:3 109:10 activity 104:12 81:12 84:5 analysis 69:23 39:24 42:6 audience 12:19 Adams 27:13 afford 100:24 Andrea 6:14 7:12 43:22 audiences 8:2 add 97:2 101:8 103:10 7:21 11:10,17 appropriation 9:18 10:11 adding 35:24 Affordable 47:17 13:2 14:24 58:19 Audit 25:14 56:21,24 afternoon 70:11 and/or 112:22 appropriations Audrey 18:18 addition 22:9 age 24:7 Animal 100:10 58:24 59:18 Authority 31:7,14 94:5 agencies 61:2 animals 9:24 60:2,9,14 31:22 32:6 additional 84:8 110:14 16:22 approval 4:1,10 34:15 35:4 37:2 address 31:11,18 Agency 60:22 Annie 18:6 approved 4:17,23 40:14 44:12 32:2,10 37:6 ages 68:21 Anniversary 46:9 5:7 74:4 75:9 40:18 44:16 aggravated 96:4 48:6 87:2 90:10 approving 31:5 authorizing 32:21 69:14 ago 12:7 13:13 91:25 31:12,20 32:4 32:25 34:13,25 adhere 62:15 95:10 announce 94:21 32:12 36:24 36:9 43:25 adjourn 110:25 agreement 32:13 announcement 38:13 40:12 45:11,18 51:20 adjourned 111:4 38:13 44:3 92:24 108:13,14 44:10 52:6 54:5,13,20 111:9,18,20 51:22 108:15 approximately 58:16,23 59:17 ADJOURNME...