So this is not personal against them, but I myself think that we need to move in a position where we're either going to have an elected School Board or a hybrid School Board with those positions being a full-time job with a salary as well as benefits. So today I will be voting no on the School Board members, and I just cannot support a system that doesn't have transparency, as well as a system that I don't believe in. I commend all the School Board STATED MEETING 182 6/16/2022 6/16/22 - STATED - 2ND READING members for doing the work that they do specifically, because they're volunteers. It's a volunteer position. They do not get paid. So I commend them for that component of the job, because it's literally a thankless job, but at the end of the day, I cannot continue to support a system that doesn't work and I cannot continue to support a system that's not transparent and that's not accountable to this legislative body. City Council and the City of Philadelphia funds the School District in a manner that is so lucrative that we have sued the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania because they're not doing their fair share. The responsibility of education, according to the Constitution, lies in the desk of the state, and right now the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is not doing their part and we're funding the schools in ways that we shouldn't have to. If we're going to step up to STATED MEETING 183 6/16/2022 6/16/22 - STATED - 2ND READING the plate and do that, the last thing that we should be worried about is transparency and accountability. So I'll be voting no. Thank you, Council President. Thank you, colleagues. And I want to give a special shout-out to our Education Chair, Councilmember Sanchez, who has been phenomenal throughout the course of this process as it relates to working with the School District as well as the School Board. Thank you.
Thank you, Councilman. I believe Councilman Oh wanted to be recognized.
Yes. Thank you very much, Council President. I did read Councilmember Isaiah Thomas's letter and it very much resonated with me as truthful and challenged me personally that am I doing my best or am I just kind of rubber STATED MEETING 184 6/16/2022 6/16/22 - STATED - 2ND READING stamping the process because I don't think there's much more I can do. I am very challenged and disappointed in the School District. From the constituents that I have, particularly those who are in the poorest performing school districts, who seem not to ever get what they are required to have under our Constitution, and it is more difficult because, as Councilmember Thomas has said, we have reached out to the School District, be it Board Members or be it the District staff, and we've had conversations, but I don't see a responsiveness, and decade after decade the conditions appear to remain the same. I am meeting with 200 parents who formed a group because their children are being beaten up and bullied and harassed and threatened in school. It's just one of many problems that continue to happen. I was just on the phone getting a location for 25 girls between the age STATED MEETING 185 6/16/2022 6/16/22 - STATED - 2ND READING of 11 and 15 who actually want self-defense classes, and two boys. You know, it is challenging. We just dealt with the sudden time changes. It's a very unresponsive School District that beats on our door about funding. And, yeah, we have to fund them, but we need a response on improvements. And I do understand it's a separate government, but I do think that when I go onto the streets of Philadelphia, as all of you do, once we get past all of this, students, parents, families in the communities, many of them don't vote, quite frankly, they don't vote, but they are all very, very disappointed, and we see it in the reactions of young people protesting, rioting, shooting, the violence that we see in our communities. I do think we as a Council body should be more engaged in the selection process. We get people that have been appointed by the Administration, a chance STATED MEETING 186 6/16/2022 6/16/22 - STATED - 2ND READING to hear from them, and that's about it. I would like to see greater responsiveness. And so for that reason, I will make a motion that we table the vote on these two resolutions to give it some time for the Councilmembers to engage with the Chair and the leadership of this Council and the Administration and the School District to see if we can't come to a better level of communication. Thank you.
Yes. Point of information. This is for Councilmember Sanchez in reference to the motion made by Councilmember Oh. As the Education Chair, I just wanted to get your perspective on what impact tabling will have on the School Board in reference to their activities STATED MEETING 187 6/16/2022 6/16/22 - STATED - 2ND READING going forward.
We still have one other Thursday and I am inclined to accept the motion presented by my colleague. I think that -- I know we're in budget process and a lot of things are crazy. I would not want to leave the School Board at the end of this session without these two members, but out of respect for my colleagues and their advocacy and their consistent advocacy, I am inclined to accept the motion, Council President Clarke, and we can table this until next week.
Councilwoman, why don't you just hold the resolution. Tabling -
I mean hold it. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Yeah. So, yes, I accept that motion. Councilmember Green, does that respond to your point?
Yes. I just wanted to get a perspective. Thank you. STATED MEETING 188 6/16/2022 6/16/22 - STATED - 2ND READING
There are some inquiries that were not responded to. We want to make sure that that happens. Then people can take a vote based on the response from those various parties. Thank you. So we're going to hold 220544 until next week and also -
Thank you. Real quick, I just want to say thank you, Council President, and thank you, colleagues, for your support on this matter. Thank you.
Thank you, Councilman. Okay. Mr. Decker, 220040.
A resolution proposing an amendment to The Philadelphia Home Rule Charter providing for a preference in civil service examinations for any qualified graduate of a Career Technical Education program in the School District of Philadelphia. STATED MEETING 189 6/16/2022 6/16/22 - STATED - 2ND READING
Thank you. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Gilmore Richardson for an amendment to Resolution No. 200040.
Thank you, Mr. President. Before I proceed with offering the amendment, I requested to be recognized for remarks.
Okay. Thank you, Mr. President, and good afternoon, colleagues. I wanted to start by saying that I will be making this statement today relative to the amendment, but I will not make further statements today regarding this matter or engage in any debate. As you all know, since day one I've been vigilant about the need to connect our young people to family-sustaining and supporting careers. With your help, colleagues, I've hosted STATED MEETING 190 6/16/2022 6/16/22 - STATED - 2ND READING hearings, created programs, and with the help and support of the trades, even developed Philadelphia's first apprenticeship guidebook. I developed a passion for workforce development early in my career. As a transitional math teacher at Overbrook High School, I came to truly understand that we need high-quality pathways for young people who are looking to enter the workforce after graduation. Sadly for many of my students who were not going to college, their options were mostly minimum-wage work. But one path that I saw provide real value for these young people is Career and Technical Education. A skills-based education with an extra 1,080 hours of training allows for early career exposure, training, and development. Many young people find paths in these programs, and we want to be encouraging more young people to take these pathways. Our City workforce is also STATED MEETING 191 6/16/2022 6/16/22 - STATED - 2ND READING facing a crisis. Over 10,000 City workers are eligible for retirement in the next five years, nearly half of our workforce. We also continue to struggle with worker shortages created by the COVID-19 pandemic. One way to address this problem is by creating stronger pipelines into City jobs. That's exactly what the civil service preferences legislation does. Introduced in January 2020, this legislation will amend the City Home Rule Charter to create a five point preference for qualified applicants who have completed a School District of Philadelphia Career and Technical Education program within the last three years. The School District offers CTE programs in over 40 areas, and students graduate, again, with 1,080 hours of instruction. These programs range from automotive technology to plumbing. Over the last two years, and STATED MEETING 192 6/16/2022 6/16/22 - STATED - 2ND READING I'm going to repeat that, over the last two years and after reviewing more than 900 City job descriptions, we found over 60 entry-level positions that are aligned with the skills and certifications offered in the School District of Philadelphia's CTE programs and the experience that a recent high school graduate likely has. I shared this list with each of you, colleagues. These jobs have an average wage of $41,910, and almost all of them are represented by District Council 33. And I pause to thank you, President Ernest Garrett, for your testimony in support of this legislation. These are the jobs that can help people start on a stable, family-sustaining career path. The City already offers eight preferences to qualified applicants. I'm going to repeat that. The City already offers eight preferences to qualified STATED MEETING 193 6/16/2022 6/16/22 - STATED - 2ND READING applicants. There is a ten point preference for our veterans, and I thank them deeply and I thank them humbly for their service. I would never do anything to disrespect a veteran. My father, who raised me from birth and adopted me from birth, was a veteran. My biological father is also a veteran, and my cousin Emlen Tunnell is a Coast Guard hero who saved the lives of two of his shipmates in the World War. There's a ten point preference for children and grandchildren of firefighters and police officers who are killed in the line of duty. There's also a ten point preference for current employees with five years of experience as a fire service paramedic and EMT when they apply to be a firefighter.
Additionally, those who participated in a national service program like AmeriCorps can earn one to five points, depending on their length of service. Young people who complete the STATED MEETING 194 6/16/2022 6/16/22 - STATED - 2ND READING Police Explorers Program get an additional three points when they apply to become police officers. And those with proficiency in a language other than English can also receive additional points. This bill is a time-limited five point preference for career and technical education graduates, and it is fully in line with those other preferences that I have named and sent to all of you in writing. Additionally, the Office of Human Resources recognizes the value of CTE programs. A number of positions, including trades helper, engineering aide, and automotive apprentice, list District CTE programs as relevant or preferred experience, and students who complete the EMT fire program get a three point preference when they apply. Despite the clear alignment between our city's workforce needs and this legislation, it has generated STATED MEETING 195 6/16/2022 6/16/22 - STATED - 2ND READING significant controversy. Some of our colleagues and representatives of veterans organizations believe creating a new preference inherently harms those who already receive preferences. S. military veterans and their spouses, veterans and their spouses who honorably serve our country, and they learned significant and in-demand skills during their service. By awarding a ten point preference, we are rightly recognizing the value of our veterans and the value that they bring to our city workforce, and we are complying with state law. This legislation would not in any way impact or change this preference. Most veterans who seek employment with the City of Philadelphia apply to serve as police officers, and the CTE preference would not apply to any Police Department positions. Additionally, veterans typically have more experience than STATED MEETING 196 6/16/2022 6/16/22 - STATED - 2ND READING recent high school graduates. And to clarify again, this bill would only give a point preference to CTE graduates up to three years after high school graduation. It is rare that a veteran with years of service would apply to the same entry-level apprenticeship, trainee, or aide position as a young person less than three years out of high school. Despite these factors, I still received significant opposition from representatives from veterans groups. So I engaged with them to determine if there was a compromise, and during our latest conversation on Friday, June 3rd, the veterans offered the idea to note in the bill that if a CTE student and veteran apply for the same position and are up for the same position, only a veteran will benefit from their point preference. I thought it was a great idea and I thought it was a great compromise, and I incorporated that amendment into this recent round of amendments. STATED MEETING 197 6/16/2022 6/16/22 - STATED - 2ND READING Again, even though this amendment was offered by the veterans group representatives who were on the call who participated in our meeting, they are still not happy with the legislation. It is clear that despite my best efforts, I will not be able to reach consensus. We just have a fundamental difference of opinion in how the City awards preferences. My CTE civil service preferences legislation has only one goal, and it has always had only one goal - to provide a targeted benefit to young people with high demand skills to create a pipeline to public service. We know Philadelphia is facing many challenges. We remain the largest poor city in America. We are struggling with gun violence, and that's highly correlated to unemployment. Our workforce is rapidly aging, and the pandemic has shifted the current STATED MEETING 198 6/16/2022 6/16/22 - STATED - 2ND READING employment landscape significantly.
In order to address these challenges, we need smart policies that help Philadelphia's young people find opportunities to earn family-supporting and sustaining wages and bring new talent into our city's workforce. Providing a targeted preference is just one important way to do this. Today I am amending these bills to include the idea presented by the veterans and to offer other technical amendments. I know many of you have received e-mails about this, and you know my staff and I have contacted each of your offices individually. One, I apologize that you received those messages, as I attempted, as always, to be in contact with every colleague via phone and e-mail. I also had my team members drop off packets to each one of your offices. And while I know at times we must agree to disagree, I disavow the STATED MEETING 199 6/16/2022 6/16/22 - STATED - 2ND READING tactics that have been used against me related to this bill. I would never, I would never treat another person, and particularly another colleague, in this manner, because James and Pastor Lorraine Jenkins Gilmore did not raise me in that way, and that is not a part of my value system and it is not who I am. There is a better way to be a colleague, and I hope in the future that is displayed. Everyone talks about creating opportunity for our city's young people, and I know one of the best crime prevention tools is a family-supporting and sustaining career. Well, here's an opportunity to provide a pathway at a time when our young people need it most and at a time when our city is in great need of new workers. It is my hope that you can vote in favor of the amendments as presented today while recognizing that we can honor the service and sacrifice of those who STATED MEETING 200 6/16/2022 6/16/22 - STATED - 2ND READING serve our country and help young people who need pathways to sustainable employment at the same time. And as Bishop Luke stated this morning, I know that all things will work together for the good. Thank you for your consideration of the amendment for this legislation, and thank you, Council President, for your leeway. And with that, I would like to offer an amendment to Resolution No. 200040. A copy of the amendment has been circulated to all members of Council. I move for the adoption of the amendment. )
Before we -- Councilman Oh, did you want to be recognized?
The Chair recognizes Councilman Oh. STATED MEETING 201 6/16/2022 6/16/22 - STATED - 2ND READING
The reason why this is so controversial and the reason why it's so difficult and the reason why this has taken two years is because veterans are organized into groups where they easily communicate with each other. The largest groups consist of hundreds of thousands of members across the nation and across the globe, the active-duty military, the Reserve, the National Guard, and all veterans groups, their families, spouses, widows, widowers, children and so forth. Under the federal law, there is a requirement that veterans receive a preference. That comes after long history of work, suffering, and discrimination. It happens to all veterans regardless of race, regardless of age, and nowadays regardless of gender. The veterans preference is in response to society not hiring veterans after their service and, therefore, those STATED MEETING 202 6/16/2022 6/16/22 - STATED - 2ND READING veterans are very protective of this benefit. And as they watch preferences being distributed -- because the only legal preference, the only preference that has withstood court challenges in the Supreme Court is the veterans preference. It is a very difficult thing to get veterans as a group to agree to these type of distribution of benefits. Every individual has a different point of view. We can find individuals from any group with a variety and conflicting views, but veterans are very uniform and committed. And I would explain just briefly their perspective, and it's a matter of perspective. Everybody has a right to their points of view, but I'd just like to explain that no one can force a person to be a police officer, firefighter, school teacher, bricklayer, or construction worker. Nobody can force you to do that. However, our government can force you to go to war. You can be STATED MEETING 203 6/16/2022 6/16/22 - STATED - 2ND READING drafted and you can be sent to war. And we have not had a draft in the last 49 years, but people alive today have been drafted against their will at the age of 18. They have gone to war, and their friends have died and their friends are homeless and their friends have suffered, and they could not get jobs. They were discriminated against, and that continues today. So they are very protective over this. It is not for them personally. They're protective over future veterans. And for those who don't understand that, I can only say, you know -- there are things that I don't understand, but I understand how much it means to somebody else. When I first got elected, there was an issue about skateboarding on memorials, and I understood that the young people skateboarding on the Vietnam Memorial and the Korean Memorial, what difference did it make, nobody was there. STATED MEETING 204 6/16/2022 6/16/22 - STATED - 2ND READING But to those who built it and those who paid for it and those who erected it, it is a sacred space. Sacred. It's hallowed ground. And preference points are hallowed, and they are not just points about hiring. It is about the fact that it is a level playing field. And when you account for veterans preference point, that is part of the level. It is being called upon or volunteering to serve your nation, at risk to your life and risk to your friend's life, leaving your family and undergoing the training and being put at any moment's notice to have a devastating effect on you personally, physically, mentally, or otherwise. Twenty years from now or ten years from now, whether grandchildren or children of ours will be called to serve, with no choice but to serve, and come back and face what many of our veterans have faced upon their return home. STATED MEETING 205 6/16/2022 6/16/22 - STATED - 2ND READING That's why they are so adamantly emotionally, you could even say unreasonably committed to protecting those preference points.
Agree or disagree with them, I'm simply saying it is a very difficult thing to change their perspective on this issue, and that's all I want to say when it comes to the issue of understanding or not understanding. Thank you, Council President.
Thank you, Councilman. Okay. The vote for the amendment on Bill No. 200040 -resolution rather -- was moved and properly seconded. All in favor of the amendment? (Aye.)
The ayes have it. Resolution 200040 has been STATED MEETING 206 6/16/2022 6/16/22 - STATED - 2ND READING amended, and Resolution No. 200040, as amended, will be placed on our Final Passage Calendar for our next session of Council. Mr. Decker, please read the title of Bill No. 200006-A.
An ordinance providing for the submission to the qualified electors of the City of Philadelphia of an amendment to The Philadelphia Home Rule Charter to provide for a preference in civil service examinations for any qualified graduate of a Career Technical Education program in the School District of Philadelphia, as approved by Resolution of the City Council.
Thank you. The Chair again recognizes Councilwoman Gilmore Richardson for an amendment to Bill No. 200006-A.
Thank you, Mr. President. STATED MEETING 207 6/16/2022 6/16/22 - STATED - 2ND READING I would like to offer an amendment to Bill No. 200006-A. A copy of the amendment has been circulated to all members of Council. I move for the adoption of the amendment. (Duly seconded.)
Thank you. All those in favor of the motion will signify by saying aye. (Aye.)
The ayes have it. Bill No. 200006-A has been amended, and Bill No. 200006-A, as amended, will be placed on our Final Passage Calendar at our next session of Council. Mr. Decker, please read the title of Bill No. 200007.
An ordinance STATED MEETING 208 6/16/2022 6/16/22 - STATED - 2ND READING amending Chapter 20-1100 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled 'Civil Service Preferences,' to provide for a civil service preference for qualified graduates of Career Technical Education Programs in the School District of Philadelphia.
The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Gilmore Richardson for an amendment to Bill No. 200007.
Thank you, Mr. President. I would like to offer an amendment to Bill No. 200007. A copy of the amendment has been circulated to all members of Council. I move for the adoption of the amendment. (Duly seconded.)
All those in favor of the motion signify by saying aye. (Aye.) STATED MEETING 209 6/16/2022 6/16/22 - STATED - 2ND READING
The ayes have it, and Bill No. 200007 has been amended. Bill No. 200007, as amended, will be placed on our Final Passage Calendar at our next session of Council. Mr. Decker, please read the title of Bill No. 210740.
An ordinance amending Chapter 9-1000 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled "Trades," and Chapter 9-3000, entitled "Sheet Metal Technician", to create a license requirement for Mechanical System Contractors and to modify licensing requirements applicable to Sheet Metal Systems Technicians.
The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Parker for an amendment to Bill No. 210740.
Thank STATED MEETING 210 6/16/2022 6/16/22 - STATED - 2ND READING you, Mr. President. On your behalf, I would like to offer an amendment to Bill No. 210740. A copy of the amendment has been circulated to all members of Council. I move for the adoption of the amendment. (Duly seconded.)
Thank you. It's been moved and properly seconded. All those in favor of the motion will signify by saying aye. (Aye.)
The ayes it, and Bill No. 210740 has been amended. Bill No. 210740, as amended, will be placed on our Final Passage Calendar at our next session of Council. Mr. Decker, please read the title of Bill No. 220504. STATED MEETING 211 6/16/2022 6/16/22 - STATED - 2ND READING
An ordinance amending Section 12-2700 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled "Permit Parking Districts," by amending the boundaries for certain permit parking districts.
The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Quinones-Sanchez for an amendment to Bill No. 220504.
Thank you, Mr. President. I'd like to offer an amendment to Bill 220504. A copy of the amendment has been circulated to all members of Council. I move for the adoption of the amendment. (Duly seconded.)
Thank you. All those in favor of the motion will signify by saying aye. (Aye.) STATED MEETING 212 6/16/2022 6/16/22 - STATED - 2ND READING
The ayes have it, and Bill No. 220504 has been amended. Bill No. 220504, as amended, will be placed on our Final Passage Calendar at our next session of Council. Mr. Decker, please read the title of Bill No. 220517.
An ordinance authorizing the installation, ownership, and maintenance of various encroachments in the vicinity of 1 Convention Avenue.
The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Gauthier for an amendment to Bill No. 220517.
Thank you, Council President. I would like to offer an amendment to Bill No. 220517. A copy of the amendment has been circulated to all members of Council. STATED MEETING 213 6/16/2022 6/16/22 - STATED - 2ND READING I move for the adoption of the amendment. (Duly seconded.)
Thank you. All those in favor of the motion will signify by saying aye. (Aye.)
The ayes have it, and Bill No. 220517 has been amended. Bill No. 220517, as amended, will be placed on our Final Passage Calendar at our next session of Council. Mr. Decker, any additional resolutions?
We have an additional bill and then no additional resolutions, Mr. President.
Please read the title. STATED MEETING 214 6/16/2022 6/16/22 - STATED - 2ND READING
Bill No. 220523, this was removed from the Consent Agenda. An ordinance amending Section 12-903 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled "Stopping, Standing, or Parking Prohibited at Certain Times," to provide for regulation of such activity along Washington Avenue in the vicinity -- I'm sorry; in the City of Philadelphia.
This bill having been read on two different days, the question now is shall the bill pass finally. Mr. Decker, call the roll.
Aye. STATED MEETING 215 6/16/2022 6/16/22 - STATED - 2ND READING
Aye. The ayes are 16; the nays are one. The majority of members present voting in the affirmative, the bill passes. There are no other bills and resolutions. That concludes our Calendar for today. We will now move to our speeches. Prior to recognizing members regarding speeches, I will note for the record at this time that we will use the Chat feature available in Microsoft Teams to allow members to signify that they STATED MEETING 217 6/16/2022 In order to comply with the Sunshine Act, the Chat feature must only be used for this particular purpose. With that said, are there speeches on behalf of the minority? (No response.)
I'm not seeing any. Speeches on behalf of the majority? The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Parker.
Thank you, Mr. President. I have comments regarding two issues today. The first, Mr. President, is the resolution that I offered today regarding the City of Philadelphia formally establishing a committee to plan a Philly-based HBCU Classic. I need to clarify a couple of things for the record. Now, those of you who have STATED MEETING 218 6/16/2022 responded, thank you so very much. However, it does not matter which Historically Black College or University you graduated from. You could be one of the 37 UNCF schools. Those are the private Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Or you can be one of the 47-member Thurgood Marshall College Fund schools. That's like the Cheyney and the Lincoln. Cheyney is a state institution. Lincoln University is a state-related institution. It does not matter, as long as you are part of one of the 228,000 students or affiliates in this area of those 107 HBCUs, we want you to be engaged. When you send an e-mail, it is Cherelle.Parker@phila.gov or you can don't even worry about that, just go straight to Council's website, City Council's website, and just click on the link. When you send an e-mail, if you STATED MEETING 219 6/16/2022 supporter, just click general. However, if you are a friend of, attended, a graduate of, please include the HBCU that you are a graduate of. That's the first issue. The second issue, Mr. President, is bore from this resolution and it's also bore from Councilmember Johnson's resolution today or bill regarding the street naming. And you can't talk about Lincoln University football or even Central High School football without mentioning the name of the late, great Dr. Frank "Tick" Coleman. The only reason why, Mr. President, that first-generation college attendees and graduates like me who weren't products of very wealthy families were able to complete Lincoln is because Dr. Coleman was our connection to scholarships, alum, and just folks who were able to help you with that bridge money when you had exhausted your student loans and scholarships. STATED MEETING 220 6/16/2022 Charlene Roberson are listening right now, please note for the record that I have thanked Councilmember Johnson for this. Councilmember Johnson, we appreciate you. We want everyone to know that his name is Dr. Frank "Tick" Coleman, the venerable Mr. Lincoln. He is the one who would lead us in our alma mater. And, Mr. President, he wasn't a part of an orchestra, but when he was singing, he would always have his hands in the air to keep us going. So we are excited about that. He was also a proud member of Omega Psi Phi, and he would let you know that he was a part of the Beta chapter at Lincoln University. And don't call him a Q. He would give you a diplomatic look, but then he would say, I'm an Omega man. That's who Dr. Frank "Tick" Coleman was. So, Councilmember Johnson, if I can carry the water, help set up the STATED MEETING 221 6/16/2022 stage, or move a chair, you let me know whatever it is that I need to do, because LU and our alumnae association will be out in full force to support your effort. Thank you, Council President.
Thank you, Councilwoman. The Chair recognizes Councilman Green.
Thank you, Council President. I want to thank Councilmember Parker for her work in reference to trying to support this HBCU Classic. As she was talking, I was thinking about the Wade Wilson Classics of yesteryear. I won't say which team would win the Wade Wilson Classics of yesteryear, because that would get me in trouble. But I also want to thank Councilmember Johnson for honoring the esteemed Dr. Frank "Tick" Coleman, man of Omega Psi Phi, and also as Councilmember Parker was talking about traveling to New York, it made me think STATED MEETING 222 6/16/2022 Classic, which my father numerous years attended as a proud attendee of Morgan State University and my wife being a graduate of North Carolina Central University. So I want to thank her for lifting up Historically Black Colleges and Universities and also clarifying that distinction, which sometimes becomes challenging as we talk about our Historically Black Colleges and Universities. I just want to take a few moments to just talk about some of the things over the past couple days. This morning, and I think a number of my colleagues know, that I tried to get some exercise early in the morning and do a run, a couple miles. My receipts were challenged by some of the members of the Public Safety Committee, which I did provide some information that I did get up early this morning to work out, to run, even though we had a very late STATED MEETING 223 6/16/2022 I do that because it gives me an opportunity to really just think and reflect on what the things I'm doing for the day, the week, the things that we're all dealing with as members of this body. And as I was doing my run this morning -- and it started off as the light was coming up and then all the sudden got a heavy downpour and then it got calm. And even during that run, I was debating should I continue this run in the rain, but I kind of decided to press on. And it made me think about the budget season that we have been going through, and it started with the thinking we have the ability to really address a lot of significant issues in our city with the American Rescue Plan dollars that we have not fully spent and allocated as we went through this budget process. And then we got into a, I would say, very heavy downpour as the Administration's Office of Property STATED MEETING 224 6/16/2022 assessments, which would have raised real estate taxes for constituents all over the City of Philadelphia, and also we were hearing from a lot of our small businesses who were still struggling to stay open, especially our Black and Brown businesses. So we were in a very challenging time period, like as I was trying to get to my run this morning as it was raining pretty heavily. But then we came to a calm, and I came to a calm because I came to the end of my run this morning, and that reminded me of what happened yesterday evening. I've been fortunate enough to be a member of this legislative body, but I've also worked for this legislative body and I've been in and around City Council for close to 20 years, and what happened last night is probably the first time that I can recall that this legislative body voted on measures to STATED MEETING 225 6/16/2022 for citizens, reduce wage taxes, and also reduce business taxes that can impact our small businesses. This is the first time I can recall that we as a body voted to reduce and take on measures to reduce real estate taxes, reduce wage taxes for people in the City of Philadelphia, and reduce the business taxes, especially for small businesses, especially the Black and Brown businesses that have been really impacted by the pandemic. I'll say it one more time.
This is the first time that I can recall that this body in one vote did measures to reduce real estate taxes that would impact our citizens, as well as wage taxes and also address our small businesses by trying to and doing reductions of taxes. And this proposal that came together and I helped put together a schedule to look at this proposal, which STATED MEETING 226 6/16/2022 on a lot of different things, and it wasn't just I kind of put the schedule together, but it really was a compromised effort by a number of people and a number of organizations. I want to thank the Inclusive Growth Coalition, which is a really diverse group of organizations from all over, from OIC to the Urban League of Philadelphia to the Laborers District Council and to the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, that came together and said, we don't have to pit one group against another group and that we can collectively come together to help citizens and small businesses in the City of Philadelphia. But even before they came together, I really want to thank the diverse chambers for coming together, the African American Chamber of Commerce, the Asian American Chamber of Commerce, the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, as well as STATED MEETING 227 6/16/2022 coming together as a group working collectively and really crying out for their members, who are small businesses that have been decimated by this pandemic and many were really struggling and are still struggling to stay afoot and to provide jobs in neighborhoods all around the City of Philadelphia. From a staff perspective, I just want to thank Bob McDermott and Ami Patel for answering all of my e-mails and text messages at very early and late hours. I said I run in the morning because sometimes -- and my staff knows this -- I may get an idea, and I send a text or an e-mail. I want to thank them for helping to pull together the various numbers to come to this compromise. I also want to thank Rob Dubow and the Administration. You know, we reached out yesterday to kind of give them some information on this compromise, and to hear that the Administration was STATED MEETING 228 6/16/2022 was good to hear that as well. But I also want to thank members of this Council, members that were willing to be on late night Zoom calls, late night Zoom calls after all of our activities that we do throughout the day. I wanted to thank Councilmember Squilla and Driscoll and Jones and Bass for being on those calls. I want to thank the African American Chamber of Commerce and their partners for bringing us together to at least have these conversations virtually, but I want to specifically mention three members of Council that, from my perspective, were really instrumental in helping us come together. I'll call them the expert, the communicator, and the conscience. Now, when I say "expert," I'm talking about Councilmember Domb for giving lots of information about real estate taxes and using all of his STATED MEETING 229 6/16/2022 history in this industry for helping provide information. The communicator, Councilmember Katherine Gilmore Richardson, for really keeping us all informed about what was happening and the perspectives of various members of Council. And also I will say the conscience, which is Councilmember Isaiah Thomas, who really kept focusing on the perspective of we've got to help all people, both citizens and small businesses, and coming together collectively. And if it was not for all of these members and their thoughts and all these organizations, I could not even have thought about an idea of a budget schedule that could possibly even work once we got the numbers together.
So I just wanted to make these statements to thank all of the members of this body that came together in a strong STATED MEETING 230 6/16/2022 to not get into what we traditionally see as a them versus us. And this is what I see as a real challenge not only in our city but in our state and our nation where we're too often pitting people against each other just because they may have a difference of opinion, and I think we've got to move collectively in how we move our city forward in reference to growth. That's growth in reference to providing services for all citizens in the City of Philadelphia as we struggle to deal with public safety issues and concerns and all the things we're trying to do as a body, to giving citizens a little bit more dollars back in their pockets as we're dealing with inflation and cost of goods going up, and also helping our small businesses who are really trying to do the best that they can to continue to provide goods and services as a small business and put food on the table for their families and also for the families STATED MEETING 231 6/16/2022 I just want to thank all of the various members of this body that came together. We still have a lot more work to do, but the fact that we're able to not pit people against each other regardless of their perspectives and thoughts, and there will be those that disagree with somebody's positions, but that's okay, as long as we continue to work together collectively and move forward and incorporate all of those ideas as we try to move our city forward. Thank you, Council President.
Thank you, Councilman. I want to jump back to speeches on behalf of the minority and recognize Councilman O'Neill.
Thank you, Mr. President. I want to just echo what Councilman Green started with and his 20 years of staff and Councilmember STATED MEETING 232 6/16/2022 back to, humbly speaking, to the 1980 budget. And I agree with him wholeheartedly, but I also want to add, it takes a whole Council to make this happen, but it wouldn't happen without the Council President, because you pretty much control a whole lot of what Councilman Green described and allowing first-term members to participate at the level that they do. You couldn't participate in your fourth term not that many years ago and particularly at that level but I mean participate at all. So I just want to thank you and all of the members for coming together on this, because it is truly a budget that covers more bases and pretty much all the bases that we usually miss a few of. So I just want to add that, because it's a lot longer than just 20 years since this has happened.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, STATED MEETING 233 6/16/2022 to be together. The Chair recognizes -- on behalf of the majority, the Chair recognizes Councilwoman Gym.
Thank you very much, Council President. On Tuesday, Philadelphia schools rang their final bell of the academic year, and over the last two years, thousands of seniors have walked across the stage to the cheers of their families to receive their diploma and start a new chapter in their lives. It was an honor to have joined so many school communities, seven graduations in fact, and to have seen well over 1,000 students personally graduate in the last week alone. They do more than carry the dreams and hopes of their families with them. They carry the hopes and dreams of our entire city. They walk in the footsteps of high schoolers who have made STATED MEETING 234 6/16/2022 history, and it is indeed young people right now their age who are on the front lines solving some of the world's greatest problems. It was also wonderful to see auditoriums, football fields, even The Met completely filled with families who believe in the potential of public education, who entrusted their children to us, and to whom we owe everything possible to honor, celebrate, and uplift the infinite potential of our youth. And while the final bell of the school year signals hope and opportunity for a new generation, far too many young people -- for far too many young people in our city, summertime is a time of uncertainty. Yesterday in our Committee on Children and Youth, we heard from students across Philadelphia as part of the Enough is Enough Coalition sharing their experience with gun violence and also what they expect from us as City leaders. STATED MEETING 235 6/16/2022 my colleague Councilmember Thomas who brought their research to the highest levels of government and to our municipal hearing yesterday. These young people conducted a survey of Philadelphia students and found that nearly 40 percent reported having nothing to do in their neighborhoods for fun. Ninety-five percent can't name a resource in their community to prevent gun violence. Sixty-one percent of them asked for supports for families impacted by gun violence, particularly mental health resources, and 57 percent asked for more mental health counselors and supports in their schools. In the words of Hajza Donzo (ph), a student at Universal Audenried, "We don't want to worry that our lives will be taken on our way to school or work. " STATED MEETING 236 6/16/2022 week, the School District of Philadelphia released a 12-minute tribute to the students who were lost in this past academic year. There are 88 names on that list, and I would like our Council body to take a little bit of time to honor those students, after which I would ask for a moment of silence. , George Washington High School; Nicholai James, West Oak Lane Charter School; Dezhawn Melendez, Widener Memorial School; Quinsha White, YES Philly; Cyanni Hammond, Youth Build; William Bryant, Ad Prima Charter School; Tyjae Walls, Cook-Wissahickon Elementary; Khurram Shahzad, Decatur Elementary; Kamaj Rudd, Excel Academy South; Esequiel Santos-Suarez, Fels High School; Tyir Adams, Finletter Elementary; Zayden Lewis, Hardy Williams Academy Charter School; Aminata Sylla, Imhotep Charter School; Zachyrah Fountain, John B. Kelly Elementary School; Steve Green, KIPP DuBois Charter School; Daquon Robinson, Mastery Charter School at Clymer; Rashede Clement, Mastery Charter School at Gratz; Lashanna Fischer, Mastery Charter School STATED MEETING 240 6/16/2022 Pickett; Sameer Jones, Mastery Charter School at Pickett; Nasheem Choice, Mastery Charter School at Thomas; Jaime Padilla-Serrano, Morrison Elementary; Ramon Rodriguez, Munoz-Marin Elementary; Princeton Bacon, Northeast Community Propel Academy; Nasir Brooks, Overbrook High School; Juan Carlos Robles-Corona, Tanner Duckrey Elementary School; and Madison Patrick, Ziegler Elementary School.
Can we take a moment of silence for these young people and to honor them and their families. )
Thank you, Council President. My final comment is that our city can't rise if we leave our children, our families, and our schools behind. In STATED MEETING 241 6/16/2022 37 percent of young people live in poverty, our whole purpose is to ensure they don't spend one more day in it and most definitely do not impoverish them further with decrepit schools, closed libraries, or dirty streets. That is our charge, and I'm proud to be part of a Council that will live it. Thank you, Council President.
Thank you, Councilwoman. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Gauthier.
Thank you, Council President. First, I want to appreciate Councilmember Gym for making space to recognize all of the young people that we lost, and I hope -- I feel and I hope that we're building the type of city where that doesn't repeat itself as we move forward. I wanted to offer comment on STATED MEETING 242 6/16/2022 voted out of committee last night. I think I feel most proud of the proposed increased investments in quality of life services in the budget, and I just wanted to note that if we pass this budget, we'll be expanding resources for illegal dumping action and enforcement. We'll be growing our capacity to fix and maintain street lights. We'll be giving L&I more capacity to remedy blighted properties and nuisance businesses. We'll be putting many, many more resources into traffic calming and hopefully also creating more neighborhood slow zones and increasing our ability to get abandoned cars off of the streets, among other items. I also think that what we're doing for Parks and Rec is notable, as every single year we fight for more funding for Parks and Rec and this year it feels like we're finally taking at least a small step forward. STATED MEETING 243 6/16/2022 count, we've added over 26 million in operating and capital line items that will really improve the look and feel of our neighborhoods. It's been a very tough two and a half years in our city, not just in regards to the violence, as we just heard, but in regards to the look and feel of the City too. And I think that these are important investments to let people in our neighborhoods know that we are there with them and that we care about them. And with these resources, I hope that we can not only do better on delivering City services but on the equitable delivery of those services. A recent report from our Controller clearly pointed out the drastic disparities between 311 service calls that come from Center City and those that come from majority Black and Brown neighborhoods in our city, particularly those neighborhoods most struggling with gun violence. And at the STATED MEETING 244 6/16/2022 time, research from Philly's own Dr. Eugenia South and others show that these types of investments can dramatically reduce shootings. And so now that we will likely have more money in the budget, it's up to us as a city to act on the things that we know and to help the neighborhoods that are most in need during this moment. And so I just want to thank all my colleagues for their support and votes on these important items, and I look forward to moving forward and seeing these services at play in our neighborhoods.
Thank you. Thank you, Councilwoman. The Chair recognizes Councilman Thomas.
Thank you, Council President. It's about 2:50. I don't know if we broke any records with how long this Council session is lasting, but I'm STATED MEETING 245 6/16/2022 too much longer. I want to start by thanking my colleagues Councilmember Green and Councilmember O'Neill. I definitely appreciate your remarks, as well as the support from other Council colleagues to be able to put us in a position to get some phenomenal wins. I just want to contextualize a couple things, similar to what my colleagues did. When I think about this budget, I first start with the funding for the Commissioners Office. When you think about the City of Philadelphia and the importance of elections, not just in Philadelphia but the impact that our vote has on the City, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, especially considering our November election and, more importantly, the presidential election of the United States, it's imperative that we fully fund our elections that put us in a position where people can cast their vote in a fair and safe way, and throughout STATED MEETING 246 6/16/2022 budget, we did that. We're not quite sure where that will land or what direction we'll go in, but we might have saved democracy with our vote last night. So I commend you, colleagues, because it's a thankless job and it's something that's really important. My colleague talked earlier about parks and recs and libraries. I've been screaming and hollering at the top of my lungs as it relates to parks and recs since I've been a member of Council, and we finally are in a position to be able to add more dollars to our Parks and Recs budget as well as our libraries and put ourselves in a position to be able to hopefully provide more services and resources to young people in the City of Philadelphia. We have a shortage of free programs, we have a shortage of safe programs, and we have a shortage of employment opportunities for our teens. STATED MEETING 247 6/16/2022 infrastructure investment as well as the dollars that's going to L&I that's really important, but I'm also excited about some of the tax initiatives that we have. When you look at what the pandemic taught us, as legislators our most important job is to pass a responsible budget. The pandemic taught us as a city, and a lot of us knew it before, that we rely too much on our wage tax. So our vote today to reduce the wage tax is partly about giving dollars back to the citizens of Philadelphia, but it's most importantly trying to put us in a position where we do not rely on our wage tax in a way that's irresponsible and puts us in jeopardy. When the pandemic hit, we lost more money than any big city in the entire country besides Detroit. Coming out of the pandemic, our job growth is parallel with Detroit's, and it's putting us in a position where we are growing at STATED MEETING 248 6/16/2022 We're crawling right now. So I'm excited about our vote today, not just around wage but also around our BIRT tax cut, but at the end of the day, the small cut that we made will have a huge impact on small businesses across the City of Philadelphia. I read a story in one of our local papers that talked about the BIRT cut, and one of the things that people don't realize about the BIRT tax is that the bulk of that BIRT tax is being paid by small businesses, small businesses. When you're a big business and you're a big corporation, you often generate revenue outside of the City of Philadelphia, and when you generate revenue as a big business outside of the City of Philadelphia, you're essentially not obligated to pay the BIRT tax on that revenue that you essentially generate.
But when I think about my brother's STATED MEETING 249 6/16/2022 salons and some of the other smaller Black businesses in the City of Philadelphia, they're not generating revenue outside of the City. Every dollar that they bring in, we're taxing them on it. And people are making a decision every single day whether I should leave this city or whether I should stay here and continue to do my business here. So I think that it was important for us to take the steps that we did and put ourselves in a position where we could send a signal to everybody that Philadelphia is open for business. We were able to accomplish this without cutting any services. If anything, we were able to increase services, and we were able to do this all in a responsible way while also protecting homeowners as it relates to assessments and increases on real estate and making sure that we still have the dollars for our schools and our children STATED MEETING 250 6/16/2022 So I thank you, colleagues. I'm very, very proud of where we are, and I just want to close out by saying something similar to what Councilmember Gym said as it relates to the young people. The Enough is Enough hearing was amazing. It was extremely informative. And if anybody cares about gun violence in the City of Philadelphia, which I know this legislative body does, we need to adopt the recommendations of the young people, which included meeting with them monthly and including them in decisions related to youth and related to violence. I'm committed to it. I know my other Council colleagues are committed to it, and I'm excited for our vote today, but I recognize that we still have to wake up tomorrow and get to work, because we have a lot more to do. Thank you, Council President. Thank you, colleagues. Today is a good day, but tomorrow will be even better. STATED MEETING 251 6/16/2022
Thank you, Councilman. Appreciate it. The Chair recognizes Councilman Jones.
Thank you, Mr. President. I'm going to repeat what I said last night at 11:00 p.m., that I am honored to work with the diversity that this Council has, not just in race but in ideology. We go all the way up and down the spectrum, but that diversity is our strength. This budget represents not "or" but "and." And we can take care of those in need, people in poverty. And we can take advantage of tax reductions for small businesses that are the backbone of the commercial corridors in the City of Philadelphia. And we can prioritize programs to end gun violence, increase education, and get it done for the first time in the last 20 years without trying to make a dollar out of 50 cents. STATED MEETING 252 6/16/2022 I would say to my colleagues is, yes, the work is not done, but guess what? Anything that we have left on the table, anything that we have left unfunded, we still have an opportunity to go work with our colleagues at the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania state level, because they have a projected $10 billion surplus, and they are more than willing to work with us, because to be cynical, you know, the midterms are coming, the next governor is coming. What are you saving it for? If it ain't raining today, when do you think it's going to be raining more? And so we need to keep pushing for things like what we're doing with our infrastructure. Still got a lot of work to do there. What we are doing with our crime lab and getting a new one of those, let's not leave that money on the table, because this is a once-in-a-ten-year opportunity, as Councilman O'Neill said, to be able to do the "and" as opposed to STATED MEETING 253 6/16/2022 "or." Thank you, Mr. President.
Thank you, Councilman. I believe that concludes the speeches on behalf of the minority and the majority. So unlike last night when I was not the presiding officer over a Council session, I did speak, but I am the presiding officer over the Council session today, so I won't give a speech. But I do want to take a moment to obviously thank all of you for your hard work but, more importantly, like a number of you all, I got to recognize the staff not only in City Council but the staff over there on the other side of the ledger, the executive branch. The interaction between the staff got us to a point where we came out with what we believe is a comprehensive and a pretty good budget as it relates to being able to deal under these very challenging times. So we got to really STATED MEETING 254 6/16/2022 did some really hard work. Appreciate it. So I will save my speech for tomorrow -- I mean, I'm sorry, next week when I break the time-honored Council rule as presiding over the Council -presiding officer over a Council session. I'll give my speeches then. So right now I would like to recognize Majority Whip Councilman Jones for a motion to adjourn.
Thank you, Mr. President. I move that Council stand adjourned until Thursday, June 23rd, 2022 at 10:00 a.m. (Duly seconded.)
Thank you. It has been moved and seconded that Council stand adjourned until Thursday, June 23rd, 2022, 10:00 a.m. All those in favor indicate by saying aye. (Aye.) STATED MEETING 255 6/16/2022
The ayes have it. The motion carries. Thank you all very much. Be safe. Love you guys. ) STATED MEETING 256 6/16/2022 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.