COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS - - - Room 400, City Hall Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Thursday, April 29, 2010 9:00 a.m. - - - PRESENT: COUNCILWOMAN JOAN L. KRAJEWSKI, CHAIR COUNCILMAN FRANK DiCICCO COUNCILMAN W. WILSON GOODE, JR. COUNCILMAN BRIAN J. O'NEILL COUNCILWOMAN MARIA QUINONES-SANCHEZ COUNCILWOMAN DONNA REED MILLER COUNCILMAN FRANK RIZZO BILLS 100216, 100217 and 100218 - - - 2
Good morning. The Committee on Appropriations is now in session. I believe we have three bills. Will the Clerk please read the three bills.
Bill No. 100216, an ordinance authorizing transfers in appropriations for Fiscal Year 2010 from the Grants Revenue Fund, the Director of Finance - Provision for Other Grants to the Housing Trust Fund, the Mayor - Office of Housing and Community Development. Bill No. 100217, an ordinance 17 authorizing transfers in appropriations for Fiscal Year 2010 within the Grants Revenue Fund from the Director of Finance - Federal Stimulus Funding to the Department of Parks and Recreation - Parks, the Department of Human Services - Philadelphia Prisons and the District Attorney. Bill No. 100218, an ordinance 3 4/29/10 - APPROPRIATIONS - BILL 100216, etc. authorizing transfers in appropriations for Fiscal Year 2010 within the General Fund from the Managing Director - Division of Technology, the Managing Director - Office of Fleet Management, the Department of Human Services - Philadelphia Prisons, the Department of Revenue - Sinking Fund Commission, and the Board of Revision of Taxes and from the Grants Revenue Fund, the Director of Finance - Provision for Other Grants to the General Fund, the Managing Director - Division of Technology, the Managing Director - Office of Fleet Management, the Department of Streets, the Department of Parks and Recreation - Recreation, the Department of Licenses and Inspections, the Department of Records, the Director of Finance - Fringe Benefits, the Auditing Department, the Board of Revision of Taxes, the Sheriff and the First Judicial District of Pennsylvania.
Thank you. 4 4/29/10 - APPROPRIATIONS - BILL 100216, etc. Someone from the Administration? (Witnesses approached witness table.)
Steve Agostini, Budget Director. Scott Wilds to my left, OHCD. The first bill before you, 100216, is a transfer of five and a half million dollars into Class 250 in order to implement components of the Year 35 Consolidated Plan that has been approved by this Council in prior action. This is to allow for a number of programs, neighborhood-based rental program, homeless prevention program and some program delivery costs and general administrative costs. Again, the amount 5 4/29/10 - APPROPRIATIONS - BILL 100216, etc. is for five and a half million dollars. With respect to Bill No. 4 100217, that bill contains 967,000 in the transfer request associated with Recovery Act spending. They are for grants in the following departments: Department of Parks and Recreation for 130,000 for a Forest Service grant; Department of Human Services and the Prison System of 240,000 for Workforce Development Corporation's grant for vocational skills and skill-based training for ex-offenders; and the District Attorney, the Victim Service Job Creation grant and Technology for Optimum Performance grant. Again, that's in total about $1 million for those grants. And then the last bill is 100218, is a transfer ordinance for operating for the departments. The amount in the bill is for 38,910,000, ten transfers. The transfers -- the large transfers are to the Streets Department, 17.3 million for costs associated with 6 4/29/10 - APPROPRIATIONS - BILL 100216, etc. snow removal for the two large snowstorms we had at the beginning of the calendar year; the fringe benefits line in the Director of Finance, $13 million to fully fund our health medical payments for the current fiscal year; the Division of Technology, $4.48 million to cover various operating shortfalls. That includes an internal transfer of about 1.2 million to cover some of those shortfalls. And the First Judicial District, $2 million to fund additional costs associated with our court-appointed counsel. There are numerous other smaller transfers that I can go into in detail if members of the Committee have questions about that.
Thank you. Mr. Agostini, I have some questions regarding Bill No. 100218 as it relates to the Department of Technology. I think there's a growing concern among 7 4/29/10 - APPROPRIATIONS - BILL 100216, etc. Councilmembers about the huge amount of money, both capital and General Fund dollars, that is being appropriated to the Division of Technology. Given the current fiscal crisis in which the City finds itself, I would appreciate if you could forward to this Committee information which would include some general background information on the number of employees being reassigned and from what City agency, the number of new employees being hired, if any, and where the DOT will be located and a financial breakdown of where and how the general operating and capital dollars will be spent. Please include this in a timeframe for spending the capital dollars as it relates to FY2011.
Madam Chair, I'd be happy to do that. We will get that over to you within the next couple of days so that you have that in front of you. We'll also provide to you sort of initial spending assumptions for the 8 4/29/10 - APPROPRIATIONS - BILL 100216, etc. capital expenditures, along with the consolidation, number of new positions, to the extent that we have them, as well as a breakdown on some of the costs. I'll be happy to do that for you. If you want, I can try to go into some detail on that now, but I can provide that in written testimony back to the Chair.
Are there any questions from members of the Committee? Councilwoman Sanchez.
Any of 9 4/29/10 - APPROPRIATIONS - BILL 100216, etc. these transfers are not covered through current funding levels and will they add to the deficit?
The $13 million associated with the fringe benefits will add to the current deficit.
The whole amount. And if I might for a moment, part of that 13 -- the entire 13 million was part of what we had assumed we would generate in savings. There's a timing issue associated with that. Because we are on a calendar year basis with our health plans, we will generate savings for the City-administrated plan we believe at the end of the current calendar year. Unfortunately, that will fall into the FY11 fiscal year as opposed to the FY10, but we still anticipate 10 4/29/10 - APPROPRIATIONS - BILL 100216, etc. about $6 to $7 million. Because of the timing, it's not going to show up in FY10. It would have reduced this number by that $6 to $7 million.
In terms of the -- I know there's $50 million in snow removal at the state. What do we expect to receive of that pool to offset the appropriations for the Streets Department?
Councilmember, that's unclear at this point. We have applied to PEMA. We are about to apply to FEMA for reimbursements for those snowstorms. We're going to try and get as much of that expenditure recovered to the extent we can. Maryann Tierney in the Office of -- in the MDO is sending out a letter jointly with me to begin the process of capturing some of those costs so that we can submit that. That letter is going to go out either today or tomorrow.
The 13 11 4/29/10 - APPROPRIATIONS - BILL 100216, etc. million, is that in our budget documents under consideration now?
Okay. 10 In terms of the Housing Trust Fund, you 11 say there's a shortfall in current year 12 for Year 35. Does this create a deficit 13 for Year 36? We haven't approved the Consolidated Plan yet, so I want to make sure.
Good morning. I'm Scott Wilds, Deputy Director of Housing. There's no deficit in funding. There's a deficit in appropriation authority.
We have caught up on some spending from prior budget years that has cut into the appropriation authority, but we have the funds. 12 4/29/10 - APPROPRIATIONS - BILL 100216, etc.
Okay. So this is just a transfer to cover, because things are actually moving on time versus --
So we're actually in Year 35 and this is Year 38, we're almost catching up?
All right. Thank you. Mr. Agostini, as it relates to -- I'm very concerned about this $13 million. So that's the only figure that is going to carry over to our budget documents --
Thank 13 4/29/10 - APPROPRIATIONS - BILL 100216, etc. you.
Thank you. Are there any other questions from members of the Committee? (No response.)
Thank you very much. That ends our public hearing on Appropriations. Now we'll go into our public meeting. The Chair recognizes --
I got up too quickly. Suspension of the rules, if you could, please.
The 14 4/29/10 - APPROPRIATIONS - BILL 100216, etc. Chair recognizes Councilwoman Sanchez for the purpose of voting out Bill 100218.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I move that Bill 6 100216 be moved out of Committee with a favorable recommendation and that the rules of Council be suspended to allow first reading at our first public session. (Duly seconded.)
Therefore, Bill 100218 will be reported out of this Committee -- (Off-the-record discussion between Councilmembers.)
Councilwoman Sanchez for the purpose of voting out 216.
Yes. I move that Bill 100216 be moved out of Committee with a favorable recommendation 15 4/29/10 - APPROPRIATIONS - BILL 100216, etc. and that the rules of Council be suspended to allow first reading at our next public session. (Duly seconded.)
Therefore, Bill 100216 will be reported out of this Committee with a favorable recommendation with a suspension of rules so as to permit first reading at the next session of Council. The next bill will be, Councilwoman Miller, Bill 100217.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I move that Bill 22 100217 be reported out of this Committee with a favorable recommendation and further move that the rules of Council be suspended so as to permit first reading 16 4/29/10 - APPROPRIATIONS - BILL 100216, etc. at our next session.
Therefore, Bill 100217 will be reported out of this Committee with a suspension of rules so as to permit first reading at the next session of Council. Again, the Chair recognizes Councilwoman Sanchez on Bill 100218.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I move that Bill 21 100218 be moved out of Committee with a favorable recommendation and that the rules of Council be suspended to allow first reading at our next public session. (Duly seconded.) 17 4/29/10 - APPROPRIATIONS - BILL 100216, etc.
Therefore, Bill 100218 will be reported out of this committee with a suspension of rules so as to permit first reading at the next session of Council. Thank you all very much. That concludes our Committee on Appropriations. (Committee on Appropriations concluded at 9:15 a.m.) - - - 18 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 29, 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.)