COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE FY26 BUDGET City Hall, Room 400 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Wednesday, April 16, 2025 10:00 a.m. PRESENT: COUNCIL PRESIDENT KENYATTA JOHNSON COUNCILWOMAN KENDRA BROOKS COUNCILWOMAN JAMIE GAUTHIER COUNCILWOMAN KATHERINE GILMORE-RICHARDSON COUNCILWOMAN QUETCY M. LOZADA COUNCILWOMAN NINA AHMAD COUNCILWOMAN CINDY BASS COUNCILMAN MICHAEL DRISCOLL COUNCILMAN CURTIS J. JONES, JR. COUNCILMAN NICOLAS O'ROURKE COUNCILMAN JEFFREY J. YOUNG, JR. COUNCILMAN ANTHONY PHILLIPS COUNCILMAN BRIAN O'NEILL COUNCILMAN ISAIAH THOMAS HELEN LOUGHEAD, CLERK - - -
Ms. Loughead, would you please call the roll to take attendance of this outstanding quorum?
Councilmember Ahmad. Councilmember Landau. Councilmember Brooks. Councilmember O'Rourke.
Present. A quorum of the committee is present and we are now officially called to order. Ms. Loughead, would you please read the title of the resolutions.
Bill No. 8 250-195, an ordinance amending Chapter 19-1500 of the Philadelphia Code entitled Wage and Net Profits Tax by revising certain tax rates, under certain terms and conditions. Bill No. 250-196, an ordinance adopting the operating budget for fiscal fear 2026. Bill No. 250-197, an ordinance to adopt to fiscal 2026, capital budget. Bill No. 250-198, an ordinance to adopt a capital program for the six fiscal years 2026 through 2031 inclusive. Bill No. 250-199, an ordinance amending Chapter 19-2600 of the Philadelphia Code entitled Business Income and Receipts Taxes to revise certain tax rates and end certain exclusions from the tax on receipts, all under certain terms and conditions. Bill No. 250-200, an ordinance amending chapter 12-1000 of the Philadelphia Code entitled Traffic Code to revise the fee for the use of parking meters, all under certain terms and conditions. Bill No. 250-201, an ordinance amending Chapter 19-1800 of the Philadelphia Code entitled School Tax Authorization to provide for an increase in the tax, the Board of Education of the School District of Philadelphia is authorized to impose on real estate. And amending Chapter 22 19-1300 entitled Real Estate Taxes to establish an equivalent reduction in the tax rate for the city real estate tax, all under certain terms and conditions. Bill No. 250-202, an ordinance amending Chapter 19-1806 of the Philadelphia Code entitled Authorization of Realty Use and Occupancy Tax to eliminate certain exemptions all under certain terms and conditions. Bill No. 250-210, an ordinance amending Section 11 10-1001 of the Philadelphia Code, entitled Fees of Commissioner of Records to increase the portion of fees for the recording of deeds and mortgages and related documents to be used for housing trust fund purposes, under certain terms and conditions. Bill No. 250-211, an ordinance amending Section -- Chapter 19-1400 of the Philadelphia Code entitled Realty Transfer Tax by revising the rate of the tax, all under certain terms and conditions. Bill No. 250-212, an ordinance to amend Chapter 19-4400 of the Philadelphia Code entitled Development Impact Tax to end the imposition of the tax, under certain terms and conditions. Resolution No. 250-214, a resolution providing for the approval by the Council of the City of Philadelphia of a revised five- year financial plan for the City of Philadelphia covering fiscal years 2026 through 2030 and incorporating revisions with respect to fiscal year 2025, which is to be submitted by the Mayor to the Pennsylvania Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority pursuant to an Intergovernmental Cooperation Agreement by between the city and the authority.
Thank you very much, Ms. Loughead. Today we will continue the public hearing of the Committee of the Whole to consider the bills read by the clerk that constitute proposed operating capital spending measures for fiscal year 2026, a capital program and forward-Looking capital plan for fiscal year 2026 through fiscal year 2031. This morning we have scheduled testimony from the Free Library, as well as the Department of Parks and Recreation. This afternoon we will have scheduled testimony from the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, better known as SEPTA. Ms. Loughead, could you please call up the first panel to testify?
Kelly Richards, President and Director of the Free Library, and we will also have Susan Slawson, Commissioner for Parks and Rec.
First and foremost, I just want to say good morning and welcome and thank you for being here as you present your testimony on behalf of the administration. As always, I just want to take a moment I want publicly have a chance, to acknowledge the hard work and dedication of the Commissioner of Park & Recreation. Welcome back, Sue Slawson, and thank you for just always being responsive and your leadership as it relates to how we continue to move forward with our park and recreational facilities. I also want to acknowledge my good friend I see sitting over there, who I had conversation with this morning, just about every other day regarding constituent services matters, Mr. Frank Fabey. And also just want to give a shout out to Aparna and Francesco for always making sure when doing the revitalization of my park and recreational -- my parks and playgrounds, they're always responsive to making sure we're on target to revitalize the park and recreational facilities inside my district. So I just want to publicly just say thank you and overall your team. And also, I know we have some good news that we are here in this presentation by Mr. Richards. Thank you for your leadership with the Philadelphia Public Library, making sure we are up and running. I think we up to six days and you'll talk more about the robust things that we're doing in terms of making sure our young people are receiving the best experience when they go to our libraries and overall the community as a whole. So Kelly, I always like the work that you are doing and I look forward to your presentation. And we're going to start with the ladies first, with Ms. Sue Slawson, Chairperson of Park and Recreation. Just state your name, for the record, and please begin your testimony.
Good morning, Council President. Susan Slawson, S-L-A-W-S-O-N. I want to say thank you for those comments. And I am the Commissioner of Parks and Recreation. With me today, are Marissa Washington, first Deputy Commissioner, and Susan Buck, Deputy Commissioner for Operations. And it's a pleasure to be here. I appear before you to present our proposed operating budget for fiscal year 2026, which includes a general fund obligation of $83,535,660. A decrease of $7,384,841 from fiscal year 2025 estimated obligation levels. This decrease is primarily due to one-time payments for contracted bonuses and site preparations for special events in 2026 and non-recurring FY25 youth sports funding. In addition to the department's stewardship of Philadelphia's treasure parks and natural lands, we are continuing to develop and expand programs that advance the Mayor's vision for a safer, cleaner, and greener Philadelphia. In the fall of 2024, the youth sports and anti-violence initiative provided 244,000 and travel grants through the Philadelphia City Fund to 32 football and cheer teams, an average of $7,625 per team who qualified for national tournaments in other states. Many of these organizations will also once again have the opportunity to participate in coaching clinics that cover both the physical fundamentals as well as mental health strategies that coaches can employ to support their young athletes. In spring 2025, we are providing $218,000 in grants and partnerships with Philadelphia Youth Sports Collision to support 70 organizations with grants ranging from $500 to $5,000. Thirty-four organizations received $5,000. PYSC is launching a second round in late summer -- the late summer of 2025 with a continued focus on those underserved communities. As a part of the youth sports and anti-violence initiative, these efforts across organizations, sports, and communities will create more safe spaces citywide for young people to learn, play, and grow. As we provide services to the residents of Philadelphia throughout the year, we remain focused on providing safe spaces for Philadelphia's youth through 95 after school programs, hosting 2,200 youth, serving over 322,000 meals during the school year, hosting 220 Play Streets and offering summer camps for 6,700 youth. Our targeted enforcement program operates from Memorial Day weekend to the late September with support from our Rangers, Philadelphia Police Department, Advisory Councils and neighbors. We also continue to prioritize safe spaces in Kensington, and we are grateful for partners such as Impact Services, Friends Groups, the Police Department, and the Free Library. Together, we will provide programming at McPherson, Hissey, Hope and Harrogate Park, as well as after school programs at Heitzman, Rivera and Schmidt. As we care for our citizens, we are mindful of the powerful connection and the positive impact that green spaces provide for communities. As stewards of Philadelphia's natural lands, PPR sustainability unit works to maintain, increase and protect natural resources across the city. The team continues its workforce development efforts to provide hands-on restoration training through PowerCorpsPHL. Staff will also continue to assess over 100 illegal dumping hotspots on park land. We continue our partnership with the Police Department's Environmental Crime Unit to issue violations for illegal dumping in Fairmount Park. Urban Forestry Tree team manages over 130,000 street trees. The regional crews manage 10,000 plus acres of park land. And storm emergencies and natural lands teams is responsible for 5,000 plus acres of forest metals and wetlands. The growth and care of our urban forest is an environmental justice issue. There are fewer trees where there is more poverty in black and brown communities.
Our Urban Forestry Unit and the Department of Commerce are partnering in a commercial corridor tree planting and care program to plant trees and train taking care of business ambassadors to care for them. To date, 468 trees have been planted and 40 TCB ambassadors have been trained and paid to take care of the trees through this partnerships. In closing, many of you have seen the transformative power of Rebuild. It has revitalized long, neglected facilities like Vare, Rivera, Heitzman, and others. But even at these renewed sites, there's work that still needs to be done. I hope together we can come up with a plan that fully revitalizes PPR sites and focuses on challenges like lighting and pavements. Thank you for this opportunity to discuss our department with you today, and I look forward to your questions.
Thank you very much. Before we hear the testimony from Kelly Richards for the Free Library, I want to acknowledge on the presence of Councilmember Kendra Brooks, Councilman Member Jeffrey J. Young, Councilmember Isaiah Thomas. Mr. Richards, the floor is yours.
Thank you. Good morning President Johnson and members of City Council. I'm Kelly Richards, President Director of the Free Library. Joining me today is Stephen Maccari, our finance director, and Tyreice DuPass, our property management director. And we have others from the Free Library team here today, too. So I'm pleased to provide testimony on the Free Library's fiscal year of 2026 operating budget. Our mission at the Free Library is to advance literacy, guide learning, inspire curiosity as part of the Mayor's vision to provide a world-class educational opportunity for Philadelphians of all ages and socio-economic backgrounds. Our plans for fiscal year of 2026 at this pivotal moment in our society, public spaces, especially libraries are more essential than ever. We need trusted sources of information, places for connection and spaces where individuals can be themselves, discover new passions or lose themselves in curiosity and creativity. The Free Library of Philadelphia provides invaluable resources to our community and its role is critical today as it has ever been in our city's history. Aligned with the Mayor Park's vision, the Free Library is part of creating a safer, cleaner, greener spaces in every neighborhood and access to economic opportunity for all. We are dedicated to uplifting and fulfilling the vital work we do every single day, providing necessary services and support for residents and communities. As we move forward with our strategic planning process, the Free Library is excited to share our vision and commitment to the future. Currently in the engagement phase, we are connecting with internal and community stakeholders to gather insights that will guide the development of a comprehensive plan for the library's future. These efforts will not only enhance service delivery, but also ensure exceptional customer service for everyone who walks through the library's doors. The Free Library is deeply committed to fostering a more inclusive and welcoming environment by expanding our outreach efforts, developing the new community engagement and volunteer services division. We are ensuring that our community programming reflects the diverse needs of the people we serve. These initiatives are designed to ensure that the library authentically reflects the rich diversity of our community and provide services that are accessible to all. In addition, we are focused on expanding access and engagement across the city by increasing our public service hours. After the successful rollout of Saturday service at many libraries, we are now working toward continuing to extend Saturday public service hours to all libraries and eventually including Sunday service hours at key locations by FY27. Combined with strength and community outreach, partnerships with local nonprofits and other city agencies, these efforts will continue to position the library as a continued vital hub for civic engagement, workforce development, and lifelong learning for all residents. As we grow, we're all -- we're also prioritizing critical infrastructure improvements to our buildings and information technology to enhance the services we provide for both patrons and staff. We're planning a comprehensive facilities assessment for fiscal year '26. We have several improvements to our buildings and HVAC systems to meet critical needs to keep libraries open. We're committed to updating our beautiful historic facilities to ensure we continue delivering a world-class user experience. With the ongoing support of our Deputy Managing Director Dave Wilson and the managing director's office, the Free Library board of trustees, city leaders, staff and community partners, the Free Library will remain a safe, accessible, and welcoming space for all Philadelphians to learn, grow, and to connect. The Free Library of Philadelphia is proud to be a place where connections are made and where everyone can find a sense of belonging.
So thank you for your continued support as we work together to shape the future of this invaluable, awesome institution.
Thank you very much. Just a couple brief questions before I turn it over to my members. Also, I want to acknowledge the presence of -- I think I said Brooks already, correct? All right. Making sure. Dr. Nina Ahmad, Councilmember Mark Squilla. I'll announce their presence, for the record. Commissioner Sue Slawson, give me an idea of the status of the master plan and the progress we're making regarding FDR Park. I know it started under the prior administration, a significant commitment under Jim Kenney. Under this administration, we still want to make sure that we complete the work that has put -- has started. And I know the Mayor's a champion of -- on the revitalization of FDR Park, because we were down there together, talking about the great fields that we're going to have, how we're going to revitalize the space as relates to 2026, when the World Cup is coming across the street at the Lincoln Financial Field. So just give us an update on that particular project.
So to let you know, the FDR Park project, those places and spaces have been funded completely. The gateway phase has been funded completely, the nature phase has been funded completely, the picnic and pet play phase has also been funded completely. And I can give you a description of those. The gateway phase is the Anna Verna -- part of the gateway phase is the Anna Verna playground, open Fall of 2023. Park wide bike lane, America's largest swings, 3 acre inclusive and sustainable play space. A new parking lot with storm water, lights and cameras. New waterline, waste water lines, and electrical connections for the park, and a Patterson Lagoon restoration. And then there's the Gateway Plaza, which will be opening -- actual ribbon cutting this spring. Way finding information to help visitors navigate the park, misters for cooling off on a warm day, seating groves with benches for meeting friends and family, rain gardens that create native plants and flowering understory canopy to absorb storm water. Bike recs to welcome cyclists, raised pedestrian crossing at the Park Loop Road, lighting and security cameras. And then we have the Welcome Center, which should be opening this spring as well. LEED Gold Historic Preservation project, public information and welcome center, 6,000 square feet, new offices for park staff, 22,000 square feet. A welcome terrace, food and beverage concessions, community and meeting spaces, new parking lots, storm water management lights and cameras. Phase 1 of the five-park loop trail. All of this has already been funded. And with that you also have the construction of a five multipurpose fields, which is what -- and four basketball courts.
And so give me the status of the five multipurpose fields, basketball courts and where we're at in terms of the funding of that phase.
That's been funded as well. The project is not moving yet, but it will be moving, but it has been funded completely.
All right. Thank you for that update. There was an investment of $2.5 million in youth sports initiatives in 2025, but we're only requesting $500,000 for FY26. And so give me an idea of why the significant decrease in the funding requests from last year to this year regarding sports youth initiatives? And then also, I think this is also relevant for the sports fund, which I think was a brilliant idea of the Mayor. How do organizations that want to apply for this funding?
And so we are in partnership with PYSC, as well as Philadelphia City Fund, and we are opening up. We just closed the spring grants, they're going to be opening up opportunities for summer grants as well. And the -- so the actual funding that the Mayor gave us was $3 million, President Johnson. And we will be getting an additional $500,000 in our budget. But some of the funding was used for supplies that we will not have to purchase again. And, you know, one of the things is we are -- we were lacking in updated equipment in our facilities. And we have enough funding to supply additional equipment, upgraded equipment in all of our sites. One of the things that we're going to do also is a boxing program. So we have the funding to purchase all of the equipment for the boxing program. We won't need that funding again in our budget. So a lot of what we're doing, we need funding for one-time purchases and that $500,000 will assist us in making sure we'll be able to provide the grants for next year for these -- for these teams and community people that need support.
Okay. I just have one request. If you and your team could work with members regarding that process, right? Because it's operated by a third party, which is good, but however, we need to make sure we have that connection, and so when members have individual constituencies that want to apply, then we are aware that this upcoming summer we can relay that information to the youth groups in our individual districts to actually apply for the funding. And I think it's great because our children shouldn't have to be on the highways on the middle of the streets with their handout asking for money where we should be supporting, which I consider our best assets in the city of Philadelphia, which are our children, so.
Council President Johnson, I will make sure today that we will get information over to you so you can ensure that all the other council members can notify the constituents how to apply for the next round of funding.
And last question before I go on to Mr. Richards. We know every year, particularly during the summer, right, we anticipate, right, more youth are outside, more youth are on the playgrounds, more youth are on the basketball courts. And it's inevitable, unfortunately, that we see some level of gun violence taking place on our basketball courts. What are we doing to be proactive and from a prevention standpoint to the best of our ability to be in front of this issue? I know we work in partnership with the Philadelphia Police Department, but they can't be everywhere, right? And I know we also work with the advisory boards -- the advisory council and members of the neighborhood to self-police, you know, our parks and recreational facilities. But also, I just want to get an idea from your perspective different strategies what we are doing. For instance, are we turning off the lights at 9:00 p.m. so young people won't be hanging out in the park, similar to what happened in my district in Southwest Philadelphia. Give me an idea where we're at?
And so our hours during the summer are 9:00 to 9:00. And I believe you really did hit it. It's really key that we make sure that lights are out at 9:00, that the facilities that we have that we can shut gates, that the gates are locked. And of course, we don't have gates at all of our sites, but the gates that we do have, we are -- we're leaning on our park rangers a lot more as well, or we are in the process of just trying to make sure that those places where we have gates and we can ensure that the gates are closed. The other thing that helps us is to ensure that the lighting that's needed in our sites, that they're out on the fields until it's time to close the gates. Because you really don't really -- you really don't want to get -- most criminals are not going to do something --
They want it to be dark. So while our facilities are open, one of the goals is to increase our lighting in our facilities, those areas in our playgrounds, those areas on our fields where there's limited lighting, we are working to try to improve the lighting to make sure that parents and kids and family members feel safe when they're outside at our playgrounds. And one of the key things that I mentioned, I think it was last week, is that we need community members.
I'm with you on the community members side. Have we ever thought as a city to engage in public-private, like real security? Because just being frank, even though Ms. Maymay from the neighborhood and Ms. Maymay in the park, or, you know, Saleem from the neighborhood, he in the park, sometimes, though, without having that visible -- that visible presence of authority, you know, some young people still just brazen and still will take a life irregardless. But sometime that official authority, right, kind of make you think twice about it. So have we ever thought about maybe doing a public-private partnership in bringing in third party security to supplement the Philadelphia Police Department in areas where they can't be?
Are we talking about armed or are we talking about security guards?
We could do either one. I know armed, we not supposed to have firearms inside the park.
So this body banned that, right? Even if it's not -- for instance, you take University City, right, they have one of the models where the individuals who are patrolling in the neighborhood, right, and they're out there all times of the night. You'll think twice because there's a visible presence of authority monitoring what's taking place. So even if it's non-armed, have we ever thought about that?
We've thought about it. And I think it's something for us to consider. One of the things that we've discussed is if there is a security guard inside and that's what he's being paid to do, we would also have to think about having presence outside.
Because they're going to stick to what their job description says. And so now we're talking about additional funding, we're talking about additional --
We have an $8 billion budget and we're talking about the safety of our children. So we spare no 19 expense to keep our children safe.
And so we are talking about having guards inside, outside. And I think one of the things that also helps is that if we could also just fill our compliment that we currently have and have the staff that we need in our facilities, if we're bringing in security to work along with the security that we are talking about. So I think it's something we definitely we've had conversations about and we could continue to revisit and come up with a plan on how that could definitely support the safety of our young people. And it's just everyone that comes to our facility, it's not just our young people. It's everybody that comes and wants to be a part of community at our recreation centers at our parks.
I'm with you. But the ones that are being shot and murdered are our young people.
So I have to say that respectfully. So I do want to do a follow-up. We can talk offline, but I think we know it's coming during the summer. We can anticipate it. And that's unfortunate, right? And so at what point do we do something different, because the police can't be everywhere. Maybe they'll be in a high-crime areas, but at some point in time, we got to think about how we approach this differently. And I believe, yeah, we could recruit people from the neighborhood, right? But also I just believe that the official presence make people make think twice before they engage in something that's not becoming of our neighborhood. And so I'll be willing to work with you. And from this body, and I know members will support me on this, we would spare no expense. This is a negotiation process, and so for us to advocate for what we believe is in best interest of keeping our children safe. The Chair recognizes Councilmember Jamie Gauthier.
Quick point of information, Council President. You brought up University City District from my -- from my district, but I actually wanted to point to Level Up Philly and suggest that we talk to them and maybe partner with them. I've been to their after- school spot several times. Pastor Aaron Campbell, he does have security there, but he also has kids from all over the city, sometimes hundreds of kids. These are kids that have been involved in violence, some of them are involved with street groups, but they come together peacefully at Level Up. And so I think it's a model for what we could do in our rec centers.
And I would look forward to having that conversation with you because whatever we can do to prevent any more of these homicides, we are willing to do whatever we can. It's not just traumatic for the parents, the children, the relatives, it is -- it is traumatic for our staff. Our staff members that have to run out and try to save the lives of the young people that have been attacked, whether it's a weapon, whether it's a fight, this affects our community all around. And so however we can work together to identify support to make sure that our young people are safe, I'm willing to have that conversation.
Thank you, Commissioner Slawson. Mr. Richards.
How many days are we operating currently? And I know you want to go to seven days a week, just give us an idea on that strategy. And then last, we know that we had to shut down libraries due to AC 11 issues, heating issues. And so if 12 we are operating six days, we're 13 going to seven days, obviously one 14 of the things we should be 15 advocating for is a robust capital 16 campaign to fix up our actual 17 library system. Because I'm sure 18 the infrastructure is pretty old, 19 and so give us an update. 20
Well, Council President, the budgets that we've received the last couple of years have really been significant to do something to move the Free Library forward in a very positive and optimistic way to serve our neighbors and serve every community. We have advanced our library services to where we're pretty much stable five days a week. And right now we have 30 -- about 30 locations open on Saturdays. That's 30 out of the 54. So our objective is to hire about -- about another 50 more full-time and about 57 part-time people with our municipal guards. And once we reach that figure, we believe -- we know we'll be able to open six days a week consistently throughout the system, and then we'll be able to provide Sunday hours. And that's something we have not done in a very, very long time. And could you -- what was the second question? Oh, the capital --
Capital Plan campaign. We shut down libraries. 3
6 Due to faulty heating and faulty air 7 conditioning. So tell me about the 8 capital plant plan. 9
Yeah. We've 10 got some very beautiful old 11 buildings with old infrastructure. 12 I was looking at some of the dates 13 of some of the boilers before we 14 came today, and some of them date to 15 the 60s. And now that we're open 16 more, you know, you can look at 17 global warming and all of that, too. 18 And we are utilizing the 19 building more warming and cooling 20 centers. We're putting a lot of strain on some of those systems. So what we have done and we put in the budget and the Mayor's budget was a facilities conditioning assessment, which will give us the ability instead of running, searching emergencies, now we'll have a strategic plan that will put in a hierarchy of our boiler issues, our -- and based on cost, too. Our boiler issues, our mechanical issues, roofing. It'll give us the ability to be very strategic and costing out and budgeting for in a way dealing with priorities, all of the issues we are confronted with that we're seeing with our buildings, but we're not waiting for that. In the interim, our teams are working with the capital project office. We're looking at the issues we have now in prioritizing those. So that is where we are right now in that particular effort.
What's the overall cost of the capital campaign?
How much are you requesting in this particular budget?
In this particular budget, our -- for '26 is, I believe it's 3,850,000.
And have you anticipated your overall capital campaign number?
That will -- that will be able to address some of the emergency issues that we see going into this particular year.
Okay. I just want to go on the record. I think my members agree with me. This is something that's critical to -- the Chair recognizes Councilmember Brooks.
Just a point of information, I was wondering for the staffing needs, do you have a plan to recruit the staff that you need to kind of build up? Because I think there were some shortages that were happening throughout the system. So is it a hiring plan? And towards the building needs, you asked for what, the 3 million -- I wrote it down, 3,850,000. Is there a five-year plan? Because you only talked about emergency repairs.
What is the long-term strategic plan to maintain the library system and can we plan for that so we are not just piecemealing this as we go along?
We -- good. A very good question, Councilmember. We do have a five-year plan, but the five-year plan isn't based on this facilities condition assessment report. Once we get that, we'll be able to have better data to revise that five-year plan. The five-year plan now is just based on what we see, but once we get that facilities condition assessment report, that very strategic report, which will be able to prioritize those particular needs that we have, even knowing, and even in the midst of that, we'll still have some emergencies that pop up. But that plan will give us our best guide, and that's something that we don't have and haven't, and it will be a guide for us to be able to put a plan together to bring before you.
Member Brooks, regarding the point of information, we're going to wait until it's your line of questioning; is that okay?
Because it's really just providing -- you're providing information -- doing the point of information. Now we are engaging in questioning and as relates to the presentation, so when we get to your time, we're going to call you so you can officially --
--- do a double down regarding his responses. The Chair, before we turn it over to members, recognizes Councilmember Curtis Jones.
Thank you so much. So I'm excited about the plans for FDR Park. I mean, I'm going to bring --
But I'm going to use the two of you in your proximity to illustrate the proximity between the Wynnefield Library and John Anderson Center. They're right next door to each other. They share a space, right? The majority leader is a Wynnefield person, so she understands what I'm saying. How -- and almost similar to what Member Brooks is talking about, on a strategic plan, you share the same roof. You share the same HVAC. Do you talk about how to maximize those efficiencies? Because you share a space together, how you can be cost effective in the renovation of that facility and the timing of those renovations? I raised that because we've put the money in for the renovations years ago, but we have not seen shovel in the ground. And I can't understand that. In Wynnefield, as my commissioner knows, that's the town hall. That's where all of the community groups come to go. And we have to -- we have to be a little more strategic on facilities that we co-operate. How we can create a plan to do that, that's No. 1. Number 2, during the -- not Liquor Buy The Drink, the sugary beverage tax, we were promised a group of workers under Frank Fabey, the famous Frank Fabey. Is he here?
Because he's actually a myth. Is he actually in here? There he is.
He's actually -- he exists. We were supposed to get a workforce of trained workers under him. I know we hired him, but it's my understanding, under your watch, I'm going to say it three times, not under your watch, not under your -- that those positions were then used to backfill people that retired. So therefore it was not a net gain. We were told that if we paid out of the budget for the materials, we'd have the labor, this would be a more efficient time-wise production of renovation of needed -- of renovations in our smaller facilities. Those two questions. My first round: joint shared footprints, are you working together, and what happened to our laborers?
Well, I guess, I'll start. One of the things with we're doing with the Capital Projects Office is we all are working together.
What -- from the -- Kelly, Free Library, we are all working together with the Capital Projects Office on these projects where we're rebuilding and remodeling, especially if the rec center and the library is aligned and close together instead of --
So give me the example of Wynnefield and Anderson, how's that working together, that case in specific?
I believe that particular question would probably be best --
If I could ask for a Aparna Palantino, who is now in charge of capital projects to come up and respond to that.
Thank you. MS. Palantino: Aparna Palantino, Director Capital Program Office. Councilmember Jones, thank you for your question. So one of the most important facets of rebuild was to prioritize sites that are co-located. So Wynnefield Library and Anderson Cultural Center being a prime example of that. So as to not disrupt operations, Wynnefield is actually under construction currently with an outdoor renovation and classroom space expected to be completed later this summer, as soon as the grass establishes. And John C. Anderson, once that's completed, John C. Anderson Cultural Center is actually in design and construction will begin right afterwards.
So to answer my question, on shared properties, you have an efficiency plan -- MS. Palantino: Yes.
-- that says if I have to replace the HVAC in one, we might as well extend it to the other and get it done in one stroke? MS. Palantino: Yes. So we evaluate the HVAC -- every system for the individual assets. In the case of Anderson and Wynnefield, we are actually separating the HVACs, so John C. Anderson will get a separate dedicated HVAC system.
So I would dare to use the W word, like when is that going to happen? MS. Palantino: That will start in the late summer, early fall.
Got you on the record. Thank you very much. The Frank Fabey question. MS. Palantino: I cannot answer that. I don't want to speak for Parks and Rec, sorry.
The Chair recognizes Councilmember Majority Gilmore-Richardson.
Thank you, Mr. President. Quickly, I'd just like to thank Councilmember Jones. I rise with a parliamentary inquiry regarding the statement from Aparna. If you could give us the exact times, I couldn't hear you. The exact month and year for the John C. Anderson Cultural Center Project. MS. Palantino: The John C. Anderson Cultural Center project is in design, wrapping up design. So construction is expected to start this fall of this year, 2025.
So because of time constraints, I cut out all of the thank yous I want to give all of you. Just consider that an asterisk next to it because I do truly appreciate all you've done for my rec centers, even though they're not in South Philly. Thank you. MS. Palantino: Thank you.
Thank you very much. The Chair recognizes Dr. Anthony Phillips.
Thank you, Council President. I just want to briefly say thank you to council President for entrusting me with the role of being a chair of parks and rec -- recreation. All the members have a briefing that I provided as a result of the work that we've done with Parks and Recreation this year with our committee about some of the great things that are coming from Parks and Recreation, but also some things that we're hoping to make progress towards. When I first started this -- I'm going to go into my questions really quickly. When I first started this, I was adjusting to this role and it took me a little while to understand what to do, but I was -- thanks to the veterans like Councilmember Thomas, Gauthier, and Gilmore-Richardson, I was able to observe what they do as chair people of their committees and try to adopt what we do with this committee. And so I've gotten a little used to it and we made a lot of strides. I want to just begin by thanking Commissioner Slawson, who works really well with our Mayor and also has been a great advocate for our parks and rec system. She's doing a great job, but all of her staff members from Sue Buck to Ann Marie to Frank Fabey and Marissa, thank you-all so much for the work that you're doing. Let's continue to do it. I do want to note that on our tours that I did with our committee members, we noticed a few things that's happening in our -- at our rec centers. One of them includes the need for a welcoming space for our rec centers in terms of lighting in and outside of the spaces. That was noticed by a lot of our staff, parks and rec, and it was a continued thing. As well as most of our rec centers have extensive paving issues that are needed. I just wanted to see if, Commissioner, if you can talk more to the public more about, you know, the need for LED lighting as a welcome space, as well as like, you know, for our staff in and out as well as our paving, as well.
As many of us -- Susan Slawson, as many of us are familiar with our facilities, the age of our facilities are, you know, except for the ones that have been a part of rebuild, they're 50 years and older. And so we're dealing with sites that have lighting issues because of the type of lights, they're not LED. Lights that need to be replaced really often. But we're also lighting systems that are -- they're dim, our facilities are dim. We need to do a better job at upgrading our lighting system, not only inside, but outside as well. And so as we were doing the tours, Council Dr. Phillips has it set up where we go out monthly to tour our sites. And it actually benefited me as well coming back as a new commissioner. And what we were observing is that the lighting inside our facilities for our young people, for our staff, is really not up to par. And I believe we owe it to our young people that are using the facilities, and the staff that are working to do a better job at upgrading the lighting system. But also we notice for paving around our rec centers, there pavement they're crumbling, and it's a challenge. And so we have some of these beautiful sites, where you have rebuild facilities, but the paving around the rec center has not been a part of the scope. And so you walk into a beautiful there -- they hit it on there, because the paving around there is complete. But you go to some of the other sites, they're not. And so I'm soliciting just some support, something that we can look into to see if we can address, it's a risk for the city of Philadelphia to have the pavement. We're talking about making sure that we are clean, we're green, we're beautiful, we're safe, it is not safe when you have paving that you have to be concerned about. And so that's some of what we saw. And we did come up with some numbers for lighting inside and out. Paving is something that we would have to look into, but I'm hoping we can work together to figure out how we can address the paving issue at our facilities.
And I just want to mention that really quickly and then I'll turn it back over to everyone else. I mentioned this because our ITEF funds would be --
Oh, I mentioned that because our Councilmember ITEF funds, which is what we do to help, you know, our own rec centers or be completely exhausted, if we try to do paving for our own rec centers. So this is certainly something that I thought about that we should have been having a maintenance strategic plan on every year since the 80s and 90s, and we just haven't done that. So we do a little by little in our budget, we can get to our rec center, so spaces where they need to be. So I'm hoping that we can, you know, change that. And then I just, -- if I just get one quick question in about the -- our seniors sub space. We also observed with our rec centers that we have -- they're open 1:00 to 9:00 p.m., which is, you know, our seniors like to come out early in there. What would need -- what would need to be happening in our programming so that we can be able to maybe make our rec centers more conducive to our seniors? Because we only have a little bit of older adult centers in our district. We don't have in our districts not that many. So, you know, what would need it from a funding mechanism -- what would be needed from a funding mechanism so that we can be able to make our rec centers more friendly for seniors in our morning?
Our rec centers for our young people are open from 1:00 until 9:00 during the winter months. Senior's light like to go in before it gets too dark. They like to be in the comfort and safety of their homes, but there are always -- there are always opportunities for them to participate after 5:00 in a recreation facility that's close to the -- where they live. And so it's just a matter of us providing programming and having the necessary staff to meet their needs.
Thank you. Thank you, Council President. I appreciate it, and look forward to doing work on this committee.
And we do commend you for you-all received a grant regarding autism --
-- playground equipment to also address those who may have disabilities. And also are we exploring like playground equipment or -- yeah, playground equipment for singers or the types of things that sing --apparatus that singers like to enjoy?
We are -- we are intentionally trying to create in our system equipment for not only seniors, but for, as you said first, Council President Johnson, autism. I want to say that Councilmember Driscoll is having a universal center playground put up in his district. And it is purposely -- it's intentionally for people, young people that have challenges. And so it is our responsibility to make sure that we are meeting everyone's needs, and I believe that. So you all are making it happen. So I commend you all for ensuring that you're holding us to the fire to provide services for everyone, not just for the kids that can jump up and get on something high, but for those kids that are in wheelchairs, those kids that are struggling, we're starting to build our system up to ensure that we're meeting those needs as well.
I just wanted to really quickly commend you about the work that we're doing. The reason why we have such a good turnout here is just showing that all of our council members are invested in our libraries and parks and rec. That's not for every committee. And I think that's why we're going to have a lot of questions to support you all. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The chair recognizes Councilmember Jim Harrity, then Vice Chair Parks and Recreation Center -- park -- Vice Chair Parks and Recreation, Member Cindy Bass, then Member O'Rourke.
Thank you, Council President. How are you? Hello, everybody. How are you today?
I have lots of questions, but I'm going to save my rebuild questions for the second round. And when I asked about our compliance with the HOPS law, what steps has the administration taken to comply with the HOPS law and eliminate toxic synthetic herbicides used in city grounds? And, you know, just for point of reference, are you aware that juries have repeatedly found Bayer Monsanto liable for serious health harms caused by Roundup and other toxic synthetic herbicides on the grounds that the manufacturer annuities projects posed a clear and present danger to human health and failed to warn the public? For example, a 2.25 billion jury award in January 2004, that was later reduced to 400 million and a 78 million verdict in October of 2024 were both issued in Philadelphia courtrooms. Just trying to figure out, does the city continue non-compliance with the HOPS law exposed not only to the public, but ongoing health risks, but also the city itself to significant legal and financial liabilities? You know, as I said, 2.2 billion was just one reward -- award that was granted. And us still continuing to use these products are putting not only our workers, but everybody in our city at harm when they go to a park. This is important to me because I came from the Laborers Union. And my union was, to say the least, highly affected by this. We're the ones that actually spray that stuff on an industrial level, and mostly are things, especially my union Local 57 --
The questions are there. Can you answer what I asked or?
Good morning. My name is Sue Buck, Deputy Commissioner of Operations.
Sue's been around like handling business because she's --
Our staff receives pesticide training yearly and are trained on proper application of pesticides on public spaces. We do adhere to the HOPS bill. We have --- we keep track of what is sprayed, how much is sprayed, where it's sprayed, and we turn that into the chief clerk yearly, that information. It's also available by a right-to-know request for those who have requested that. So we do adhere to that. We did some pilot testing with other non-herbicide products, and we continue to do that working closely with Penn State and their academics team.
So we do follow the, you can't spray 50 feet from play equipment, you can't spray in gardens, food producing gardens.
Well, we do spray as needed, yes. We have staff that is trained, we do spray. I mean --
No. 19 I get that. Our staff were trained too, it didn't stop them from getting cancer. You know, I get it. Things happen though. And the bottom line is this stuff is basically outlawed and we're still using it. And I don't care where you're spraying it, everywhere that you're spraying it is a hazard. It's going to eventually get somewhere. That stuff goes into the ground, gets pushed around by water going through, you know, it's pure physics, you know what I'm saying? And it goes to other places. So no 11 matter where you're spraying it, we're still going to have a problem. And you know, this -- we're not --
-- we're talking about a place where kids play, and that's why my concern is that this chemical is still being used. Whether it's not being used near the playground sets or not, kids have a tendency to roam and get into other spaces, so, you know.
Right. What we were spraying is similar to the products like Roundup that you would use at your home to spray the weeds and the -- at your home. It's not -- we're -- it's -- honestly, it's very labor intensive to remove all the weeds surrounding all the play grounds.
We are following the guidelines outlined in the HOPS bill the best that we can.
That's right. So to the best that you can, so you're not actually following guidelines.
Council, I don't get it. How can you being -- you're still spraying and still be in compliance?
We comply with the HOPS bill. I can say that, yes. And we track everything that's sprayed, where it's sprayed, how much, what is being used?
Is there any way we -- is there a reason why we're not using something else as opposed to this particular sprays?
We have done some testing and the organic material is -- it's not working. It's not -- it's not working. You want to answer that?
So I would ask that you and the chairman of Parks and Rec, and Member Jim Harrity, Chairman of Labor, if we can do a follow-up, because I guess there's a difference between a little harming. I'm just -- for us, there's no difference because harming is harming, and so we are doing everything we can on our -- on our half -- on our behalf as a city to see what all the other alternatives. And I'm sure if you're saying you tried something, it don't work, something has to work somewhere. And if not, I mean this is the norm across the country that this is the way it's done. So I'm sure somewhere else probably don't use this same type of spray product -- pesticide product. Commissioner.
So Council President Johnson and Councilmember Harrity, what we will do if, as you said, if it's possible, if we could have a meeting outside of this conversation and we'll start looking into other alternatives to see how we can venture away from using those things that are harmful. And I will say, we just need to find out what works in other places. It may not happen next week, next month, but we will start doing our due diligence to see how we can make the necessary changes to make sure that all of us are safe.
Yeah, I agree. I'm doing a resolution next week, so it'll be a lot sooner than you think. So we'll get -- we're going to bring in some people and talk about it because this is -- as far as I'm concerned, this is a non-starter.
Thank you. I think Member Bass, you worked on this issue.
Yeah. Thank you, sir. So I would like to be included in that conversation as the author of the bill and to, you know, like be as helpful as possible. Because people do get sick. Like people are getting sick from this stuff. And we can't act like it's not happening. So I would very much like to be included and try to find some alternatives.
And we are -- we are -- we are -- we are actually grateful, this is what we're supposed to be doing. Making sure that we can find the safest opportunities to ensure that our playgrounds and our parks are safe. So we look forward to this conversation and coming up with alternatives to address it.
And just for the record, now I think about it, how really important it is just to be real. And me and my kids, we were at Chew yesterday. So we are on the field and we're having fun, and we're playing baseball, and they practicing track. I'm going to talk to Councilman Jones about their track stride, but -- and we also at Wharton Square Park. And we're going to play tennis during the summer. And so we're actually in the parks and recreational system enjoying ourselves, but now I guess this is a whole different level because like my own children out there now, and it probably makes it even more intentional in terms of how we need to address this issue in terms of all kids. But my kids actually, I'm not just sitting here as the Council President, but as a dad, we utilize park and recreational spaces with our children. But the floor is yours, Member Bass, and you will be a part of that conversation.
Just for the record, could I be included in that discussion? Seventy percent of the park is in the 4th Councilmatic District, so we have a vested interest in that.
Yes, Member Jones. The Chair recognizes Member Bass.
Thank you. Oh, he just had to say that, 70 percent of the -- he just had to say that.
Well, City Hall -- City Hall is located in the 5th Councilmatic Districts, so.
We hear you. And we hear you. No, but it's all good. It's all love. So good morning. Good morning. And so I want to thank you actually for being willing to have that conversation, Commissioner. I know that under previous administration and the last administration, it really just felt like it was a shutdown around the conversation. Like, no, we're not going to do it, period. And so I appreciate that you're willing and open because that's a, you know, sort of like a cultural shift. It's a change in the mindset around, you know, protecting our environments and protecting our workers. So I just wanted to say kudos around that matter. Speaking of parks, I just have a few questions probably, I'm going to have to go into a second round. First question, if we could be brief. When I was chair of Parks and Rec, we used to every four years do the authorization around members for the Fairmount Park Commission. And I have not seen that come up. Are we still authorizing? We stopped. The last time we were supposed to do it, it was during COVID. And of course, COVID stopped everything. It was, you know, right at the exact same time and it got pushed to the wait side. So I'm just wondering, do we have a Fairmount Park or a Parks and Recreation commission now? Are we bringing that back? You know, do we need to bring it back? Do we need to dissolve it? I'm just wondering because I know that there were some folks who were really active and engaged and involved and who really wanted to be a part of the system.
Thank you for that question, Councilmember Bass. As a matter of fact, the Mayor has put that on my agenda to make sure we can reconvene. So we are in the process of having that conversation to reconvene the park commission.
Excellent. And so we'll all be notified so we can -- so as people ask us, we can let them know.
And the other thing I just wanted to say briefly is that you're just so modest that you forgot to mention as the council president was talking about safety in our rec centers what we debuted last night, which is Playing It Safe In The 8th, which is a pilot program, Mr. President, around keeping our playgrounds and recreation centers safe during the summer months. As I had mentioned last night, during the summer, we all get very, very nervous because, you know, young people are gathering, you know, like tempers get hot, people get into arguments, and things start to happen. This is a plan and a program that was piloted by Parks and Recreation under Commissioner Slawson's leadership to make sure that we have boots on the ground, which is specifically pan and having those guys out and about as trusted messengers on site at the -- at the center. So we're going to do four centers in the 8th district, I'm super excited about that. And I just wanted to know if you wanted to add on anything about that, because it's -- this is a game changer, I believe, and once we spread it around the city, it's going to be very impactful.
Thank you for remembering and bringing that up. I think it's important that everyone that's willing to be a part of making sure that our rec centers and our young people are safe. And this is just one of those opportunities that we can use in your district. And like you said, make sure we spread it out, all the support that we can possibly get to help us with our young people and safety. And so I'm looking forward to this, because they're definitely ready, willing, and they're going to make a big difference in the 8th.
Excellent. Excellent. And I just have one other thing. And if you could answer this briefly. Internet service at our rec centers, we're constantly getting beat up, I'll say by members of our community who have been asking for internet. And, you know, to be able to access WiFi for a very long time at some of our centers, including, I'll just mention Stenton Park, which was built prior to your arrival as commissioner, maybe like four or five years ago, I think it opened up. But we just assumed that it would be ready for WiFi, but it wasn't. And so now we're sort of like starting over, but then I understand a contract was just recently signed with Verizon. Can you give us an update on that to get WiFi in our centers?
So INET is going to be a game changer in our systems because we have been struggling throughout our system, not just young people and adults that want to come into the facility and use it, our staff, they were struggling, but because of this partnership with Verizon and INET is just taking a little longer because some of our buildings, because of the age, we had to also figure out -- we had to find somebody to come in and run the wires. It wasn't as just -- it wasn't as easy as just coming and setting up, we literally had to have wires run throughout the facilities. And so there were 183 facilities, 90 percent of those are rec centers. But when this is finished, it's supposed to be -- Marissa, is it 18 a year or 24 months? 19
So I want to say that, believe it or not, 183 facilities, let's say 18 months from now, we'll be able to say all of our facilities have this Verizon INET and make a difference to those locations you're concerned about.
Super. I'll come back to more of my questions on the next round. But can you give us a list -- can you give park and rec -- give the chairman a list of what has been done, what centers have been done, and what's in order to, you know, come up and, you know, what's happening next in terms of WiFi? Just so that when people ask us, we can answer and give them a good guesstimate as to when WiFi will be coming to their center.
We will provide, Council President, of the list, Councilmember Bass of what's been done, what's going to be done. And hopefully, we can give you an idea when this will be complete as well.
Thank you. Councilmember O'Rourke, then Councilmember Quetcy Lozada, then Councilman Squilla.
Thank you, Mr. President. This has been quite the exchange this morning already. Good morning to you, Director Richards, as well as Commissioner Slawson.
Member O'Rourke, could you speak into the microphone, please?
Oh, very rarely am I told that I'm too quiet. Thank you very much. Good morning to you. I'm going to try to get my questions out. A lot of that has kind of been touched on in bits and pieces through the exchanges that have probably already taken place, but there are some nuances that I want to try to raise out of them. And I'll start with you Director Richards. The -- as leader Brooks mentioned in her point of information at the top, the library's proposed budget includes funding for over a thousand positions. And we also know that many of those remain unfilled, that hiring is slow and attrition is actually outpacing recruitment. We're also hearing directly from workers that there's a serious retention crisis, that workers are actually demoting themselves rather than seeking promotion because of inadequate support being asked to do too much with too little. Supervisors are overseeing dozens of employees, entire facilities without compensation, or resources to match. What's the administration doing to both accelerate hiring and create conditions that retain and support the staff who actually keep our libraries running and actually want to advance in those leadership positions.
Thank you, Councilman. The more people we hire alleviates stress on management for our team. So if we are able to fill more of these positions, it'll alleviate some of that. Again, it'll alleviate some of that stress for the workload that staff have been carrying on for a long time. So I believe as we bring more people on board, they'll have more support to provide the necessary programming that, you know, our staff are engaging in in all of our neighborhoods.
Thank you, sir. I also strongly, strongly, strongly support the scaling up services as the Free Library of Philadelphia plays a vital role in providing access to literacy, to learning, workforce development, opportunities for all residents. We have heard from workers that basic supplies are sometimes being purchased out-of-pocket. I think this was mentioned by the president at the top of the questions here, particularly due to issues with purchasing -- with the purchasing system itself, and that branches are regularly closing because of the HVAC failures that could be prevented. What steps can we take to ensure that this expansion is built on a solid foundation where infrastructure is functioning properly and where our front line workers are properly equipped to carry out this critical mission? More specifically, would it be possible to receive a map of the libraries that are -- or the rec centers that are currently at risk due to these infrastructure challenges? Like, if we could have like a list of them, a map of them and kind of know specifically where they are.
Just to make sure I can -- I understand your question. You're looking for a map of libraries that have a building or --
I believe there was a memo that was sent out in the line of -- be while this was going on, that I think the libraries are actually are straight on the HVAC issue. So if it's not libraries, then so be it. But it is a question, I guess, for both libraries as well as parks and rec. If we could get like a map of the sites that actually have these issues with the HVAC, that would be, I think, particularly helpful.
Okay. I have some other questions, but I'll wait for my second round. Thank you, Mr. President. Okay. Let me shoot to this in here. Since 2019, Commissioner Slawson, there have been more than, and again, the president looked this up already, 300 shootings at our near -- at our near parks and rec centers. And as you spoke to, workers are actually reporting being placed in unsafe conditions, without sufficient backup. Now, public safety takes varied forms, and I believe it is essential to focus on approaches that further meet communities' needs, such as having social workers and municipal guards on site. These are DC 33 jobs, these are DC 47 jobs that are just waiting. We see other departments, like the Free Library have these resources. Similar to what I said to President Johnson's question, what's the department's comprehensive strategy for public safety at recreation centers? These particular workers, like the municipal guards in particular, social workers, these roles and approaches are specifically well suited to supporting well-being and fostering positive relationships, particularly at high need, youth serving sites like parks and recs. And more specifically, how might we work together to expand the presence, again, of municipal guards and of social workers to create not just safety that we can see, but also that we can feel, that we can kind of cultivate in those spaces?
Thank you for the question, Councilmember O'Rourke. As far as the shootings and the public safety questions, Commissioner Bethel laid out some amazing statistics of what has happened since 2019 up until now, and how the numbers have decreased. And he also talked about how it's 3.6 percent of his total crime that happens around recreation facilities. I probably can't address that any better than he did, honestly. But as far as the municipal guards and the social workers that you're talking about, I think that's a conversation that we would have to sit down and have a conversation about to come up with some type of a plan for staffing, how much staff, a pilot program. It's not something I could honestly sit here and say, this is how this could work. I can tell you that we currently have trauma informed programs in six of our sites right now, because we recognize how difficult it is for some of our young people and even our adults to deal with some of the issues that are going on in the communities.
A thousand percent. I think some of that was -- some of Councilwoman Gauthier's work, I believe. I know some of those were in West Philly, and that's some -- that's exactly what I'm talking about. Having a more robust understanding of what providing care as well as protection is at our rec centers. And to the President's point, you know, again, a freshman year and a couple months in, but I think we will all agree that we would spare no expense on making sure that we can provide those sorts of protections. And I do think municipal -- there's private -- public-private partnerships, and there's also literally DC33, DC47 workers whose jobs are -- it is to be social workers, to be municipal guards. And leveraging that I think would only make our safety infrastructure at parks and rec that much better. So I would love to be a part of that conversation if that would be okay. But I've already been on the man's mic too long. Thank you so much.
Well, thank you, Member O'Rourke. The Chair recognizes Councilman Quetcy Lozada, then Chairman of Appropriations, Mark Squilla.
Thank you, Council President. Thank you for being with us this morning. I'll start really quick with the free library. Libraries are -- or should be community hubs in our neighborhoods. I have a question about the Frankford Library, beautiful brand new building, never opened. And so I'm just trying to figure out why? Are we missing -- are we crossing? My staff has been there multiple times. We've called and left messages to try to figure out how we connect residents with the programming in that space, and we can't ever get anyone there. And so I was just wondering whether it is open, it's not open. How do we connect? What's the best way?
Okay. Sorry. Sorry, Councilwoman. Good question. I just wanted to make sure I get the correct day. The second week in May is when the Frankford Library will be open.
And then that was my only question for the library, because in my other libraries they're operating, they -- they're doing what they need to do for communities. And so I'm grateful for the partnership that we've been able to have with my office, so thank you for that. Commissioner Slawson, I also want to thank you for the walk- throughs that we've been able to do in the different centers of my district. I think that we're on the same page that just because we don't have new spaces, that doesn't mean that they can't be clean spaces. And so I'm a stickler for cleaning. I want to put on the record that the person that you have at our Ferko Recreation Center should be given a raise because he does an amazing job at making sure that not just that rec center is clean, but that that entire park space is clean, as well as ensuring that the fields are clean, that the sidewalks are clean, and that Piccoli is also clean, and I don't think that that's fair. While I'm extremely grateful to him, and all that he does in our community, I think that expecting one person to maintain two very heavily used spaces is just not acceptable. And the response that we got from some of the members of your team is that there's a part- time person at Piccoli. And so as we look to do more in Piccoli, as we look to renovate Piccoli, is there an opportunity to find someone that's going to be able to maintain this space at Piccoli, or the area at Piccoli. Because, you know, it doesn't make sense to invest so much money and then not be able to sustain what we are investing in.
Thank you for that question, Councilman Lozada. And yes, we will have additional support at Piccoli, and not split the time for the gentleman that is actually covering Ferko, which is a huge facility, which has its own challenges. He should have support and he should not be at both sites. So we'll manage that and we'll make sure that there's a specific person assigned to Piccoli.
And speaking of sustaining, right, we're investing a lot of money in all of these rebuild projects. Are we -- do we have a system in place that will allow us to see these investments taken care of for years to come?
So we don't currently have a system in place, Councilmember Lozada, but I am working on getting an asset management system in place. Because what happens, if we don't, and I'll use Rivera, and I'll use Vare for instance. If we don't have an asset management system in place, years 4 from now, the challenges that we see 5 at some of these facilities we will 6 see at those sites. 7 And the goal is to plan out 8 to know when the air conditioner is 9 supposed to be replaced without it 10 dying, to know when the floors need 11 to be redone, to know when it needs 12 to be painted again. And we don't 13 have -- we have Proformo, which is 14 very limited. So I'm working on a 15 plan. We've actually had some of 16 our team put together a proposal to 17 come up with an asset management. 18 It really is about looking past next 19 week, next month, next year. 20 If we want to keep our system up, clean, and green, and safe, we have to do the planning now. And so once we get this asset management system, we'll be able to identify what needs to be done in our sites prior to, and not waiting until the facility again looks like it's years old. That defeats the 5 purpose of creating and building all 6 these new facilities. 7 So we are working on a plan 8 and we actually have the proposal. 9 So we will have an asset management 10 system in place at some point 11 because we recognize the need. 12
13 Thank you. And will that include 14 things like preparing for the 15 openings of our pool spaces? We 16 have a ton of pools, summer comes 17 every year, right. And so my -- 18 some of the frustrations that I 19 experience is that we're not 20 prepared because we need tanks, we need something. Are we -- is that management system going to include those kinds of things? And more importantly, are our pools all going to be ready for opening at the beginning of the season?
That system, asset -- that asset management system will include everything in our system that we need to maintain and be on top of. It is about maintenance for these sites. And the answer to your question, we will have 63 of our pools open. The other pools are under some type of a construction or a part of Rebuild, which would be our seven additional pools. But 63 will be open this summer.
Thank you. Do we have time for one more? No? Okay. Thank you.
I do have a -- well, be brief, I want my members to answer. I'll ask mine in the second round. But as a matter of equity, I know in Quetcy's district, right, when you ride through Hunting Park, they have the swimming pool with all the nice, like, art stuff, that's swimming pool stuff on the gates is very, very colorful. I think all the playgrounds, swimming pools should have it. Because that's very, very, very, very nice. And it, very, very, she-she. I asked Tumar about it last year, he said like some type of partnership. You know what I'm talking about?
And they did -- they identified certain pools where they were -- it's actually gorgeous. And you know what, every pool should have it. I'm going to do with you --
Whatever we need to do budget-wise to support because it felt very, very, she-she, when I was up there. Like, okay, this is nice. So we are putting in that as official request for support.
Equity would be across the city of Philadelphia. The Chair recognizes Councilmember and Chairman of Appropriations Mark Squilla. Then we'll have Councilmember Majority Leader Katherine Gilmore-Richardson, and then we'll have Jeffrey J. Young, and then Jamie Gauthier.
Thank you, Council president. Thank you, guys, for being here. And you know, we're all big advocates for both the libraries and our parks. And thank you, Mr. Richards, for your responses to our many emails and concerns. I know somebody had asked earlier and you had mentioned, I think it was Council President and they asked about the resources needed for our HVAC systems and while some of our libraries have been closed, do you think that the current budget ask will allow us to repair the current ones? But also, I know you were saying you were putting a list together of capital improvements necessary to replace a lot of the old HVAC systems throughout the libraries. Is that something that would be in a future ask, or will that be asked in this budget, or how would that work?
Well, the great thing about this budget is we've got a -- the buildings conditioning assessment. What that'll do is give us the opportunity to find out what our true needs are rather than going after each emergency that takes place. So this will give us, and it ties in even to our strategic plan. It -- this gives us a strategic plan for our buildings, and we can prioritize what needs to be done. But in the interim, we're -- in the interim is what's based in our budget now, is what we know of now and what we can work on to get fixed. But the assessment is going to give us the true data that we need to be able to present to you what our overall needs are for the whole system, and it's something we've never had before.
So no longer just, this money is just the patch things, keep them working as long as possible --
And then the assessment will tell us what that total cost is and what is needed. And it --
It will tell us what our -- what our major needs are going forward. Because again, like I said earlier, some of these systems date back to the 60s.
All right. Well, thank you. I want to continue to work on that and hopefully provide work with Council and administration on providing enough resources necessary to make sure that not only open -- every library is open six days, but hopefully getting into seven days with the not being closed because of either staffing or because of HVAC concerns.
And I think that's the goal of everybody here. Parks and Rec, Commissioner Slawson, thank you so much for all your advocacy and work and your team, they're always very responsive. This is something we've been asking every year and it's usually of the removal of dead trees and getting rid of some of the diseased or dangerous trees so we could replant in those locations. Do we have money -- enough money in our budget or we need to add money into our budget to make sure that we -- I know there was a new assessment done. I guess you could ask Sue or -- to see if we have enough resources to be able to address the removal and -- of the dead trees. Hi.
Hello. I'm Erica Smith Fichman. I'm the city forester. I'm happy to answer that question. So we -- last year with the $500 -- $500,000 increase in tree maintenance money, we were able to prune 2,700 trees. So that's more than twice what we are able to do in the two years prior. And we have been able to eliminate with the money we are spending on tree -- on street tree removals this year, we will be able to eliminate all of the dead and hazardous trees that are on our list. That's what we know of. Of course, trees are being added to that list every day. The existing backlog of trees to be removed is around 3000 across the city, and that's about $2.6 million.
So you would need additional $2.6 million in this year's budget to -- would you have the capacity to do that in a year?
It will be -- it would have to be a phased thing to work up to that, yes. But we have a certain amount of money in the budget -- well, we hope to have a certain amount of money in the budget to tackle a bunch of those in FY26 --
Excuse me, I have a point of information. Dr. Phillips.
Yes, thank you. Just a point of information. What -- he just said that three is -- you said 3,000 backlog or trees --
-- that would need to be pruned. But what would be needed to actually get that done? When you said $2.6 million, but in terms of staffing, what would be needed? Because I know it's hard to find arborists to do it, so are you -- are we coming up with a plan to make that happen? That's all. I just want to see what can -- what's the timeline? Because the residents want a timeline and how can we make that as a priority?
Yeah. So in terms of staffing, we do have a new inspector coming on in June and we have a couple of vacancies that we are actively filling to increase our inspector capacity. Because every one of those trees needs to be inspected to determine the condition, what the priority is on the list for removal. So we, you know, we do have our staffing plan that we are working towards, we also have existing contractors that can take on additional work over time. We need large amounts of time -- of money over time to increase capacity up to being able to do 3,000 trees in the single year. We've never done something quite that big before. So as we receive more money over time, we can increase our yearly production on tree removals.
Thank you. And it's great because it's -- you guys have been very responseful -- very responsive to our inquiries one off. But, I mean, it was great to have that full plan together and I guess an amount that we could work on the Council with the administration to see what is necessary to do that, because I do believe by removing the dead ones, we could even plant more trees in those areas.
And instead of reducing our canopy, growing our canopy, which I think is the goal, and I really -- one other thing I want to say is the appreciation of the maintenance of the trees, the tree trimming that has been done has been greatly appreciated, because that also adds to some of the damage when we have these windstorms and other things that these big branches end up coming off and end up having to remove a whole tree when if we have could have maintained them, we wouldn't have to do that in the future. So thank you all for your great response and I'm looking forward to continue working with you on this. I appreciate it.
And I just want to just follow-up briefly, and that's a matter of public safety. Now, I just called Frank Fabey the other day that assist me because Cobbs Creek Parkway, 63rd of Whitby Avenue, I think it's either me or Jamie's district but it's along the same area. We're adjacent to one another. I had to call them because it was posted that this huge tree branch came down and it totally blocked the whole street, right? And it went viral. And I called Frank Fabey, I called Keith Warren, and Keith Warren said this is under Parks and Recreation. But the debris was able to be removed, but as a matter of public safety, if somebody wasn't paying attention, they would've ran into that debris and, you know, could have started a fatality on Cobbs Creek Parkway. So whatever we need to do in 2.5 million, 6 million out of $8 billion is nothing. It's just do we have the capacity to staff up and make it a priority to get it done in a very, very timely fashion. So whatever we can do as a ally, we want to make sure we get it done. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Katherine Gilmore- Richardson, then Councilmember Jeffrey Jr. Young, Gauthier, then Dr. Nina Ahmad.
Thank you. Thank you very much, Council President, and thank each of you for being here and for your work. I'm going to quickly start off with my thank yous and then go into just a couple questions I have, primarily on capital side for the libraries. But I have to reiterate for Parks and Rec that I second the information and question shared by Councilmember Curtis Jones, Jr., who is also my district Councilmember regarding my concern around the John C. Anderson Cultural Center. For the record, we have no 16 recreation center or cultural center in Wynnefield at all. We have nothing for our young people. So, even at the town hall we had the other evening, someone approached Councilman Jones and I regarding the John C. Anderson Cultural Center. So I just want to underscore what he stated that we really want to get the John C. Anderson Cultural Center up and running. It also serves as one of our polling places in the 52nd Ward. So thank you very much to the Free Library of Philadelphia for accommodating an additional polling place request due to the library -- due to the cultural center being closed. But thank you very much to Kelly Richards, Christina Patton, Chris Caputo, Felina Hand, who's a Girl's High girl. And over at the Wynnefield Library specifically, branch manager, Susan Ben, Ms. Mary and Ms. Ethel. We appreciate all of those team members from the Free Library of Philadelphia. And from Parks and Rec, of course, our commissioner who is always responsive, Susan Slawson, we thank you very much for your commitment to the city of Philadelphia. Sue Buck, we don't get to see you a lot but we see you via e-mail. You are just always so helpful with all of our constituent cases, particularly the ones regarding tree maintenance. So, thank you very much and Beth says thank you. And then I saw Chris Creelman, thank you for the Rebuild updates and for your service to the city even back to your, Councilmember Krajewski days. But really quickly for the Free Library, I know Council President talked about the capital request. And as my colleague Councilmember O'Rourke stated, we did receive information during the hearing regarding the capital request. I know that I asked in advance of the administration team. I don't know if Sabrina or Rob are here to respond to this question, but I asked for a breakdown of all of the proposed capital investments, specifically for the Free Library of Philadelphia prior to this budget hearing. I wanted to have the information today so that we could have a more full and robust conversation that asked, was made of the administration's budget and finance team and the proposal, so you know that we received it stated, I think Andorra and Haverford for major capital investment, which is up in the 4th, in different parts of the 4th. And it said various projects. And so it doesn't list what those various projects are, what they're targeting and how much the spend would be. So even the information that we just received, it's a total amount of dollars. So it does not help us as members, and particularly for my district colleagues identify where the investments will take place. So, I want to put that on the record because it's important to us that during this process we're able to ensure that we are dealing with any and all capital issues as it relates to the Free Library of Philadelphia. And in addition to that, I was going through the detail, but if you could talk about the LEAP program, you know, that program is important and as we continue to want to provide additional space and opportunities for our young people, if you could talk about if the LEAP program will be fully operational this year and how many TLAs, Team Leadership Assistants will be able to hire throughout the system.
Okay. Thank you, Councilwoman and we really appreciate all that you do for the Free Library of Philadelphia and the obvious love that you have for it. Our Literacy Enrichment After-School Program, that program we're fully -- going to be fully funded for that. And our TLAs, I don't have an exact number. I think I'll have to get back with you with our team library assistance on how many we'll have on. But that -- do we have that number? 100? Okay. Awesome. Okay. I forgot I brought a team with me. We have -- we're going to have 100 of those. And that particular program for those who don't know, is an opportunity for teens to come in the library and work, and learn job skills, and propel them forward to be like a Mayor, councilwoman. And we've had some who've come back who work for some of -- some of our council. They learn these skills and they provide homework help for our youth throughout the city. So it's a great opportunity to learn job skills. And it's a great opportunity to provide homework help and support for young people throughout the city. I mean, it is a program that is 360 degree benefit of providing support and help for other young people and for young people to actually get job skills in a educational environment working with our premier staff and picking up skill sets for them. And Literacy Enrichment After-School Program is program -- I mean, help and support for young people again throughout the city --
Can we, Director Richards, because I heard the bell and I want to honor the clock. Could you all just send to us the recruitment information --
-- for the team leadership assistant positions, because that's another way to support young people in the summertime, and how they interact and interface with the Free Library System. And then I have to put on the record particularly for the autism program, that I think is stellar that was started at Wynnefield Library that you all are expanding. If you could just give us a response in writing regarding how that program will expand across the Free Library System. And then finally, I wanted to just mention this for Parks and Rec. One, the trees, we are getting so many requests for down trees and I heard Council President talk about this and other colleagues. I think it would be helpful if we get something that just says, like, what the parameters are, because, you know, some of the trees that we get, and I know Sue knows this, it's technically on the property line for the homeowner. And so, as far as the discretion that's utilized to determine, you know, when a tree is a -- when it's appropriate for us as Council to alert you all to a down a tree and then when it's technically the property owner's responsibility. We have a lot of cases like that. So if we could just get some education there, that would be exceedingly helpful. And then I just have to put one last thing in for the Dell. The Dell, The Dell and The Dell. Thank you.
Thank you. The Chair recognizes Councilmember Jeffrey J. Young, Councilmember Jamie Gauthier, then Dr. Nina Ahmad, then Councilmember Kendra Brooks. And then we'll be officially in our second round.
Thank you, Mr. President. I just want to echo the thank yous as well to the staff at Parks and Rec, Capital Projects and to the library. I know I'm annoying, so, you know, we are -- but it's just because I care too much -- too much that someone would say about these particular issues. I want more, right? I ask for more. I demand more. And so our children deserve to have more. They should -- they deserve to have the best and I'm not going to hide from that, right? I'm not going to hide from the fact that I want the best for our kids in our city and in my -- and in my district. I serve some of the most vulnerable kids throughout the city. But particularly for the libraries. So libraries today are not the same as libraries in the past, right? When -- and when there's a need in the community, libraries have often filled that void and evolved with the times to step up to fill those needs for the community. So can you tell us about what ideas or plans or if any of our current spaces, any of our current library spaces offer, you know, have maker spaces, have pod casting studios, have video editing spaces, have gaming spaces, right? So to attract current teenagers, right, not teenagers of the past, but current teenagers to come to utilize these spaces.
Thank you, Councilman. Good question. Our focus has been to make sure to get these libraries open for the community. That's been the -- been the preeminent issue that we've been focused in on lately. We have a very creative, talented staff who provide programming opportunities throughout our system. We do anywhere from 25,000 to 30,000 programs a year and serves over 600,000 people. And within those programming efforts are STEM and STEAM activities, beekeeping, coding, we've -- gaming, you know, the -- you know, I'm outgrown, some of the Xbox and all that stuff. But, you know, we've had those, chess. I mean there's so -- we're so varied in the programming opportunities, STEM, STEAM programs that we provide the community, and there's a demand on it. And as we staff up, we'll be able to do even more. So we do quite a bit. We work hard to provide the same opportunities that you're saying for this city. And we're looking to do much more. We're going through a strategic planning process where we'll be receiving input from our young people, talking to them to find out what more do they want. So our goal is literally to be on the cutting edge of providing library services. And as you said, you know, libraries, you know, they're not what they used to be, you know, we are third space, we're community location where people come for a variety of different services and needs.
But what can you do if these teens, right, the patrons of the library say they want certain programs, but there just isn't enough physical space in our libraries to provide those opportunities to our citizens?
We have to be creative. You know, some events, even at our central library, we have outside because they're large. I mean, we could probably do some inside, but I mean, it -- we just have to be -- we have to be creative and I'm talking to you based on what we have now. We have to be creative. Our staff is creative and utilizing, you know, the space that we have.
Thank you. And I heard the bell. I'll come back for another round, Mr. President. Thank you.
Thank you. Councilmember Jamie Gauthier, Councilmember Dr. Nina Ahmad, then Councilmember Brooks, then we'll officially be in our second round.
Thank you, Council President. Good morning to both of you. Thank you for all that you do for our city. It's been a pleasure working with both of you and your teams. I wanted to reiterate the Majority Leader's request that we can receive information -- and, sorry, this is for Director Richards, that we can receive information on which specific library branches are slated for significant renovations or capital improvements in FY26. Additionally, would you be able to provide my office with an update on the current operational status of library branches, and for the Commissioner, recreation centers within the third district detailing which locations are fully operational, under renovation, operating with limited hours or awaiting future upgrades. And then my questions. First, for Director Richards, I wanted you to outline with respect to the capital improvements that you aim to make in FY26, what is the criteria for how you will prioritize those projects and make sure that there is equitable distribution across neighborhoods? And then also, can you give us a timeline for that sort of physical assessment that you mentioned as well as your strategic planning effort. And then for Commissioner Slawson, I'm really worried about, you know, our future beyond Rebuild. Rebuild has been amazing and I'm so glad that so many projects in my district and across the city have been renovated. But if we're being honest, there was a lot of deferred maintenance, and I'm scared that we'll get to the same place again. So I wanted to ask you, in terms of the FY26 budget, it -- what are we doing to account for maintenance from a financial perspective? Is there an increase for everyday needs, everyday capital needs for example? And then secondly for Commissioner Slawson, in the past we found that the reason that Parks and Recreation has had difficulty filling park positions is because many of them are seasonal and, you know, don't offer opportunities year-round nor is there a reliable path to full-time employment for seasonal workers. So can you speak to what Parks and Rec is doing to address that barrier? And I know that was a lot, so I'm happy to repeat questions if need be.
Councilmember Gauthier, we're going to answer your last question first and then I'll come back.
Good morning. First Deputy Commissioner Marissa Washington. To answer your question about pathways for our seasonals, one of the things that we have done, especially for our entry level positions, so our recreation outreach worker, ARL, rec leader trainee, and even our grounds maintenance facility worker, we have changed the specs since 2019 multiple times to decrease any barriers for our seasonals to come into full-time employment. Since 2019, and remember during the years of COVID, we did have a hiring freeze. We -- but we had 141 people that were seasonals that are in permanent employment. And that's just from four titles. That does not include administrative positions where folks have gone from seasonal to administrative positions, clerks and those sorts of things. So that probably goes up to about 170. So there's an organic thing that happens in parks and recreation when people work as seasonals, they are -- their experience qualifies them for full- time permanent positions within parks and recreation. So we do have a pathway. One of the things that we are trying to do more is really communicate those opportunities for folks. Last Saturday we had a job fair at Mander Recreation Center. It was supposed to be at The Dell Music Center, but because of the weather we moved it indoors. We had over 250 people come out for that. We're going to transition those folks into about 180, who are probably young people, so we're going to give them opportunities in our C2L program during the summer. And also put other folks into either seasonal opportunities or full-time opportunities. Office of Human Resources was also at Mander Recreation Center with their big bus outside, they shared all of the information, got contact information for folks, folks even put in applications that same day. So we are moving to decrease the barriers for permanent employment, and I think we've been doing a pretty good job. We're going to continue to move forward. One of the other things that we are doing when you think about skilled trades positions, even working with some of our seasonal staff to get them qualified to get into some of those hard to fill positions with skilled trades. Because that is a challenge not just for the City of Philadelphia, but hiring skilled trades positions is a challenge across the nation and it's evident by the bonuses that the Office of Human Services has offered to skilled trades -- to most of the skill trades positions.
What are we doing to ensure that we don't get back to the place we were where there was a need for a $400 million capital program? Because essentially we just did not take care of maintenance for years. What are we doing every single budget cycle to avoid that starting with this one?
It was -there's been a neglect in the system for decades. This isn't a couple years of not managing our facilities. There's been years of not addressing regular everyday challenges. And just like your home, if you have a little leak in your roof and you allow it to go for a year or two and you continue to patch and it's a 20-year roof, you're going to eventually have a roof that's going to cave in. And so now we're talking -- we're talking facilities throughout the City of Philadelphia. One of the things that's going to make a huge difference is this asset management system that I'm talking about. And we've come up with a system where we are deep cleaning our facilities, and I'm working on coming up with some inspectors to actually go and inspect our facilities because it's -- we have to hold people accountable for what's going on in our systems. And you can't hold people accountable if you're not saying these are some of the challenges. And sometimes when you're working in a facility and you are there day in and day out, you miss some things. And so you can't -- you just miss some things. But if you have people that are specifically assigned to go around and look to check various items in your facility, I go to the facilities and so I am looking, and I maybe looking for something different but we're going to have a list of what we should be looking for. I have a -- we started, I want to say the second month after I was assigned here, a decluttering of our facilities. We have things that have been in our facilities for 30 years in closets. And so we have a system in place now where we are going throughout all of our facilities and we're decluttering, we're also deep cleaning, we're stripping floors. But then on top of that, we are checking our roofs, we're checking our HVAC systems, but we need a system so when we check it, we're putting it somewhere and we're identifying that it needs to be done.
-- that you're going to be doing moving forward, correct?
Super quick follow-up. One, can you give us the timing on the asset management? And listing what we need to do is wonderful but we need money, right? And when I came in here this morning, I actually was talking to Dr. Phillips and we were talking about Denver and how Denver prioritizes their public spaces. You can tell in every public space you go into. So the timing on the asset management and what are we doing on the money side to take care of these issues?
So, I can -- I just had my team put a proposal together once identified that we did not have one and we needed one. So I can't honestly give you a timing on it. I know that it's something that I'm working pretty hard to get into place but I don't have a timing for you.
Okay. If that it could be something that you follow-up with --
It's very exciting to hear that. Thank you so much.
Thank you. When you get a chance, just provide that information to the Chair, Members of the Committee, very briefly, chairman of Parks and Rec. Your point of information, sir? Dr. Phillips?
Yes, just a point of information. I think that what we're just looking for, and it's something that the commissioner has pointed out. What's important is that we do have annual things that we put in the budget to work towards our Parks and Rec systems such as the lighting, all that and more. So that's why I said, I think you answered it earlier, but it's beyond that, you know.
Then Councilmember Brooks, thank you for waiting patiently. Then we'll go into the second round.
Thank you, Council President. I first want to commend both of you and your departments for not being the traditional front line essential workers but you are. Your work actually heads off and stops the problems downstream. So investing in you both in libraries and Parks And Recs is essential for us. And so I'm very glad to see so much engagement around that. I have a quick question about -- I'll start with the library system. Do you have a way of looking at the data to see where is the -- what is the usage of your services across the city? And the reason I'm asking that is I'm sure you're going to -- if you've done this already, you probably see it's not equivalent across the city. And based on that, do you deploy resources to those spaces that are under using libraries and co-locate resources with the library system to serve those underutilized spaces? And I am thinking of things like mobile libraries or ways to reach people where they are so they can see the library as a way to be an asset to them.
Thank you, Councilperson. I appreciate the question. Good question. Yes, we can look at our data to determine how much a library is being used, what kinds of materials people check, our borrowing from the library, you know, we've gotten better with calculating the number of people coming in and out of the door based on a budget request that you approved last year. So we are able to know how many people in some of our buildings at any moment. So yeah, we can -we can do that and then we staff too based on the number of people coming in and out, how busy buildings are, relative to the size, you know, of the building. So, we look at all that data, that is something libraries do. We -- you know, our mobility is not in like a mobile library. We don't -- we don't have that yet. At one point the library did but we -- you know, our staff, you know, we partner with all kinds of other organizations, other nonprofits, different city agencies to provide programming throughout the city depending on what the needs are, what the requests are to ask, or even if we just think this is something that should be done. So yes, we do have that data and we do look into it to provide services.
So I just want to make sure, I -- when I was deputy Mayor for Jim Kenney's first term, I worked with Playstreets and we took books and, you know, these spaces that were closed off to make sure children had food, but we also supplemented with books for the kids and sat and read with them. So that was sort of a model of meeting people where they are. But the follow through on that, knowing that those were spaces where these things were needed is what really is a bit concerning that we know where there's under utilization of these resources, but I don't know what the intersectional follow-up is. That's what I would love to see both from Parks and Recs and the library along with other resources. So for example, if we are understanding this particular space is not using the library, and then we go overlay that with our proficiency in math and reading, right, from the school district. And if we can then -- and then we look at housing needs or really have a comprehensive look to see how we deploy resources there. Because those children who are not having access to these resources are whose, you know, whose experiences are not being broadened, are going to suffer for no fault of their own. So I really want to think more philosophically how we really address the needs of our youngest Philadelphians who cannot advocate for themselves. We have -- we have children in certain neighborhoods and families who have these broad based knowledge. While I'm -- I appreciate, you know, making sure people have job skills, but we need to make sure they're global citizens who understand the world. And that's where libraries come in. You can travel the whole world just sitting in your library. And so I think while we emphasize making sure job skills and they're ready to put food on their table, we also need food for their mind. And I don't want that to be overlooked because we are so specific on some tangible skills we're giving them. Because you go to some of these well-resourced schools, they're getting that while those kids are not. So I just want to elevate that issue. And very quickly, I would like to pivot to -- before you answer, pivot to the Parks and Recs same thing about how much are we engaging young people to decide on programming. This was one of -- a conversation I was having yesterday with somebody who was a teacher, and she was saying that the engagement of young people to decide programming and rec centers, she was asking if that happens, right? And do we have things like youth advisory councils for our --
Ask the question, Dr. Ahmad. Ask the question.
Yeah. Do we have pathways for young people to be engaged to give feedback, what do they want? What do they want in those spaces? What would make them come to those spaces? And do we have advisory councils made of young people who might be able to advise us on that? I really want young people to see that not only are we doing this, but it's for them. And how are we being intentional about showing them that? Thank you, Council President.
So I want to -- I'll start. I want to specifically talk about just engaging our young people and finding out what it is that they want. One of the things that we are going to start are listening sessions. When I was here first go around, I did some listening sessions in a specific area, and because it was an area where there were no programs going on for the young people. And as a result of the listening sessions, we ended up not only filling up the space but having a school next to us give us -- pay us for their kids to come. So if you go and find out and have conversations with young people and you're serious about finding out what they want, they will come. So we are in the process of doing that. And we actually have leaders that work with their kids. We did the eSports that is -- that has been talked about. We recognize that we had to adapt and just kind of remain relevant to changing interests and the needs of our communities especially teens who often are our most vulnerable. And they're hard to engage. It's really challenging to engage them. And so we partnered with Nerd Street Games, a nationally renowned organization whose mission is to increase access to the gaming industry. The partnership produced the following: A team driven NBA 2K tournament with over 100 participants, eSports coach training for summer camp staff and supervisors, camp trips -- camp trips to Nerd Street local host gaming site, specialty camp opportunity for youth to attend a full week eSports camp. eSports centers, we have them at two of our sites. And thanks to INET, we'll be able to actually get more e-sites. But this is a direct result of what you're saying, having conversations with our young people and identifying what it is they need. But then once you do that, you got to actually do work.
And at the 16 library to address, you know, how we 17 address your comments, you know, 18 we've got teen librarians and youth 19 librarians who work in a library and 20 they're talking to young people 21 every day. And we have a youth 22 services coordinator who oversees, 23 you know, all of our district 24 centered programming and efforts for the whole city. So -- and through that role, we're partnering with other nonprofits, other organizations, looking at what those overall city needs are. But individually by neighborhood, we have staff in those locations. You know -- you know, Sue and I, we are like symbiotic, but some people want to -- want to read and come in the library and do arts and culture and do those kind of events after they finish, you know, recreational activities. And so we're communicating with them. Sue's team's communicating with them too. So we are hearing what they're wanting and what they're needing and we're not just solely focused on, you know, job skills. We're focused on their mind. And, you know, one of the things about the library, you can actually -- you can go in the library and you can leave the universe. You can go anywhere, travel through a black hole, you know, those kinds of things, and that creativity and the story time and the -- and the things we do to just enlighten and inspire young people. And we just have, you know, staff that that's what they do on a regular and daily basis. And we're listening to the young people. And that's why we can have 30,000 programs -- to 30,000 programs 14 because hearing from them and what 15 they want, what's going to inspire 16 them and their friends. 17
Council 20 President Johnson, can I just say 21 this? And I also wanted to say we 22 do have youth councils in our 23 facilities. 24
Thank you. The Chair recognize the presence of Councilmember Brian O'Neill. Councilmember Brooks.
Thank you, Council President. I think I just want -- I'm going to start with a combined question for Parks and Rec around --
Member Brooks, could you speak into the microphone, please?
Yes. Around the asset management systems because it's around the same line that I was going with the library system. We see that the school district of Philadelphia is in crisis now for this similar situation and I was wondering if both of you, could both kind of work on a plan so we can figure out longterm structure for Parks and Rec, as well as the libraries moving forward. So we know what we need to do in the next to 30 years to 6 secure our building and thank you so 7 much for starting that progress. 8 And then I wanted to kind 9 of comment off of -- Councilmember 10 Gauthier mentioned Level Up. I 11 visited the program as well and 12 they're doing an amazing job. And I 13 would be nice if you, Parks and Rec 14 in the library system connect with 15 these young folks and the leader of 16 that group for next steps and how 17 can we integrate them back in the 18 system. 19 And my other question was 20 around workers primarily for municipal guards and library assistant. I asked like, what is the process around hiring for that? And if you can give us something in writing around exactly what's -- what are we doing to make sure that these positions are filled and that they have a livable wage, because I heard that they were paid kind of low. I'm not sure what the exact dollar amount is but these are the folks that keep our libraries running. And my last thing, I must -- I want to talk about Carousel House. I read about it in the paper. I know we all saw that. And I was wondering, like, what are the next steps for folks with disabilities around the city to have access because now a two-year project is going to be 10, 7, I don't -- my numbers are mixed up. Because I know they closed during COVID and it was the premier project for folks with disabilities to be able to have access to sports and rec. And now we're talking about 2028 and that's problematic. And to that, they had a wheelchair accessible pool and I know we expanded ramps, and wheelchair accessibility on pools around the city. But what is the status of that? Because the promise is that there will be one wheelchair accessible pool in every district. And I wonder, are we there yet?
So the wheelchair program is still being housed at one of our -- two of our sites, Mayfair, where they used to be able to go to one location which was the Carousel House. Now they have to go to Mayfair and they also use our Gustine Lake location. And they're also using some space over in New Jersey for the actual tournament because they used to do the tournament at the School of the Future. I'm not exactly sure what happened there. It's an amazing program. It's something that we want to continue to be a part of. We want to bring it back and I do know that Aparna can speak to the Carousel House and what's happening there. So she will come and address that. But you had another question in there?
I was wondering about -- I know we -- Gustine and the other two of -- the two -- the two rec centers that were kind of allocated for special needs folks, but however, people with special needs live in every community. So I think if we're not going to use a Carousel House for much longer, we need a long-term plan to make sure that folks with varying abilities have the ability to enjoy our parks and rec system. And the problem being is that transportation is hard. Like, having to depend on CCT and all the things, wheelchair accessible vans, the burden of responsibility on caregivers is so great when this is a necessary need in our community. So I would love to see a broader vision or a plan around accessibility of our parks and recreation centers as well as libraries because this is a growing population for various reason and we need to make sure that we're accommodating them as Philadelphia citizens.
That was -- that was your other question. The pool lifts. We are -- I knew it was another question before I get up for Aparna. We are in the process of completing our system and getting pool lifts for all of our sites.
Okay. Thank you. Do -- will it be complete for this summer or where it is going to expand into, because we've had this --
This is way before you were here. This was 2020, 2021, during the COVID pandemic when they changed, you know, where everyone was broke. It was like two working in the city. Where are we going to be if, you know, Carousel House is not open till 2028 and we have a huge accessibility issue in our city.
The plan is to have all of the pool lists by the end of next summer.
Thank you, Member Brooks. Before we go into the brief second round, because we have a hard stop at 12:30, I just had a question. Why is it taking so long for us to fix and reopen the Carousel House? Just wanted to know.
Councilmember Brooks, thank you for that question. Council President, with regards to Carousel House, there have been -- first of all, it had to close due to conditions. There were a number of roof issues which resulted in structural issues so it would've closed regardless of the project. As far as the Rebuild project goes, it is in design. We've just negotiated. We are continuing design for that project. After COVID prices did certainly go up, there are -- so we had to align this scope of the project with the resources we had. The administration did put in more money. So we are at a point now that we can move forward with the scope of that work. Design is ongoing and we expect to start construction next year, which results in the two-year construction duration. With regards, however, I would like to make a global statement if I could, in terms of inclusive projects at Parks and Recreation, that has become the norm for every site that we do a capital project at. We don't add that as sort of a feature. We include that in the design of all the spaces. So every playground -- every spray ground, every building, all of that inherently is accessible to folks, to everyone, to every Philadelphian.
I do appreciate that because that's the law, like, we're required to do that. But what are we doing for -- it's a slow process.
I said, I appreciate that because that's the law. That's what ADA tells us that we need to do. But what are we doing for sites that aren't, if the backlog for a project that started in 2021 is 2028? What are we going to do for generations of young people with special needs that won't be able to assess our parks and rec? If you think about eight years, that's kindergarten through middle school.
And I know Parks and Recreation, as Commissioner Slawson did mention has relocated some of that programming to other sites so that we continue to serve those populations.
Okay. Because I just would like to see a comprehensive plan on what are we doing for people with disabilities in our city across city agencies so it's not just you. City hall is not that accessible, municipal buildings aren't that accessible, parks, recs, libraries. We need to have a comprehensive plan because our children and citizens need that. And I would just would like to see a clear plan and not allowing people to be left behind.
Thank you. We will now go into a brief second round. I just have one quick question. Well, two small ones. One, and I think this has been touched on. I still want to go on the record on it because I have a couple of constituents that will call on my district team wanting me to make sure I have it on the record. Addressing the issue of heating at recreational facilities during the winter time. And so is there a comprehensive plan for us to do analysis of our heating systems at our recreational facilities? And also cameras was also a major request regarding making sure we have equitable camera coverage of the rec centers across the district, particularly in the 2nd.
Yes, with regards to your first question, Counsel President, we have, with all of our client agencies this year, libraries included parks and recreation, set aside money for assessments of facilities. It's something that was last done in 2005 so we're 20 years, we're at the end of life cycle of pretty much everything in a building at this point. So that is something we have decided to do across all city facilities to be able to better program for the out years for the projects that need to be done. And so that, of course, includes heating systems as well as roofs, et cetera. And then we will prioritize based on those assessments, the most critical projects and put those into the five-year plan for funding. With regards to cameras, we have a handful of sites that are remaining in the camera program and we can get you a updated list of where cameras are installed.
-- in Parks and Recreation currently. And there are some sites that are in construction, so every site that goes into construction does receive cameras as well as part of the project.
Thank you very much. This is a lightning round. The chair recognizes the following members: Councilmember Cindy Bass, Dr. Phillips, O'Rourke, Harrity and Young. Spread.
Is who actually introduced the bill 21 and provided the funding for the cameras. Kicked it off at Marian Anderson Rec in South Philly.
Yes, we did kick it off in the 2nd district. Thank you very much for accommodating us. And I want to just, as a reminder, the camera program was supported by all members of council, all district members who made a commitment to use their ITEF funding to ensure that we had cameras, you know, in a -- in a faster timeframe. So thanks to all the members, who were there and thanks to those who are there now who are still continuing to see this project through. And I did want to ask about the cameras. Can you give us an update on exactly how many cameras are installed? I believe we should have touched all of our sites by now, but I know that there are a number of sites that are requesting additional cameras.
Thank you for that question, Councilmember Bass. And I actually remember you making sure that you worked with your fellow Council Members to get this program up and running.
And so, to date we have 2,228 cameras in our system. The actual list of how many cameras, where they are, how many you have in your site, we have that. And Council President, I will submit that to you so you could submit it to Council. We have 13 centers and playgrounds and seven other PPR sites where cameras will be -- have been installed since January 2024 until now. That was 13 centers. We have 174 total sites that have been outfitted with cameras. We have six under construction, and I have all those locations for you, but it would take -- you would probably tell me to be quiet if I started listening -- listing them. We also have nine sites that are in design. But we have 27 sites that remain to be designed. And there's an estimated cost of $1.25 million for those cameras, those 27 cameras to be designed. But I will present that information to you, sir.
That would be great. Can I just say one other thing real quick? I did want to acknowledge the -- our library director and thank him for his outstanding work, particularly around you and your teams outstanding work, particularly around the Nicetown-Tioga Library which was closed during the great earthquake of 2024 here in Philadelphia. You know, somehow the library was affected, you know, but I did want to thank you for that. And also wanted to make mention for those who don't know that that's the only library in the city of Philadelphia that has a job center operating out of it in partnership with my office and NWON Opportunities, Myra Brown and the Free Library of Philadelphia. So, we offer job training, resume writing, interviewing skills, you know, we -- career fairs, all kinds of things at the library in the neighborhood. So I just wanted to say thank you very much for that. And really quickly, the playground inclusion bill. I noticed you mentioned that Councilman Driscoll was getting some upgrades. We passed the bill, I think it was like 2016, for the playground inclusion bill. Would that require that all sites as they're addressed, as they're being renovated, will be upgraded to include additional needs for those who are disabled and for seniors? And so I know you mentioned that Councilman Driscoll was getting that, but I was hoping that that's, you know, sort of the standard across the board. And I know we're short on time, so you don't have to answer that now but if you could just respond in writing to the council president, that would be great.
Thank you. I just wanted to quickly comment on the -- one information and then go into the question. Yes, the time -- one of the things that we did on our PPR walks and tours, we noticed that there's paint things that we can do small things through capital funded paint, it could be pavement, it could be walls. So, you know, I think I just want to note that the commissioner has committed to working on some sort of plan around that. So I'm looking forward to seeing what that looks like. And I'm looking -- I thank you also, Director Richards, for working on your long-term plan as well around infrastructure as Councilman Gauthier mentioned. Quick question for Director Richards. What plans are in place to ensure expanded hours are supported with high quality programming at our rec centers? And then talk about the marketing plan that you have that you're going to be working on to market some of the high quality programs that are happening in our rec centers. And then also for our commissioner, if you could just really briefly speak on the programming that our rec centers need that you've been -- that we've observed around our boxing program as well as our gaming program and other, like, mentorship type programs as well. And then the last thing is just this -- a list of -- you have -- what would you do with more capital project funding? How many -- you know, how many in your capital project budget -- you got about $12 million that are probably set aside for, you know, for just already established Rebuild projects as well as ITEF, but you don't have much money to do maintenance for what I observe. So how much more money could you use for that? Thank you. Done.
You want to provide half of that in writing because we are not going to get it in right now, just to be frank. So how do you want to handle, Dr. Phillips? Answer what you can, the rest in writing, please, because I want my other members to get their line of question in before we bang the gavel at 12:30.
We'll try to do some of that in writing because in regards to programming and future programming for libraries and our communications plan, I can talk about that for a long time. But I will say our communications plan, it -- we -- it's new. We have a new communications department and a new communications lead, and we're building out that department. One of the things about the library, and the types of programming that we have, you know, sometimes it could be a hidden secret to just the people who know. So we're going to be with our new comms leadership and our department, we're going to be pushing out that information on social media, you know, and throughout the community in a variety of different ways to promote what our library staff are doing in the branches. Because, you know, they've done a great job over the years doing it themselves. But now, we are going to be doing it centralized with their support. But, you know, the number of programming -- the number of programming that we're going to be doing in our branches, that's just going to increase the more hours that we're open, the more staff we have. And the centralized programming that we're -- we now are able to do if -- significantly because of the, you know, the budget that Council's given us and the Mayor. We --
Thank you, sir. The Chair recognizes Councilmember Young, Harrity and Isaiah Thomas. You have a brief one because we are stopping at 12:30.
Thank you, Mr. President. This is a capital question. I was recently, I guess, quoted that it will cost about $700,000 to do a study for a plan or plans for a rec center in my district. But we are -- the whole study for Market East is like 750. Can you tell us, like, what's -- why it costs this much to just prepare a study to help renovate, you know, one of our rec centers.
Councilmember Young, if you could just be a little more specific on perhaps the project or the size of the project.
We were quoted saying it will cost $700,000 to just prepare, like, the design and plans and all that stuff just for that one center. But we are -- again, we're putting forth a study for Market East area that costs 725, 750, whatever that is. Like, what's the -- can you describe the -- tell us the cost discrepancy in that?
Thank you for providing that clarity. So, design costs are typically anywhere from to percent of a final 8 construction cost for a project. So 9 the scope of work at Dendy which 10 probably -- or which potentially 11 included an expansion of a building 12 and some major site improvements were probably of the magnitude that resulted in that estimate for design costs.
Thank you, Member Young. Chair recognizes Councilmember Harrity, then Councilman O'Rourke, and then finishing, Councilmember Thomas.
Thank you, Council President. I will be brief. How many city recreation centers are closed due to construction with the Rebuild program right now? And how does the success to rebuild projects compare to similar projects that have been completed by Parks and Rec itself? In other words, I'm trying to find out where the disconnect is, why this rebuild stuff is taking so much longer than -- I don't want to say that I know, but I feel --
Certainly. So with regards to your first question, the number of sites closed, it changes on a daily basis. So I -- we will get you that in writing. Some have come out of construction and some are going in. With regards to the second question about the duration, the rebuilt projects are generally much larger in scope. Typically, we don't have a to a million-dollar 9 parks and rec capital project. So 10 that is one of the primary reasons 11 it has taken so long for rebuilt 12 projects to be completed. 13 The second is as you may 14 have seen, we've adjusted some 15 process internally to expedite those 16 projects and we've been able to find 17 other contracting mechanisms, 18 typical city process, for example, 19 to be able to move those along 20 quicker.
Okay. I mean, I just feel as though that it kind of ran a little bit more smoother when you guys were in control of everything. I think sometimes when you --
I think sometimes when you get a lot of consultants and all involved and they have to justify their salaries, things tend to take longer.
Thank you. The Chair recognizes Councilmember Nicholas O'Rourke.
Thank you, Mr. President. The Rec staff as well as the Rangers, Commissioner Slawson, are reporting chronic shortages of essential tools like radios and flashlights, vehicles that need maintenance, poor lighting, which I heard you appreciate, already mentioned that you want to do more on that. But also significant delays in how supplies are actually distributed, especially with the summer programs just around the corner as I know that you're already thinking about -- quite a bit about. We can all sympathize with the pain of not having what you need when you need it. How was the '26 budget addressing the persistent supply and infrastructure gaps? And what steps does the department take to ensure timely equitable delivery of the materials and the equipment the staff actually needs, front lines workers needs across all those sites?
Good afternoon. So we are working with our Ranger unit. We meet with them regularly, so we're in a process of working with Fleet to get vehicles, to get the lights on the vehicles to get all the equipment that they need and training, whether it is getting electric bikes or those sorts of things. So we are working on that process now. It is a procurement process. Hopefully we will have most of the supplies in this summer, but we have been working to identify exactly what supplies our Rangers need, also, what training that they need to make sure that they are safe and that they can do their jobs effectively. And this is not just for our permanent rangers, but we hire about 15 to 16 seasonal rangers to help us doing the height of our season. So we're bringing those folks on now, hopefully all of them will be on if they kind of, you know, go through the onboarding process quickly. They'll all be on by the end of June.
Thank you, Member O'Rourke. Member Thomas and then we're wrapping up with O'Neill. We have to be brief because we had stop at 12:30. We've been here since 10:00.
First of all, good morning. This is my first line of questioning. So, Commissioner, thank you for last night, Councilmember Bass's district along with other elected officials. I Understand it's a late night, going into an early morning. I'm wondering from both of you, how much of a priority is it to use your facilities to help promote, push, and encourage the creative economy? We spoke before about gaming and libraries as well as in rec centers. I'm thinking about the film industry. I'm thinking about music. What are we doing to be creative and innovative to make sure that our spaces are not only welcoming to the creative economy, but we are encouraging the next generation to maximize their God-given talent while simultaneously creating space for adults who want to be professionals to use our facility to maximize their ability.
So for our youth, we have a performing arts program that is phenomenal. And, yeah, they just gave me notes. I'm going off the top of my head. But -- and I would love to invite you -- and I'm going to be quick. But as far as other people that are adults that want to engage, we have facilities where we would love for them to come in and use those spaces.
We provide a lot of those activities now. And what I could do is put something in writing to let you know what we do and what -- and what some of the numbers are.
Council President, I just want to go on the record and continue to push us as a city to do better as it relates to promoting the creative economy. I've been advocating a lot around gaming, thinking about the film industry, thinking about the arts industry. 2026 is on the horizon. We want to make sure that people could perform and maximize their talent in safe spaces. We want to attract people here to our city and we want to partner with our rec centers and our libraries to make sure that young people and tourists can take advantage of this. Thank you, Council President.
Council President, can I -- can I throw something in. It'll take me 60 seconds maybe.
So we have a program called Making Spaces, which I think you'd really be interested in. PPRs Entrepreneur and Residents Initiative. It's focused on youth training, mentorship and business development. With the support of the Knight Foundation Partnership --
Because we are going to put this down for the record, but this is his mission that he's passionate about as well. So how about you all get together after this --
-- and then really put that strategy together.
So it could become a reality as opposed to us just having a hearing about it. He's going to stay on the case. All right?
Thank you. O'Neill, very briefly. I'm going to bang the gavel, sir.
Very brief. I don't know any other way. Thank you, Mr. President. First, I'd like to just thank you on behalf of the Philadelphia Activities Fund, Commissioner, both during the Kenney administration as a mayoral appointment and now as our ex-officio appointment to the -- to the board. You've been not only supportive but integral to the changes that have been made that needed to be made and were very difficult to happen. But following up on Councilman Harrity and the Rebuild project, I could speak all afternoon on my contempt for it, but the -- it's only as much contempt as I have for the soda tax, which we could have funded everything else but Rebuild with operating dollars. Regressive, you name it, unfair, but can you -- or revenue through your request get each district a summary of how much their constituents have paid and so to tax. We're now approaching years. And how the Rebuild money has been spread among the districts. Because every year we get the same amount of money for our districts. And that's been -- that's long before I got to Council, that practice. And I think it's a very good one. But no one ever asked us to criticize the program and they've spent years working with capital, some of the best people in this city and there's so many good people you'll hate to single them out. But whether it's your operating people, your capital people, they are just first class. And just wanted to say, if you can get me that I'd appreciate it. Thank you.
Sure. Thank you very much. I want to thank the both of you for your testimony and keep up the good work. Thank you, members. We will be back at 1:30. (Council at recess.)
Good afternoon, everyone. We will continue our Committee of the Whole budget hearing. This afternoon, we will have a presentation by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority. With that being said, Ms. Loughead, will you please call the first panel? The only panel.
You can state your name and title officially, for the record, and begin your testimony. SEPTA GM
My name is Scott Sauer and I am the interim general manager of SEPTA. Good afternoon, Council President Johnson, Transportation and Public Utilities Committee Chair Driscoll, members of Philadelphia City Council and guests. I'm pleased to be joined by Chief Charles Lawson of the Transit Police, I'm also joined by members of the SEPTA team representing various departments. Thank you for the opportunity to testify on behalf of SEPTA's budget request as part of the city of Philadelphia's Fiscal Year 2026 budget. The city of Philadelphia's $135 million contribution under Mayor Parker's budget proposal will help SEPTA meet its state legislatively mandated requirement to secure local matching funds to maximize the state's operating subsidy of $896 million. Critically, while SEPTA is proposing an auster budget based on current state funding, the city of Philadelphia's proposed contribution reflects a commitment that will match the additional state assistance that would be generated through Governor Shapiro's statewide transit funding plan. Thank you for this strong commitment to SEPTA's future. We are grateful to have the support of City Council on so many SEPTA initiatives over the past year. SEPTA Key Advantage, the Zero Fare pilot, automated bus lane enforcement, the Smoke-Free SEPTA campaign, and the major role that SEPTA played in the success of the Eagle's Super Bowl parade in early February, carrying 400,000 fans to NRG Station, the Parkway, and all points in between. This is my first time testifying before the full Council in my new role. I am the proud son of a trolley operator and have followed my father, Robert, to SEPTA in 1990. I've had a great opportunity to build a career at SEPTA that has included leading the system safety and operations divisions. And now the full organization as its interim general manager. Through both my personal and professional experience, I know how critical SEPTA is to our city and I am committed to seeing us through a crisis that threatens our public transportation system as we know it. Last Thursday, SEPTA released its Fiscal Year 2026 budget that would require 45% service cuts coupled with major fare increases and workforce reductions, to balance a $213 million budget deficit without a permanent state funding solution for transit. 5% fare increase. A 20% service cut would take effect in August, followed in September by the fare increase giving SEPTA the highest single trip fare in North America, alongside MTA of New York, and a complete hiring freeze that would leave critical operations and safety positions unfilled. By next January, cuts then would total 50 bus routes, in the 7 city of Philadelphia alone and 8 service on the five Regional Rail 9 lines that operate over AMTRAK 10 territory, including the Chestnut 11 Hill West would also be eliminated. m each day. 16 Approximately 800,000 17 passenger trips are recorded on 18 SEPTA on an average weekday with 19 this diminished system that we could 20 be forced to operate by January, 21 approximately 350,000 of those trips 22 would be lost. And we expect that 23 more would follow as services 24 degraded. SEPTA will not be able to provide additional service for special events or support the transportation needs of our world class city when we host the World Cup, the Semiquentennial, and other major events planned for next year. SEPTA's budget proposal was extremely difficult for me to present personally and I know is even more difficult for our customers and the public to hear. If implemented, it would effectively dismantle SEPTA, leaving the city and region without the frequent reliable transit service that has been an engine of economic growth, mobility and opportunity for the millions who call Greater Philadelphia home. For more than two years we have been warning that this moment was coming.
Now with our new fiscal year starting on July 1, and a state funding solution still not in place, we cannot budget on hope and have no 3 choice, but to budget based on the resources available. But this does not have to happen. Governor Shapiro has proposed a statewide transit funding plan that would prevent these drastic measures from occurring. Legislative action on Governor Shapiro's proposal now would provide stability and certainty for SEPTA and transit agencies across the Commonwealth, to maintain operations and deliver critical service. And I want to take a moment to thank the members of Council for your strong support of SEPTA's efforts to secure funding in Harrisburg. Particularly for participating in Friday's rally and for your strong statements highlighting how critical SEPTA is to the people and communities you represent. I can't tell you how meaningful it is for all our employees to know you have their backs. You are putting your name and actions behind SEPTA, and I want you to know that we are doing all we can to operate efficiently and fulfill our promise to provide the safest, cleanest and most reliable service. This is not a position SEPTA ever wanted to be in and we have worked hard to narrow our budget deficit. 5% fare increase and the resumption of paid parking at regional rail lots, have helped reduce SEPTA's budget deficit from $240 million in the current fiscal year down to a forecast of $213 million in Fiscal Year 2026. At the same time, we are making important progress on the priorities that matter most to our customers and our funding partners, including a 33% drop in serious crime on the system, the largest one-year decrease in SEPTA's history. The highest number of uniformed transit police officers in more than a decade. Forty-seven consecutive months of year-over-year ridership growth with 11 of 12 months in 2024 increasing by 10% or more over 2023. Advancing the top-to-bottom restructuring of cleaning operations, adding 76 front line surface -- surface bus operators. And the completion of contactless payment implementation across all modes. And our customers are noticing, too. SEPTA's first quarter customer satisfaction survey shows statistically significant improvements in every category from safety and cleaning to reliability and convenience. SEPTA's funding crisis is coming at the worst possible time and would undo the steady progress we've been making. We need to keep this positive momentum going for the customers and communities we serve. And I look forward to continuing to work with you on funding and other priorities in the coming year. Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today in support of SEPTA's Fiscal Year 2026 operating budget request. I'm grateful for your support of SEPTA and I welcome your questions.
Well, thank you very much. Just have a couple brief questions before turning over to members of City Council. I want to start off by acknowledging Wendy Harvey-Green. Just for her hard work and her dedication and representing SEPTA here in City Council through a variety of different transitions of leadership and a variety of different peaks and valleys as it relates to SEPTA moving forward in the city of Philadelphia. I have to remind people, maybe about five or six years ago when I served as Chair of Transportation and Public Utilities, we received the award for having the most outstanding transportation authority. Not in the city of Philadelphia, but in the nation. And so we need to make sure that we're doing everything we can do possibly to support SEPTA during this crisis. We know that in the city of Philadelphia, we have our investment, but we need for our partners on the state level to really, really make sure that we are prepared, not only for 2026. I know that everybody, you know, sounds the alarm and said: Well, we have a crisis with SEPTA and we're not going to be prepared for 2026. And I believe we have to address this issue to be prepared for 2026. But I want to talk about the day-to-day people that use accepted every single day whether that's our children going to and from school, from our seniors going to and from the doctor's office, to our everyday working class families going to and from work. And so we have to always make sure that we're focusing on those most vulnerable and those most in need that rely on SEPTA every single day, even as we prepare for 2026. I also want to acknowledge Pam McCormick, give her a round of applause as well. Because she's in the thick of it in Harrisburg advocating and -- advocating, demanding and getting folks that do not live in the Philadelphia and five county region, who live across this state to look at SEPTA in a favorable light. So we want to support bridges and roads throughout Pennsylvania, and I think that's something we should do. But also making sure that because SEPTA is the economic engine for the region and the city of Philadelphia pretty much provides a significant amount of revenue that makes all parts of Pennsylvania able to thrive, then we should be treated as such. But I'm a former legislator in Harrisburg so such is not the case. And so we want to continue to advocate and be supportive of your efforts. Talk to me about -- and I asked you this earlier when I saw you at a meeting, but I just want to go on the record. I know part of our financial management, we pay $65 million to AMTRAK to utilize their rails. And I know this isn't something that's uncommon. But just go on the record on how we can advocate to restructure that deal with AMTRAK, hopefully in the future. And then obviously you have proposed a significant amount of cuts and I think these are cuts across the board. But how are we still taking consideration those neighborhoods that are already severely not receiving the level of service that we should be giving them just based upon our budgets and our equity. And so can you talk about those two, please? SEPTA GM
Sure. On the AMTRAK topic. So SEPTA runs three entire lines on AMTRAK territory. The Trenton line, the Wilmington-Newark line and the Paoli-Thorndale line. We also run two other lines on -- partially on AMTRAK territory, those are the Kingwood and the Chestnut Hill West lines. We have an obligation through a legislative action from Congress to pay AMTRAK for the lease, essentially, to run our service on this territory. That covers for -- that covers our operating needs, which would include things like propulsion power and maintenance of the infrastructure. It would also cover -- there's also a portion of it that covers capital needs. So if AMTRAK were to replace track or overhead catenary systems, they would dip into this fund. You're correct in that SEPTA is not the only entity that pays into this. Every state entity, every transit agency that runs on SEPTA -- on AMTRAK territory pays similarly to AMTRAK for that right to run on that territory. The difference in SEPTA, however, than some of our neighbors is because we are not directly controlled by the state government. The state governments in New York and Massachusetts, for example, Maryland, pay directly to AMTRAK from their budgets, whereas SEPTA essentially pays out of our operating funds that we receive from Harrisburg. We pay into that fund. So we -- the 65 million that we've cited as savings is our net savings. So that is short of the other dollars that we would pay them for a variety of issues, and then 65 million is dollar for dollar back into SEPTA's budget just by not operating on that territory. So the actions that we have taken thus far and we continue to take, and this is not a new conversation. We've -- we've had discussions with our congressional delegation on these payments, what they mean to SEPTA. We've also had conversations with PennDOT on ways that they may be able to do something differently for SEPTA. As you know, as I'm sure you're well aware, PENNDOT, the Commonwealth has their own budget deficit that they are dealing with. But they -- as of today, we have to make that payment if we run on that territory, but activity continues to try to advocate for a change in that. It is legislation however, so it would be a heavy lift for Congress to change.
Have you and your team invited Senator Pittman to the city of Philadelphia to take a tour of all the great things SEPTA has to offer here in the city of Philadelphia, since obviously he lives in another part of the state and may have a certain perspective about the city of Philadelphia and the importance or his unimportance of SEPTA to our region? SEPTA GM
We have and we still hope to meet with Senator Pittman at some point, and I'm sure we will. So whether -- whether we can have the Senator here to entertain him with SEPTA and show him all the things -- the really good things that are happening with SEPTA and the city, or if we go to Harrisburg to meet with Senator Pittman. We're open to any way we can have dialogue.
I would recommend you definitely, you and your team, needs to go to Harrisburg like ASAP, yourself. Not a consultant, not, you know, the chamber. You should lead that charge to show how critically important SEPTA is to the region. And, again, I know we keep talking about 2026, which is great and we want SEPTA to be up and running, but I'm also very, very concerned about people who live in our most vulnerable neighborhoods. The people who are the most vulnerable population of individuals who utilize SEPTA day in and day out. Hence why you have an advocate here Councilmember Nicholas O'Rourke, fighting for Zero Fare and making sure that the most vulnerable population is taken care of because they rely on SEPTA everyday. And so whatever we can do to be supportive of those efforts, I worked with Senator Pittman on the state level, but this is also most importantly about advocating to take care the most vulnerable population of individuals who need support. I want you to just briefly, before I turn over it to my members. Because it's easy to come and we give you feedback when SEPTA comes in front of us. A lot of that feedback is very critical because we want to see things being done. You titled some numbers earlier today around the issue of crime and public safety that your team has been working on. That's been something that we in this body has been taking SEPTA to task on day in and day out. So, Scott, give us an update on the progress you have been making regarding public safety. SEPTA GM
Yes, certainly. And we appreciate the feedback from Council. We -- we take that to heart. And crime reduction safety is no different. So we have heard loud and clear, we need to be safer, we need to be more secure. So the efforts that Chief Lawson particularly has undertaken over the last year plus, has been remarkable, to say the least. We have been able to reduce crime by the highest numbers that we've ever seen in the Transit Police Department's 43-year history down 33%. These are remarkable figures. We've been able to raise the ranks, the number of sworn police officers in the -- in the department to 248. We are actually bucking a trend in our neighboring law enforcement agencies where we are seeing positive numbers consistently coming into the police department. We have a class currently in the police academy, which is scheduled to graduate in June. And we are already filling our next class to begin in July. The chief and his staff have done -- have made tremendous efforts to recruit and to even return police officers who had left the Transit Police department during the pandemic for other positions in other departments, they are returning. And we have lured in other police officers from other law enforcement agencies as well. Law enforcement officers now see SEPTA as an attractive place to come and contribute to the safety of our system. We have really done -- we've introduced a virtual patrol unit which uses the 30,000 cameras we have in the system to monitor. It's a force multiplier for our officers on the ground to be able to direct resources and to combat things before they become an issue. We've also introduced now a Surface Transportation Unit. This is a unit of dedicated officers and leadership that are dedicated full- time to buses and trolleys. So that now we're not only patrolling the subway systems and our rail network, but we're out on the buses and trolleys, also preventing incidents from occurring there. And when it comes to employees. Employee assaults and issues impacting our employees have been a big problem, we've been able to reduce those incidents in almost half, 42%. So we have really made tremendous strides to keep the system safe.
And that was my follow-up question because I know the hardworking workers that work for SEPTA, specifically under TWU, who are on the front line day in and day out. I know one of the sticking points was public safety during the negotiations. Have we made progress with putting, I guess, it's the glass -- the glass, bulletproof glass that protects the actual SEPTA driver? Give me an update on that. I did see it in another country, so I want to get an update on that in terms of how we're doing. And then also last, but not least, and I'll wrap up before I turn it over to my members. We talk about the law enforcement component, right, but as we address public safety comprehensively, also talk about -- well, give us an update -- I remember y'all rolled out an initiative that deals with behavioral health. Individuals dealing with drug addiction, right? Who are basically utilizing our SEPTA transit system, right, day in and day out. But it's having a impact on the quality of life for different neighborhoods. But also, the actual -- the person that's driving -- I mean, the person that takes SEPTA every single day. So give us an update on that as well. SEPTA GM
Certainly. So on the bus enclosures. So we've had for many years a bus enclosure that -- it was really designed -- in the be -- in the beginning we were trying to curb some of this negative activity customers on our employees, so we put in a bus barrier that exists today, but it's only a partial enclosure. So it was it was it was good at reducing the severity of most instances, but what it did not do is it did not fully encapsulate the operator and it certainly was not bullet resistant. So what we have done we've done a number of things what we call our safer operator compartment program. And it's the full cabin enclosure, which is -- which is new in this country, but we are going to have an enclosure and we already have a pilot bus running on the system today that the operators are testing for us. Where the operator is now fully enclosed, ceiling to floor, from the rear to the window. This should prevent almost every physical encounter that they -- that they unfortunately have to endure. Everything from the hitting to the spitting, things being thrown at them, that -- this should take care of that. What it doesn't do is address shootings. As you know back in 2023, we had a horrible horrific shooting on our bus that result in the death of --
We just had a shooting about two, three weeks ago horrible on the bus of a 15-year-old man young man so go ahead. SEPTA GM
Certainly. But speaking to the operators safety, the TWU approached us about -- about just under a year ago with an idea to do bullet resistant glass. They had a vendor in mind that they could do it. We've went through a variety of testing. Most recently, we did the ballistics test. It passed with flying colors. So we are now moving ahead with an enclosure that includes this ballistics glass. The biggest hurdle for us to overcome was the weight. It adds significant weight onto the front axle of the bus, our engineering staff has had to come up with some solutions for that, but we think we have it. So we'll have the first bus done by the end of June. And then we'll put seven more into service soon after so that each bus to garage has at least one bus to be tested by the operators to ensure that it fits their needs. Chief Lawson, we've -- we've moved our behavioral health initiatives into the police department, so I'd like to ask Chief Lawson to comment on some of that. CHIEF LAWSON: Good afternoon, Council President. So you mentioned the SCOPE program. The SCOPE program is an acronym for safety, cleaning, outreach, engagement and planning. And that -- that program for us has netted tremendous gains for us on the system. That program remains almost completely intact as it was when it started. That program is doing tremendous work and the director is doing tremendous work on bringing in --
Can you go in the numbers? Can you go in the numbers? How many -- how many people have been serviced under the SCOPE program? And what type of services did they receive treatment? CHIEF LAWSON: Yep. So I have some numbers for last year -- last year there were more than 142,000 engagements, there were -- the SCOPE team removed more than 120,000 people off the system that were not interested in treatment or violating our services in some manner. More than almost 19,000 people were given resources of some kind or another to help them out. More than 12,000 referrals to other agencies occurred in that program. More than 280 Narcan deployments. And they do tremendous work just with our everyday problems, trying to reduce smoking on the system and things like that. They been a tremendous help. I do want to update Council on just, and some of you have heard this, in late 2024 our Office of Inspector General conducted an audit on the SCOPE program. And part of that audit revealed some alarming issues centered around the outreach portion of that program. And so essentially, they discovered some waste and some fraud in those contracts. And -- and we felt obligated upon that discovery to kind of suspend those contracts and figure out a path forward to make the most for our -- get the most for our money. I can tell you that -- that we have revamped that SCOPE program, we've embedded them now in the police department. We have -- some of the restructuring that we've done has enabled us to hire now steady supervision to monitor the engagement activity of our outreach workers in the field. We're strengthening the onboarding training of that group. So we're putting a plan in place to have better oversight and accountability of our outreach contracts and we're planning to reissue those contracts, have those folks on SEPTA by July 1.
Okay. Well, thank you very much. Chair recognizes Councilman Jim Harrity.
I'm sorry. Just for informational purposes, can you tell me who -- you cancelled the contract for the SCOPE program. Who was the provider? CHIEF LAWSON: There were two providers. One was NET, Northeast Treatment Center, and the other was Merakey. And Councilman Harry, only one contract was cancelled. Merakey is still under contract.
Wait, time out. Pause. Time out. So two contracts were cancelled for fraud. Did I -- I heard that wrong? SEPTA GM
Correct. The waste that was discovered by the inspector general caused us to pause -- pause services while we re-engaged with Merakey. Merakey is still under contract. Northeast Treatment was terminated for convenience so we parted ways. And that was long before the Inspector General's report was surfaced.
Because the reason why I said pause is because I know that as a city, we have other contracts with these agencies. So if they're engaging in waste with one agency, then why would we allow them to work with other agencies? That's -- so I wanted to do a -- I will follow-up and do a deeper dive particularly as it relates to Merakey and Northeast Treatment -- Northeast Treatment. Because if they're engaging in waste and this is the Inspector General's finding, then they shouldn't be doing any business with city of Philadelphia and engaging any other contracts, at least from my perspective. It's like being under actual investigation in one department, but you're still getting to make money off the city in other departments. And so, okay. I want to start off with the Chair of Transportation, then the Majority Leader. Member Mike Driscoll.
Well, thank you, Mr. President. And welcome, Chief, and welcome, Scott. Good luck in your new responsibilities. It's certainly a unique time for you and for this Commonwealth and for this city. I think Council President was spot on when he said that the southeast is the economic engine for the Commonwealth. So when you go up there and you make your case to the Republicans and the Democrats, you let them know that this isn't a Democratic issue, this isn't a Republican issue. This is a workforce development issue for us to be continued as the economic engine for the Commonwealth, which we indeed are. And they need to hear that because the rest of the state combined does not put in what the Southeast puts in to the state budget, as former State Representative Kenyatta Johnson can attest, and I certainly had my eight years up there. And, you know, it's not easy what you're about to do, but it needs to be said. So I just want to lead with that. Not long ago SEPTA announced that you authorized services of a new vendor for the key card fare product. And what I wanted to know is the status of that and how does that stand as it relates to, you know, last week's budget proposal? SEPTA GM
Sure. So just a few months ago the board authorized us to move ahead with our second version of SEPTA Key. We awarded that contract to Cubic for the -- the total amount was $211 million, and that includes the back office and infrastructure. And what this is an upgrade of the current system, which is about 15 or 16 years old now and it has experienced failures. Our customers will tell you that there are days when the fare readers do not work. There are days when they can't load value onto their cards. And we have discovered through a variety of methods that we had to recover revenue from our current vendor in order to be made whole due to system failures. That's just a product of a of a software system that has aged out. By comparison, if your -- your iPhone that you use, if you use an iPhone, this would be the equivalent of using your iPhone 4 in 2025. So we are -- we are beyond that now at this point and so it's time for an upgrade. So the $211 million and it's certainly a large figure and we appreciate the people that scrutinized it and it deserve that scrutiny, but it will be spread out over the life of the contract, so it equates to somewhere around to $16 million per year. And the operating costs once we transition from SEPTA -- from Key 1 to Key 2, the operating costs will eventually return to the same levels that they are today. There will be a brief period in the middle where we're running both systems concurrently and the operating cost will elevate, but soon it will return and we will be fully in Key 2.0, and the operating cost will be exactly the same. So where is it today? So it is at its infancy right now. They are still going through the initial engineering and design, but we -- customers will start to see Key 2.0 where they can kind of see it and touch it in about two years. And that's about how long it will take before we start to see kind of how kind of things start to roll out on the front end, all the back end work is happening now.
Contract will take -- is projected to take about six to seven years total.
Okay. And Mr. President, just another question. What has SEPTA done to generate additional funding on your own and, you know, are you maximizing your advertising income or looking for other ways to make up these funds? SEPTA GM
Yeah. So thank you for that. Definitely we -- we have increased on our own as much revenue generation as we can. So just -- just in the last six -- six to eight months, we've reinstituted parking fees at all of our lots and garages, that's generated an additional $4 million in new revenues that we did not have. The fare increase which I mentioned back in December was 7 million. 8 We are also trying to 9 maximize to our -- to the greatest 10 extent every resource we have 11 available for advertising. So we 12 have five of the -- we have five of 13 the six largest naming rights, 14 packages for station naming rights with Jefferson, Wawa, I'm going to -- I'm going to miss them all. NRG. You know what I -- what I mean, but our station naming rights packages have been very advantageous to us. We have electronic messaging now on our Silver Liner Fives, electronic messaging on our newest buses where we can place advertising. And we are in the process of developing smart advertising where as the bus traverses through the city it can change depending on where it is, as to what gets advertised. So we can advertise local businesses, for example.
And I'll let you continue. And elaborate on some time ago, I remember reading an article that SEPTA sold certain properties at a nominal cost to a particular developer. And it begs the question, if we need money, then why would we sell the property rights at a nominal cost if we're trying to generate as much revenue we need? If we know this doomsday scenario is coming -- and this is along the line of questioning of generating revenue. SEPTA GM
Sure. So it's as much revenue generation as it is cost savings to SEPTA. So this -- so it's a very common practice when in our case and it certainly has happened in other cases, the stations that -- for example, the stations that I believe you're referencing are in the Germantown section of the city. There were five stations. They were in various states of disrepair, the station buildings. And those station buildings were costing SEPTA about $150,000 a year to maintain. And that's just to keep them --
How much did we sell the land for? The Chair recognizes Councilmember Bass.
Come on now. You know these properties are in Chestnut Hill and Germantown. SEPTA GM
And so, yes. So it's not just Germantown. This is -- this is some of the most valuable real estate in the city of Philadelphia and you gave it away for a dollar. And you all gave it away under a program called a FASO. A FASO is finding a special opportunity, F-A-S-O. And so you found a special opportunity which is essentially a hookup. So call it what it is, it's a hookup. You gave somebody a hookup, that's what it is. And so, you know, here we are trying to figure out money to keep this system running and at the same time, you know, there's these side deals which are making wealthy people even wealthier. I ain't got no problem with anybody making money, that's okay with me. But at the same time you can't come before us asking for these very valuable, very limited resources and at the same time hooking up people that, you know, that you want to hook up, I'll just say. And the fact that there was no community participation, no 21 involvement from the neighborhood, no say so in terms of what they wanted to see. We gave away five -- you gave away five properties in some of the most valuable neighborhoods in the city of Philadelphia for $1 for 99 years. Who doesn't want that deal? I'll take that deal. Who doesn't want that deal? Anybody? Like this is a hookup so let's call it what it was. Like I just, you know, I just I couldn't sit and hear that it was just something that was saving SEPTA money. Because it's really not a matter of saving SEPTA $150,000 a year when these properties are valued at much more than that. If you had put them on the market and sold them, you would have sold them for more than $150,000. A whole lot more. They would have sold for -- I don't know, a whole lot.
So for the record, Scott, I know you have a response, could you just, for the record, for the edifice of my members, where are the five locations located at regarding these particular properties? SEPTA GM
So the locations are Gravers, Mt. Airy, Carpenter, Tulpehocken and Upsal stations.
Okay. And in terms of the arrangement, did we just sell it or is it like an agreement where we get some -- some revenue or profit from, I guess it's a partnership or just -- SEPTA GM
So it is -- it is a 99-year lease and the developer agrees to lease -- agrees to lease the stations it's a dollar. And they agree to maintain the stations and they're also going to improve the station building for some development, typically commercial development.
So if they're doing, let's say, high-end condos, do we get any revenue off of it? SEPTA GM
So the -- so -- so -- so these stations are likely not that. They would be -- they would be the -- the revenue we're generating is the recovery of costs that we would expend to maintain the stations, it's the $150,000 a year.
And that $150,000 a year savings started the day they signed the lease. And there's also a capital improvement that the developer will have to -- that has agreed to invest in the stations totaling nearly $4 million.
The Chair recognizes gentleman -- councilmember Bass.
So I just -- I just want to be clear on what you're saying, which is not that SEPTA is getting $150,000 a year. What is happening is that SEPTA is just not putting out $150,000 a year and is basically just giving away the property. So you just gave it away so you don't have to do the maintenance on the property anymore. That's what's happening here. I just want to be absolutely clear so it doesn't seem as if there's, you know, resources coming back to SEPTA from this transaction because there's not.
Well, we still want the stations. They still belong to SEPTA, we want to use the stations. They're our property.
So I understand that you were leveraging what you had without selling it, the 91. But there's always a very robust revenue sharing model that could have been used. Do you know why it wasn't or when this happened and under whose age this happened? Because there's more -- is there a clause for claw back? There's different ways to handle this.
I would like to do this. I would like to do this just to continue managing. We're still on -- the floor is still open to Councilmember Mike Driscoll, Chair of Transportation. And besides just points of information, these lines of questioning could be directed when individuals are called. Just want to maintain just some order on the floor. Member Driscoll, please continue your line of questioning.
Thank you, Mr. President. I'll save mine for round two.
Okay. All right. The chair recognizes Majority Leader Gilmore- Richardson, then Councilman Jamie Gauthier, who took the train today, and then also Councilman Nicholas O'Rourke, who took the train today as well.
Thank you. Thank you so much, Council President. And thank you to SEPTA. I wanted to start with the thank yous that we've done for every hearing, then I have five questions that I must get on the record. One, I want to thank you, Council President, for the suggestion regarding SEPTA's senior leadership engagement around Harrisburg. As our Chair of Transportation, Member Driscoll stated, and our Council President, who are both, you know, veterans of the state house. It'll be important that we have that level of engagement directly from the leadership team at SEPTA up in Harrisburg. So I wanted to underscore that matter. In addition to that, we want to thank Wendy Green-Harvey, always responsive and collaborative with members of City Council. Our Philly own Fran Kelly and Pamela McCormick. Also, the entire Planning Department for their work and collaboration on the bus revolution. I know it was painful, but I appreciate each and every one of you. To your board chair, Ken Lawrence, I appreciate his work on the bus revolution and just everything SEPTA. And then also I must give a shout out to Leslie Richard, she was wonderful to work with. And then TWU 234, and all of our bus operators and those who work on the system. Scott, we're very happy for you as well. Because you rose through the ranks, very similarly started as an operator and we appreciate your institutional knowledge that you bring in a moment wherein it'll be important for SEPTA in this moment. So I have very quickly just five questions. I'm going to give you all my questions so I can get them on the record. One, SEPTA's Planning Department, As I just notated, led the way on a project titled Bus Revolution. It was supposed to be this comprehensive new bus network that would yield more efficient bus service. I really appreciated all the work that you all did and you know slowing down the project and working with us, so we could have additional community engagement. But considering the recent budget crisis announcement, where does that project stand? And then next, I wanted to talk about the impact for young people because I think that was lost. And at the most recent press conference that was held by Senator Saval and others, the students spoke. And I was just struck thinking about all the years that I rode SEPTA to and from West Philly to Philadelphia High School for Girls. So what would be the impact on the student fare card program? And then additionally, for youth impact, I want to talk about current. How are you all working with the Philadelphia Police Department and our Department of Human Services regarding curfew enforcement on the line from a safety perspective as well? There have been a ton of incidents as it relates to young people. And we have Community Evening Resource Centers where young people can be taken to receive resources if they're out past curfew. So what are you all doing around curfew enforcement on the line? Because a lot of times when things are happening like these flash mobs and other things, young folks run to the line. And I don't know that there's any curfew enforcement happening. And then finally, because I want to respect and honor the clock. How are you all working with the Office of Homeless Services? I asked this question last year regarding in particular the dedicated beds, if any, for SEPTA. But how you all interface directly with the city's Office of Homeless Services? SEPTA GM
Okay. Okay. I think I have them all. So let me -- let me start with bus revolution. So we appreciate the input that you gave to Bus Revolution and everyone from Council. So that's that project is not done. It's paused pending the outcome of funding.
If funding comes that -- we can take that right off the shelf and begin an implementation process that will start with a broad communications plan to educate our customers on the changes prior to them taking effect. But we should funding come, we could begin implementation as early as February of 2026.
As for -- as for our student fare programs, that is a program that that is funded -- is currently funded by the state legislature or state -- the state commonwealth. So there's -- while the service may cut -- may be cut, there's no -- there's no plan at this point to do anything different with student fares than what we currently do today.
Well, so that's different than -- that's different than fares. So when it comes to service, student -- so service availability for students would be impacted as harshly as it would be for any other customer. So the extra service, what we refer to as our 400 series buses, is what you might refer to as a student charter, that would be affected by cuts. The extra service that we use to enhance the line -- the lines themselves to serve different schools, they would see cuts and reductions as well. We've tried very hard very, very, very, very much to reduce the impact of the cuts in the first round of cuts, the 20% reduction. But once we start to cut deep like we -- like we're proposing, it's very difficult to maintain any real semblance of frequent service for anyone, including students. But certainly that is not what we want to do. We want to provide the same levels of service, if not better, than what we're -- what we're currently providing today. Chief, you want to take -- CHIEF LAWSON: Sure. So I can tell you, I'm a huge fan and proponent of the Community Evening Resource Centers. I mean, it's a tremendous tool for law enforcement in this city. I typically will bring that group in to discuss that program with my entire supervisory and leadership team at least once every year since I've been in charge of the program in the police department over here. That's a tool that we can use to keep kids safe. Kids get caught up in these flash mobs, like you said. We have folks getting in trouble and it doesn't have to happen. We have a tremendous working relationship with our partners in this city. I do I want to take the opportunity at this point to really thank Commissioner Bethel and his team, particularly on their priority to bring back, you know, the SEPTA checks and helping direct Philadelphia Police Officers check our SEPTA transit operators and things. I can tell you that through the first quarter of the year, they have performed more than 8,500 of those checks on SEPTA properties. So that is a tremendous, tremendous help to us and our -- our employees certainly really appreciate that that level of service. But we coordinate on those flash mobs frequently with sharing of intel and collaborate a lot with getting groups over to the CERC centers. I love that program. Office of Homeless Services, the director of our SCOPE program, Teresa White, has a tremendous collaboration coordination with them. They're in communication virtually every single week. As we bring back and remold our SCOPE program, we're going to have even more close coordination with them. But right now, we're relying on the Office of Homeless Services and their homeless outreach Contracts right now to kind of take over the slack that we lost in the suspensions of our contracts.
Thank you, Madam Chair. MADAM CHAIR BASS: Thank you, Council Lady. Next up is Councilwoman Gauthier.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Good afternoon to the both of you and thank you for everything that you do to keep Philadelphia moving, literally. This morning Minority Whip Nicholas O'Rourke and I, rode the L from 52nd Street to City Hall, so that we could ask riders about their concerns and questions. I represent the only Council District where a majority of residents do not drive to work. So for my communities in West and Southwest Philadelphia, riding SEPTA is not an option, it's a necessity. Something we often hear from Senate Republicans is that their taxpayers should not pay for SEPTA because they incorrectly claim their constituents do not benefit from it. These lawmakers are conveniently ignoring the fact that our region is only 5% of the state's land, but generates almost 40% of the Commonwealth's tax revenue. We know that Philly is the economic engine for the entire Commonwealth, so these Republican transit cuts would sink Philly's economy. But can you talk about how having reliable mass transit here in Southeastern Pennsylvania supports economic activity in other regions of the state? Can you also talk about how much funding SEPTA receives from the Commonwealth versus other large transit systems in other states? So for instance, do you receive more or less than your peers? And lastly, given SEPTA's ongoing fiscal challenges, including significant budget shortfalls and limited state funding, how will trolley modernization be impacted in FY26? SEPTA GM
So thank you for that. So let me -- let me discuss a little bit about the impacts on the state. So SEPTA -- while SEPTA certainly operates in the five counties, parts of Delaware, parts of New Jersey, our reach across the Commonwealth is far and wide. The number of procurements, the things that we buy everyday, whether it's wheels or it's just windshield wipers or cleaning products, we stretch into every -- into many of the counties in the Commonwealth. So while we may not -- that person that lives in Butler County who's never taken a ride on a SEPTA bus, there may be a company in Butler County that we do business with that they're benefiting from the people that ride SEPTA everyday. And I've made -- I've made the same argument when I -- in some interviews that I've done where I say like, look, I've been -- I've been to a lot of places, but I've never been to some of the counties in Pennsylvania, never ridden on their roads or ridden on their bridges, but I probably have contributed to their maintenance. So and -- and I don't begrudge anyone, their road or their bridge that they need to have, but our people in the -- in this part of the Commonwealth, they need mass transit. We can't get around. And I grew up in Southwest Philadelphia and I rode the 13 Trolley to school and to work, my first job. So I did those things and I wouldn't have been able to become the person I am without SEPTA. So -- and I realize that our customers by and large are in the same situation that I was in many, many years ago. So -- so the impacts that stretch across the Commonwealth, while they may not realize it to the point where they don't see value in SEPTA. They will see the value if we don't exist, and then they will see the value.
I think we should outline that for the Republicans. SEPTA GM
I agree with you. And to allay any concern that Council may have about my involvement in this process, I have been front and center to anyone who will listen to me in Harrisburg and elsewhere. You know, myself, lead -- trying to lead the way as the leader of this organization, as a leader in this community, I want people to see my face when they think about whether or not SEPTA needs to be funded and hear my voice. So I assure Council that I am front and center on this issue everywhere I go. I'll bounce -- as it compares to our peers, our funding for peers, we are actually amongst the lowest in the country when it comes to funding as compared to the largest transit agencies in the country. We have a chart that I can certainly share with Council, but there's a chart that we use to kind of talk about this, that we didn't even create. It was actually created by Chicago Transit Authority to make their case for being under funded. And we were worse than they were.
So they did us a favor by creating a chart where they ranked third from the bottom, but we were at the bottom.
That was a list of about to large 4 transit agencies in the country. 5 The highest being Seattle. They -- 6 they had the highest. 7 And it's really, like 8 Seattle, for example, is building a 9 transit agency that to look like 10 what we are today. We have it. They're spending billions of dollars to create what we have. We don't need billions of dollars to create this system. We exist. We exist on infrastructure that's exists today and we need help. We need the legislature to own SEPTA because we are a product of the legislature. As for trolley modernization, the trolley modernization project is still progressing. The cars are in design with Alstom, and so we are hoping to have a mock up of the car that we can display as part of 2026, when the time comes, that we can show our customers what this car will look like in real life. They'll be able to kind of touch and sit in it. But the car is progressing -- we are fully -- our critical path items that we need to bring the cars onto the property is fully funded. So that includes our Route 36, what we will now refer to as T5. That line is fully funded so that we can get that line in operation. We can get the cars out on the road to begin testing once they arrive, which is still a couple years away. But trolley modernization is still -- is still moving forward. I'm sorry, was there another question?
That was it. Thank you so much. Thank you, Madam Chair. MADAM CHAIR BASS: Thank you, Council Lady. Next is Councilman O'Rourke.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Good afternoon, everybody. SEPTA GM
Thank you for the hard work that you all put in everyday to maintain our city's lifeline. I want to start by talking about the Zero Fare program. The Zero Fare program, the Mayor's office has announced that the plan to continue the SEPTA Key Advantage for city employees, which is great news and is "in discussion" with SEPTA to extend the Zero Fare program through FY26. Many of us are happy to hear that Zero Fare is safe for another year. We have heard it across the city, we have heard it certainly here, and so that is exciting news. I do have a few questions about this, though. Could you share more about where those discussions stand currently? Will Zero Fare actually be funded at current levels through the end of FY26? SEPTA GM
So that is the commitment that we continue Zero Fare as it is today. So the same program with no -- with no additional limitations. We are still working out what that looks like with the administration, but SEPTA is supportive of the program. We have no objection to moving the program forward. In fact, we saw the value in it immediately. So that it was -- it had a goal of about 25,000 users, it met that goal. So we're -- we're excited that the administration wants to continue it and we're you know we're eager to kind of nail down what it -- what it's going to look like.
So the discussions continue as it relates to what that looks like. SEPTA GM
What we've been told is that the funding plan for Zero Fare in FY26 is to take funds already committed to SEPTA and restructure them to pay for the program. If I'm understanding this correctly, the city actually increased the subsidy to SEPTA by about 15 million in FY24. And that we're essentially restructuring that that extra 15 million to fund Zero Fare. Can you confirm that this is correct? SEPTA GM
So what the administration did is they overmatched their commitment to SEPTA. And what they did is they based their matching funds on what the governor's proposal was for SEPTA, not what we actually received. So in essence, they have paid us more than they were obligated to pay because they committed to the proposal that the governor made. And so they're -- they're ahead of the game as it stands today and they're considering using those funds to fund the Zero Fare program.
Okay. And still and I heard the bell, so I'm going to get off the clock. But to make sure I have this straight, we are going to be using funding that we were already planning to give to SEPTA and restructuring that, so to also pay for the administrative overhead for the Zero Fare program. Wouldn't that mean -- if that's the case, wouldn't that mean that SEPTA is actually receiving less money now as a result? SEPTA GM
I'll come back in the second round. Thank you. MADAM CHAIR BASS: Thank you, Councilman. Councilman Harrity.
Thank you, Deputy Whip. Hello. How is everybody doing today? I'd like to get a little bit more into the SCOPE so I can understand. Because I actually am a fan of the program. I have examples here where people have gotten into Merakey and have been successful, one for eight months already and one for five. So but what I would like to get into is you said that they were -- the contracts were paused, right, because of the Inspector General's report. Can you elaborate on that a little bit more and kind of tell us some of what the report showed? Because from what I understand it was that there may have been a little bit of padding going on with the numbers and how many people they actually services compared to what the number really was. So could you please just get into that a little bit for us? SEPTA GM
Sure. And just let me just -- let me also be clear, we're a fan of the program as well. It has been -- it has been an enormous success for us in being able to reach people in a non-law enforcement way to get them the help that they -- that they so need. So what -- what I want to kind of try to clarify a little bit is the Inspector General's report, so there's -- there's -- there's still discussions going on. So the way the Inspector General measured contacts with folks who need help may not have been crystal clear and what that -- and you probably know this better even than I do. So making contact with someone who is in need is a process that these outreach specialists have to -- have to earn the trust of the people that they're trying to offer help to. So contact with someone in this regard may look like a lot of different things. It's not just direct physical or verbal contact with that person. It could just simply be being near them to give them the sense that this person is a friendly. So I think that there are some things that we still have to hash out as to what an engagement looks like. But by and large, what we've done on per SEPTA is we're going to own this. And the Chief alluded to this, that we're going to add supervisory personnel of our own from our roles that will take some ownership of supervising the outreach specialists. Making sure that whatever is being reported is 100% accurate, something we can verify. So that -- so that should we do should we look into this again at a later date, we all agree on what the a contact is and how to measure it. I don't want to in any way mislead anyone that we weren't concerned about it. We were, which is why we paused operations. We want to make sure that we have this set up in such a way that people can't question it as something that's not productive. So Merakey is still on board. Northeast Treatment, we separated ways before the report was issued. But the pause was just out of an abundance of caution to make sure that we have our act together before we re-engage.
Are there still investigations going on related to this? SEPTA GM
Just at this point I wouldn't determine it as an investigation. It's conversations around the report on the investigation.
So what you're saying is what they were trying to get at is trying to make it clear of what a contact actually is like. So they couldn't just say if they gave them water -- SEPTA GM
If we report 50 contacts, we want to make sure we made 50 contacts.
So do we. So and I appreciate it. And like I said, I'm a fan of the program. I have talked to numerous, you know, I'm in recovery, I'm open about it. I've talked to people in the program that have gotten in, actually, I couldn't believe it, through your program and Merakey. So I was a little concerned when I heard the report about the Inspector General and some other things going on, and wanted to try to get some clarification. So I thank you on that, but we'll definitely be keeping an eye on not just you guys for the program continuing, but also the people providing the service. So that we know that the service is being provided. That's important. SEPTA GM
Thank you. MADAM CHAIR BASS: Thank you, Councilman. Council -- Chair recognizes Councilwoman Lozada. But before you go, I do have a couple of questions that I want to put before SEPTA before we leave today. And that is I would like a list in the last two years how many FASOs, the Finding A Special Opportunity, that SEPTA has done? How many of these deals? How much were the contracts? To whom did they go to? And were there minorities/women who were a part of these transactions? And the length of the leases? SEPTA GM
We'll get that for you. MADAM CHAIR BASS: Today? Can we have it today before we wrap this up? SEPTA GM
Yes, we will try our best to get that. MADAM CHAIR BASS: Super. thank you so much. Thank you. Councilwoman Lozada.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you for being with us this afternoon. Let me start off by saying that I appreciate everything that you all have done to try to figure out how to make the system cleaner and safer. I'm baffled, though, because we still have a long way to go. And so my question is -- I don't have to tell you what the issues are in the transit stops along the 7th Council District, you know what they are, you're familiar with them. My question is now that Mr. Divers has retired, how do you all plan to manage the safety and the cleanliness and the removal of some of our unsheltered population on our systems? He was the point of contact, right? And it didn't matter if we called them on a Sunday morning or a Friday late evening, he was responsive. It can't be Wendy. It can't be Wendy. Wendy is one person, right? And so who is your outreach person? How do we respond to this? I have staffers who use the transit system everyday and every morning is a different story about someone lighting up a crack pipe next to their children, right? With no response from SEPTA Police even after multiple reports. And so I need to figure out, we're preparing for 2026 and we're saying that we're going to be ready. We can't -- we're not ready now for our own residents. So what are you going to do? How do we respond? Who's the point of contact person? CHIEF LAWSON: So you're right, Ken Divers has now retired. His second in command is now the interim director of our SCOPE program. If you don't have her information, we'll make sure that you get it so she's available anytime that you need her. You can always reach out to me. I'll address anything that needs to occur. I do want to share, I mean we've made significant progress through the Kensington corridor. And so I mean across every measuring statistic that we're measuring crime is down, cleanliness is up, engagements are up, enforcement is up more than 200%, you know, through that corridor. We're doing more collaboration with the city than we ever have. And I absolutely agree that a lot more needs to be done, right? Like this is an issue, it's one of those issues that SEPTA and that our Police department cannot solve alone. I can't create more housing opportunity, I can't get people clean myself, so I need to work we need to work through other individuals in that. Theresa is a tremendous support for me. She now -- I talked about embedding the SCOPE program within the Police Department. She's a member of my command staff now. She has not only the resources that she has in the SCOPE program, she has availability of the entire resources of the Police Department at her disposal.
So to some people in this legislative body those numbers matter, but to me what matters most is the people that are using the system. Right? And my community is telling me that it is not reliable, that it is not safe and that it is not clean. And so I need -- I can connect with you, I can call you, but what do my residents who, you know, some people depend on the system to work, like my colleague has mentioned. My residents depend on it to survive, right? Because they don't have the luxury of vehicles. And so I need -- I need to know, you know, that when they're using that app that somebody's going to respond. We see officers up on the -- on that platform and people are evading pain and they're just standing there. Right? People are using, openly injecting themselves at the steps of our SEPTA stations and there's officers at the foot of the steps, and they're just watching. And so I need -- I need some real solutions. I need you to help me believe that No. 1, visitors coming into our city in 2026 are not going to walk away seeing this in my community. And No. 2, that you are going to not have one Mr. Divers, but three, four, five of them because that's what we know we need. Right? And the problems are not just in my district, while my district is ground zero for these problems, I'm sure on 52nd Street, 54th Street, all of these other, you know, stations have the same problem and so we need more Mr. Divers And more serious concrete solutions to how are we going to do this? What do we do -- how do you better partner with the Police Department? How do you better partner with offices like mine? How do we put real solutions in the hands of residents that depend on the system? Because I'm not hearing that, I didn't read it in your testimony and we talk a lot. And, yeah, it all sounds amazing, but I have -- I don't see us making progress in my district. SEPTA GM
So what I -- what I can -- what I can commit to at this point is we have Teresa, who took Ken Diver's place. We are adding supervisors, as we mentioned to this program, so we are -- we are multiplying the force that could be available. But I certainly would like to, you know, I'd like to figure out what -- what else is needed. We've thrown a lot of resources at our cleaning operation. I realize that that may not be completely visible to you in your district. So I'd like to figure out what is -- what else is necessary that I can really make an impact. I heard you on Monday, you talked about this very same issue for 2026. That you don't want to be a viral video. I don't want that for you either, I don't want that for this city. So if I can -- if there's a way that we can collaborate in a more meaningful way than we have been, then I'm open to it. I'm open to figuring out precisely what it is that that your -- your constituents need to feel safe riding SEPTA because that's what we want. We have a number of initiatives underway to combat fare evasion we can certainly talk through that when the time is right. But -- but specifically to your concerns, there's got to be a way now that we can -- we can battle this together and I'm willing to do that.
How many of your -- I'm sorry, Madam Chair. How many of your -- I don't know your board, right? How many of your board members are professional transit folks? Understand transit, can speak to transit, can come up with policy around transit, can create recommendations around -- how many of your board members are prepared for that? SEPTA GM
I mean, our board is a very engaged and professional board. I would say there's a mix of professions on the board.
I want to know transit specific. And this is why I'm asking this. There is no way that the decisions that have been made up to now are being made by people who understand transit oriented policies, legislation, conversation, fundraising. Like I can't understand -- I'm not a transit person and so I'm just trying to figure out, who do you have guiding you in this process? SEPTA GM
I would say my board has been instrumental in guiding me up to this point. I've been in the job just a few months and they have been a big help to me. Like I said, there's a variety of professions that I can lean on from professional engineers to lawyers, it's a mix. I wouldn't say -- I am -- I like -- I liken myself and my team, the team that works around me, we are the professional -- transit professionals. The board gives me guidance and helps me make good decisions. And I feel like --
I don't doubt that. I don't doubt that. And I'm not -- I'm not -- I'm not putting your board down. I'm not saying that they're not good people, I'm just saying that that have a foundation in transportation, that has a foundation in transit oriented policy. SEPTA GM
Yeah, I can't speak -- speak specifically to their complete backgrounds. I know what their professions are.
But I I would have to defer that question to someone on the board.
And I think that that's where we need to look at. That's what we need to look at, right? It's good that they can that -- that they are professional and that they're good people and that they're committed and they believe in transit systems. I get it. But if they don't have the knowledge, it's almost like me walking in being on your board and telling you what you need to do in a transit system when I have no clue -- SEPTA GM
-- what it even takes, right? And so I just -- I'm just going to recommend that we -- that we just look at that because I think it's common sense, right? Thank you, Madam Chair. I'm not trying to start no trouble. I'm not trying to start no trouble. I'm just saying, right? Y'all asking me -- it's like me telling you what to do and I have no idea because I -- my major was in HR and in management, right? MANAGING DIRECTOR CARROLL: So good afternoon, Councilmember Lozada. Mike Carroll, deputy managing director for the Office of Transportation and Infrastructure here in the city and I'm also a SEPTA board member. So I can't answer your question much more specifically than Scott has. There's a couple of us who have transportation backgrounds. There's a few who work in law related issues that are directly connected to SEPTA's work. So labor, for example. Risk and liability, for example. So there's a breath of professional expertise the board provides. I think, you know, the best way for us to kind of get you the comfort that I think you need is for the board to reach out to Councilmembers, such as yourself and Councilmembers, in general. You know, there's a decent amount of engagement with Council President, but we can expand that and you can get to meet these folks and have some facetime with them and share some of your concerns and get them of their feedback. I will say that coming out of the pandemic, the board has tried to articulate a message where I think Scott, I'm sorry, the interim general manager has really picked up on that there's a need for constantly elevating the sense of customers and workers safety and security. And I have been asked to lead a subcommittee that focuses on safety in particular, specifically the operation is, you know, one that has a lot of hazards associated with it, a little bit less on the customer side. But there's also an emphasis on accountability and I think the general manager has put a ton of focus on accountability. And that is about building a culture in the organization given that, you know, the people who worked for SEPTA, like everybody else in the region, has been through a lot in the last few years. And these are our residents. They're not people who appear from Mars and run trains and buses and, you know, they're just kind of showing up out of thin air. They live in our neighborhoods, you know, they -- they -- they work here, they shop here, their kids go to school here. So they have an investment, but trying to raise that culture is something that the board is focused on. And I think it would be very healthy for the board to share insights and ideas with Councilmembers in order to get that perspective and I think you're getting that.
I think that would be great and I would appreciate that. However, again, right, I want us -- I want -- we are -- we're saying that we're in a critical -- and Madam Chair, I know that I'm over time, but we're in a critical situation right now where we're talking about I think I read 50 lines going to be cut by 2026. And we're talking about in the same year where we're having a ton of people coming into our city and we're talking about relying on public transportation, right? And so I -- you know, we have to at some point become a common sense government, right? And we need people leading conversations that are prepared to lead those conversations in a very effective, responsible way. The transit system needs to be clean, it needs to be safe, it needs to be reliable. And if that means I'm gonna focus just on the Market-Frankford line right now, and I'm going to give it a 100% and make it reliable and make it clean and make it safe. You have to do that before I decide that I'm going to use your system. It can't be the other way around, right? You can't continue to cut, cut, cut, be less reliable, and then expect me to want to use you. We have to do this the other way. And so I'm just saying we need to figure it out. MANAGING DIRECTOR CARROLL: I appreciate that.
Thank you, Madam Chair. MADAM CHAIR BASS: Thank you very much, Council lady. And I agree with you a thousand percent. Because if we're having this, you know, very difficult conversation about cuts to SEPTA and about, you know, who's going to lose service and, you know, what's going to be drawn back. And, you know, it's going to dramatically affect the entire city of Philadelphia. And so when we make decisions, you know, going -- going back to, you know, my concern earlier about giving away, you know, five very valuable properties for a dollar for a hundred years. When we make a decision like that it really, kind of, like makes you scratch your head and say, you know, who is making these kinds of decisions that are affecting all of us. It's not just, you know, a group of people. It's affecting the entire city of Philadelphia. And when we don't have the right professionals on the boards, you know, or connected and making decisions at SEPTA, again, it affects us all, and it's very much of concern. Any information available yet on those demographics? SEPTA GM
We are getting it, Councilmember. MADAM CHAIR BASS: Okay. And one other question on the bus revolution. I think you mentioned to Councilwoman Majority Leader Kathy Gilmore-Richardson, I think it was her that asked about it. And you said part of it was paused. SEPTA GM
So the entire new bus network is paused pending the outcome of our funding situation. MADAM CHAIR BASS: So what does that mean? SEPTA GM
So the reason why that is -- so we can't move forward with implementation when we're talking simultaneously about stripping service away. So new bus network was not a reduction in service, it was to take our existing resources and make them more efficient and more useful to our customers. To create, in fact, more frequency and more reliability for customers. We would have to do a -- we are going to have to do a communications campaign to educate our customers on what this new bus network is going to look like. MADAM CHAIR BASS: Right. SEPTA GM
We could have that conversation at the same time we're talking about stripping away up to 50 bus routes. MADAM CHAIR BASS: How much have we spent on the bus revolution so far? SEPTA GM
Well, it would -- so what we've spent so far and I don't have the precise figure, but it would have been really consultant and staff time up to this point because it is generally resource neutral, so I will have to get you that figure. MADAM CHAIR BASS: And the other question I have on the bus revolution is that when we change bus routes and bus numbers and names, and all that, we were told it was because it was confusing. And so I'm trying to find out what the confusion was? SEPTA GM
So I think more so than it's confusing -- so it certainly wouldn't be confusing to locals. Because people like you and I, who've been here for our entire life -- MADAM CHAIR BASS: Right. SEPTA GM
But what we were trying what the what we were trying to do with the new nomenclature is to create a system that is good and understandable for locals and visitors alike, for both the frequent and the infrequent user. So -- so when we -- as we shifted and we adopted a letter -- a letter naming system naming convention for our rail lines, we are shift making sure that all the bus routes take a numerical naming convention. So of the six or seven bus routes that were remaining that still had letters, we shifted almost all of them to numbers to coincide with the other 115 or so bus routes that are also numbers. That was to give it more consistency across mode. MADAM CHAIR BASS: So if we made a decision to make that sort of a change, to change letters to numbers, so that it would be more understandable for people who are not from Philadelphia, for visitors. So we essentially made these changes to make it easier for visitors to understand, rather than the people who ride and pay for SEPTA every single day and who take this transit. Because for the life of me I just don't understand what was confusing about our system. Especially when, you know, like the XH, the H, the R, the -- you know, like all of these bus routes. You know, even from back in the day the C bus, right? SEPTA changed the C bus. You know what people still call it? The C bus. And so who are we making these changes for? SEPTA GM
And again, it -- so -- so just to give it give some historical perspective, the C bus changed and, yes, there are still some leftovers who still call it the C bus. People like us. MADAM CHAIR BASS: Everybody calls it the -- SEPTA GM
People -- there are still people who refer to our regional rail lines as the R -- R5, R4, R3, rather. So there traditions die hard sometimes, but at the same time I can also remember bus routes -- I remember bus routes because I've been here so long that other people don't recall because it has changed and now everybody knows the new. So it's not just new just for the sake of being new and it wasn't just intended for the -- for the visitor. It was just meant to make sure it was consistent that this mode was treated this way. The bus mode was treated this way, the rail mode is treated this way. The same way we now refer to our transit rail lines as our metro. It just it feels new and the newness makes it feel confusing, but in time people will grow accustomed to the new nomenclature. Some won't, but many will. And the new -- the new folks who come in who enter the system, whether they're now children or infants growing into the system or they're visitors or people relocating into the city, they won't know it any other way. MADAM CHAIR BASS: I hear you. I think that -- and I'm not going to belabor the point. But I think that whatever time and resources we spent on this could have better been used to try to figure out the financial situation of SEPTA rather than changing the R to the you know Route 49 or, you know, like whatever it is. SEPTA GM
Understood. MADAM CHAIR BASS: I just don't think that that was probably the best use of our time and talent and treasury, you know, for SEPTA or for trying in public. Because if we're making all these changes and the idea is to make someone who visits Philadelphia once a year, you know, at the expense and the, you know, confusion of those who have been riding SEPTA for a lifetime, it just doesn't make sense. But like I said I don't want to belabor that. Chair recognizes Councilmember Anthony Phillips.
Thank you, Chairwoman Bass. SEPTA -- just a couple questions. SEPTA is has capital projects that they're responsible for. In our district two capital projects SEPTA is responsible for include the Fern Rock district, there was supposed to be an underpass or overpass. Lawndale, there's supposed to be a new overpass or underpass. And there has been community conversations about this for about way before I even started. When I first started on Council, I had meetings about this in 2022 and now it's 2025. And then to learn that former Councilwoman Cherelle Parker had projects with the, you know, that were slated to be working in her office and so forth. We're now going close to it's about six years now it looks like and the capital project still has not started. To me it's disappointing because I look up and I'm like, oh, are we moving on it and nothing's moving. But it's more disappointing to a community that SEPTA continues to engage about this and there's no construction happening. So even before the death spiral there was funding that was earmarked for capital projects in our district. And I'm trying to figure out what is the status of those type of those capital projects and is SEPTA becoming more like Rebuild Philadelphia in our Parks & Rec where they're constantly not finishing parts -- you know, capital projects. Thankfully, Rebuild is getting stuff done now, but before they weren't. It looks like SEPTA's, you know, doing the same model. SEPTA GM
Sure. And let me speak to those two projects in particular, and then I'll talk a little bit about the capital program generally. So both Fern Rock and Lawndale are both in consideration for executing the project. Fern Rock has been particularly challenging because the solution is not apparent. There -- there were -- there was discussions about a crossover, there were discussions about an underpass. The engineering associated with both options and the underpass does not seem like a viable option. But certainly the overpass, the engineering associated with that doesn't present an easy remedy for that location to be able to do this project. That's not to say that it wouldn't ever happen, but there's still a lot more that has to be done before we get to a real viable solution for Fern Rock. Lawndale is a little bit different. While we had an engineered project, the funding was not there. So we -- we -- when we had we had applied for a grant from the Federal Railroad Administration, it didn't come. It's still on the books as a project that we want to execute, it's just the funding just has not presented itself for that project. We -- we -- it had never been funded at least during the time that I've been paying attention to the project. But -- but more broadly, our capital program is sorely under funded. We still have a $5 billion backlog of state of good repair. We have a $17 billion 12-year program that we can only fund about billion of, which 6 includes trolley modernization, 7 station accessibility. Rail car 8 replacements. 9 We have the old -- we still 10 have the oldest rail car fleet in 11 the country and our 50-year-old 12 Silverliners are unfunded to be 13 replaced. 14 So we would love to build anything that -- that will make our customers experience better. We want to make our stations fully accessible. That's -- that's a priority for the organization. We've had to -- we've had to delay a couple station accessibility projects because we just don't have the funding to move forward. Now there's a variety of reasons for that. Number 1, we don't get the funding levels -- as Councilmember Gauthier pointed out, we don't get the funding levels that our peers do. But just as important, we don't -- inflation has taken a bite out of our capital budget as well. So there's a number of reasons why these projects don't always get over -- get started, those are just a couple.
But Scott, I understand that, but it's the process, right? SEPTA GM
The community is not understanding, neighbors aren't understanding if you're going to take our time, bring us out to meetings on multiple occasions, and then we do know that there's a grant that's pending. It's like why even put us through that until you have all your marbles in the book? Right now, that entire community engagement team in my mind has literally had meetings in our district over and over again with nothing to show for at this point. And it's disappointing to -- it's disappointing not only to myself, but to our neighbors. So I just think our process just has to get better with the capital project side. And not only that, the follow-up is not really good either. Because even after a meeting there's not like, hey, we're going to be getting here. We're still in design, still in design. So it's just the process that I'm concerned about. SEPTA GM
Yeah, and I appreciate that. And as -- as your -- your colleagues have -- have pointed out in other -- in other aspects of the way we do business, we do have to do better at communicating with you, with your constituents, with the people of the region, and our processes internally for evaluating these projects as they're presented to us has to improve as well. We have to -- and all those things are in motion. I want to assure the Council that those things are happening. We've -- just in the few months that I've -- that I've been general manager, we've put already put in a number of processes to try to, No. 1, right size our capital program. And then secondly, make sure that we have a process for selecting projects before we come to the community --
Yes, yes. Have the funding ready to go and have a process of when we're going to finally say we got to make time, especially with the Fern Rock one. Just, last question. The bus operators are -- the bus operators and the railroad operators, the operator, they are your No. 1 staff people. I'm thinking about their safety as operators. And one of the things I'm thinking about is that the ongoing number of young people who they're young, things happen, they get on the bus after school and they also get on the bus during the regional rail -- they get on regional rails, the train, excuse me, the subway. Is there a way in which this budget could potentially reflect people that could be -- could be supportive of the bus operators during this time helping to communicate with schools. You know, there's traditional bus stops that all the -- all of the young people congregate at. We could have people out there as a safety precaution helping to funnel in kids into those buses only of certain limits and so forth. And I'm just thinking about like also having a police department for school, SEPTA police, always around during those let out times. I feel like they're just there, and then that just -- and they could be over -- there could be people that could be hired just to help deescalate the congregation that is at these traditional spaces. Are we thinking more innovatively about how to help to make sure that we're not having too many kids on buses, too many kids on trains, but also helping to deescalate situations having staff members work on that from as part of a safety project. CHIEF LAWSON: So I think -- I think COVID, kind of, really put us behind the eight-ball in this in that the number of operators that we had on the street were fewer and far between, which -- which meant service was impacted which meant more people getting on buses. I think a couple of the programs that we implement now is like, you think I think about school trip programs where we're communicating directly with the schools and providing trip or service directly from a school to a particular transportation center. I think that helps. Our collaboration with the city is fantastic with, sort of, problem hotspot locations. We kind of know where they are. We do supply police officers off of the line and out at these hotspot locations, particularly where we know there's been historical problems. We're tracking that as new hotspots come online. I think all of this is going to be alleviated as our as our staffing gets better and our service count gets better and the number of fleet vehicles get better.
Are you in constant communication with school principals and leaders about needs at bus stops because that could be really helpful. CHIEF LAWSON: We do. So I have my commanders essentially is similar to district level commanders all have school safety meetings that they attend. We have a tremendous working relationship with school police. So we're communicating every week when school's in service with school police as well.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Just one question. Could you talk to us about, you know, if the level of funding you're seeking from the state doesn't come through, how will you utilize the Stabilization Fund in order to keep SEPTA afloat? Can you talk to us about what that fund is? SEPTA GM
Sure. Thank you. Yes. So the Service Stabilization Fund has had many names over the years, none of which are completely accurate. The Service Stabilization Fund is its proper name. And what it is in reality is a working capital fund. So we use that fund every single day to do business. We pay -- we pay our contractors for capital projects, we pay salaries, we -- we pay for variety of procurements and other needs out of this fund. So the value of the fund fluctuates from -- throughout the year. It reaches its highest point typically on the last day of the fiscal year which is June 30th. As it stands today the fund sits at just over 200 million. We will dip into that fund for about $13 million to close the remainder of the fiscal budget after all 21 the cuts are made. So even though 22 it's a $213 million deficit, we will 23 we will cut the 45%, we will raise 24 the fares, and then we will still dip into the fund for $113 million to close out the remaining gap. What that does is it leaves us with less than a month's operating expenses left to conduct daily business. And what that could eventually lead to if we exhaust that fund is we would then start using debt to pay for things. Much like anyone else might use debt when they run out of money, which will incur higher fees, higher charges for us to do business in addition to the rising costs that we already deal with. So the Stabilization Fund has been mischaracterized as a rainy day fund or an emergency fund, something that just kind of sits off in the bank somewhere and waits for us to use it. That's not -- that's not at all what it is. We use it everyday.
Thank you. And you rely on -- you do business in a lot of counties in the state. Have you -- or what type of effort have you made with those contractors you have to help you leverage their legislators in that part -- in that part of the state? SEPTA GM
Yeah. So we have engaged with all of our vendors and contractors and consultants to let them know that should SEPTA have to enact this budget, that they would in turn see reductions in us being able to execute contracts with them. We've encouraged them to reach out to their legislators, we've even shared this information directly with legislators who represent these districts or these -- these counties. So that they are aware that while we may spend $5 million in your county today, we cut half the budget and we cut half the workforce, that $5 million could be zero. it could be a little bit more, but likely would be zero. So we have encouraged all of our vendors to engage. We've put them on notice as to what could happen as the same is true of their of their representatives as well.
Thank you, Council President. Thank you all for being here. Congratulations on your appointment. I wanted to ask about your board composition. So we -- Philadelphia is expected to contribute about 135 million while our surrounding counties are asked for about 30 million combined. While there might be some discrepancy around who actually utilizes SEPTA, the most city residents or suburbanites, the rationale for the city's disproportionate investment into the authority is that the city stands to benefit from a fully funded operational SEPTA service. However, the ten county appointed SEPTA boards, only two are from the city and our suburban neighbors have overwhelmingly more collective representation than the city has. Has SEPTA ever seriously considered a reconstruction of its board so it is reflective of the central role the city plays in its operations and strategic planning?
We contribute the most to the authority because we ostensibly have most to gain, however, we have totally unequal representation at the highest levels of decision within the authority. MANAGING DIRECTOR CARROLL: So I'll take this one on and I just wanted to jump in because it's not -- those questions are not questions that the general manager or the staff or leadership of SEPTA really are involved in at all. The fundamental reason why the board is structured the way it is because of the authorizing legislation which is state legislation. And since the state of Pennsylvania setup SEPTA, that's how they define the board structure. There are conversations individual board members have about what the appropriate structure would be. But the board itself doesn't even have the power to reconstitute its -- its representation. That would have to be done by the state legislature. So in that vein, I would really appreciate when the lobbying is done with the -- with our state legislature to actually highlight the disproportional, you know, participation that is, you know, that we do from Philadelphia. And the fact that, you know, we are helping keep this afloat at a great cost to us when we are one of the poorest big cities in the -- in the country. The second thing I wanted to ask about the board was about my -- my colleague Quetcy Lozada asked about people with experience on about transportation planning. My question is about development because we just heard about the 99-year leases without any sharing of revenue, potentially, which we'll get more information. But that's a real -- a solid pathway for us to be able to amplify. And I wanted to know who on the board has and is maybe giving you support on that issue? And how these deals were structured? And then finally, the final lead up question is that when we have this type of authority, you know, doing this kind of work we need to make that value proposition to the state about what is the actual investment from Philadelphia, not just direct, but indirect and what is it doing for the entire state. That would -- we need a like a graphic to show that. So I'll take your answers. Thank you, Council President. I'll just listen to the answers. SEPTA GM
So it was mentioned earlier that we have a board -- we have a board subcommittee that advises us on safety and security. We also have a similar board subcommittee that advises us on real estate transactions. So that -- the makeup of that subcommittee is there's a variety of board members that are either assigned to or attend. The chairperson of that committee is Commissioner Marian Moskowitz of Chester County, and then there are other board members. And we can certainly supply that list to you, but they advise us on real estate transactions.
And they were the people who authorized the 99-year leases that you did in Northwest Philadelphia? SEPTA GM
The subcommittee doesn't authorize, they advise. The entirety of the board authorizes. They vote collectively, the members. 2
Okay. And my -- I forgot what my other question -- SEPTA GM
Long 9 question. Oh, about a real graphic 10 showing the state what is our 11 investment in SEPTA. 12 SEPTA GM
Oh, 13 we -- we do. We share that. 100% 14 we share Philadelphia's investment 15 in SEPTA versus the state investment versus the county investment. And I will say in fairness to the counties, like Philadelphia, they have all committed their share. Even like Philadelphia has, they have committed their share based on the governor's proposal. And so -- so I didn't want to -- I didn't want to insinuate anything negative about the county commitment, they are committed to SEPTA as well. But certainly Philadelphia because of its size commits much more.
And so just to make the point to the governor and the legislature that what -- the revenue we generate for the rest of the state, that's a graphic we would like to have because we can be advocates for all of you here. And then all the -- all the voters who live in Philadelphia, the largest county, who will, you know -- you know, determine the fate of statewide officers is very important for us. So we would like that piece of information. SEPTA GM
We have an economic impact analysis that we conducted based on the cuts that reveals that information. We'll make sure that you have that.
Thank you, Mr. President. And thank you and congratulations on your appointment. SEPTA GM
Thank you. I remember with the competent Wendy going through the bus revolution -- did I say competent? Highly competent Wendy going through the bus revolution, and I warned at some of the hearings certain things that I'm going to repeat today. That every time we shorten a route, there's a senior that has to walk further. Every time we eliminate a route, there's a kid that has to navigate through neighborhoods that he may or may not know that cause him danger. Every time we change the names of a route, we tend to confuse people who know to catch this bus, to get that bus to get to my doctors. So what I said in the bus revolution was: Have we talked to institutions that deal with the University of Penns of the world, the other large institutions that service those populations, school district, how this is going to impact them. And I understand it's a doomsday and God knows that I know that there are people working at the state as we speak trying to figure out where the quarters in the couch are to pay for this deficit. And you got a governor working for you, you got a state house working for you and we need to work on the rest. You have a Council that wants to work with you. But when you punish the people who are trying to help you, it just gives us a very bad taste in the mouth. If it's a kick in our butt to motivate us, we are motivated. Trust us. But we cannot have people who work the night shift eliminated from work because they no longer have a means back and forth. Now having said that, no good crisis -- in Chinese, they say the same word for crisis is the same word for opportunity. We should not waste this crisis because we should be revamping, tweaking where we can to make it more efficient. Example is when we went through the whole piece with the Sixers Arena. We should take that as an opportunity to see how we can help make successful trips from suburbanites, who want to take public transportation down to the stadium, how to get express party L's, buses from Fern Rock from 69th Street to be able to go there and have a Sixers mascot on there, so that they can feel safe. We should be working with our state counterparts to say where would they park at 69th Street? Where can they use the mall that -- we need to logistically put those things in place now so that we increase our ridership today. God help us if we actually get some help from the state, you are in a better position to more effectively plan for a better future for this system. In 2026, we're going to need you like at full strength, not at half strength. We need to have these systems in place so that visitors can park at Fern Rock and ride in. Park at 69th Street and be on a party safe transit system. And feel welcomed like a -- I'm not going to go with New York or DC, but some of those other cities kind of have the perception that they have right. What I will agree with you wholeheartedly on, we do have the best veins and infrastructure of most transportation cities. Better than Denver, better than some of these other places that are trying to get to where you already are. We just need to build on that. Thank you, Mr. President.
Thank you. And I'd like to tell a story how when I was in -- I was in Ohio, Cleveland, I was part of an organization called City Year and we had our synergy in Cleveland, Ohio. And their Delaware waterfront is similar to what we -- their Delaware riverfront would be called The Flats, right? And that's where we had our conference at. And we were all leaving in the evening and we missed our bus, right? Curt, we were in the middle of nowhere right. And it dawned on me how important SEPTA was because that was the last -- that was the last bus. Like there was no bus after that, right? Like that was it, right? And it made me appreciate SEPTA cause I'm from South Philly. And we got -- I got the Broad Street line and we used to have the C, which it changed to another bus, but it's still the same bus on Broad Street. So I have the option to catch the bus or the sub. And then the 2 bus going north and south. And then on 19th Street and 20th Street, the 17, which is the best bus route in the city, right, that's going from north and south. Right? And then I think we just eliminated, but we also had a bus on 23rd Street which was the 7, right? And that's just going north and south. But that's just getting started. But also, the 29, east and west. The 64, east and west. And so once I learned that I got left that night in Cleveland, it was dark, too.
It was dark, too. It made me appreciate. So, you know, we're not going to let these cuts happen. So not going to happen.
So to the President's point, we have to defend your riders and we will do so vigorously. We love Wendy, but that ain't going to be enough to stop us. SEPTA GM
Thank you. So I guess as we go into our next round. I got you, sir. Council -- well, Councilmember Thomas.
Good afternoon. I'm trying to go -- I'm going to go rapid fire. A couple questions. Have you talked about the economic impact on um the entire region so have we -- have we communicated how much revenue we expect the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to lose if some of the recommendations from the governor are not adopted. And what is that specific amount? SEPTA GM
So yes we have and we have an economic impact analysis that is on our website currently. We're sharing that with everybody. And what this -- what it costs in tax revenues alone is about $675 million.
So we would -- the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania would lose about $675 million in tax revenue? SEPTA GM
That's right. And that's direct tax revenue, this doesn't mean that has property tax loss and all the other things.
Council President recommended earlier that you go to Harrisburg yourself. Your thoughts on that? SEPTA GM
I -- absolutely -- I've already been three times. I got three more trips coming in the next couple weeks. So, yes, I have a place in Harrisburg now, yes.
I'll volunteer to go up there with you one day as well, so you're not going by yourself, so you can see members from Philadelphia. And I bet other members of City Council would also volunteer to go out with you, as well as advocates. I would recommend that we make it an entire Philadelphia initiative. I think what Council President -- it's important that they see you early and often, but I do want to volunteer to make sure that you have support systems and people have your back, so I'll put myself in that category. There's been a lot of advocacy on social media, but SEPTA's website, SEPTA's social media pages are not necessarily as active as say some of the Councilmembers who rode in the L in today. Are there any plans, yes or no, to improve SEPTA's social media presence to help improve your advocacy efforts? SEPTA GM
Yeah. I mean our entire communications effort is -- is improving. We -- we -- I think the effort we've made thus far has been -- has been yoeman's work. This has been our concentration, so yes, but we do have to do more on social.
When I get on the train or the L and my bus is late or my train is late, or even if it's not going to come, is there a way that I can just go to SEPTA's social media page to be able to get an update on what's happening with my particular means of transportation? SEPTA GM
Yeah, the social media page will help you in certain ways. But if you want specific information about your specific bus or your specific train, the app is the best bet. We you can actually track the movement of the vehicle as it arrives to you.
So the reason that we need the social media page is because we're going to have a lot of people coming to Philadelphia. And you have a lot of corny people like me who just don't download apps. I don't download apps. I don't have Uber or any of those type of apps on my phone. I'm not an app person. So you can't expect people to adjust to you. We have to meet people where they are. So I'm going to ask that we find a way to allow social media to provide the same updates that apps do. My last thing I want to say thank you to you, a special thank you to Wendy, the entire team at SEPTA. We appreciate you participating in the 2020 hearing, as well as the other work that you do. SEPTA -- two questions and I won't come back for a second round. SEPTA, as far as marketing, how much revenue do you generate from people marketing on your buses and on your trains? How much revenue is that? SEPTA GM
How 4 can you get that number up to 28 5 million? You can give us that 6 answer in writing. I don't even 7 want to put you on -- 8 SEPTA GM
11 Yeah, I don't want to put you on the 12 spot like that. But we -- let's get 13 a little more creative in marketing. 14 I see you partner with people to be able to get naming rights to certain stations. We see marketing and advertising on buses, sometimes on the side, sometimes on the front. Let's see if you all get can get creative in the next couple weeks before we pass a budget and come back to us on ways that you can increase the amount of revenue you get from marketing and selling naming rights and things of that capacity. Last, but not least, I heard one of my colleagues bring up board members SEPTA board members. How many SEPTA board members are Philadelphia residents who've been approved by Philadelphia elected officials to serve as board members? SEPTA GM
There are two Philadelphia representatives on the SEPTA board.
And how many total people are on the board? SEPTA GM
So 13 out of the 15 people on the board are not Philadelphia residents. And if I'm not mistaken, 15 out of 15 were not confirmed by anybody in Philadelphia, correct? SEPTA GM
I can't speak to the resident because there are those that are appointed by the state legislature.
All of them are appointed and approved by the state, right? SEPTA GM
No. 8 Well, no, Philadelphia appoints its two representatives.
Yes, but the state legislature house and senate appoint their own representatives, some of whom may be Philadelphia residents. I don't know that.
So when you go to Harrisburg, and I'm wrapping up right here, Council President. When you go to Harrisburg and you advocate for SEPTA funding, is there any consistent reminder that the people who are on the board were appointed by them and that they should be the primary funders for SEPTA? Because they appointed the board members, they have jurisdiction, they are constitutionally responsible for funding SEPTA? Is that ever a conversation up there? SEPTA GM
Listen, I can -- I can honestly say, Councilmember, our board is very active in this fight. They have accompanied me --
Just for clarity on the process and just coming from me working up there and I'm sure Driscoll can attest. Half of this argument is preaching to the choir, right? And a lot of the ones who are blocking us aren't so much from the board, it's more so Republicans from across the state of Pennsylvania that no matter what we do. So you'll get a Republican from Bucks County to be supportive of our efforts, but you won't get that Republican from Allegheny County to be supportive of our efforts. Just wanted to clarify -- clarify it just in terms of process. But Member Thomas still wants his answer so make sure you respond to his question, but I just want to clarify because I know the dynamics of what we're dealing with. Member Thomas? SEPTA GM
Yeah, I just think -- and I think it's more of a rhetorical thing. I just think it's somewhat hypocritical for a legislative branch of government to have appointed authority over any type of institution, but then not own the responsibility of funding it. Right? I think that that's so hypocritical and I think it's very disappointing that we've moved to a space in a place where something like SEPTA which should be a bipartisan issue. Right? It's not like you have to show your registration when you get on SEPTA and only Democrats can ride SEPTA. Everyone rides SEPTA. And it's unfortunate that this has turned into such a partisan issue especially when those same people who Council President is saying they have a history of blocking the funding are the same people who vote for and appoint the governing body that's in charge of this large transportation -- go ahead, President.
Yeah, I just wanted to be clear, just in terms of transparency and how that that process work. The people who are actually blocking don't lose SEPTA. The people who have the power right now who's not passing the three bills that came out of the house of the general assembly to get passed, they can care less about the city of Philadelphia. Because they focus on bridges and roads, that's their interest, because SEPTA doesn't have an impact on the immediate community. And so that's where the power lies right now and that's where the rub is in terms of trying to get them to be more supportive of our efforts. So just want to clarify that, for the record.
Thank you, Council President. So I'm hoping that when we go to Harrisburg, those same folks that the Council President is talking about will be the people who is on the top of our list to go visit. And I'm more than willing to have a respectful conversation along with you and other legislators to figure out what do we do to address this crisis. I'll submit the rest of my questions in writing, Council President. Thank you.
Thank you. And also supporting Member Thomas and this approach, also with the support of the Chairman of Transportation who's a former member, Driscoll, who's well versed in this area. It's also going to take, and I'm sure you know this already, Scott, right? When I talk about working in partnership with the Chamber of Commerce. And so having a real conversation the Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce doesn't just represent Philadelphia, a majority of members come from the surrounding regions. They have a -- they have a strong Republican candidacy that's a part of the chamber. And so I've seen things move as a former member when need be when the other side of the aisle actually go to Harrisburg and make this an actual priority. I've seen them stop things from happening when they want to make things a certain priority. And so we have to be very, very strategic and pragmatic, but also speak truth to power and making sure those who have a vested interest aren't just doing rallies. Because the rallies are cute and come out, hey, let's go. But the reality is how are you actually getting it done? And a lot of it is behind the scenes having direct conversations, pushing and pulling, and at the same time strategically getting people to get to be where you need to be in terms of really supporting Governor Shapiro's budget that he's put forth with $300 million. How much would come to the city of Philadelphia? SEPTA GM
And 168 million. And we've passed how many bills out of the general assembly to the Senate which they have never supported? How many? SEPTA GM
Three. And so there lies the politics that we have to address in terms of making sure that we support SEPTA. The Chair recognizes Councilmember Quetcy Lozada for a point of information.
Just a point of information. I want to be clear, right, I'm not -- I'm not downing the people of SEPTA's board or I'm not saying that they're not professional or supportive of you. I think that the point that I'm trying to drive is that if people who are not well-versed and prepared and understand the transit system and everything that comes with it to be able to make effective, responsible decisions for it. It can get us to where we are right now, right? And so just want to make sure that, that's really what I'm pushing is that we may have amazing people on SEPTA, they just may not be capable of making transit oriented decisions and that's why we are where we are.
Okay. Well, I have confidence in the Chair, a gentleman by the name of Ken Lawrence, he's a Fels University of Pennsylvania graduate, along with myself part of Fels alumni group who's taking the helm now. And so we'll be supporting Chairman Ken Lawrence as he advocate in Harrisburg and make sure that we save SEPTA, but most importantly, address the crisis that's before us. And I'm pretty confident with this legislative body who's always stepping up to the plate and us working in partnership with our legislators in Harrisburg that we will save SEPTA. I think 2026 will come, I believe we will be in a good place so I have to speak it into existence and we're going to do the hard work to make sure that's going to happen. Not under my watch, not under this body's watch that SEPTA's not going to be supported. And so we stand on that. The Chair recognizes Councilman Jamie Gauthier, then Councilmember Bass, then Councilmember O'Rourke who will wrap us up.
Thank you, Council President. I appreciated the exchange just now with Councilmember Thomas about the different ways that City Council can support you at the state level. I wanted you to expound on how SEPTA is coordinating with the city to advocate, effectively, for sustained transit funding at the state or even the federal level? And how you want to be partnering with the city in order to do that? So for example, are there specific efforts or strategic partnerships underway in FY26 to secure additional resources or grants that would mitigate potential service disruptions or budget-driven service disruptions? I also wanted to hear from board member Mike Carroll about what's happening on the administration side. I know the Mayor is a firm believer in intergovernmental partnerships, so I wanted you to talk about what the Parker Administration is doing to lobby Harrisburg to fund SEPTA. Next, I wanted to know how much funding does the city of Philadelphia provide SEPTA as compared to our collar counties? How much service would be cut in the collar counties versus Philadelphia if SEPTA does not receive funding? And then lastly, how can residents support SEPTA's budget needs? SEPTA GM
Okay. I am jotting down the questions. I'll speak to the city partnerships. I mean, certainly this body has been a great partner. I appreciate the -- the rallies -- the comment Council President had on the rallies. But I will say that the rally that was held out here last Friday, whether or not it makes inwards in Harrisburg or not, it meant something to SEPTA, it meant something to our employees and certainly our riders. So it's -- it -- it means a lot. I have spoken with all of you on Council and you've all been very supportive and offered your advocacy. Your voices are so powerful in the region that just the fact when you use your social media platforms, when you use your speaking platforms to speak on behalf of SEPTA it's a powerful message and it works for us. And anything that comes out of this body is a help to us. With regards to the administration, certainly one of our board members is a part of the administration. But I've had conversations myself with the Mayor and I've had conversations with her key staff. They have been very strong voices on behalf of SEPTA. Mayor Parker, of course, was up in Harrisburg herself during the governor's budget address. And she made it a point to talk to me and make sure that I knew that she was advocating on our behalf. So every opportunity I know that the Mayor gets, she takes to advocate on behalf of SEPTA. As for additional funding sources and grant opportunities, there aren't many grant opportunities for operating dollars. It's more in the capital side. But we have a very active grant department that is always searching for opportunities for us. And, of course, if there's anything that Council is aware of that we should be looking at, we're certainly open to those ideas as well. Operating dollars are much more difficult to come by than capital as far as it comes to grant making. And there was something for our board member. I did? What did I -- MANAGING DIRECTOR CARROLL: Yeah, the general manager gave you the main answer. And I'll just say that the issue is so important that the Mayor's office has taken that advocacy on themselves and the Mayor herself. And I will -- I will only add this, I mean the Mayor has often, you know, reminded people it's not what you say, it's what you do. And the fact that she has put the budget in for the second year in a row is really the main thing she wants everyone to be responding to when she goes to Harrisburg and asks the Commonwealth to step up to the plate and do that on their own.
Thank you. And then lastly, how can residents get involved in this advocacy? SEPTA GM
Oh, I'm sorry, also my question about the collar counties, please. SEPTA GM
I have that as well. So as for the advocacy, our riders and our strongest advocates they have taken up the mantle already. We have seen really powerful social media hits that have gotten the attention of our legislators. We know that firsthand because we've been contacted by them. So we know that the folks out there who are our strongest supporters are our customers. And when as I've made my rounds through the legislature in Harrisburg, I was actually told on more than one occasion we've heard enough from SEPTA. We're not hearing from your people, we're not hearing from your customers. So we took that, brought that back with us. I addressed the chamber, I addressed our advocates, we talked to our citizens advisory committee, our youth advisory committee and they immediately picked up the torch and ran with it. So much so that they are getting -- they're getting the attention from our legislators in Harrisburg for sure. So the chamber -- the chamber themselves have -- have been out. They've done a video campaign, they're doing town hall digital campaigns. There's a number of activity that's going on with all of our now business partners. The community, it's really been amazing to see since Thursday alone, the budget announcement, it's really been active amongst our customers. The local subsidies by county, Philadelphia County represents 82 1.5% of our local subsidies, Delaware County is next at 8.1%, Montgomery at 5, Bucks at 2.7 and Chester County at 1.6.
Would the service cuts be proportional or would they differ by county? SEPTA GM
So the -- so the first 20% service cuts were proportional 20%. So it was 20 -- it amounted to about 20% in every county. Some ticked a point or two higher, some ticked a point or two lower, but generally it was 20% across the board. The 45% cut was a little bit different. The regional rail piece really made the difference actually the outer counties are probably getting hit a little harder than because they're losing their regional rail service as opposed to a lot of the city transit service that we still run in Philadelphia. It's not good either way. 45% cut is not a good cut no matter how we slice it, but certainly Chester and Montgomery counties are getting hit pretty hard.
Thank you. The Chair recognizes Councilmember O'Rourke and Councilmember Cindy Bass.
Thank you, Mr. President. This may sound young, maybe it's because I'm an independent. I do believe that the time in history may vindicate the point, though. I appreciate the calls for like generating your own money, doubling, you know, your marketing fee, everybody rides the transit, maybe making you pay a little bit more, raise your own dollars. Not just the history, but the new normal is that we have an administration in the White House and by proxy a party that does not believe in rule of law, is not going to make any commitments to supporting things, but I think even more to the point -- to the President's point actually this isn't really just a partisan issue, it's regional, more specifically. This effective cut in revenue and the reason why I'm bringing up this point before I make this question, is that it seems to me -- it's becoming clearer to me that it may be a time where cities got to stand on their own. That's -- it's not -- it's not exciting to hear, it's really frustrating. It shouldn't be that way, but it might be one of those situations where cities are going to have to be holding their own and not have to worry about what other folks refuse to do even when it benefits everybody. This cut in revenue for SEPTA comes at the same time that we understand SEPTA is facing a fiscal crisis with serious service cuts, curfews, rate hikes coming, we've talked about all that. While I believe that we should be doing everything we can to advocate for SEPTA funding at the state level, I want to invite Philly to expand its understanding on what it means to do its part to contribute locally. My team crunched some numbers recently from the U.S. Department of Transportation and realized that although the city recently increased our SEPTA subsidy contribution significantly, which we did. SEPTA still receives far less in local funding than most of its peer cities. Not just the state, but even the cities themselves. Local funding represents about 9 to 10% of SEPTA's operating budget. You said 8% earlier from Philly and the rest, I believe from collar counties. But other cities contribute significantly more. New York contributes about 23%, Seattle contributes about 27%, Chicago contributes about, 40% LA is a big town, they contribute about 50%, about half their budget of its transits operating budget. Does this align with your understanding of our peer cities? MANAGING DIRECTOR CARROLL: I'm going to say yes for both of us.
Okay. MANAGING DIRECTOR CARROLL: Yeah, we've been looking at this research for a few years now and under a previous board some work went into identifying some ideas what we might do about it. And so those ideas culminated in a variety of revenue generating options for the five county region so that we could essentially provide more revenue for SEPTA, as these competing metropolitan areas do. And that's basically what it boils down to. The reason why most of our peers are funding more at the local level is because they have revenue generation options at the metropolitan or county or city level that we don't have. Unfortunately that is another issue which we've had a challenge working with the state legislature on. And so we would need authorization from the state in order to explore these revenue generation options. You know, whether we wanted to do them or not even having the opportunity to do that requires state authorization. And we were not able to uh get a bill in front of the legislature, much less passed in order to do that. So that's a question that we're interested in exploring further just to understand what that might look like. Just explore what that might look like.
I heard the bell so I'll let it go. I just -- it's just the longer I'm in here and it's only -- it's been a short amount of time and recognizing the times within which we live, I almost feel like we as a city got to got to fail proof ourselves. They won't even give it for education funding and that's -- how many times we had that conversation. So certainly something like transit, I just don't like the feeling of being at the mercy of people who are telling us to our face that they refuse to do the thing that makes the most sense for the widest spread of people. That having been said, thank you, Mr. President.
Thank you. And wrapping us up will be Councilmember Cindy Bass.
Thank you, Mr. President. Do we have that data? SEPTA GM
I do. MADAM CHAIR BASS: Super. Can you let us know what -- what you got? SEPTA GM
So there were -- there have been three FASOs That are either uh completed or underway. One that we've discussed. One is in Ambler had to do with station joint development. That RFP is about to be released, that hasn't been executed yet. Conshohocken station joint development opportunity which was just awarded by the board in March, but a contract hasn't been executed yet. Prior to that there were two unsuccessful FASOs. One was the five station lease that we spoke about earlier was competitively bid in 2023, but it didn't get any bids. And then a 69th Street joint development opportunity back in 2018 that was not executed.
For the -- okay. So do you have the information in terms of the demographic breakdown? SEPTA GM
As far as -- right, as far as who was being considered, who was applying, who was awarded. SEPTA GM
So Ambler and Conshohocken haven't been executed yet, so there's no cost to speak of at this point.
The demographic information, too. Thank you. SEPTA GM
Oh, I'm sorry, the demographic information. So the demographic information I'll have to come back to you on. All I have is the FASOs themselves. I'd have to break out the demographics. Both are regional rail stations I might add, Councilmember. They are Ambler and Conshohocken.
Because to make decisions and to have this level of discomfort with decisions, past decisions that have been made, I think that it really is something very important. Not just to myself, but to other members of the Council so. SEPTA GM
I understand. I also have the cost of the bus revolution, if you'd like that.
So we've spent $3.7 million and we've changed some bus routes, but we aren't able to finish executing the projects? SEPTA GM
Yes. The bulk of that -- of that dollar amount was geared towards the bus -- the bus network redesign that is waiting to be executed. MADAM CHAIR BASS: What is the bus network redesign? What does that mean? SEPTA GM
So that's changing the numbers, changing the letters to numbers. SEPTA GM
Well, that's part of it, but it's also changing all the routes themselves. The frequency, high frequency network, the reliability, the transfers. The things that -- all the outreach that we did for a couple years til --
-- on this. Okay. I'm not sure that it's -- it's the best use of resources especially at a critical time like this. Actually I don't -- let me just put it this way, I don't think it's the best use of resources. Maybe you -- I'm assuming that there was some kind of discussion that had -- that had to explain why internally you all felt that this was something that you had to do, that was important to do. I'm still not hearing that, but I don't want to belabor the point. The other thing I wanted to hear, just really briefly, it's been touched on here and there. But I wanted to go back on just sort of like quality of life in terms of riding SEPTA. Because if you want to get your fares up, if you want to generate more revenue, one of the first things you have to do is collect revenue. And so fare evasion is just a huge problem. The last time I rode SEPTA I was getting on the Broad Street line and the person in front of me just hopped right over, like it was nothing to it. And, you know, and it wasn't one person, it was like maybe two or three young men, but they just hopped right on over, like there was nothing to it. And also, smoking on -- smoking weed on the Market-Frankfort and also the Broad Street line, which is a problem. I've had staff come in and said, you know, like that they had to tell people who were near them smoking first thing in the morning, you know, can you go somewhere else because I have to go to work and I can't -- you know, I don't want to have that, carry that smell all day. SEPTA GM
And so, you know, this shouldn't be a conversation that people have to have with other commuters on the -- on the Broad Street line. SEPTA GM
Agreed. You want to take that? CHIEF LAWSON: Yeah. So some of the progress we made with recruitment and retention has certainly contributed to, you know, things like our enforcement level. Enforcement level across the board in all the categories of the crimes that we enforce is up dramatically. I can -- fare evasion specifically I'll address. I can assure you fare evasion for the entire organization from the GM down is essentially our No. 1 priority right now. It has exploded after COVID. Some of the policies that we implemented hurt us coming out of COVID. But as we have scaled up in law enforcement, enforcement is through the roof. We have put together a work group within SEPTA comprised of a number of staff departments and operating departments addressing fare evasion specifically. Some of the -- some of the changes we made in that, I mean Councils familiar with the fact that we have -- we have returned -- we've gotten away from an administrative model of enforcement, came back to a criminal justice model. Increasing fines for fare evasion on the system. We've implemented much better tracking capability across SEPTA, so we have better data now to help deploy police officers and figure out ways to get our hands around this. We have coordinated with media outlets. We got to do a much better job with that in terms of educating our customers, letting them know we are cracking down on fare evasion. It's necessary and what it does to our customers when people don't pay a fare, how it harms our customers. We coordinated with the courts to make sure that they're aware how important this is for us. That -- that all of the citations that we write for fare evasion, we need them to be enforced at a high level. We are seeing that and so we're -- we're happy about that. Fare evasion, specifically I'll just talk about the police department enforcement level for fare evasion was up 167% last year. So essentially, three times the level of enforcement from the year before through the first quarter of '25, we've increased on top of that another 171%. I mean, pretty soon we're going to be doing nothing at the police department, but enforcing fares on the system. We are throwing really a lot at it right now. Smoking, I agree smoking is the No. 1 complaint from our customers. Much more than fare evasion. The authority contributed to -- worked with it closely with the city on a smoke free ad campaign last year. We got some traction with that. We saw a reduction on the system, and then customer service scores started to improve. We are going to translate that same exact model to fare evasion now because we saw some success with it. But smoking enforcement across the system for us there were more than 3,000 tickets issued last year. That was up 136% from the year before.
Okay. If you could put the information we requested earlier -- I requested earlier, if you could put that in writing and provide it to the Chair, we would appreciate it so that we can circle back and have more conversation on it, just because I didn't get all the facts down, but we would like to have that in writing. And I think that's it for right now. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you, Member Bass. Scott Sauer, I want to thank you and your team for being here for this budget hearing. And welcome. It's part of the process. SEPTA GM
Welcome and wish you the best as you continue to advocate. But just know that these members will make sure everything in our body possibly that we can do, from an advocacy standpoint, partnership standpoint that we will figure out a way to save SEPTA. We will have funding going into '26, whatever that looks like. And I also say, for the record, for those who are documenting. It can't be on the city of Philadelphia. We're doing our part. There's a 12 billion surplus in Harrisburg, $12 billion. The governor has a proposal for $300 million that could significantly support our efforts of making sure SEPTA has funding. And so we will advocate, work and partner to make sure that this happens. As I say, not on my watch. With that being said, thank you very much. The Chair recognizes Majority Whip Councilmember Isaiah Thomas for a motion to adjourn.
It has been moved and properly seconded that the public hearing and the meeting on the bills and resolutions before the committee today stand in recess until Tuesday, April 22nd at 10:00 a.m, room 400, City Hall. All those in favor signify by saying aye. (Aye.)
Those opposed? The ayes have it. The motion carries. We stand in recess to April 22nd at 10:00 a.m. Happy Easter, everyone, and happy Passover, if you celebrate. (Public hearing and meeting on bills and resolutions concluded at 3:55 p.m.) C E R T I F I C A T I O N I hereby certify that the proceedings and evidence are contained fully and accurately in the notes taken by me of the above case, and this copy is a correct transcript of the same. _______________ Samanda J. Rios