Well, I'll take a stab at this. I would think that if there is a piece of legislation that were passed by this body and that was then signed off by the Mayor, or however it would become law, certainly with respect to procedures and policies, that would have certainly some binding effect on the Board, I believe. So if you were to 97 11/14/06 - WHOLE - RES. 060772, ETC. adopt policies and procedures inconsistent with those that we used as operating procedures internally, I would think that we'd have to abide by whatever rules and procedures are enacted as legislation. Am I missing it?
Let me try it. The statute provides to the Ethics Board the exclusive jurisdiction for interpreting the particular Ethics Codes, which are included in the Home Rule Charter, the City Code and the State Code. To the extent that you are making reference to new legislation, that would clearly be the prerogative of Council, but, again, I think that we are charged with if we see something that seems to work, to be a remedy, we would report to you and suggest that that is possible future legislation.
Okay. Thank you. Thank you, Madam President. 98 11/14/06 - WHOLE - RES. 060772, ETC.
Thank you. Any other questions or comments from members of the Committee? Yes. Ms. Wilkerson.
Joyce Wilkerson, Chief of Staff. I've been corrected by the City Solicitor Evan Meyer. I said that I thought that employees of the Commission would probably not be civil service. The Executive Director in fact would be exempt. The lawyers for the Commission would be exempt. Those are the only exempt positions. The staff to the Commission, the other staff to the Commission, would probably need to be civil service. But we can get an opinion from the Law Department before they go out of business in this area. We'll get clarity somehow.
Okay. Thank you very much. Thank you. Do we have anyone else that 99 11/14/06 - WHOLE - RES. 060772, ETC. would like to testify?
Shane Creamer, Executive Director of the current Board of Ethics. Madam President, I have a statement from the current Board of Ethics, which has been submitted this morning, that I would like to read to you, if I could.
Thank you. To the Committee of the Whole, the members of the current Philadelphia Board of Ethics, reconstituted by Executive Order 001-04 in August 2004, regret that they are unable to appear before City Council to testify on Resolutions 060773 (sic) through 060776 regarding confirmation of the five nominees to the new independent Board of Ethics. Nevertheless, the current Ethics Board respectfully requests that the Committee of the Whole accept the Board's 100 11/14/06 - WHOLE - RES. 060772, ETC. unanimous support of the confirmation process for the five nominees to the new independent Board of Ethics. In early 2004, the Ethics Committee of the Philadelphia 21st Century Review Forum recommended that the Philadelphia Home Rule Charter be amended to create a new Board of Ethics with all necessary adjudicatory and enforcement powers. Both the Chair and Vice-Chair of the current Ethics Board were members of that Committee. All members of the current Ethics Board have advocated that an independent Ethics Board with enforcement powers be created to replace the current Board since it was reconstituted in August 2004. The current Board has always supported the legislative process necessary to produce an independent Ethics Board. Our support for an independent Ethics Board was first expressed in a statement issued on September 22, 2004 and was later expressed in the form of testimony 101 11/14/06 - WHOLE - RES. 060772, ETC. presented to the Committee on Law and Government almost exactly a year ago, on November 16, 2005. The current Board understood that the legislative process would take time. In the interim, we have worked to build a foundation for a robust ethics program, which we knew that one day the new independent Ethics Board would continue to build upon. We have created a City-wide Ethics Training Program, which provided ethics training to 16,224 City officials and employees in the first ten months of operation. This ongoing initiative will provide ethics training to most of the City's workforce by the end of this calendar year. No other city in the country has trained as much of its workforce over a similar time period as we have already trained in Philadelphia. We have created an Ethics Board website that is a powerful resource for anyone who seeks to learn more about the 102 11/14/06 - WHOLE - RES. 060772, ETC. ethics rules, recent ethics legislation or about the current Board's activities and operation. The current Board facilitated the distribution of The Philadelphia Code of Ethics to every City official and employee in July of this year, as required by the same ordinance 9 that contains the powers and duties for the new Ethics Board. We have also rendered advisory opinions to those seeking guidance on the ethics rules and conducted a review of conduct that raised an appearance of impropriety. The current Board supports this penultimate step in the legislative process necessary to establish the new Ethics Board, the confirmation of the Mayor's five nominees to the new Board by a majority of the members of City Council. We applaud City Council for scheduling this confirmation hearing promptly. The five nominees to the new Ethics Board are highly qualified candidates with diverse backgrounds and 103 11/14/06 - WHOLE - RES. 060772, ETC. experiences. We urge Council to vote on the nominees quickly in order to move Philadelphia further along the road to a new independent Board of Ethics as swiftly as possible. Once the new Ethics Board is installed, we will work with it to ensure a smooth transition of the City's ethics program from one Board to the next. To that end, we will submit a report to the new Board and to the Administration that will describe our work over the past two years and will include our recommendations to the new Board and to the Administration. Respectfully submitted, Charisse R. Lillie, Esquire, Chair; Dan P. McElhatton, Esquire, Vice-Chair; and Romulo L. Diaz, Jr., Esquire, Member. Thank you.
Thank you very much. Any questions or comments from members of the Committee? 104 11/14/06 - WHOLE - RES. 060772, ETC. (No response.)
I would like to place on the record a memo I received from the Law Department that encloses proposed amendments to each of the five resolutions confirming the Board of Ethics appointments. I circulated a copy of that memo and the amendments to all members yesterday. As explained in the memo, both the title and the body of each of the resolutions need to be amended to correct the date each term will end. That date depends on the date the resolutions are adopted. So the amendments would insert November 16th of the appropriate year in each resolution, of course, on the assumption that Council will approve these resolutions at this Thursday's session of Council. If for any reason Council does not approve these 105 11/14/06 - WHOLE - RES. 060772, ETC. resolutions on Thursday, they can be amended again to reflect any later approval date. Are there any questions on the amendments? (No response.)
Seeing none, this will conclude the public hearing. We will now go into our public meeting of the Committee of the Whole, and the Chair recognizes Councilwoman Blackwell for a motion to amend Resolution No. 060772.
Thank you, Madam President. I move that the amendment to Resolution No. 060772 as circulated and described by you be adopted. (Duly seconded.)
It has been moved and seconded that the amendment stand approved. All in favor will please say aye. 106 11/14/06 - WHOLE - RES. 060772, ETC. (Aye.)
The ayes have it and the amendment is adopted. Again, the Chair recognizes Councilwoman Blackwell.
Thank you, Madam President. I move that the amendment to Resolution 060773 be adopted.
I'm sorry. Madam President, I move that Resolution No. 060772 as amended be reported out of Committee with a favorable recommendation. (Duly seconded.)
It has been moved and properly seconded that Resolution No. 060772 be reported out of 107 11/14/06 - WHOLE - RES. 060772, ETC. Committee with a favorable recommendation as amended. All in favor will indicate by saying aye. (Aye.)
The ayes have it and the motion carries. Again, the Chair recognizes Councilwoman Blackwell regarding Resolution No. 060773.
Thank you, Madam President. I move that the amendment as circulated to Resolution No. 18 060773 be adopted. (Duly seconded.)
It has been moved and seconded that the amendment as submitted be adopted. All in favor will signify by saying aye. (Aye.) 108 11/14/06 - WHOLE - RES. 060772, ETC.
The ayes have it and the motion carries. Again, the Chair recognizes Councilwoman Blackwell.
Thank you, Madam President. I move that Resolution No. 060773 as amended be reported out of Committee with a favorable recommendation. (Duly seconded.)
It has been moved and seconded that Resolution No. 060773 be reported out of Committee with a favorable recommendation as amended. All in favor will say aye. (Aye.)
The 109 11/14/06 - WHOLE - RES. 060772, ETC. ayes have it and the motion carries. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Blackwell regarding Resolution No. 060774.
Thank you, Madam President. I move that the amendment to Resolution No. 060774 be adopted. (Duly seconded.)
It has been moved and seconded that the amendments as circulated be adopted. All in favor will say aye. (Aye.)
The ayes have it and the motion carries. Again, the Chair recognizes Councilwoman Blackwell.
Thank you, Madam President. I move that Resolution No. 060774 as amended be 110 11/14/06 - WHOLE - RES. 060772, ETC. reported out of Committee with a favorable recommendation. (Duly seconded.)
It has been moved and seconded that Resolution No. 060774 be reported out of Committee with a favorable recommendation as amended. All in favor will signify by saying aye. (Aye.)
The ayes have it and the motion carries. Again, the Chair recognizes Councilwoman Blackwell regarding Resolution No. 060775.
Thank you, Madam President. I move that the amendment to Resolution No. 060775 be adopted. (Duly seconded.) 111 11/14/06 - WHOLE - RES. 060772, ETC.
It has been moved and seconded that the amendment as proposed be adopted. All in favor will say aye. (Aye.)
The ayes have it and the amendment is adopted. Councilwoman Blackwell.
Thank you, Madam President. I move that Resolution No. 060775 as amended be reported out of Committee with a favorable recommendation. (Duly seconded.)
It has been moved and seconded that Resolution No. 060775 be reported out of Committee with a favorable recommendation as amended. All in favor will please say 112 11/14/06 - WHOLE - RES. 060772, ETC. aye. (Aye.)
The ayes have it and the resolution as amended will be reported out of Committee. Again, the Chair recognizes Councilwoman Blackwell regarding Resolution No. 060776.
Thank you, Madam President. I move that the amendment to Resolution No. 060776 be adopted. (Duly seconded.)
It has been moved and seconded that the amendment as proposed to Resolution No. 22 060776 be adopted. All in favor will say aye. (Aye.)
Those 113 11/14/06 - WHOLE - RES. 060772, ETC. opposed? (No response.)
The ayes have it and the amendment is adopted. Councilwoman Blackwell.
Thank you, Madam President. I move that Resolution No. 060776 as amended be reported out of Committee with a favorable recommendation. (Duly seconded.)
It has been moved and seconded that Resolution No. 060776 be reported out of Committee with a favorable recommendation as amended. All in favor will signify by saying aye. (Aye.)
The 114 11/14/06 - WHOLE - RES. 060772, ETC. ayes have it. And this will conclude our public meeting. I thank you all for your patience. You've been extremely patient. Thank you. (Committee of the Whole adjourned at 12:10 p.m.) - - - 115 CERTIFICATE I HEREBY CERTIFY that the proceedings, evidence and objections are contained fully and accurately in the stenographic notes taken by me upon the foregoing matter on November 14, 2006, and that this is a true and correct transcript of same. ______________________________ MICHELE L. MURPHY RPR-Notary Public (The foregoing certification of this transcript does not apply to any reproduction of the same by any means, unless under the direct control and/or supervision of the certifying reporter.)