COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Remote location using Microsoft® Teams Tuesday, November 28, 2023 10:00 a.m. PRESENT: COUNCILMAN CURTIS JONES, JR., CHAIR COUNCILMAN KENYATTA JOHNSON, VICE-CHAIR COUNCILWOMAN KATHERINE GILMORE RICHARDSON COUNCILWOMAN QUETCY M. LOZADA COUNCILMAN BRIAN J. O'NEILL
Good morning, everyone. This is the public hearing of the Committee on Appropriations for November 28, 2023 at 10:00 a.m., and dealing with Bill Nos. 230765 and 230766, 230767 and 230768. And before we get started, Mr. Glass, will you please read the appropriate announcement.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I understand that state law currently requires that the following announcement be made at the beginning of every remote public hearing as follows: Due to the current public health emergency, City Council Committees are currently meeting remotely. We are using Microsoft Teams to make these remote hearings possible. Instructions for how the public may view and offer public testimony at public hearings of Council Committees are included in the public hearing notices that are published in the Daily News, Inquirer and Legal Intelligencer prior to the hearings and can also be found on PHLCouncil.com. Everyone who has been invited to the meeting to testify should be aware that this public hearing is being recorded. Because the hearing is public, participants and viewers have no reasonable expectation of privacy. By continuing to be in the meeting, you are consenting to being recorded. Additionally, prior to Councilmember Jones recognizing Members for the questions or comments they have for the witnesses, I will note for the record at this time that you will use the chat feature available in Microsoft Teams to allow Members to signify that they wish to be recognized. In order to comply with the Sunshine Act, the chat feature must only be used for this purpose. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Glass. And at this point, can you call the roll to make sure we have established quorum.
Sorry. This is Councilmember Thomas. I'm present. I just couldn't come off mute. Good morning.
Good morning, Mr. Chair. Good morning, colleagues. I am present.
I am present. We established a quorum. Mr. Glass, would you please read the numbers and titles of the bills.
Yes, Mr. Chairman. Bill No. 230765, an ordinance amending Bill No. 230144, entitled "An Ordinance To Adopt a Capital Program for the Six Fiscal Years 2024 and 2029 Inclusive," by revising various appropriation amounts and totals to conform to amendments to the Fiscal Year 2024 Capital Budget Ordinance, all under certain terms and conditions. And Bill No. 230766, an ordinance amending Bill No. 230145, entitled "An Ordinance To Adopt a Fiscal 2024 Capital Budget," by revising various appropriation amounts and totals, all under certain terms and conditions. And Bill No. 230767, an ordinance authorizing transfers in appropriations for Fiscal Year 2024 from the General Fund, certain or all City offices, departments, boards and commissions; and the Grants Revenue Fund, certain or all City offices, departments, boards and commission, to the General Fund, certain or all City offices, departments, boards and commissions; the County Liquid Fuels Tax Fund, certain or all City offices, departments, boards and commissions; the Municipal Pension Fund, certain or all City offices, departments, boards and commissions; and the Transportation Fund, certain or all City offices, departments, boards and commissions. And finally Bill No. 23 230768, an ordinance authorizing transfers in appropriations from Fiscal Year 2023 from the General Fund from certain or all City offices, departments, boards and commissions; the Water Fund, from certain or all City offices, departments, boards and commissions; the Grants Revenue Fund, from all City offices, departments, boards and commissions; and the Aviation Fund, from certain or all City offices, departments, boards and commissions, to the General Fund, certain or all City offices, departments, boards and commissions; to the Water Fund for certain or all City offices, departments, boards and commissions; and the Aviation Fund, for certain or all City offices, departments, boards and commissions.
Thank you, Mr. Glass. Before we get started, I just want to say that we have an aggressive agenda today and an expansive list of people to testify. What we will do is after each witness panel, after each table is metaphorically heard from, we will entertain questions from Members, and please use the chat to make sure that you are recognized. Do any of the Committee members have an opening statement? (No response.)
This is Councilmember Thomas. I'm sorry. I was just struggling a little bit to come off mute. I --
That's all right. I hate when that happens. Would you like me to -- please make your statement, sir.
Real briefly I just want to communicate some concerns that I have and other Councilmembers have based on negotiations that's been taking place around some other things that we recommended that's been to take place on. We understand that we're in a space and a place right now where we don't want to pick up a lot of recurring costs, but I think that there's some significant difference as to where we are right now on what we should be spending while agreeing with the philosophy of not picking recurring costs. So I'm looking forward to today's conversation and hope that there will be some level of compromise and put us in a position where we can all believe in the investment that we're looking to make this fall. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And thank you to my colleagues for your advocacy and the work that you do as far as keeping your ear to the ground, especially the District Councilmembers in recognizing what your community needs and being willing to fight for those specific things. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Well said, Member Thomas. Well said. I can't believe my Councilwoman Gilmore Richardson doesn't want to weigh in and set the tone here.
I couldn't get into the chat. I'm having a lot of issues with the City computer. However, thank you for the recognition, Mr. Chair. And I too wanted to rise regarding my concern with this appropriations bill that we have been working on over the last several weeks. And I know that I've been working very closely with the Administration and relative to a number of concerns that I've noted even back to our original briefing, particularly around OHS and some of the other departments. But I wanted to highlight and underscore some of the overarching concerns that I have for this bill in its totality and what we'll have to do over the next couple of hours. I read with great interest the Econsult analysis relative to why we have such a robust General Fund balance, and I remain very concerned regarding our financial outlook going into the upcoming fiscal years. I think it's exceedingly clear that we have a fund balance for all the wrong reasons. We have a fund balance because we have at least an 18 percent vacancy rate. We have a fund balance because we really can't hire folks for a number of these positions. We have a fund balance because we have the benefit of federal support coming from the White House after the onset of COVID-19. And when all of that is gone, particularly after FY25 and that money has to be spent, we will be in a vicarious financial state. So I am looking at this Appropriations hearing and requests and all the requests that have been made with keen interest to say that I think it's important that we make strategic investments in our budget and in our future fiscal health. I think it's important that we look at this and realize that in the outyears of our five year plan it is anticipated that, particularly over the last two years, that our General Fund balance will be less than $100 million. And so, anything that we do the way I'm looking at this appropriations bill, anything that we do today and with this bill will have a detrimental impact to that fund balance. And I just want all of our colleagues and everyone who is on this call to understand that. Okay. And that is the perspective from which I'm coming for this particular appropriations matter. To be clear, we are stewards and we are fiscally responsible for the City of Philadelphia's budget, and I intend to be fiscally responsible today and I'm asking all of our colleagues to do the same. Thank you, Mr. Chair, for the leeway you've granted.
Thank you so much, Member Richardson. And I've listened attunely to some of your observations and insights to various departments and expenditures and look forward to the discussion and debate about priority because that's what budgeting is about, establishing priorities that are both fiscally sound and both beneficial to the populous that we are sworn to serve. So with that, are there any other Committee members that wish to put a comment on the record? (No response.)
Hearing none, Mr. Glass, can you give us the first panel of witnesses to testify.
Yes, Mr. Chairman. Our first panel will be Sabrina Maynard and Rob Dubow.
Mr. Dubow and Ms. Maynard, this is not your first time, so welcome back.
Thank you. Good morning, everybody. Good morning, Chair Jones and members of the Appropriations Committee. I'm Sabrina Maynard, Budget Director, and I'm joined by colleagues from departments that have requests in one or more of the transfer ordinance bills. I'm here to testify in support of all four bills, so I will read them out again: The FY23 year-end transfer ordinance, FY24 mid-year transfer ordinance, the two capital ord -- and the two capital ordinances, amendments to Bill No. 230144, entitled "An Ordinance To Adopt a Capital Program for the Six Fiscal Years 2024 to 2029 Inclusive, and amendments to Bill No. 230145, entitled "An Ordinance To Adopt Fiscal '24 Capital Budget. You also received my full written testimony as well as testimony from every department that has a request in one of the above-referenced bills. I thank you for this opportunity to testify today. And I would like to request a suspension of the rules so that these ordinances can be considered at the next session of Council. If anyone has any questions, we would be happy to answer them. Thank you.
Thank you so much for your testimony. Mr. Dubow, are you going to testify?
Okay. My question would be, and I had the benefit of hearing some of the analysis that has -- it's good news and bad news. Why don't you give us a roundabout picture of where we are with the budget surplus. Member Gilmore Richardson has put on the record her concerns about the tentative nature of that surplus. Can you give us and the listening audience an overview as to where we are fiscally?
Absolutely. As you know, the City received $1.4 billion in ARPA funding, the Federal Rescue Plan money, which sounds like a really big number but our loss was 1.5 billion which is bigger than the 1.4 billion. And so, we used this money to stave off some pretty catastrophic cuts that we otherwise would have had to take. The money is in place until its end date, which is the end of Calendar Year 2024 which is in FY25. It's our next year, and the money is one time and then it goes away. So our fund balance and our finances at the moment are sort of buoyed by this one-time money. But when we look past December of 2024, things get a little bit shakier. So a couple of things drove our sort of high fund balance at the end of 2023, things that we think largely nonrecurring in addition to the ARPA money. We had some nonrecurring underspends in Class 100 and 200, and these were sort of driven by challenges in hiring. As Councilmember Gilmore Richardson mentioned, we have a roughly percent vacancy rate 15 across the City, which is not -- 16 we're not unique in that way. 17 We've been struggling to hire as 18 other cities have as well. And then there were a couple of areas of revenue that came in a little bit higher than projected, we had some higher than expected interest earnings. We had slightly higher wage tax and revenue from other governments. But we're really keeping an eye on one tax in particular, which is our realty transfer tax. And as you may have noticed, there's less real estate transactionizing happening out there at the moment. And so, we've had to adjust our FY24 numbers, roughly 125 million just ahead in 2024 alone from what we had projected at the beginning of the year. Some of that carries out through the plan, so that's definitely something we're keeping an eye on. We're also always keeping an eye on our other volatile tax sources, including our business tax. And then there's just general uncertainty about a bunch of things. As you know, the ARPA funding is programmed. We have a pension obligation balloon payment that'll pop up in our next five year plan. So that'll pop up in 2029, so it'll be higher --
If I recall, that's 400 million. I think you mentioned a number, 400 million?
Yeah. That 400-and-something is our total debt service that year. The pension obligation bond portion is in the 200s because of 80 million in that single year.
So, yep. And then continued inflation is a challenge. Kind of keeping an eye on the federal government as they continue to pass these sort of continuing resolutions to fund the government in short clips and keeping an eye on a potential recession. So there's certainly a lot going on that we're keeping an eye on even though the numbers at the end of 2023 were stronger than we had expected.
And we're looking forward to labor negotiations of all of our municipal unions next year, correct?
Okay. Are there questions from members of the Committee?
Mr. Chairman, Councilwoman Gilmore Richardson would like to be recognized.
Yes, I'm on mute. Thank you so much, Mr. Chair. For the record, I just wanted to get a few things on the record for this hearing. Can you just notate the anticipated fund balance for FY25, '26, '27, '28, and '29?
So our '24 fund balance we are projecting 682 million, and the rest of the numbers we have not published because things are still influx and when we do a new five year plan, we'll have new numbers --
Pardon me. Pardon me for the interruption.
Okay. Can you help me out there because I thought that number was different. I thought it was 96?
So the FY23 ending fund balance was 982. And the number for '24 is 682.
Okay. Let me just get this for clarification. FY23 is 986. FY24 is 682?
All right. Let me stop you, okay, because I want to get this straight. FY23, how much?
When does the federal money come offline?
The middle of FY25, so December of 2023. Almost a year from now.
And just to be 20 clear, what those are, those are 21 adjusted for changes we've seen in 22 tax revenue and adding our proposed 23 transfer ordinance, but not other 24 adjustments. So those numbers will be different by the time when we actually do a five year plan. But they give kind of a sense of the scale of what it will be.
Right, and thank you for that clarification. Do you have FY29?
We do not yet. We will have that when we do our next five-year plan.
Okay. Just asking. So for the record, you're saying FY24, 982 million anticipated fund balance. FY24, 682 million. FY25, 507 million. Middle of FY25, December of 2025 the federal money comes offline. FY26, 185 million. FY27, million. FY28, 20 20 million. Is that correct? 21
That's 22 correct using the preliminary 23 numbers with all the caveats Rob 24 just talked through.
To be clear based on Rob's comment, you have adjusted this because I thought one of the years was close to around 80 or 90 million in '27 or '28. But this has been adjusted for changes in tax revenue which would include the realty transfer tax but also the proposed ordinance. And if that's the case, at what amount?
So the realty transfer numbers we can -- how we applied them by year, I don't have them off the top of my head, but I think we assumed that it would be a larger hit in the earlier part of the plan and then it would recover to some extent towards the tail end of the plan, but that's predictive based on guesses about the real estate market, so there's some open questions there. And then in terms of the recurring costs from the transfer ordinance, I think that was roughly million, but we can get you that exact number as well.
Okay. So you're 5 putting in from an assumption 6 standpoint, is it 20 million for 7 each fiscal year or 20 million for 8 this year? I'm just trying to get 9 clarification on how you did the -- 10
Yeah. It's 24 11 million, roughly 24, 23, 22 from 12 '25 to '28. And in the first year 13 it's 78 because it has a lot of 14 one-timers. 15
Okay. So first year 17 is 78 because of the one-time 18 expenditures? 19
Okay. And for the record if you can just notate I think FY23 possibly will be the only year that we have the GFAO's recommended amount for actual fund balance?
So we're so, so close to it but not actually there. We're just a little below it.
Got you. Just like right there. But the percentage is what, is it point what? Is it 10 16.7? What is it now? 11
Two months, 12 so it's 16.666. So we usually say 13 17, but it's an average. 14
Understood, so it's two months. So with the numbers you have for FY24, what's the percentage and then graduated on down what's the percentage for each year? And the reason why I'm asking this is because my concern is that based on where you think we may be, that will make our borrowing ability in how much we have to pay in interest, which is something else we have to be cognizant about moving ahead. So if you can just notate what the percentage will be each of the Fiscal Years '23 through '28.
I'm on mute so you can't hear me. Okay. FY24 is roughly 11 percent. The other years I would need to calculate. I don't trust my ability to do math on the fly, but we can get you those percentages.
And obviously by '28, it's basically around 0 percent because it's million 5 over 6 billion. 6
Understood, 8 understood. I just wanted to get a 9 couple of these figures on the 10 record there. Okay. I will hold 11 the balance of my questions for the 12 next panel. 13 Thank you, Mr. Chair. 14
Thank 15 you, Member Gilmore Richardson. 16 Chair recognizes Member 17 Thomas. 18 (No response.) 19
Good morning. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I appreciate you. Thank you to my colleague Councilmember Gilmore Richardson for that first round of questioning. I want to try to take it into a different direction a little bit. I definitely agree with Councilmember Gilmore Richardson's concern around the spending that we have, the fiscal stability in the future of our City, looking at a possible recession and anticipated debt, so that is a concern on my end. One of the things that Councilmember Gilmore Richardson talked about was staffing and issues with staff as it relates to not being able to hire. When we began these negotiations, one of the things that I was concerned with was some of the issues around Parks & Rec, hiring for Parks & Rec. I also have questions around some of the dollars that were requested by the Administration and how they would be disbursed, so I never got answers to those questions. So I'm wondering if somebody can help provide some level of clarity as it relates to some of the concerns that I communicated around Parks & Rec.
Good morning, Councilmember. We just shared responses with the Chair yesterday, so we can walk through those responses if helpful. One moment. Okay. So you wanted to know a little bit about Class 100 underspend and where sort of the positions were, and Parks & Rec can jump in as well if they want to add. So Parks & Rec had some Class 100 underspending in '23 due to some hiring challenges, but they are citywide national trends. They made a push to fill civil service positions and were able to fill 82 priority hires by the end of 2023. Despite that progress, they did have 124 vacancies across their divisions resulting in a $1.8 million underspend at the end of 2023. Parks & Rec is continuing its recruiting efforts in partnership with Human Resources, and those efforts include attending hiring events, posting job opportunities on LinkedIn, Handshake and the City's website. Job announcements are also shared with seasonal staff, part-time staff and various universities and colleges with matching degree requirements. And to assist in the recruiting process, Parks & Rec will coordinate with Council and send available civil service job opportunities to share with their networks. And, Parks & Rec, if there's anything you guys want to add. Someone's probably on from Parks. COMMISSIONER RENDON: Thank you, Sabrina. Yes, your response was perfect and spot-on. Again, we will continue to aggressively get recruitment efforts away, talking to universities as you mentioned, continuing to --
Excuse me. Can you -- COMMISSIONER RENDON: -- social media --
You got to state your name for the record please. COMMISSIONER RENDON: Sorry, Councilperson. Orlando Rendon, Commissioner of Parks & Rec.
Thank you so much. Please proceed. COMMISSIONER RENDON: Yes. So, yes, Sabrina, thank you. So we are trying to aggressively get folks in and making sure that we can get folks who are eligible by contacting our part-time staff and other folks to make sure that they match eligible degree requirements to get them on a full-time basis.
That's good. So I mean, one thing I will say is that we've been a part of the process to help push for people to accept positions at Parks & Rec. And a lot of people that I know have been denied, so I would definitely like to do a deeper dive into the process as it relates to some of the civil service positions and what we're doing wrong that we're denying people who I feel like are qualified, but at the same time giving money back because we can't hire when all of us want our rec centers open on nights and weekends. There were two other appropriations for Parks & Rec I wanted to be addressed. It said $560,000 as far as supplies, maintenance and things of that capacity and then another $92,000 to replace bleachers. And one of the things I communicated a while back from my office is the number of complaints we received specifically around housing and rec centers. So I asked for a list of rec centers that would be on the list to receive some type of services based on -- (Background interruption.)
Somebody got to go on mute. Somebody got to go on mute. I'm not sure who it is. I'm sorry, Commissioner or Mr. Dubow. If somebody can answer that, that will be helpful.
Sure. I -- COMMISSIONER RENDON: I'm -- I'm sorry, Sabrina. Go ahead.
I was going to read the response, but it was yours. Go ahead. COMMISSIONER RENDON: No, I'm sorry. You can read the response. I apologize.
Got it. Okay. So breakdown by locations, so the Parks & Rec items in the transfer ordinances include the following: The '23 year-end ordinance included $900,000 to fund additional unanticipated inflationary costs offset by an internal transfer. This is citywide but not tied to a specific location. In the '24 transfer ordinance, the items include 1.1 million for turf maintenance; 690,000 for vehicle purchases; $200,000 for increased chlorine costs; 200,000 for short-dumping prevention; 130,000 for emergency in tree services and a few other items, small items related to various supply and equipment price increases. The interdepartmental transfer of $1.8 million includes funds for the Kensington clean-up project. And so, that includes McPherson, Hissey, Hope, McVeigh, Scanlon and Harrowgate. Funds will also be used to replace a 25-year- old dump truck that's located at the Recycling Center in Fairmount Park. The other requests are for citywide investments that are not connected to a specific location.
So again when I started my statements at the beginning of the hearing, I don't want to make it seem like Houseman is my district. I'm not a District Councilperson. I haven't been in the rec center in years. This is just simply us responding to concerns around constituents. So this is just another example of how the Administration is one place, Councilmembers are another place. We specifically communicated concerns around the rec center multiple times as it relates to the young people not being able to participate in positive activities there. And based on my memory where Houseman is, if I live in that neighborhood I would either have to, A, go all the way over to Lawncrest to participate in activity or, B, cross over a 12-lane Roosevelt Boulevard at a very funny intersection to be able to go to Simpson Rec Center to be able to participate in positive activity. So again, haven't been there in a very long. It's not my district. It's not my neighborhood. But this is just another example of us trying to respond to constituents and talk about one-time investments that need to happen to improve the conditions that Philadelphians are facing and the request has been pretty much ignored. So I'm hoping that throughout the course of negotiating today we can begin to look at some of things that Councilmembers are advocating for, because again our ear is to the ground and all we're doing is responding to the things that constituents are telling us that are concerns in the neighborhood, and it doesn't seem like those things are being taken serious. I have a list of other things, Councilmember -- Mr. Chair. But I'm going to follow the lead of my colleague Councilmember Gilmore Richardson and just defer my time for now because I'm sure other Councilmembers have questions. And if there is a second round, I'll come back with other questions for this particular panel. Thank you, Mr. Chair. And thank you to the Administration for answering the questions. We appreciate it.
Thank you so much, Member Thomas, mostly for your advocacy. Although you are an At-large, you are welcome in all of our Districts. And we have equally as District Councilpeople been somewhat frustrated with the slowing of some of the promised capital improvements and some of -- more importantly or as importantly some of the repairs that are ongoing. And I know we had COVID. I understand we had some interruption within that labor force. But when you start to put a meter on the time you give a request for repairs at a particular center, it is overbearing to the public, and in particular Frank Favier, who is a one-man band for most rec centers, we were told that we could get a crew of skilled workers as a result of the sugary drinks beverage tax. And I wanted to get what is the status of that and whether or not that particular segment of the workforce has actually been hired? And that would be the Rec Department. COMMISSIONER RENDON: Thank you, Chairman. I have our Deputy Commissioner from Administration Marissa Washington on the line. I'm going to ask to see if she can give an update in terms of those hirings for skill trades for those special projects and for capital work on our rec centers.
Thank you so much. COMMISSIONER RENDON: Ms. Washington.
Good morning, Council, Councilman. Marissa Washington, Deputy Commissioner of Parks & Recreation. So like everyone else we are still struggling to fill our skilled trades positions. When we do get lists available, there might be two or three names on the list for the entire city. So we still have close to a 12 to 15 percent vacancy rate for our skilled trades positions. We are working right now to try to fill some of those, so our carpenters and electricians. We are working with OHR, but right now it still is a struggle for those skilled trades positions.
And what's the raw number of vacancies in that category?
I don't have it off the top of my head. I can give that to you. I know the last time I looked it was around 8 positions that were vacant, but we 9 have had some resignations and some 10 retirements since then. And that's 11 one of the things that our 12 department is facing. We do have a 13 fair amount of retirements or folks 14 resigning from the positions and 15 probably because they can get more money some place else.
-- myself and also the Chair of Parks & Rec, Cindy Bass?
Thank you so much. Are there any other Councilmembers ready to question these witnesses?
Yes, Mr. Chairman. Councilmember Lozada would like to be recognized.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I just want clarification. I heard Ms. Maynard mention the Kensington cleaning project pilot and we have a request for 5.5 on there. But I have been also asking for some clarification on the $70 million that is allocated currently to cleaning Kensington that Eva Gladstein mentioned during our Marshall Plan Committee hearing. And I still have not gotten a breakdown around that $70 million. Can't seem to get a direct response from anybody after multiple requests. So if I can also get a breakdown of where that 70 million is, who's getting it, what are they using it for very specifically. And then this 5.5 that request was put in for, it would be helpful, right. I want to be supportive. I know that or everybody knows that cleaning up Kensington is my priority and I want to be supportive as possible. But I can't do that if I don't have the information.
Yes, Councilmember. We'll work on getting you that information, and I will say that we are committed to continuing the Kensington clean-up work through the end of the year.
Thank you, Member Lozada. Mr. Glass, are there any others to be recognized?
Mr. Chairman, there are no other Members wishing to be recognized in the chat at this time.
Well, thank you for your testimony. Would you please --
If there's no other -- can I go for a second round real quick?
Thank you. So just one more question about Parks & Rec and a couple other things. So what's the current -- since you're saying it is progress, what's the current number of unfilled positions, either total number of unfilled positions or by percentage? COMMISSIONER RENDON: Commissioner Orlando Rendon. I'm going to ask our Deputy Commissioner of Administration Marissa Washington to see if she has the figures available for you.
Yes. Good morning. Again, this is Marissa Washington. Our current vacancy is we have 269 positions vacant. Most of our vacancies are attributed to the influx of new money that we received this year and last year. We probably have about 8 million that we received in FY23 and FY24 for just new positions, and that was coming out of COVID and a hiring freeze, so it makes it difficult along with everyone else in the nation trying to fill these positions. So although we did in FY23 with around 170 vacancies, we got new money in FY24, close to $3 million just for positions alone, so that takes us up to about 269. And you incorporate that with resignations, retirements and those sorts of things, it continues to increase our vacancy rate. But I will say that we are working to fill over the next three months about 80 positions. So those are our rec leader trainees, recreation outreach workers, our grounds maintenance facility workers positions and a handful of other positions.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I appreciate it. And thank you for the answer. It's definitely very much appreciated. We -- you know what, I'll forfeit the rest of my time. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
All right. Thank you, Member Thomas. Member Gilmore Richardson.
Thank you. Thank you so much, Mr. Chair. I don't know what's happening with this computer. Okay, there it is. So I just wanted to ask just a few additional questions that I wanted to get on the record while we have everyone here. I just wanted to notate for the record and thank the Administration for their willingness to meet with me ad nauseam and exchange emails even on Thanksgiving Day regarding the issues and the challenges that we are seeking to work through. I just wanted to briefly get a few things on the record so that we have it on the record and then proceed from there. I do have additional questions that I am going to email over to you all that I've been working on for the past couple of days, my office and I. And so, can we just hone in quickly on the $16.1 million request for the Office of Homeless Services. And for the record, the request is for $16.1 million. That would address some of the needs at the Philadelphia Nursing Home and then also address the needs for OHS. So the OHS's specific portion is 14.7 million. The total would be -- including the Philadelphia Nursing Home issue will be 16.1. For the record, if you all can break down how much it would be if we addressed FY -- all the previous fiscal years up until the end of Calendar Year June of 2023, so right before you go into FY24. If we address those periods only, how much would that be and then give you all the leeway and latitude to address anything that would come up starting in July of '21 -- July 1st of 2023, which will be FY24 in the next budget cycle?
Yes. Good morning, Chairperson Jones and members of the Appropriations Committee. My name is David Holloman. I am the Interim Executive Director for the Office of Homeless Services, and I'm here today to testify in support of that 16.1 that you indicated. Just to speak to that 16.1 and what does that cover, so 14.7 million is requested to resolve a current and prior year shortfall. Those years include Fiscal Years '21, '22 and '23. This also includes that 1.4 million for maintenance and facility operations at the Philadelphia Nursing Home. But just to go back to that one part of the question that you indicated on what will it take to resolve those issues, it will be that $14.7 million to resolve those contracts.
I'm sorry. May I speak? Hi. Good morning, Chairman Jones and the rest of the Councilmembers. I'm Peter Curran. I'm the Deputy for Finance at the Office of Homeless Services. To answer your specific question, Councilmember, the number is 9,607,346.
Okay. So that would cover FY21, '22 and '23 which is June 30th of 2023. And so, from the 9.6, give or take a few thousand, the remainder of the 14 -- the remainder of the 14.7 million would be to address the shortfall just from July of 2023 to October 30th of 2023, which is the first few months of FY24, is that correct, or would that address the entire FY24 issue?
Okay. So it would be the entirety of FY24. Okay.
And I just want to state too that the reason why the numbers for FY23 and '24 is because we as an office in partnership decided to do a pilot program that put out contracts on a calendar year. And so, that FY23 and '24 will cross over into two current fiscal years, so that's why that number is represented there.
Right. But to address specifically any shortfalls from previous encumbrances it will be the 9.6. And then just for this year for July through October 30th, so July, August, September, October, so four months it's an additional about million just for the four months or is it million 5 for the whole year? It will be from July 1 to June 30?
Okay. I just wanted to make sure I was clear.
Okay. I have a slew of additional questions, and I just want to be real clear that I am greatly appreciative of the opportunity to meet the ongoing dialogue that we've all been able to have over the last several weeks. I will remit the remainder of my questions in writing, for a response in writing to the Committee and for dissemination to our Committee Chair and for dissemination to the Committee. But I wanted to notate for my colleagues who are on Appropriations what the breakdown and the numbers would be based on what we may need to do today. Also, I just wanted to, Mr. Chair, for the PPD, can we switch gears here for PPD. We received the information this morning relative to I believe there is a $6.8 million request. It will be offset by less than 2 million, I believe we received in the email. I think the original numbers we had were in error, but I think this email has updated the information. I just want to make sure for the PPD portion because we did bring this up in the meeting that there is something there outside of just Class 100 and to address any Class 100 costs or overtime or whatever it may go to, that we are addressing the issue around the PPD recruitment issue that came up in the budget that I don't know was properly spent or allocated. And I think Councilmember O'Neill will be able to speak to this more than I can, but I just want to make sure with the numbers we received today, I think it was around 6.8 million, I believe if that will address the issue that Councilmember O'Neill stated.
Would you like to hear from Commissioner Stanford; is that your request, Member Gilmore Richardson?
Sure. Just a breakdown of what the 6.8 million will be. I know it's a small offset, but what's the --
Yeah. So here's a couple things, maybe you're referring to that FY23 year-end ordinance which had -- we had put an error in a document that it was a net increase of million. It was million. That number was incorrect, so I apologize. You caught it. We missed it. I think the second piece is around recruitment, so if someone from OHR or Police is able to speak to that piece and the status.
Good morning, Council. My name's Mike Zaccagni and I see Commissioner Stanford is on also so if he wants to add to this. But Mike Zaccagni, Director of OHR for City of Philadelphia. So is the question specifically around the 3 million for the recruitment activity?
Yes, the 3 million for recruitment activity, and if anything in this specific ordinance 23 that we are undertaking today addresses anything around recruitment. I just want to get that on the record because I know that was a source of contention.
For the police recruitment (inaudible), I would defer to the Managing Director's Office after discussions with them. And I believe that they had discussions with I believe Council President's office on diverting some of that 3 million that was identified for police recruitment to other public safety recruitment, including Prisons. And we're trying to work on piggybacking on a contract there to expand their efforts in advertising for correctional officers. So a chunk of that is going to go to that. And we're holding a few hundred thousand dollars in reserve as we move into the next year in case we can do something around 911 operators or other critical positions like that. In this ordinance, OHR has money for basically an effort to promote the City as an employer of choice to really get the message out there that this is a great place to work. We offer a lot from the standpoint of what you can give back to the community but also for you personally. So that's the money that's really identified within this ordinance that we're going to do a campaign. We have the RFP already out. I think we're already getting solicitations back from vendors.
Okay. And then anything relative from PPD that we need to be aware of based on the numbers that we have? COMMISSIONER STANFORD: So good morning. John Stanford, Interim Commissioner for Philadelphia Police Department. Good morning. So some of the money that we utilized was going into the campaign that we just essentially announced over the last month or so, Our City Needs You campaign. And that's going to be really pushing forward to try to drive in additional, you know, citizens that may be interested in joining the police department. I know some of the conversations around digital advertisement is moving forward and additional marketing efforts to get more people into the doors, so we're going to continue to push forward on that. We can get you additional breakdown as to some of the things we are looking to do and what has been done in terms of a dollar amount and get that breakdown for you. We can get that over.
Okay. That'll be great. Thank you so much, Commissioner. And thank you, Mike Zaccagni. I just wanted to make sure we got that on the record. And last thing, Mr. Chair, relative to the public safety portfolio I wanted to ask a question regarding the 911 staff. And I understand there are vacancies in that particular department or unit. For the record, if you can just notate how many vacancies and based on those vacancies, how much underspending they have in Class 100.
We may need to double check on -- okay. Sorry. DEPUTY COMMISSIONER DAHL- CAMPBELL: Good morning, everyone. This is Deputy Commissioner Krista Dahl-Campbell. I'm just jumping on here. Our vacancies in Radio fluctuate. I'm getting the exact number now. But we have done very well with hiring in the past few years. Our problem is retention. So we tend to lose a number of dispatchers after their training period and after a couple of years where they look to seek for higher wages, but we've done well with recruitment. But to that point, we are also looking to focus some of our recruitment efforts towards radio dispatch.
Okay. Thank you for that. I just need to know how much underspending you may have in Class 100 and how many vacancies you have. And for context, for the Finance folks for the Committee Chair and for the members of the Committee, if you can get us today on average how many vacancies you had and how much underspending you had as a result of that over the last three or four fiscal years. That will also be helpful for us in the deliberation today.
Yeah, I thought we were going to be able to --
Okay. So I can speak at a high level. We have a roughly percent vacancy rate 10 across the City. We would need to 11 pull the numbers if you want to go 12 back a couple of years. We can 13 pull that. 14
And even just for the 16 benefit of today for this hearing, 17 if you know what the vacancy rate 18 is as far as the number of positions and then how much in underspending that gives you for even this upcoming fiscal year, for FY24 basically.
You're talking about specifically the dispatcher; is that what you're asking about?
Right, the 911 dispatchers. The ones that answer the phone for 911.
Yep. Got it. Thank you. DEPUTY COMMISSIONER DAHL- CAMPBELL: Councilwoman, we're getting that for you now. I just want to give you the exact number. I'll be sure to raise my hand and have it for you shortly.
Thank you so much. All right. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Member Gilmore Richardson, for focusing on those departments. Your pencil is sharp. You found a discrepancy in one of those numbers. But also particularly when it comes to 911 operators, we spent a considerable amount of visits, a considerable amount of hearing time looking into their operations and everything from their physical location in their offices and they moved, thank goodness, but also to some of the retention problems that were mentioned at that pay level that they have, and there is a process, I will say that before you do, there is a process that we have to adhere to. It is a collective bargaining unit. But the reality is that, that is the front line for public safety. When they get mandatory overtime and are overworked, it results in human error. And human error in that department can mean critical minutes that get missed, critical days that have gotten missed in getting citizens the help they need. I always remember that commercial that was used a couple of election cycles ago where they said press if it's a home invasion, press if it's a carjacking, and I never want for Philadelphia to be in that category. So, therefore, whatever relief and support we can give to the dispatchers of 911 I as an individual elected official and support above, but we do have to be frugal as you had pointed out, to know exactly how many spots are vacant and when that help would be able to be implemented. So I thank you for that. Member Thomas.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Just one quick thing, and I apologize for this. One thing I want to get on the record, one of the things we asked for money for, and it was a plethora of things that we thought were smart one-time investments, but one of them is our partners who deal with animal control and other things. As Councilmembers, we often get complaints about animals and different (inaudible), and our partner at ACCT are the ones who deal with the majority of this stuff, dealing with animal control stuff and things of that capacity. So I'm wondering because they sent us a letter, and I don't know if that letter only came to City Council but I'm assuming it went to the Administration as well too. And what they said is that if they did not get a significant investment from the City right now, they might be forced to close their doors next year or possibly cut off some of the services that they do. And so, when I go back to what Councilmember Gilmore Richardson talked about earlier as it relates to fiscal responsibility, it only makes sense that we make this one-time investment to help deal with some financial shortfalls that they're having because if we don't, then we're going to have to absorb the cost as a City as it relates to the services that they won't provide or we'll just have animals running wild across the City of Philadelphia and I'm pretty sure none of us want that. So I'm wondering what was the thought process behind not investing in ACCT as it relates to what we're looking to do this fall, and how can we do that as something as fiscally responsible if it will cost us more money in the long run to be able to absorb what it is that they would not be able to do if their doors are closed or if they're forced to be able to cut back on some of the services that they provide?
So there were a couple of things going on there, and I appreciate the question. One, they sent some information related to FY23 where they said they wanted 5.9 million and without that, they would have to scale back services or close down. And in response to that, we increased FY23 to about 5.8. And in the FY24 budget we increased that to 6.2 million. I think what they're asking for now is money for their employees to increase their pay. Their employees are in D.C. 33 so that would be a collective bargaining process activity. And what we do with that is we go through a process when that's finished, see what the costs are and then add money to the budget to cover it.
Thank you for the response. So basically what you're saying is you don't feel like there's a sense of urgency around investing in ACCT right now. You feel like that this is something that could be done in next year's budget negotiations and you're not concerned around them having to cut off staff or cut back services, things of that capacity. You don't feel like that's going to be an issue?
I think the '24 request from what I saw this morning is about increasing pay, and that should be addressed through collective bargaining and then we would provide funding and enter increases through that collective bargaining.
The communication from us told us that it wasn't just about salary pay, so I'm looking forward to going into negotiation around that issue as well so we can make sure we find some type of happy compromise in order to put us in a position where we're not increasing costs for the City by having one of our trusted partners be in a position where they have to cut back services or lay off staff or anything of that capacity. And I think it's important that we go back and define exactly what it is that money was spent on in the past so we can have clarity as it relates to what the record should be moving forward. So, Mr. Chair, thank you. I just wanted to get that information on the record. And of course, Mr. Dubow, thank you for communicating your perspective on that particular issue.
For someone who has had bats in their home and has cried for help, I appreciate the services provided. Chair recognizes Councilmember Johnson.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I just want to circle back regarding I saw in the chat a response from Commissioner Stanford particularly around the issue of the 911 dispatchers. I know there was a request to go through seeking support of the 911 dispatchers just to address the lack of staff (inaudible) regarding collective bargaining and salaries. And I just want Rob, if you could just clarify that for the record as well as Commissioner Stanford to also do a follow-up because I know it was a very, very robust hearing. This is something I believe that we should be addressing with a sense of urgency. And so, how are we going to work through those collective bargaining issues as well as addressing the staff shortages as it relates to making sure it's a very, very robust and efficient 911 department?
Sure, thanks for the question. So in addition to the collective bargaining element, there's also the civil service element, and the Office of Human Resources has been doing an analysis of compensation for the dispatchers and how they compare to compensation in other jurisdictions with the goal of at the end of that process in seeing how we compare and in seeing whether there are adjustments that we can make that would make us more competitive if that's what the results show. But I'll also ask Mike Zaccagni to come back on and to talk about that process.
Yes, Rob. Thank you. I'm Mike Zaccagni, Office of Human Resources. We have done some analysis. We're going back to look at that analysis to see whether or not there is some additional adjustments. One of the other things that we found is when the police is talking about retention issues, we also I think about a year ago, maybe a little bit longer, created an additional position in sort of a series for the operators so that they had some place to go and there's limited shall we say promotional activities. So we did look at that. We'll look at that position again and see whether or not we can make some adjustments around salary. We'll certainly share that with Council and we'll also look at the operator position itself.
Councilman Johnson, is there anything else that you -- any other specifics?
No, not at the moment. Just want to get additional follow-up from Commissioner Stanford. COMMISSIONER STANFORD: Good morning. Again, we're at 68. I put it in the chat. We're 68 short as it relates to 911 dispatchers and we put in an additional request as far as a justification request to raise the salaries of dispatchers, understanding that we know it is collective bargaining issues, but I think we are in support of that as well as what has already been discussed regarding supervisory positions for a tier type of system to increase pays. But that's again something that would have to be agreed upon through collective bargaining. But it is a priority for us. We will also be looking to do a little more around recruitment efforts for those positions in addition to the recruitment efforts that are being done for sworn positions. But that conversation came up before that we need to do a little bit more as it relates to marketing and advertising just to get the message out regarding some of those civilian positions that we have available to make sure that we get them filled as quickly as possible. So we are definitely in support of that and looking to do more moving forward as a department to get that done.
Thank you very much. And, Mr. Dubow, can you and your team also do additional follow-up with Councilwoman Jamie Gauthier regarding the collective bargaining component and how it plays a role into this actual transfer request that she's seeking right now? Just want for clarity to take a look at those two issues because obviously we can't do collective bargaining overnight so that's going to take some time. But nevertheless, she has taken the lead with a sense of urgency to address this issue. And so, it's my hope and I said it the last time on the record that rather now or either come when the Philadelphia Police Department comes in front of us for their official budget, right, that there should be a robust strategy and plan to build up and replace those vacancies that are in the 911 unit but also strategy and plan regarding the recruitment, looking at the morale of the actual workers who work in the 911 unit and basically help us restore confidence and public confidence that 911 is the official system that should be utilized and is utilized here in the City of Philadelphia. And so, those are some of the things we have gone back and forth with stakeholders on how to address this issue but also be supportive of the work that Councilwoman Jamie Gauthier is definitely taking the lead on something that's very, very important based upon the tragedy and mass shooting that took place in her District. And so, I think the whole public is paying attention to us around this particular issue because it is a quality-of-life issue here in the City of Philadelphia and goes to how people feel safe when they're calling 911 and feel confident that someone is going to be on the other line on the phone and actually pick up and actually respond. And so, hopefully that part of the conversation can take place for her and her team today as we go through the process hoping to determine how we move forward. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, for your time.
Thank you, Member Johnson. Real quick point of clarification. You said there were how many vacancies out of how many in the unit? Can you put that on the record again, Commissioner? COMMISSIONER STANFORD: Yes, sir. So we are authorized to have 353. We are currently at 285. We're a shortage of 68.
Thank you very much. Chair recognizes Member Gilmore Richardson.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I just had an additional point of clarification that's relative to the amount of vacancies and that could translate into the actual amounts relative to Class 100. Meaning, I think I heard a number of -- was it 68 dispatcher vacancies? And so, how much does that translate to in Class 100? I'm only asking because we need to understand the difference in how much that amount is based on the Class 100 underspending based on what we are seeing here relative to this request around the additional 911 hires. I'm just trying to understand what the difference is.
So we do apply a vacancy percentage. We don't assume that the difference will be filled 100 percent of the time. So we'll just have to double check on some of this math. I don't know it off the top of my head, but we'll have to circle back and get you that information.
Right, which is why I was asking because, you know, if it is 68 positions but you know you have the vacancy allowance that you always account for at the beginning of the budget process. Just how much is it so we can understand what that is. Okay?
Thank you, Member Richardson. I believe -- Member Lozada, did you have your hand up wishing to be recognized?
I did. I wanted to shift the conversation a little bit and just put on the record my appreciation for Rob Dubow in the conversation and in his direction as it relates to St. Christopher's Hospital in my District. There are only two children's hospitals in the City of Philadelphia. St. Christopher is one of them. And they have put in a request for $2.5 million. I recognize that there's a challenge in the infor -- there is a challenge to continue to support institutions like this one. However, this request is vital to the quality of life in the 7th Council District. This hospital is the hospital that residents just don't go to for an emergency. They go there just for general medical needs. The hospital has become a teaching hospital in the City of Philadelphia. It hires locally. They generate about $13 million in revenue for the Commonwealth. They have about 36,000 jobs throughout the state. And so, I just want to make sure that we understand the urgency of this request and that we do everything possible to be able to get them what they need now, and we can figure out how we work with them on their future requests. But I wanted to make sure that I put how important this request is on the record as well as express my appreciation for Rob and everything that he's done to be able to get me clarification and ask all of the necessary questions. This being one of my first budget processes, I'm not really sure how it all works, but he has really been instrumental in guiding me through the process and through the conversation.
Well, I ditto everything you said about Rob Dubow and then some. His grimace over the decades I've known him when I anticipate every budget cycle, he does a wonderful job of being a good fiscal steward.
Yes, he has. And I think that he is pushing to find us what we need to be able to support St. Chris. I don't know where we will end up, but I just wanted to make sure that I expressed my gratitude in his work and just making sure that I'm straight and I have all of the necessary information so that we are responsible, right. I understand the challenges and I understand that we can't -- the City of Philadelphia can't be in the business of continuing to support medical or hospital institutions, but this is a -- this is only one of two. And so, I want to make sure we do whatever we possibly can to be able to support the request.
Thank you. Mr. Chair, I feel so bad. I know I'm killing you with the back and forth because I do apologize and I --
Thank you, sir. Thank you. First and foremost, I just wanted to echo the sentiments of two of my colleagues, Councilmember Lozada and Councilmember Johnson, as they raised important issues that I'm supportive of, whether it's 911 operators and the conditions that they're dealing with. We had an indepth hearing about that, a number of Councilmembers including the Chair of our Appropriations and Public Safety Committee has been advocating for this for some time, Councilmember Gauthier. Future Mayor Parker, I remember her being involved in the hearing advocating for this. So this is something that we've been very vocal about. And similar to what was said before, these are quality-of-life issues that we're talking about, supporting hospitals, supporting workers. They're extremely important. Mr. Dubow, just to close out our conversation around ACCT, you talked about the fact that they are whachamachallit, that the majority of the money that they're asking for is wages and that the contract negotiations is when this should happen; is that correct? That's what we agreed upon, right?
Sorry, I didn't hear the last part. I heard the first part about salaries --
Okay. But I mean, are you aware that they're going through contract negotiations right now? Part of the reason why they're asking for the funds right now is so that they can finalize contract negotiations. If they're paying people $12 an hour and if you want to compare somebody trying to catch wild dogs and Councilmember Jones talked about bats and things of that capacity, they can go to Target and make more money at Target then they can getting the bats out of Councilmember Jones' house right now. So at the end of the day if we're talking about some level of support throughout the course of contract negotiations, they're literally going through those negotiations right now. So I'm trying to figure out why is there so much pushback around helping give them the support that they need so that the City doesn't have to absorb this cost of these services?
Yeah. Our process for negotiations and what we do with our own departments is when the negotiations are over, we know the exact amount that we have to put in and that's the point at which we make the adjustment.
So you want them to negotiate a contract for money that they don't have and assume that the City is going to supplement them for whatever costs they absorb and if it's contract negotiations, that they won't be be able to fiscally take care of. Is that what we're recommending that they do?
That's how we do it with all our departments because if we put in an amount and set the amount for negotiations, then we set a target for where the negotiations go, so we always do it after negotiations are over. We don't put the money in before.
Mr. Dubow, you're way more experienced than me. You're great at the work that you do, and the City is in good fiscal health right now so you have to be commended for the job. But I got to push back on the idea that an organization that's a separate entity from the City of Philadelphia that has a separate board, if we were talking about L&I or Fire or Police, that theory would make sense to me. But if I'm the Executive Director of a nonprofit organization and you're basically asking me to negotiate a contract for funds that I essentially do not have, I don't know who in good faith would do that. I don't know what was done in the past. I'm not that experienced. I haven't been in City Council that long, but I think it's very difficult for us while sitting on $900-plus million to ask one of our important partners who do things like getting bats out of Councilmembers' houses to negotiate a contract to actual money -- I mean, to negotiate a contract and be able to come to an agreement for money that they don't have.
And part of what we should do and honestly I didn't -- this came to us today, right, that it was a salary issue. The first I saw of this was today. And I think we need to have a discussion with them to give them assurance that they can proceed.
Okay. And I think that would be good. But, you know, again this is another example of us as Councilmembers having our ear to the ground knowing what's going on, fighting for the things that we feel like would improve the quality of life for the City of Philadelphia and the Administration offering pushback. So I'm going to be more than willing to talk to the Executive Director and other folks involved in the organization, because again I can't have constituents calling us about wild animals and us as City government saying, sorry, it's nothing we can do about it. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you, Mr. Dubow. I appreciate it.
I just wanted to do a follow-up to what Councilmember Thomas just asked. Mr. Dubow, you said this is the first time you all heard about this today?
The pay raise element of it. This is the first time I'm hearing about it, yes.
Thank you, Member Richardson. Member Johnson, is your hand up?
Thank you very much. Just wanted to circle back to Mr. Dubow regarding St. Christopher's Hospital, and I know since I've been around here this issue has come up of support from time and time again. So can you just give me the background history regarding briefly the issues regarding supporting St. Christopher's. And then obviously, it has to be a long-term strategy to help them maintain their overall operations. And part of my thought process regarding this line of questioning is just based upon us coming out of the pandemic and really saw health disparities, inequities across the City of Philadelphia regarding how different communities have access to quality health care services. And obviously, where St. Christopher's Hospital is located, right, and not too far from Kensington, not too far from the opioid crisis and the epidemic that's taking place in that area, right, how this support or lack of support play into how we're addressing the health inequities that are taking place in the City of Philadelphia. So I want to get an idea from you, Rob, because you've been dealing with this for a while separate from this funding request, but obviously looking at a long-term strategy as well and partnership with the Administration and St. Christopher's to see how we can get them on solid footing financially for their operations?
Yeah, and I might be a tiny off on this a little. But I think maybe in FY22 or FY23 when the first request came for -- we had put in that we matched by the (inaudible), and it was part of a plan to bring St. Chris back to financial stability. We got financial projections. We provided the funding. I think we leveraged about another 7.5 million. I think we did a second contribution that also leveraged additional money. We received a request for this contribution right at the very end of the budget process. And what we've been trying to understand over the last couple of weeks is what the long-term strategy is and how the hospital will eventually be able to survive without recurring City appropriations. And so, that was kind of what we were trying to figure out, understanding how important the hospital is, my understanding that it's important for us that the hospital survive. That's kind of where we've been, and Councilmember Lozada --
Yeah, I'll follow up with Councilmember Lozada as well as Councilman Chairman Curtis Jones regarding their Marshall Plan as it relates to Kensington. St. Chris not being so far from there as well as looking at the issue around the work that St. Chris has done supporting particularly children who are survivors of gunshots, right, which is a very, very critical area that needs to be addressed, but really it's also in an area again that's not so far -- I'm sorry, not so close to the level of health care institutions that probably need to be in an area where people need access to. So I just wanted to touch base with you on that particular issue and I'll follow up with Councilwoman Lozada as well as because I think it probably will be a long-term conversation as well, but I definitely will be supportive of all efforts as it relates to at least trying to keep them afloat as long as we can particularly because of the vital work that they are doing that is so severely needed in the City right now. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you, Member Johnson. Chair recognizes Member Lozada and then Member Richardson.
Yeah. I just want to follow up on the fact that they are an amazing partner. They are a much-needed partner as it relates to providing, like I said earlier, not just emergency services but their location is where families in that community go when they don't have health insurance. And so, we need to understand that they have been trying to have conversations apparently with the Administration since June. And so, information, important information that I think should have been asked for earlier in this process was just requested right before Thanksgiving. And so, if we were at a point where we thought we were going to question this request, those documents requested during that time should have been requested earlier in this process. And I'm not really -- I don't want to point fingers. I don't know why those documents were requested so late in this process, but I'm frustrated with that. I'm frustrated with the late request for documentation necessary to be able to come to a decision regarding such an important institution and such an important service that we know is only one of two in the City. And so, again I think that we need to really think about how do we make that whole. How do we ensure that they are fiscally stable because we need them. We need them in the community. The community, that's the only place that some of these folks have to go for medical attention. And so, I want to make sure that it is on the record that they have been having conversation not just with the Administration but with Council since some time early in June.
Thank you, Member. I think, Member Richardson, you're next.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I just have another clarifying question based on the briefing you had in Line 76. My question is regarding the matching funds from the state for St. Chris. So I thought if they were able to secure matching funds, that we would be able to do our part from a City perspective? Did I miss something there? I thought we had that discussion previously.
If we raised the issue in that briefing about being concerned that it was a recurring cost and at the briefing a member suggested that I talk to Councilmember Lozada to try to straighten that issue out. And that's what we've been working on since the briefing.
Okay. But I wanted to clarify that they did receive the state support?
And so, then for the record have they received any City support?
They have received payments from us in the past over the last couple of years, yes, but not in FY24.
Not in FY24. And does that match up to how much they received in total from the state?
So the amount they would be able to leverage from our payments was more than the amount that we put in. So, no, they've gotten more from other levels of government to leverage what we've given them to more than what we gave them.
Okay. Thank you for the clarification. I'm also supportive of Councilmember Lozada's request.
Thank you, Member Gilmore Richardson. Member Johnson, are you queued up again? Member --
No, sir, Mr. Chair. Let me put my hand down. Thank you very much.
All right. I see no other questions for this panel. If you will be so kind as to stick around. We will now proceed with the next panel to testify. Mr. Glass.
Yes, Mr. Chairman. Our next witness will be District Attorney Larry Krasner.
Mr. Chairman, how are you. I'm standing in today for the DA because of the meeting he's having with two family members connected to a homicide in Philadelphia.
Sorry to hear that, but we will accept your testimony, sir. State your name for the record and begin your testimony.
G. Lamar Stewart, Chief of Community Engagement, City Government Affairs. I'm joined today with ADA or by ADA Bill Fritze, who's the Chief of our Gun Violence Task Force; ADA Kim Esack, who's the Chief of Economic Crimes Division and ADA Jennifer Lin, who's the Senior Advisor on Finance and Administration. So good morning, Chairman Curtis Jones and members of the Appropriations Committee. I'm once again G. Lamar Stewart in today for DA Krasner. I'm testifying in support of the District Attorney's Office General Fund request of $3,480,000 of Class 100 supplemental budget funding to increase resources prosecuting crimes against retailers, crimes again seniors, crimes against workers and illegal gun possession by prolific offenders. The DAO is requesting funding to increase resources to strengthen the DAO's external engagement with community groups, response to constituent and increased communication collaboration with City Council and state legislators and their staff. Additionally, the District Attorney's Office is requesting $500,000 for the Victim and Witness Relocation Fund, a total fund request of $3,980,000. The District Attorney's Office is committed to increasing resources to strengthen the prosecution of illegal gun violence possession cases from arraignment through appeal. We are equally committed to the professional development and well-being of DAO personnel, especially those who prosecute the traumatic aftermath of gun violence. Emphasizing caseload reduction is a critical component to our long-term retention strategies. Lower caseloads for our ADAs to have more time to prepare for litigation, develop and support victims and witnesses in those cases. Equally important, it will allow for ADAs to have a better balance between trauma of prosecuting gun violence and the joy of living in Philadelphia. 1, Juveniles In Possession of Firearms. The DAO will also assign a group of attorneys to a Bail Revocation & Bail Appeal Program. The group will file motions to appeal and handle bail revocation hearings for defendants charged with firearm-related offenses who have pending criminal matters in the City of Philadelphia for those who are repeat gun possession offenders. The Philadelphia DAO will also create an Organized Retail & House Theft Tax Force under the supervision of the DAO's Economic Crimes Division led by Kim Esack. The Organized Retail & House Theft Task Force will collaboratively work with local, state and federal justice partners to investigate, prosecute and hold accountable individuals involved in house theft, deed fraud and crimes against retailers and businesses. Our prosecutors will vigorously prosecute those involved in fencing operations, organized house theft offenders and prolific retail theft offenders. Our team of course will work with PPD's Major Crimes Unit and the six detective divisions to identify, investigate and prosecute those who are involved in such crimes. The Philadelphia DAO will also create a Labor Crimes Enforcement Unit under the supervision of once again our economic crimes division. This unit will be responsible of bringing criminal charges against employers who engage in wage theft, labor trafficking and misclassification of workers in Philadelphia. The DAO is also seeking an appropriate increase in City funding to support DAO's Victim Witness Relocation. During prior years, the DAO received $260,000 annually from Philadelphia City Council via the Managing Director's Office. 5 million for the entire Commonwealth. However, the state has very strict guidelines for relocation and the DAO also often relies on our City relocation resources to prioritize the safety of witnesses, victims and families and survivors who don't qualify for that state funding. We are requesting all increased allocated funds for relocation that will come directly to the DAO to ensure timely and safe transition of survivors and witnesses into the DAO's witness program.
Finally, the DAO is requesting or desires to create an External Strategies & Government Affairs Division. This Division will consist of DAO's Community Engagement Unit, Government Affairs Unit, Public Relations Operations, law enforcement partnership strategies and other outward facing operations. Staff assigned to this Division will support the DAO's mission by building and improving relationships with our community, city and state government, law enforcement and other external partners through balanced programming, intentional collaboration and increased communication. The aforementioned DAO priorities and requests combine additional hires of Assistant DAs, DATA Lab Analysts, Community Engagement & Government Affairs staff as well as Philadelphia County Detectives. Philadelphia City Council's approval of this budget request will position the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office in the 2024 calendar year to work collaboratively with Mayor- elect Cherelle Parker's Administration, our next Philadelphia Police Commissioner and our partners throughout the justice system and most importantly victim service agencies and community groups as well as faith-based partners throughout the City of Philadelphia in prioritizing a balanced approach to public safety and reform. The Philadelphia District Attorney's Office will remain a committed collaborative partner as we join other City departments and agencies with this shared goal in mind, one Philly, a united city. Thank you for the opportunity to testify today. And if you have any further questions or concerns, we're happy to answer them.
Thank you, G. Lamar Stewart. A couple of questions: There has been a 14 percent reduction in homicides as I 15 recall. Give me not scientific but 16 knee-jerk how did that happen? 17
I'm going to 18 tap Bill Fritze who leads our Gun 19 Violence Task Force and his staff, they work to really address the issue of group violence here in Philadelphia.
Councilman, I don't want to take credit for anything. I think --
Can you take and state your name for the record before you start. Our stenographer has to know.
The percent 13 reduction, I would like to take 14 credit for it. PPD would also like 15 to take credit for it. I think 16 it's a combination of what we've 17 been doing throughout the City and 18 our partnership with the police 19 department. So every week we have a representative from Gun Violence Task Force and the Intelligence Division, which is now a part of the Gun Violence Task Force, that sits on the call. We have analysts assigned within our unit who work one-on-one with any cases that we can solve in realtime with those detectives to try and solve those cases. We've also done our long- term investigations in South Philadelphia, Southwest Philadelphia and North Philadelphia. We've tried to expand to do those. And based on that PCCD funding, we have been able to expand to bring more staff on to do those long-term investigations, which I think also creates kind of a chilling effect for that group violence. There has been an increase in the (inaudible) rate over the last few years in the preliminary hearings on gun cases and that's because you have Gun Violence Task Force DAs, senior DAs sitting in that room every single day making sure that those cases get held for court. We train the young DAs in that room to handle those cases, but we oversee them. And then they have that experience to go forward into the CP trial level to try those cases with a little bit of experience under their belt in order to move forward. So I think overall it's been a combination of us partnering with the police department on these long-term investigations, working with them on the shooting calls but also our advanced technology that we've been able to purchase that helps us get into those cell phones, helps us look at social media and helps us try to solve the large issue of what's going on with violence. We also have the victim assistance staff that helps, serves and goes out to the community and also our Community Engagement Team working with GVI to try and send that message out that you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent. And we again, the Gun Violence Task Force, try to take that lead along with Homicide to take those cases and prosecute them to the fullest extent. So I think overall it's been that overarching theme, the additional funding that we've been able to receive, although one-time funding from the state, has helped us to expand to do more.
So I asked that question because tomorrow I will be speaking to the private sector and they are going to ask me about those kinds of public safety concerns while I have the experts available. Some of the stuff I picked up from you and your department at the Crime Summit, which some of the findings will be public next week. We will present it to the 100th Mayor as well as the newly minted soon-to-be Police Commissioner to talk about -- and Commissioner Stanford was a part of it. Some of these kind of recommendations come from that discussion and dialogue. How many shootings? We know about murders, percent 8 reduction. How many shootings? Is 9 that up or down? 10
I can't give 11 you -- I don't want to give you a 12 number that's incorrect, but I know 13 shootings are also down. But I 14 will defer to the Police 15 Commissioner on that. 16
Police 17 Commissioner Stanford, how are you? 18 State your name again please. 19 (No response.)
He seems to be frozen, so I'll wait for that answer. One of the police was quoted in the Crime Summit, every shooting is just a failed murder. So we want to be aware of what those shootings are, whether they're up or down as well. Let me --
Councilmember, I think we have DC Vanore and a couple of other DCs who have also joined and they could help with that response. As they respond, if I can just point to this, Councilmember, and that is the work of our victim service agencies to address the issue of trauma, whether that's EMIR or South Victim Services or Northwest Victim Services, BPP which I believe I saw on a moment ago really treating that trauma, particularly for those nonfatal shooting incidents. Helping those who are impacted not want to -- address that trauma so they don't go out and retaliate. I think when we talk about reduction and violence we have to salute those who are doing the work, victim services but also those who are doing prevention work and intervention work. GVI was mentioned. Of course, Deion is doing a phenomenal job. Organizations like GROW, Donite Jones and Donnell Drinks. Anton Moore down in South Philly, Peter Michael Boone. There's a boxing program out there in Councilmember Kenyatta's area at the Rock Ministry that's doing phenomenal work mentoring young people. And so, as we talk about that reduction, of course there's that enforcement arm. But we have to support the work of those who are on the ground addressing this work from a grassroots perspective.
So I appreciate that insight as we try to find out whether shootings are up and down. Can we move to case closures. Could you for the record define what a case that is closed, what is that definition?
So case closure can mean a few different things as far as guilty verdicts, which is verdict at trial, a guilty plea, when a defendant pled open generally for a negotiated plea, those are three types of the positive case closures. And then you have the withdrawal, that's if the Commonwealth can't move forward with the case, whether the victim didn't appear, whether there's something wrong with that, whether we lost a motion to suppress and we can't introduce a gun or we can't introduce testimony, so withdrawal. And then you have obviously not guilty if we take it to trial and the matter is found to be not guilty by the judge.
So if I understand what it means, there are two types. There is case closure as in we have a suspect that we are prosecuting or apprehending; is that one definition?
And the second definition for just those people in the barbershops would be we found someone, we've identified them. We've prosecuted them successfully to a verdict. Is that a second tier definition?
Absolutely, Councilmember. One you're talking about an arrest rate and the other you're talking about a prosecution rate. And so, of course PPD -- and they're doing outstanding work as far as trying to apprehend individuals who have been involved in gun violence, that's kind of -- that's the arrest rate for a particular category of crime. But with ADA Fritze, he is mentioning once an individual is charged with a particular crime and through the prosecutory process at some point that case has to be resolved some way, whether that's through traditional prosecution in most cases for gun violence or in other types of cases it may be diversion or some alternative. At the end of that resolution, that will be the prosecution rate.
So can you give me those closure rates for each category?
Certainly. We can work with our data lab and get that to you and other members of the Appropriations Committee at some point, Councilmember.
Okay. Because I would think that we would know those right away, but all right. I'm going to go with that. And I'm going to move to a question about witness protection and relocation. I mentioned to you whether the actual recommendations coming out of the Summit is to work on a -- I hate the word task force, but I'll use it in this discussion -- to work with the federal government, state government to find creative ways through PHA Public Housing or HUD to create a labyrinth of safe houses that we can move witnesses to in various houses but also various cities. For the record, is that something we can start to work on in the next fiscal year?
Certainly. I think that there are a number of people -- as we mentioned in our previous conversation, Councilmember, there are a number of people who of course have interest in making sure that those who are victims and witnesses are protected, and I think this is the perfect time for us to think about expanding our approaches around where we are placing those who are victims and those who are witnesses. I think certainly we will be a partner at the table, and we talk about HUD but also PHA and their Portability Unit specifically that works with other jurisdictions across the tri-state area but also across the country and instances where we need to relocate a family outside of the Philadelphia area, so that's something that we're willing to work on and work with you on, Councilmember, as well as other members of Council to make that a priority in the new year.
Okay. Final question: When it relates to our crime lab that many members have supported expanding and providing the funding for, how are we doing with ballistics, processing of other critical data for prosecution? How are we working with that?
So unfortunately, the forensics lab is behind. And so, we are dealing with DNA reports that we're waiting months on, we're dealing with the FIU reports that we are waiting on and that does affect the prosecution of these cases. We've been working with the lab and started a working group here with the DA's Office and the lab to try to streamline these things and see if we can move forward with some of the more immediate needs, but there is a problem and that centers around staffing and requirements of the lab.
Okay. I know my Members are anxiously anticipating questioning you, so I'm going to yield the mic. And we're going to go with Katherine Gilmore Richardson, who seems to be the first one in the queue.
Councilmember, if you don't mind, you asked a question around numbers as far as prosecution rate --
I promised to overdeliver. And so, I was able to get this information from the Chief of our Homicide and Nonfatal Shootings Unit. So right now our prosecution rate or conviction rate rather for homicide shootings is 88 percent and that's as of November 22, 2023. And our conviction rate for nonfatal shootings is 81 percent as of November 22, 2023. So I just wanted to make sure I got that on the record. Again, that's coming from ADA Joanne Pescatore, Chief of our Homicide and Nonfatal Shooting Unit.
Okay. We'll yield the mic. Councilwoman Gilmore Richardson. (No response.)
Hi, Chair Jones. This is Eliza from her staff. She just had to step away for one second. She'll be right back. If you can circle back to her to ask those questions. Thank you.
Mr. Chair, I'm supportive of the work of the DA's Office and the requests that they have and I do not have any questions for this witness. Thank you.
I'm also supportive of this request, Mr. Chairman. I think that those that lie in order that you're looking in the chat there is from the previous panel, so I do not have a question. Thank you very much.
Okay. I got you on the record anyway supporting it. Member Johnson.
Yes. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Just a couple of questions: One, Bill Fritze, I want to thank you for the work that you're doing around the issue of gun violence which is an issue I'm very, very -- which is very near and dear to my heart, so thank you for staying on top of it. Thank you for your work with the Gun Violence Task Force as well as most importantly supporting victims and survivors of gun violence. But I had a couple of questions I just want to ask as we move forward. And I know the last time either the transfer ordinance 9 or the budget process I was very supportive of the Carjacking Unit, right, advocating for funding to expand the Carjacking Unit. So we know that homicides are down. We know that shootings are down. However, car thefts and carjackings are up. And so, can you give us an idea of what you and your team are doing to address this issue just based upon the funding that we started and supported the DA's Office on. So I want to give an idea of how effective are those operations coming along because we did support it and I'll say that y'all can continue to grow in a variety of different areas. And so, as you grow, which I think is a great thing, I think is also prudent to make sure that we're also being effective in key areas that we do request funding for, right. And so, I want to get an idea about where we're at carjacking-wise and car theft? And then also in terms of the Labor Unit, are y'all working in partnership with the Department of Labor with this current Administration? Is the building trades/other service units like SEIU, 32 BJ, what other stakeholders are at the table that actually I would say push the DA's Office or came up with this whole new concept that's generally in the business of going after wage theft? And so, those are the two key questions of mine. And obviously, the last one is the million dollar question: Are we prosecuting retail theft in the manner of $499 or are we addressing anyone that comes in the store that actually takes something off the shelf and are holding them accountable? Inquiring minds want to know.
Certainly. Councilmember Johnson, thank you for that question. I want to yield --
And one last thing, G. Lamar. I see y'all trying to create a whole new Government External Affairs Unit, right. And I'll talk to Larry myself. At least my perspective is maybe they continue to support you, right. Maybe give you additional staff, right. But I think I'll give you your flowers now publicly that you've been very, very effective in supporting the agenda of the District Attorney. And to be quite frank, at one point in time Members weren't responsive to be quite frank with you for whatever reason. And I think you have done a great job of really getting the DA to a point where he has good relationships with members of Council as well as your briefings with members of Council where y'all not working in silos. You're saying you can come and meet with us once a month and we'll tell you what it is we are doing when the cameras aren't watching and ask us questions about the process because we're open to addressing those issues, and that hasn't been the case when the DA first arrived. And I've seen that you have played a major role in helping in the office and actually him personally get to a whole different level in terms of working in partnership with members of City Council. And so, I know y'all talked about expanding. Hopefully, you're a part of that process or at least lead the person as a part of that process. I don't know if bringing a whole bunch of other people and you're not there is going to get the same type of response. When you're calling me on a Sunday night or in the evening saying, this is what we're working on, this is what we're trying to get support on, and I'm only picking up the phone because it's G. Lamar Stewart and I know that your heart and your commitment is based upon helping people. And so, I just wanted to state that for the record. And when I do see Larry, I'll also express that to him. But can you answer those three questions please?
I'll address the last one myself. So that External Strategies and Government Affairs Division will be a new division at the DA's Office that I will be leading. And so, community engagement, government affairs, some of our public relations operations and continue to build on our partnerships with law enforcement, all that work will take place under that division and that's something that will be under my leadership. To your question, Councilmember, I appreciate those questions around what we've been doing around retail theft thus far, the Carjacking Enforcement Unit as well as your question around $500 or less, what are we doing around retail theft in that category, I want to yield to ADA Kim Esack who is the Chief of our Economic Crimes Division. Kim has more than years experience as a prosecutor in this office and she certainly has been doing a phenomenal job piloting a program that we wanted to take on a larger scale citywide. She's been working with some of PPD's finest commanders as well as the business community and retail associations in Center City and in parts of Southwest to get this off the ground. I'm going to yield to her to answer those questions. And whatever she doesn't ask or answer, I'll come back, and the DA has also returned back to the office. I'm sure he may want to give some response as well.
Hello. Kimberly Esack. I'm the Supervisor of the Economic Crimes Division, but I'm also the recently appointed Supervisor of the Carjacking Unit, so I can address all the issues you just raised regarding retail theft, what we're doing there, what we're doing with the new Labor Crimes Enforcement Unit as well as what's going on with carjacking and auto thefts in the City of Philadelphia. So with regard to retail theft or -- I think we're coming off of (inaudible) -- retail theft, we're coming up on years in the making with a collaboration between this office and the police department as well as the community in general and the business community with regard to retailers. We started meetings two years ago to address a significant rise in the mass lootings throughout the City, a rise in retail theft and whatever issues were going on out there in the business communities. An idea was struck to try to venture on a pilot program, but we wanted to work in one small area and then take what we know from that and try to expand that citywide. We had many meetings with various stakeholders in this over the past two years. This past December of 2022 is when it really got up and running officially. I am the head of the Economic Crimes Division, which under me right now I have seven units. So the Financial Crimes Unit, which I usually handle cases such as deed theft and the various large scale economic crimes for Philadelphia. That's one of the units that's under me. We need a place for this retail theft initiative to go. And so, I brought it in with us. But mind you, I only had a staffing of about one-and-a-half ADAs. One ADA was assigned to another one of my units on a more halftime to full- time basis. So we started it just in December of 2022. Since that time I don't have exact numbers yet. We're going to be compiling this data ourselves and we really need to get it built up in a much more significant way, in a clear way to expound to you. But I just know from offhand at the beginning of October we had already adopted into my unit or into the Financial Crimes Unit is where I placed it -- and mind you, we have other work going on there with the deed theft and all the other economic crimes, but pulling this in where we started adopting the most prolific offenders that we could find. C. numbers since about 2018. We created our own list and started basically from the top and worked our way down. And what we found is that we had a significant overlap of what some members of the business community had already forwarded to us about who they believed to be their most prolific offenders in the various stores, and we basically adopted those cases. So from December of 2022, we have adopted -- at the beginning of October, the number was approximately 300 cases overall. I believe it was over 40 defendants that I had adopted into the unit. And what we did for retail theft cases, we're not just taking that case, we're looking to see if they have anything else out there and we adopt all of their cases so that we could really focus in on these particular defendants who are committing the most crime, but it was the smallest percentage of those committing those prolific retail theft offenses, so we can figure out what was going on with them, work our way down to mid-level people who maybe only had a few retail thefts out there and those who might just be starting out to see if we can get to them before they commit to a life of crime and take this a step further, do they need drug treatment, do they need something more and try to work that. Now, again limited resources and we've only just begun the work here. But the police department has been phenomenal in their collaborations with us and their willingness to adopt a program and a protocol that we have done in Center City and has been working very well. We're getting great feedback from the retailers here. The goal is to have this spread citywide to the various divisions.
We were trying to come up with a plan of action and work out all the kinks locally and then put it out citywide. But in order to do that, the PPD as well as this office is going to need resources for that. To answer the question about whether or not we prosecute people who steal less than $500, we absolutely do. I can attest to that. I have multiple defendants who have less than that. What we are doing though is for those who may have been out there and had cases that were less than $500, we have gone back into the system and pulled all those cases together and consolidated them so that a defendant no longer had a case -- had maybe 10 cases across the criminal justice system where one hand may not have been speaking with the other. We rectified any issues like that or on our way to doing so. So we adopted all those cases and pulled them in together. We've been working with the PPD even though it's not something that they usually do in practice, but they have been very willing to think outside the box in order to now consolidate cases and not just put them in on a cite arrest, complaint arrest, put that one through in one division, in another division where the divisions don't connect and they don't speak with one another so the defendants are targeting all over the City and their cases aren't being pulled together. We're working with the PPD in order to make that happen. We've been working with Major Crimes with fencing operations. We've been working both locally and outside the County for fencing operations. I have at least two cases where I have been working with both Philadelphia and Montgomery County on fences and we've been working our way towards search warrants and arrests to take down the fences. As for the Labor Crimes Enforcement Unit, we have been working collaboratively with all of the stakeholders and the people of interest there. I don't know all their names. I'm learning it all anew, but we have a labor liaison here who has been walking me through it and we've been out in the community and in with the unions and finding out all the organizations that want to tell us about all the wage misclassification that's been going on. We're learning as much as we can about it and we're trying to get the Assistant District Attorney to take that position as well as the Carjacking Unit now. That has been expanded so it's no longer just the Carjacking Unit. The auto theft grant was under me for the Auto Theft Unit. It's now being put -- which only supplied one ADA for some auto theft cases, but we're putting that all together and we're trying to get more support for the cases being put in one place. So the Carjacking Unit is now not just going to prosecute carjackings. We're also going to be prosecuting car theft-related cases with various crimes in that nature. Let's say a person is found with a car a month after a carjacking, two months after a carjacking, that case is just not going to go into Trial Division. We're going to adopt that case. Any other types of -- we're new to this process. It's only just started. We're going to go through and see how many cases we have out there and see how many cases that are auto theft-related that we can bring into the unit and then try to expand from there.
Okay. I just had another question. And I see the District Attorney. It's good to see you, Larry. So I guess y'all expanding, right, more and more units, right. And I guess I'm trying to still get an understanding that y'all still growing, but we also didn't totally just mask and settle those key areas that you just talked about. So I'm still trying to get an understanding, like you need more and more staff because obviously you just mentioned that, right. But at the same time we're not totally 100 percent. I don't think we'll ever be 100 percent, but the goal is 100 percent to be effective in again driving down carjackings, the thefts, right, totally having aggressive overall addressing of the gun violence, but now we're in a whole new different area and a whole new unit when it comes to wage theft, which is something I support. I have a bill 7 and I have a hearing around this whole concept of wage theft and being supportive of the unit, so we definitely want you to go after those companies. But I'm thinking of the level of expansion as it relates to us also just perfecting those key areas that you already came and requested budget requests for such as carjacking which again is up, car thefts which again is up, right. Bill Fritze is doing a great job around the issue of gun violence which is the number one issue here in the City of Philadelphia. So I just was trying to get an understanding of why we're continuing to grow when we totally still have a lot of work to do in two other areas in terms of budgetary requests. And, District Attorney Krasner, good to you see as always. Before you arrived, I was just saying I was letting your staff know and also G. Lamar know personally giving his flowers that he's done a great job in terms of helping move the District Attorney's Office forward in terms of the relationships with members of Council, the monthly briefings where you allow Members to come in and see your operations. And I'll just always be transparent that early on that probably always wasn't the case in terms of a relationship with Councilmembers, but I think and I know for a fact that G. Lamar has done an excellent job in being your conduit and working with you to create this type of partnership, not even (inaudible), but a partnership with members of Council as we move the City of Philadelphia forward around the issue of public safety. So I wanted to say that publicly while you were here regarding him because obviously one of your requests is to expand also another area which is the External Gun Relations Community Partnerships area. And him as a solo act is doing a great job, but obviously he just mentioned prior to you getting here that when y'all do expand he will be the head of that particular unit, which I believe is an excellent choice because his passion, his commitment, his personality has done a great job in building that bridge with the District Attorney's Office and members of Council. Go ahead, District Attorney Krasner. DISTRICT ATTORNEY KRASNER: Well, thank you very much, Councilmember. My apologies to everyone that I had to step away. But as I mentioned in a text to many of you, I was addressing --
District Attorney? DISTRICT ATTORNEY KRASNER: Yes, sir.
Can you please state your name for the record? DISTRICT ATTORNEY KRASNER: Oh, yes, sir. My name is Larry Krasner. You'll find it in the media. Sometimes favorably, sometimes not. But my name is Larry Krasner. I'm the District Attorney for the City of Philadelphia. I do want to express once again how grateful I am that Council has been willing to look at the situation we face in relation to public safety the way we look at it, which is that things change. You may have a year when carjackings are way up and then you may have a year where they're coming down. Well, the fact is carjackings, thank goodness, are coming down. On the other hand, car thefts have gone way up. At times they were 100 percent over this year for reasons that we could discuss at one of our briefings. We need to make sure that the District Attorney's Office and every law enforcement partner is agile that we move with the times, that we adjust to the needs. We need to improve every day. And I appreciate, Councilmember Johnson, your being transparent that we weren't doing everything perfect at first. I know that. I agree with that, and I appreciate everything that a lot of our staff, including the great G. Lamar Stewart have done because we really do try to do better every day. We know that we make mistakes every day. But one of the things that I think we have learned, and I am so grateful that Council has been willing to listen, is that there are improvements in areas of focus. There are ways to shift resources and people. Sometimes you got to reduce your nonlawyer staffing and increase your lawyer staff because that's what the backlog of cases requires because that's how we get the best work. Sometimes you got to make sure people who might leave because they're not being compensated well enough to stay, stay longer because they bring all that experience and expertise that is so hard to cultivate. So what we are trying to do is not have an ever-expanding District Attorney's Office. We're trying to have an ever-improved District Attorney's Office that on a day-to-day basis address the public safety needs as they shift but also just is excellent and does excellent work in all the areas of focus. We do not want to drop the ball anywhere. But obviously if you have an area where the level of criminal activity or the number of arrests has dropped, that may be an area where you can potentially shift. There are a lot of really interesting, important and creative things that I believe we're going to be able to do moving into this next Administration. The Mayor-elect, I am excited and encouraged to see that the announcement that Kevin Bethel, someone I have known for 20 years and have known reasonably well for 6 years, is going to be the new Commissioner. I am excited to be working with a Mayor-elect who I think will be open to some of the frankly new ideas that I've been trying to kick around for three or four years. I think that with the help of Council, with the help of other electives, with the help of our law enforcement partners and in close communication with the community, we can really make a difference. But the essence of the reason that we are lifting up certain units is that we can see the needs, we see what is important and we're trying to do everything we can to come at it at levels that frankly are more effective than ever before.
Okay. Thank you very much. And just one last part of my question: Councilman Curtis Jones -- Chairman Curtis Jones and Quetcy Lozada, Councilwoman as well as Jim Harrity are working on a Marshall Plan for Kensington, and your team just clarified the issue regarding retail theft on it and I just want to say thank you. But also, how do we look at the issue around diversion, right? And I would like to say mandatory treatment, meaning I know Judge Presenza used to run Treatment Court, right, where a person gets locked up for selling drugs, hustling drugs, a certain amount, right. They had the option to go to Treatment Court, get the treatment that they need, right. And if they complete their program, their record is exonerated, right. So give us an idea of your position and the things that your team are doing because obviously your position is not to incarcerate people for having drug addiction. I am definitely in the position on that aspect. But however, because there's going to be a new day in how we address the issue of the opioid crisis in Kensington, how do we look at diversion, right, as a part of the strategy and plan from a prosecutorial standpoint, and obviously we have Commissioner John Stanford here on the call as well regarding holding people accountable and trying to also support them in the addiction, and to have this true diversionary court such as Treatment Court, and I just want to get your perspective on that. DISTRICT ATTORNEY KRASNER: So thank you for that, Councilmember. With reference to this approach to Kensington, it's something that I'm deeply committed to. I mean, we have a four-hour meeting which starts at 8 o'clock in the morning tomorrow which will be including Councilmember Lozada and also Councilmember Harrity are invited. This is not the first meeting we've had. We are very dedicated to this issue. There's a big picture here that involves things like the fact that the DA's Office is out there almost solo litigating against big opioid companies in a way that could potentially generate the kind of resources that are not just skimming profits off of opioid manufacturers but that could make a tremendous difference, so we are very, very interested in that. In terms of diversion, diversion is accountability, has always been accountability. Certain forms of diversion actually require a whole lot more in terms of treatment or therapy or education, them being convicted, you know, not really that hard to be on probation with no particular requirements attached to it. So diversion for the right population, and it has to be the right population, in many ways can be more effective than convictions. It makes a ton of sense when it comes to activity that is related to addiction. I am more than happy, A, to continue with our informational sessions to address the concerns of Council, more than happy to do so monthly, more than happy to focus on the topics that are of interest. I can tell you there are some international models that have been more effective than forced treatment, but I can also tell you that one size does not fit all and some people's experience for how they escape addiction or they get away from it is different than the experience of others. So I think as long as we approach this in a serious meaningful way, which I'm more than happy to do with four-hour meetings with meetings of Council, diversion can be very positive. We have some data reflecting that in certain kinds of diversion, the recidivism is much lower than when people are actually convicted of the same crimes. But again, let's be transparent, let's be honest about it. We're picking who they are. We are not going to pick people who pose a danger to public safety or the worst of the worst for diversion because that's not appropriate. We're going to pick that much lower number of people who are fundamentally decent people but have a public health issue or have made mistakes and we're going try to work it out from there.
But ultimately, sir, let me just -- we need to use diversion to increase public safety. And we believe in the track that we're on, but we are always open to the ideas of others and any data, any evidence that would show a different path.
And thank you. And that was a quick segue into my last part of the question. And how are we dealing with -- I had a recent intergovernmental meeting with some law enforcement folks, state level, federal level, obviously Jacqueline Romero spoke very highly of you, was a part of talking about the role that (inaudible) in terms of coming into our City different cartels operating all in the City of Philadelphia. S. Attorney and their administration, right, as well as our Attorney General, right? And I know Bill Fritze is a part of that Gun Violence Task Force, but particularly right now we're talking about the drugs, the ridding of blocks in Kensington, right, and really going off the guys who are really doing what you just said, the worst of the worst, in that Kensington area that's just outright running blocks and selling drugs, open air drug operations. And so, what are your team's efforts around approaching it from that aspect? So I want to do the prevention and diversion standpoint because I know that's something that you lead with, right. You can't just incarcerate our way out of this situation. And so, I got your perspective from that aspect. But from a prosecutorial enforcement standpoint, how are we dealing with the big drug dealers who are selling drugs in Kensington making life like hell for the kids and the families living and going to and from school, to and from the store, to and from the market and is wreaking havoc by open air drug dealing and running of blocks and the running of drug cartels in Kensington? DISTRICT ATTORNEY KRASNER: So the answer to that, Councilmember, is that I can point to some remarkable successes that we've had. One of them was the bust of Kip and Cambria a few years ago which was about getting the professional drug dealers, not just getting the 16-year-old kid with six bags in his pocket on the corner which is frankly how this was handled historically in Kensington, it was grab and go, get the kids on the corner but you're never getting the guy who's making all the money. You're never getting the guy who's actually receiving the supply or very seldom. That approach will never succeed. The most important thing in our view when it comes to drug dealers, drug dealers are in a totally different category than users. It's a different population. Drug dealers should be prosecuted and to the extent they are professional drug dealers, diversion is not appropriate. Kip and Cambria was about 65 professional drug dealers who all met a pretty serious measure of justice. A shut down of a two-generation drug corner that was so good at what they did that they used to rent blocks out to other drug dealing organizations. Two generations they were there. They were taken down with an excellent law enforcement collaboration. Another example, our dangerous drug offender unit, which has been running extremely favorably by a guy named Paul Reddel for years. Spent years, my signature is all over wiretap warrants for a drug dealer who was personally going into and out of Mexico. He was personally dealing with members of one of the leading cartels there. He was involved in drug dealing at such a high level that we are talking about scores of kilos and we are also talking about millions of dollars in cash that were confiscated from tractor trailers, from vehicles during house raids, things of that sort. Now, that went on quietly for two-and-a-half years. It was a case that the Feds didn't want initially. But by the time we had done everything we could to develop it, they did want it. They are prosecuting it and we've had excellent cooperation from Jacqueline Romero, the United States Attorney appointed by our President. I think we have a very solid cooperation with them. S. Attorney. I'm just being honest. That's the truth.
So I think we have an excellent cooperation there, but there are certain things that are concrete that can be done that I believe would revolutionize our ability to really make a dent in drug dealing that's occurring in Kensington. I've mentioned that at times and I'd love to do a session on it if you are interested. One of them is to do a lot more wiretaps. Wiretaps are very, very effective with big-time drug dealing and very, very effective with people who are shooting up neighborhoods. I would love to do a lot more wiretaps. That's something that the Philadelphia Police Department and the DA's Office could do together. We just need some resources that is not crazy resources. I think that there's a lot that we can do. We just need to get away from a kind of law enforcement that is measured by did you make a lot of arrests as opposed to did you get the people who are driving this criminal activity. I think that principle applies to drug dealing in Kensington where it has been a blight for over 60 years, but I think that principle also applies to retail theft. If you're not going to get the people who organized it all, you're not going to get the people who make all the money. Then all that you're doing is nipping away at the tentacles. You're not getting the head of the octopus, and we need to get the head of the octopus.
Well, thank you. Thank you, District Attorney Larry Krasner. I just want to say thank you for your hard work. I do want to follow up with you regarding that. Not now, I'm going to pass on my time. But I probably want to have a deeper side conversation with you regarding the fencing of retail stores to these big shadowy operations that are going on versus the little guys who are going in the store, but we do know little guys need to feed their habit. We do know that the data shows that a lot of folks that got to get particularly the heroin, when you got this, a good way to get it is by going into these stores, taking items from the stores and selling them back on the streets. But obviously, there's a bigger conversation that we had about who they're actually giving these items to and receiving money from and how they're going to get their habit. So I'll find another time off the record to have a conversation with yourself and G. Lamar regarding those efforts. Thank you very much for your time. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. DISTRICT ATTORNEY KRASNER: Thank you. I know for a fact that there are some people suffering from addiction who are given a list of things to steal and paid in drugs. I know that. And that's part of the reason why we've asked for support for organized retail and house theft because we want to get the fences. That's really never been done in Philly, but we want to get the fences because we think it is so crucial and I'm happy to talk to you about that more.
So thank you, Member Johnson. And the only thing I'll say before I turn it over to Katherine Gilmore Richardson is that it's not an or, it's an and, that we need to go after the bigger whales that are putting an infrastructure together to sell these goods, but you have door-to-door salesmen. I talked to a resident of Kensington the day before yesterday I think it was, and they said that they will knock on the door almost like a salesman, you put your order in. By the end of the evening, they will have brought you back that soap powder or whatever. So it has to be and as opposed to or. So I saw on 60 Minutes I think it might have been, a whole infrastructure that is in the dark web that you can place orders for all kinds of things. So, yes, they are important but to the shop owner in Kensington, they need to get to the person that walks in with a bag and shops with impunity as well. So with that, I recognize Councilmember Gilmore Richardson.
Thank you. Thank you so much, Mr. Chair. Apologies for the slight delay as I was tending to the very important Council business in the building. But I wanted to thank DA Krasner and his team for their testimony. And of course, you know my running (inaudible), Mr. DA. And I really thank G. Lamar Stewart for his work and how he continues to work with the members of Philadelphia City Council as we interface with your office on some of these more important issues. I wanted to talk to you specifically about organized retail theft and just organized theft in general, which I think is a huge issue here in the City. One being because now I have experienced this and have a different lens and view regarding theft here in our City. And so, I've never really talked about it but several -- I'd said two months ago now, it was actually two months ago tomorrow, that my car was smash-and-grab robbed. All of my belongings were stolen. And immediately they proceeded to use one of my cards, one of my credit cards at the supermarket, and then I sort of followed them throughout the City as they were utilizing my different credit cards at different stores. So they went from Wynnefield to the Northeast. com and everywhere else. But because of my disdain for this situation happening to me, I followed their footsteps physically and everywhere they went. 2 miles from the scene. In addition to that, I also found other items from a number of individuals, like different 4 credit cards, IDs. So it was very 5 apparent to me that these 6 individuals just go around and do 7 this and then they sort of pick a 8 store that they'll go to that maybe 9 have easy access of gift cards at 10 the front or they are able to use 11 self-checkout. 12 How are you all looking at 13 both individuals and sort of 14 organized individuals around this 15 retail theft issue? My concern is 16 that, yes, we should get the folks 17 that are in charge of these 18 operations, but in addition to that 19 we need to deal with the folks who 20 are actually committing the crime as well. So I just ask what is your thought process there? How would the support for organized retail and how the Theft Task Force deals with the issue similar to the one that I described? DISTRICT ATTORNEY KRASNER: Well, thank you for that question. What you are describing is unfortunately something that has also affected my family in Philadelphia many years ago, outside of Philadelphia actually just about a week ago. And in my mind what you are describing is organized theft. This is a crew who had a plan. When you start to find multiple cards and you're seeing this kind of quick ability to follow the playbook, a lot of people who steal identities and steal credit and steal bank accounts follow which is to run to different jurisdictions and try to move the money as quickly as possible, you're talking about people who know what they're doing. In my mind, that is incredibly important stuff. It needs to be prosecuted vigorously, and I don't really know anybody better at it than Kim Esack and who has been working really vigorously on this. But once again, we've got some homerun hitters in this office who need to deal with pressing issues. This is a pressing issue. I understand that there is this myth out there that the DA's Office does not prosecute theft that are less than $500. That has never ever, ever, ever been true. That is a completely false narrative that has only gotten waves because it's been apparently repeated so many times. This is not how we view this. I understand how incredibly damaging, inconvenient, terrible it is to have your identity stolen, to have your credit card stolen, to have people accessing your bank account.
It may take many, many months to have to iron out with all these different financial entities the problems caused and that's on top of the incredibly inconvenience of having your car window smashed, having to deal with the reality of getting it fixed and having it safe during a period of repair. So everything you are saying to me is very important and should be addressed vigorously. And I also want to reiterate that I completely agree with Councilmember Jones when I am talking about fences, it's not either or. It's yes and. We have to go after things in a way that is individual justice. There are many different levels of types of organized activity that we need to go after. To the extent there is any good news here, the good news is that from the retail cases we see, it's actually a very small number of organized prolific offenders, but they deserve very serious consequences. And people who are doing what they are doing driven out of addiction, they deserve consequences as well. It may be just different kinds of consequences that will actually get them to the point where they are no longer motivated to some addiction to do it again and again and again. We are trying to solve these problems and to prevent these things in the future. But our north star on this stuff is always public safety and taking the individual and turning that individual whether it's by means of a long jail sentence or it's by means of treatment in the direction that will make the public safer.
Okay. Well, thank you, Mr. DA, for the clarification and for the needed and necessary clarification relative to the prosecuting of retail theft in the City of Philadelphia. I just wanted to mention that specifically because now I have a personal experience with that type of situation and just wanted to really underscore the type of work that's happening. And then finally, I just again want to underscore a special thanks to G. Lamar Stewart for his work in interfacing with us from a government relations perspective, and I look forward to receiving additional information in that regard prior to the reconvening of this hearing. Thank you, Mr. Chair. DISTRICT ATTORNEY KRASNER: Thank you.
Thank you, Member Richardson. It's amazing people in the queue, people that are members of the Committee all agree on one thing and that's you, G. Lamar Stewart. So Chair recognizes Councilmember Lozada.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you, DA Krasner, for being with us this morning and my condolences to the families of the people that you were with earlier this morning. I have mixed feelings about a lot of what I'm hearing, right. While I understand that there are different levels of prosecution that are necessary based on the individual's situation, I represent a community that has been occupied for many, many, many years both by those who are suffering from addiction, those who are dealers, those who are sex workers. There's a lot of levels of occupation that are happening in the 7th Council District. And I think that based on what I've seen over the last year as an elected, I question the amount of diversion programs that exist, not just out of the DAO but in the police department, through the court system. Because at what point does diverting an individual help to improve the quality of life in Districts like mine? Are we looking at or has your office looked at -- I mentioned to you before, right, I got a report from your office where there were different diversion 16 programs, and I've expressed 17 concern about them before. Have 18 you all had the opportunity to look at those diversion programs to figure out which ones overlap? How often is a person diverted? And if the person's coming in who is a known retail theft person, how often does that person get diverted? Because somehow or either this message of the DA doesn't prosecute $499 and below, it came from somewhere, right. So why does everyone believe that? How did that come to be? And how do we change that? What do we do? Because all of my anchor stores in the community have shut down as a result of retail theft. 5 million in inventory and these guys are the same guys who consistently come in and empty our out my shelves. And so, I'm just trying to figure out are we looking at diversion programs? How do we change the perception that you will not be prosecuted? And how do we address the open air drug sales and drug use if the message is that they're not going to be prosecuted? I want to be a partner, right. I want to stop fighting. I'm excited about participating in your information sessions on a regular basis. And I mentioned to you before, I want short-term answers and I'm willing to work on long-term, but we have to do both. Like Councilmember Jones mentioned, we have to do the small operations where we're sending a message to people that they will be held accountable for their illegal activity in the District. And then we can also at the same time work on the large operations. DISTRICT ATTORNEY KRASNER: Well, thank you for those comments. I am going to let Kim Esack address some of the specifics. But let me just say this: The way that we're going to address all of these things is by doing things in ways that work and in ways that are new. The reality, the truth, is that Kensington for over 60 years has been beset by certain problems that have not been addressed by doing things the way that some of my predecessors did, that's just a fact. And things have of course gotten worse not only with the pandemic but with the meteoric rise of addiction to opioids that have paved the way for the fentanyl addiction. There are certain things that have been done traditionally that should be done, but when I come in and say, give me more so I can do wiretaps so we can get big-time drug dealers, that is an improvement over let's just grab the 16-year-old who's on the corner and keep it moving. When I talk about let's not only go after the prolific offenders who do retail theft but let's go after the fences, that's doing more. That is an effort to do more, and it is an effort that does specifically affect Kensington. So I truly, and I mean this very sincerely, I truly look forward to working with you.
These four-hour sessions are four hours that you and I could both be doing other things, but I am willing to just keep grinding away on these things with the cooperation, participation, collaboration of the incoming Mayor, of the Philadelphia Police Department, of our new Commissioner. I'm all in on let's see what we can do so that Kensington can go in a much more positive direction despite the terrible challenges that we are facing. Kim, did you want to add some comments?
Yes. Kim Esack for the record. So I completely appreciate exactly what you've said and I want to attest here and there are others that if you reach out into even the Commerce Department for Philadelphia and the Center City District, they can tell you what we've been doing. Everything you said is exactly the plan that we're going for, both short-term fixes right now for long-term goals. And that is -- it did take us a while to get here, but it is happening. I'll give you one example to tell you how the message is getting out there. There's a lot of misperception. The DA admitted earlier when he came in here that no one is perfect, no one is perfect. The Police Department, City Council, the DA's Office, we all make mistakes at times. There's a lot of misperceptions in the community, the business community, in the DA's Office, in the police department about what we were doing, about what the policy was, and there were mistakes made. And that boils down to people maybe not really understanding what the DA had in mind and needing to be retrained and refocused on what we were supposed to be doing. And when we learned about it, fixing that which is what we have actively been doing. With the police department, retailers believe that the police department weren't showing up anymore. That wasn't really happening. We got together. We all didn't point our fingers. We all came to the table and we said what the mistakes were, what the misperceptions were and we worked it out fixing that, because we could sit here all day and do a blame game, but we needed to get to results. And that's when the plan came to be about starting the pilot program. The hope was actually to be in your community now already. But outside forces have prevented that from happening. That's a matter of resources, changes in the police department, things outside of our control. But the goal is still there, and that is where we are moving to. In terms of how we're going to be treating the people who are committing the crimes, we look at every case on an individual basis. And right now what my protocol is with these retail theft offenders is to finding who they are. In 15 years experience as a prosecutor, I 16 can look at a case and say whether 17 or not someone has a drug problem 18 or whether or not they're being 19 utilized to fund somebody else's 20 business or whether or not they are the person who is running the business, and that is what we're working on right now. And when we get people in who maybe don't have as many retail thefts but they clearly have a drug problem, we're getting information. We've already started establishing that. The police department has in this protocol established an app that they're putting out to the retailers out into the community. And with more resources, the plan is to have people to be able to go out to your mom-and-pop shops in your local districts. They walk in, the officer introduces who they are, gives the phone number, gives app information, makes the connection, the retailers can work together, share information, we're already doing that. Unfortunately, it's been localized in just Center City, but the plan is to push it out. And one final example I'll give you, in all these meetings I said it seems like things changed overnight and the City exploded and everybody just decided that crime was okay and we were going to start stealing from all these stores and no one was going to do anything, but it's going to take some time to change that message. And it already has. Macy's is one of the businesses right next door to us, so we deal with a lot of their cases. One of their loss prevention supervisors there told me very recently how happy they were, because a defendant had come in and it was someone that they knew. They got him onsite arrested and he said, they told me not to steal from Macy's anymore because they're arresting for retail theft, so it is getting out there. That message is starting to change.
It's just going to take a little bit of time. I know myself of the top -- we have already put 15 people who deserve to be off the street and into prison in prison as the most prolific retail theft offenders. They have gotten a minimum of -- DISTRICT ATTORNEY KRASNER: For Center City.
Yeah, for Center City. And some of them were ones that I had pulled from maybe the Northeast Division. I have no 10 idea. We are looking at the D.C.'s. It's just whoever was at the top of the list. We went to the top for the numbers and we just went down, so we already prosecuted those and they've gotten sentences of 9 or 11-and-a-half minimum and state as well. And some of them actually thanked us for it because they needed treatment and they needed time out and they weren't going to stop otherwise. So we're trying to find out who's the drug addicts who needs help and try to divert and who actually needs to get prosecuted, who needs to go to jail and who needs something kind of in the middle and who can help us with these investigations as fences.
I look forward to making sure that the same attention that you guys are giving to retail theft in Center City, that you give to small commercial corridors because commercial corridors as all of us know are the economic engines of communities. And much of my economic engines have been severely impacted as a result of what you're calling misperception, right. And so, I am looking forward to ensuring that the same attention and the same aggressiveness that you are giving to establishments like Macy's, that you give to the local grocery store or the local Family Dollar or the local pharmacy in communities like mine who now have to walk miles in order to be able to get their needs addressed.
Councilmember, if I can just respond to that one piece there. This is G. Lamar. You and I had this conversation on this topic and I want to put on record, just know that this is a conversation that I have with ADA Esack often. Of course we piloted this program in Center City. It was actually supposed to be Center City as well as in East. However, from a resource perspective we just didn't get out there yet. It's one of the reasons we're asking to expand this through this Task Force citywide. And we believe that East and Southwest will be the next divisions that it will roll out in. But one thing that has come up consistent in my conversation with ADA Esack is we don't want a perception out there that the DA's Office only cares about what's happening in Center City. One of the things that we've done through our Community Engagement Unit as well as the staff in our office is begun to do walkthroughs of business corridors. You gave me several addresses around Aramingo Avenue and of course we've been on the Kensington and Allegheny corridor and also other business corridors throughout the City, whether it's 52nd Street, the areas that have been hit by retail theft but other crimes along the business corridor routes. And most recently the looting, we've worked very close with Deputy Commissioner -- Commissioner Stanford and Commissioner Vanore and their team to make sure we were appropriate but also very focused in our prosecution in that regard. I'm going to ask -- Bill 2 Fritze has one other example of someone not in Center City, a recent retail case that was under $500 that I think is just worth hearing, and it will be a short example.
So one of the things I was asked -- Councilwoman, I guess my voice doesn't project as well. One of the examples I wanted to give you, an explanation behind it is Gun Violence Task Force, we brought the Intelligence Division within the District Attorney's Office, but their job and their role really is to provide intelligence to the entire office. One of the things that we asked them to implement when they came over to us was to actually sit in front of that computer system for the arraignment system for the police department. So as each offender comes in and we see their name, the Intelligence Division has been doing a background on that person and they do it on every case. One of the most recent examples for retail theft was from the 15th District. It was an arrest for about $100 worth of items from one of the Walgreens in the 15th. They put a packet together to show not that this person had violent crime, but that this person had a lengthy history, bench warrant history from prior retail thefts, some out of Bucks County. And based on that, they sent this packet. They created a packet just on this retail theft offender and sent it over to the Charging Unit and the DAs and the DA reps were able to argue bail. On a retail theft case over $100, the defendant received $20,000 bail, which they would have had to post to get out. So that is an example of our Intelligence Division that's working. But based on having a staff member sitting there for that limited time to check the system as each offender comes through, so that's one of the things that we developed over there to kind of work with Kim and others to provide that information across the office.
Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know I was on mute. I apologize. Thank you, Chairman. My question was in the work that you all are doing is there a mechanism in place that allows you to see that this particular individual is a prolific shoplifter who's also in the world of pushing guns, who's also a drug dealer, and how often are we able to see is this person actually being prosecuted, is this person pushed into different diversion programs? And I don't want percentages. I want you to give more real raw numbers.
So I can't give numbers right now. But what I can tell you is that part of this collaboration we've been doing with the police department is to get exactly this type of information from them as well as those in the stores. And I mentioned only one store here, but there were multiple retailers who have been coming to these meetings over the past two years including supermarkets, and the goal has always been to get to the mom-and-pop shops in each of the Divisions throughout the City. There's --
Are you telling me that you currently don't have the numbers where you're able to cross-reference if this individual is involved in multiple wrongdoings?
No, I don't have that right now. But when I tell you what we did with knowing that I had no resources besides just using the one-and-a-half people that I had in my unit that was actually for a whole other unit because this is considered being a task force, I just ran a D.C. No. 21 for anyone who had a retail theft arrest from 2018 to I think it was in 2022 so I could get whoever had the most of those charges and get them first, because anybody who has retail thefts, they're going to be considered a retail theft prolific offender --
Yeah, 5 but I don't understand with the 6 quality of data collection that you 7 guys have there -- I mean, 8 remember, I worked for the DA for a 9 little bit so I know the quality 10 data collection department that you 11 guys have. I'm very surprised that 12 you all can't do that cross-data 13 collection in order to be able to 14 give us those numbers. I'm not 15 going to buy that. 16
We're not 17 saying that we can't. That's the 18 whole reason that we're here asking 19 for resources. Because what I'm 20 trying to explain to you is I had one-and-a-half DAs literally working on this, one-and-a-half. It's not an amount of what you know to be just in your division alone, just the people you represent that's not enough to combat this in the way we want to. We opened up a protocol so that basically I'm getting emails from the various divisions of the police department at midnight telling me about prolific offenders that are out there committing these crimes that I would not know about, that charging wouldn't know the back story on, that information could only come from the stores. That is why the goal of this is to have the same protocol we have in Center City in every division throughout the City that requires the police department and collaboration with them. They have to have officers who are going to be those people -- in Center City we have an officer who is assigned to this task force, so he has made his presence known to all of the retailers so that he's gone in, given his card, gotten information, they can contact him about the offenders. The same plan is that is what we want to happen in your community, to have somebody who is going --
Why doesn't it start in smaller communities? Why do all of these have -- and I'm going to yield my questions because I know I'm eating up the clock here. But again, my frustration goes back to everything that -- all of the investments regardless of whether you all know that Kensington is ground zero for everything, task force and pilots start in Center City. That's nonsense. That's nonsense. 52nd Street is blowing up with crime. Kensington is blowing up with crime. Southwest Philly is blowing up with crime. And you start in Center City where they already have resources, where you know this is really not where you need to be. Can we start thinking about if you're getting this allocation, can we use it in communities that are desperate for the resources?
Can we, you know, the District Attorney just said we need to do things differently. Well, let's start doing things differently but where they will be the most impactful. And I apologize, Chairman and my colleagues, for taking up all of your time. My --
Councilmember, noted. Let me just say this: When we rolled out the Gun Crime Strategies and Prevention Collaborative during the pandemic before we were funded, this is when we were putting ADAs in the police divisions. We didn't start in Center City. The very first division we started in was Southwest. It was two ADAs there, and then we put two ADAs in East Division. Those were the first divisions that we started with. Then we went to Northwest. Then we went to South. The final division we ended with was Center City. But I do hear your point for this retail theft piece. One of the reasons -- and again, we thank ADA Kim Esack. She utilized an ADA who was working in a whole other area of her division to focus in on this pilot because we did not have the resources at that time to bring anyone in for this. It's one of the reasons we're asking for those resources for this particular purpose. And to your question as to when, Council hopefully provides the resources for this particular purpose. East Division and Southwest will be the next division that we roll out. It's something that Kim wanted to do before January --
And G. Lamar and I already had this -- because we do recognize that the police department also has potential staffing issues. This requires to have people dedicated to doing this across the City. So G. Lamar and I anticipating that maybe the police wouldn't be in the position to have an officer designated, I've already spoken with G. Lamar about his group going out to do the walkthroughs, to do the door-to- doors, to let the community know in the East and in Southwest what it was, right, the East and Southwest that we're doing this. We need the shop owners to know that we're here. We'll have their information. They'll have a way to connect to us to feed us information. And once they see that we're serious about it they may open up about this even more so and give us more intel that they may not have wanted to do so before, so that has been the goal and we have already been speaking about that because we do realize we cannot just -- we do need to work with the police on this, but we can't necessarily wait for everybody to get on the same page. But the police, the PPD, they are on board with this. They have been so far very supportive, but we know that we need to do things here on our own.
Mr. Chair, again I apologize for taking up all the time but I will end with this: We can't start initiatives or pilots in neighborhoods like Center City where there's not a whole lot going on. We need to start them in neighborhoods where we're really going to collect data and it's going to make a lot more sense. And so, I am looking forward to continuing the conversation in the future. I'm looking forward to attending the information sessions with the District Attorney. And while I am really trying to be supportive of their request, I want to make sure that when I support these ordinance 16 transfer requests, that they are going to be as impactful to communities like mine as possible. Thank you, Mr. Chair. DISTRICT ATTORNEY KRASNER: Councilmember, you have my commitment on that, that we are going to deal with it in any way, and that means you got to go where there's a need. And I am well aware of the tremendous needs of Kensington and I totally support anyone who is trying to do things that will be impactful and approve that. You have my personal commitment that we will not just be rolling out stuff in Chestnut Hill, no offense to Chestnut Hill, Center City, no offense to Center City, but we're going to roll it out across the board.
Member Lozada, you never have to apologize for the passion you have for your District. And I've said since the Kensington Marshall Plan hearing that until Kensington is safe, no 21 part of Philadelphia is safe. And we're starting there, but we're not ending there. So thank you for your passion on this subject. I also wanted to thank you and your team, DA Krasner. G. Lamar gets a lot of shout-outs. But I wanted to emphasize and thank you for your participation in the Crime Summit and some of the suggestions that have come out of that, those difficult discussions often are going to be solid policy recommendations. One question that came up was under your private Criminal Complaint Unit the question was why isn't it hours. Too often when 14 it comes to protection against 15 abuse issues, there is a need for 16 your office to be open when there 17 is not a familiar status, meaning 18 someone that is related to someone 19 who might be being victimized by 20 someone else, maybe next door or in 21 the neighborhood or stuff like 22 that. 23 Is there any possibility 24 with this new allocation that some of that need can be addressed? DISTRICT ATTORNEY KRASNER: Yes. Well, thank you for the question. Let me if I may take about 30 seconds. So we do have a PFA, which is a Protection From Abuse, hotline. This is for the purpose of protecting people who are in some kind of a domestic relationship. We have a hotline that is open hours and we do 11 respond 24 hours. That number is 12 215-686-9848. 13 Private criminal complaints 14 are actually somewhat a separate 15 thing. Pennsylvania law says if 16 police show up and they're not 17 willing to arrest and an individual 18 feels that criminal charges should 19 be brought anyway, under most 20 circumstances the individual can 21 then go to the DA's Office and 22 initiate charges. Okay. So a lot 23 of what we see happening with 24 private criminal complaint is a situation where a civilian does not feel that the police or potentially the DA, but it's usually the police, are responding in an important way. I am a believer that the private criminal complaint process is important because there are a lot of disputes that don't necessarily rise to the level of an arrest yet often between neighbors or people who know each other. But if they're not addressed, you're going to have that shooting over a parking space like we saw on Christmas Eve I think it was a couple of years ago. So I think it is a good process, but it is not specifically attune to PFAs. That's something that we take very seriously and we do have resources for that hours a day. 22 What happens with most 23 private criminal complaints is a 24 complaint is brought, there's a process for it. And then when it's brought, they are usually handled -- they're resolved by what the court system refers to as judge's pro tem, meaning lawyers who pose as judges and then they will work out a stay away order or something like that. A small number of private criminal complaints actually go to a trial. And when that happens, we prosecute those cases. That is part of what we do. But once again, I am inviting, I'm asking, I am respectfully requesting of all of you, if you give us a list of topics that you'd like us to really break down and give you all the information on in an off-the- record, face-to-face, transparent kind of way, including on this topic, I can get all the right people in the room and we're happy to dig in.
We are as we speak working on an agenda for you, and we appreciate the offer. We do, Mr. District Attorney. DISTRICT ATTORNEY KRASNER: Thank you.
All right. Are there any other questions for this witness, Mr. Glass?
Mr. Chairman, it does not appear there are any more Members in the chat or asking to be recognized with their hand.
Can you call the next witness to testify. Thank you, DA Krasner. DISTRICT ATTORNEY KRASNER: Thank you. Thank you to all of you. Thank you so much for your time.
Yes, Mr. Chairman. Our next witness will be Chief Keisha Hudson from the Defender Association of Philadelphia.
Thank you for your patience, Chief Defender. Are you connected? PUBLIC DEFENDER HUDSON: I am. Good afternoon. On behalf of the Defender Association of Philadelphia, I would like to thank you, Chairman Jones, Vice-Chair Johnson, Councilmembers Thomas, O'Neill, Gilmore Richardson and Lozada for inviting us to testify today in regards to our transfer proposed by Ordinance No. 230767. As the members of this Committee know, the Defender Association of Philadelphia is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that holds the City's contract to provide indigent defense services to children and adults arrested in Philadelphia and to children who are subject to child abuse and neglect cases in dependency court. This dual role as the City's provider of constitutionally mandated indigent defense services and independent nonprofit organization status puts in a unique position. On one hand, we provide essential City services. Last year we represented 37,310 clients at 211,501 scheduled hearings and typically filed more than 250 petitions for early termination of probation. On the other hand, we are not a City agency. Our office is responsible for covering all costs related to our daily operations, including rent, building maintenance costs and taxes passed onto us by a landlord, critical technology needs as we are not supported by the Office of Information Technology and the cost of benefits as we are not a City agency and, for example, are not a part of the City's pension plan. This all comes directly out of our operating budget. 5 million in appropriations for Fiscal Year '24 to cover these costs. Specifically, these funds are needed to address our lease- mandated increases in our rent, increases in our building maintenance and Philadelphia and Center City property taxes which are billed annually to the Defender by our landlord, the costs of mandatory building renovations, the licensing fees for software we need to receive electronic discovery from the District Attorney's Office, increases in our health premiums and the costs of benefits we are required to pay because our attorneys are unionized and they are mandated by the collective bargaining agreement. Unlike City agencies that are often housed in City-owned and maintained buildings and are eligible for ongoing improvements through the capital budget, we fund our office space. We have a lease and a landlord, and our lease includes rent escalations and mandates that we must absorb unexpected costs related to building maintenance and property taxes paid to the City of Philadelphia through our operating budget. This year we have experienced unexpected increases in building operating costs and both Philadelphia and Center City property taxes. These costs are billed to the Defender in total of $350,000. The building operating costs include elevator maintenance, repairs, plumbing, electrical and HVAC maintenance and repairs, building staff salaries, extermination, et cetera. We have no control over these costs and our lease mandates that we pay them. These costs are an additional 125,000 increase in rent we have incurred. We are also outgrowing our current office space. Thank you to City Council for recent investments, which have allowed us to increase staffing levels in our Child Advocacy Unit, our Juvenile Special Defense Unit and Social Services to bring our workload more in line. We're not quite there, but more in line with what is recommended national practice. Our already limited office space cannot accommodate any more staff and we are projecting about a $500,000 per year for the next three years to renovate the space we currently have for anticipated staff. An additional 185,000 of requested funds will cover costs associated with licensing acquired for attorneys and our support staff to participate in the digitized transfer of discovery.
Electronic discovery exchange, while costly, is essential to a more efficient court process, encourages a timelier exchange and eliminates unnecessary delays in court processing associated with questions as to whether pieces of discovery were exchanged. 3 million requested will serve to reimburse us for our efforts to maintain benefits for staff. As members of this Committee are aware, our staff, though they provide essential City services, are not eligible for City benefits. However, our attorneys are recently unionized and entitled to the full benefits of their collective bargaining agreement. This investment will enable us to maintain our staff benefits at current levels without passing on any rising costs to staff and will help us meet our obligations to fund other benefits already guaranteed by our CBA. Our ability to continue to offer consistent benefits to our staff remains essential to our staff retention. This concludes my testimony today, and I thank members of this Committee for your time and the support you have shown the Defender Association of Philadelphia and your recognition of the value-added service and constitutionally-mandated service we bring to the City. Thank you.
Thank you, Chief Defender. And I want to emphasize and underscore the value added to the process of justice the Defender's Association does. I know my Members all agree that you are an essential component for justice in the City of Philadelphia. And thank you in addition for your work in the 100 Shooter Review. Thank you for your work in the most recent Crime Summit, which gives insight to things that we might not recognize from the fact that you advocate for young people in custody issues in Family Court and many of them wind up in foster care and other state kind of institutions and following them almost in a case management style to their adulthood, and often, often some of those outcomes aren't the best. But sometimes you have to look in the mirror and examine the system in order to improve it or correct it. So I appreciate what you and your staff do throughout that, that is often unheralded within the justice process. Case in point of support, we recently announced this wonderful SEPTA no fare system for City employees and you and your Defenders at this point aren't eligible for it? PUBLIC DEFENDER HUDSON: That is correct, Councilmember. We are not eligible for that benefit.
But yet you are asked to travel to State Road and other institutions to defend your clients; is that correct? PUBLIC DEFENDER HUDSON: That's correct, Councilmember. Every day not only our attorneys, but investigators and social workers are traveling to virtually every corner of the City, including all the facilities, the jails on State Road, that we're there every day and often Saturdays and Sundays. But again, we do not get the benefit of SEPTA that our counterparts in the Law Department and the DAO currently receive.
I know that that perk, that service does not equate to good benefits and salaries. But it's the kind of thing that can be the difference in keeping somebody from leaving and going to the private sector; is that correct? PUBLIC DEFENDER HUDSON: That is correct. I had a staff member in the elevator just yesterday asking me what could be done to get a stipend benefit, and that would be $204 that she spends per month commuting to work and commuting around the City for her work, would be tremendously helpful for her in terms of supporting her family.
Is that amount per staffer included in your request? PUBLIC DEFENDER HUDSON: We did not include that in our request. I would like to continue that conversation and I could do that, put that math together. We have around 500 people who work here at the Defender Association. Of course we don't envision all of them would utilize the benefit, but a significant majority would. Thank you for your support Councilmember Jones, Councilmember Johnson. When I brought this issue to both of you, you were in support of us being a part of that benefit so we can certainly follow up with you and get you a number to add to our request.
Would you give it to me and I will circulate it to members of the Appropriations Commission -- I mean Committee. And we do support you, not just in words but also with our treasuries here. So please get that to us. Are there any questions -- PUBLIC DEFENDER HUDSON: Thank you, Councilmember.
-- from members of the Committee for the Chief Defender here? (No response.)
I don't see any. And that being the case, thank you for your testimony. PUBLIC DEFENDER HUDSON: Thank you. Thank you, Councilmember. Thank you, everyone.
Mr. Chairman, that was our final witness to testify for any of our panels. The only thing we have left is our public comment section.
Well, let's proceed. I want to try to power through this. It looks like we will probably recess for a while to go over the fine details of this budget and requests, and we will probably -- how many people to testify under public comment?
We have about 10. We are ready to start when Council Support -- Council Support, are you and your team ready to start linking in our first callers? COUNCIL TECH SUPPORT: We're ready to go.
Thank you. You can proceed. Who's first to testify, Mr. Glass?
Mr. Chairman, our first witness for public comment today will be Ricky Duncan from NOMO.
Who is next -- COUNCIL TECH SUPPORT: We'll reconnect him now.
Okay. Let's move to the next witness. And when these other two witnesses reconnect, we will put --
State your name for the record and please submit your testimony.
My name is Anton Moore. I'm the Executive Director of Unity in the Community here in South Philadelphia.
So I've been a part of Promise, which is an initiative under United Way. And one of the key things about The Promise and the initiative is being able to connect with neighbors door-to-door. We do a lot of community outreach with The Promise. Sorry I'm out of breath because I was getting dressed and ran downstairs when I heard my name.
No problem. Working with The Promise, one of the key things here in Philadelphia that people have a problem with is having that connection at City Hall and having that connection to resources. But through The Promise, we was able to go door-to- door and talk to neighbors about different things that's affecting the neighborhood for those to offer resources. And one of the stories that stand out to me is a young lady who was going through some tough economic times. She was behind on her rent. She had food insecurity. She didn't have food and different things like that. I would not have known that or our organization would not have known that if we didn't get those funds from The Promise grant that went through GPCA. And when I was talking to the young lady, she broke down crying to me saying, look, all the different things that she was going through once we reconnected with her and did our follow-up calls, she talked about being behind on her rent, not having food, child care is killing her and all these different things. And we were able to take those things into consideration, we was able to connect her with resources and was able to help her with some of those things. That would not have been possible without that Promise grant through GPCA. And looking through The Promise, you can't make a promise without a commitment. So I stand firm in being supportive of The Promise getting funded and add additional funding to help connect us with neighbors and residents throughout the community. That's my testimony.
Thank you, Mr. Moore. And I appreciate what you are able to do. When you knock on those doors and identify what those resources are, you are a referral source in other words?
So some of our -- not like a referral source, but we have resources, GPCA has resources and we combine those resources to help those neighbors out. So they'll -- our canvassers who are actually from the neighborhood we have knocking on the doors, they are neighbors of the people that we're actually visiting so they'll give them information that they bring back to us and we'll assess the situation, then do a follow-up call and help with those resources.
That's at a granular level of providing resources to people door-to-door. That's amazing. I would love to talk to you offline at a different time about something that came out of the Crime Summit, and it's kind of called The Promise. Obviously we're going to have to change the name of that contact. But I think to give you some insight, it is to go to -- it's similar. That is, The Promise and GVI had a baby, it would be this. And what it would be is a case management style commitment to youth that said, if you do the following things over the course of the year, here's our promise to you.
That you work all year, that you will be prudent if you need it, if you want to go to school, you'll have means to get there and something to eat. I mean, certain basic inalienable rights that should come and it should be promised to every individual that is high risk that wants to do right. So I'm going to talk to you about that offline, sir, because --
Well, real quick, you know what I noticed too, sometimes we assume that everyone is on the Internet, but it's something about that face-to-face interaction that you get with residents that make you say, you know what, you care. Sometimes people don't feel that through the Internet. When we pull up to their doors and you knock on their doors and you're addressing their concern, there's a different type of feeling that you get. And sometimes it opens you up to other problems that's going on in the community that they might be dealing with when it comes to gun violence.
Good observation, sir. Boots on the ground do matter and make a difference, so I thank you for your testimony. And I will reach out to you to have this conversation. Okay?
Mr. Chair, I apologize. Sheriff Rochelle Bilal is here and would like to provide testimony for her mid-year transfer request as well.
Mr. Chairman? Are you taking questions yet, Mr. Chairman? My hand was raised --
Yeah. I just wanted to thank Anton Moore for his work in terms of boots on the ground around the issue of not only gun violence but also addressing the root causes of poverty. And I think in terms of this particular initiative, and I'm still in agreeance with the data, right, because I know this started off as a City Council Poverty Initiative and obviously partnering with United Way, it became The Promise which is a good concept in terms of really addressing poverty. But one thing that Anton mentioned I think that is crucial that we have to look at as we move forward as a City and be strategic about how we're addressing poverty and really taking an out-of-the-box type of approach, particularly looking at strategically those neighborhoods and those areas that's high in poverty and then strategically looking at how we are looking at canvassing and going to door-to-door which was mentioned by Anton, particularly targeting people with the actual resources that they need. And I know this concept begins around addressing initial poverty. However, according to the Philadelphia Economy League, household incomes amongst every other race except African American has risen here in the City of Philadelphia. Also, when we look at the issue of poverty as a whole in terms of the City, we're the number one big city when it comes to poverty in the country. It has decreased. However, among Black and Brown people that number has increased, right. And then when you also look at this last election, right, we increased our voter turnout, right, but particularly in Black and Brown neighborhoods the turnout actually decreased, which shows me if we look at the actual data there's a disconnect in terms of policy and resources and getting in the hands of those who truly need it. And so, when we talk about door-to-door canvassing, when we talk about concepts such as Philly Counts where we had individuals in the middle of COVID going to people's doors, going to houses, going block-by-block, neighborhood- by-neighborhood making sure that people had information regarding how they address COVID. Hopefully, that same type of model we can use with resources as it relates to addressing the issue of poverty. And hopefully, that will be the next plateau in terms of how we address the poverty in the City of Philadelphia. And I know that this particular initiative is key, but I am doing a deep dive on the actual data around how this particular program is measuring, is measuring the results. I know poverty didn't happen overnight so we're not going to get out of it overnight, but we also want to make sure we're being strategic and targeting these key areas in terms of blocks and neighborhoods, but also individuals who have the most need in addressing those needs whatever that may be, rather it's food insecurity, rather it's housing inequalities, rather it's supporting young men who may be dealing with child support issues, supporting individuals who may be trying to further their education and also supporting individuals who are trying to become gainfully employed, those key areas that kind of keeps the City moving forward. And so, I just want to thank you again, Anton Moore. I see also Mr. Ricky Duncan from NOMO. I think South Philadelphia is very heavily strong in the building today. But as the City goes, we leave and I thank y'all young fellows for being here and stepping up to the plate for being boots-on-the-ground advocates. Thank you very much, Mr. Chair, for my time.
You're welcome, Member Johnson. I would only say that the one of the most interesting things about serving in government is that people will call the exact same thing something different. So as we look at the proposal for the 57 Block Coalition and some of the things that they're talking about is very similar to what Mr. Moore in South Philly is already doing and making those assessments to underserved communities, to making those assessments and these assessments to folk under the poverty guidelines and that is a function of why sometimes crime is higher in those underserved areas. So what we need to do is kind of get a common dialogue, a common understanding of language and the types of boots-on-the- ground service that can be employed to provide those services at a granular level, at a door-to-door level. So thank you for those comments, Member Johnson. And thank you, Mr. Moore. We have the Sheriff who probably should have been under the Administration. We have moved into the public comment, but we will make the exception for the Sheriff and allow her to present her testimony. Sheriff Bilal, are you there? (No response.)
Mr. Chairman, Sheriff Bilal should be here. I'm looking through the chat now.
Mr. Chair, can I make a comment while we wait for the next witness to testify?
I just want to thank Mr. Moore for his work on the ground in his community. I also want to thank the Poverty Action Plan for their work in uplifting Philadelphians out of poverty. But I want to specifically recognize the Latino Equity Development Collective who's a group of culturally, competent Latino agencies who work in the 7th Council District on a daily basis identifying the needs of the community and addressing them directly. They have created a system as a result of their work with the Poverty Action Plan, The Promise, that allows them to collect data for the people that are coming in for services and the data that they share, right. Often times we talk about who is the constituency that we're serving. Are they coming to one agency to get one type of service and then travel to another one and another one, and sometimes we overcount, right, because we're not sure, we don't share data. As a result of the work with The Promise and the Action Plan, they've been able to create a system that allows them to collect the data from the residents, know what their specific needs are and provide the wraparound services at that one point, right. So it's almost like a one-stop shop. And I think it's made a huge impact in the Latino community and has helped to connect people with the real services. Anton mentioned earlier that not everyone is online, not everyone has access to the Internet. And I can attest to that, right. During the COVID when the vaccine was so necessary, we kept telling people, go online and register, sign up for a vaccine appointment. And we went out and during my work at Esperanza, we went out to doors to talk to people about why. We were at that point 5 percent of the population that was vaccinated. We couldn't understand why, why Latinos were not getting vaccinated. And it was because there was a true discrepancy with Internet. And so, I want to thank him for his work. Thank you for recognizing that not every -- we assume that everyone is connected and is online and has access, and that's not the reality. And I appreciate him for his on-the- ground work and the work that the Latino Collective is doing on a daily basis to help Latinos and others get connected to the necessary resources. And so, this request is extremely important. It is going to make a -- I believe that if Latino agencies can collect data and share it with one another, City entities can do that as well.
Thank you, Member Lozada, for that specific group because like I mentioned in each section of the City it's needed. But in each section of the City, it's different. And so, thank you for that.
Thank you for allowing me to testify, Chairman Curtis Jones. My name is Ricky Duncan. I'm the CEO and Executive Director of the NOMO Foundation. I'm here to testify in reference to The Promise grant and how it has helped us be more of a community development organization than we already was. We were able to be robust and address several issues that we encounter in our day-to-day operations at NOMO. One, being workforce development. Another one being parenting. Another being, of course our main goal is youth to cultivate and taking them to the next level. What we did with our Promise grant, we were able to do an expungement clinic serving over 200 people. And why it was important for the workforce is because a lot of times you may have these cases that's lying on your record that's maybe to years 6 old and it doesn't show exactly 7 what it is but it's still being 8 used against you. So being able to 9 get those cleaned out will help us 10 and put more people back into the 11 workforce. 12 How does it affect 13 parenting? I don't know how many 14 people still have school-aged kids 15 that's on this call, but in order 16 to go on a trip with your kids or 17 now be a part of or be in the 18 classroom with your child, you have 19 to do a criminal background check 20 and you have to have a clean record to be an active parent in your children's lives and just to be able to go on these trips. So a lot of families were reunited and able to bond over going on trips and just being a volunteer at their local kids' school, so this was able to help them. And we also have a lot of young people that's coming up with felony offenses that's getting it at an early age and it's carried out to the adulthood. These are things that the diversion program was not able to address, but the expungement clinic was able to get them that fresh start and getting them to be productive in society. So I think it's a need taking a robust approach to really being a community developer. These are one of the problems that plays a part in housing. You know, a lot of landlords are looking at what your record looks like in housing and they're not looking at the dates that's saying this was 10, 15 years old. They're looking at the fact that you have a criminal record. You know, landlords, employers. Like I said, the School District they're looking at it now. So without being able to do that and being provided the resources to be able to do that, this was something that was continuing to hinder and be part of the generational curse that we face every day in our urban communities.
No, you're not. You got a lot of work to do, and thank you for the work that you do. To you and your family who I know have been more than just that you guys have gotten into the midst of young people and relate to the issues that they're going through. So thank you, thank you for that. Question, would you say there is a need to help parents be parents? Is that an issue that you find true for some of the young people that you deal with?
Yes, because what I find is you're only responsible for what you know. A lot of stuff that's encountered was never taught or was never learned, so parents need the support of not just their immediate surroundings but support of the community to help develop these young people. These young people are living in a time that has never been seen before. So this is going to be a challenge for everyone. And when we say it takes a village, it got a little bigger than that. It may take a city.
So I'd like to reach out to you as well about a concept that came out of our Crime Summit that talks about the old parent university concept that the School District used to use but they want to 2.0 it, meaning that there's two sets of bookbags. The one filled with books for the lessons at school and the other bookbag is filled with the troubles at home. And I want to help unpack those bookbags through services that can be provided for parents to help them be better parents. So I'm going to have to buy you a cup of coffee and talk about that concept.
Thank you, sir. Thank you so much. Are there any questions for this witness? (No response.)
Seeing none, thank you again for your testimony. I'll reach out to you.
Mr. Chairman, our next speaker for public comment is Annie Altman.
Why don't we go to our next witness and hopefully she will be able to reconnect.
Good afternoon. Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to speak on behalf of the Reading Terminal Market Corporation. The Reading Terminal Market Corporation is the nonprofit steward of this treasure for Philadelphia. I'm sure many of the folks on this call and the Councilmembers have a particular favorite merchant or stand or item or a memory of great times at the Reading Terminal. But what you might not know is how we function as a public space in Philadelphia. I came into the market as a CEO in the midst of the pandemic where I quickly learned that we are often times the only public restroom that's open, clean and available. We host school groups to learn about food systems and entrepreneurship. Our merchants have become increasingly diverse and look more and more like our City. Currently we have 76 merchants. 28 percent are BIPOC. AAPI are Hispanic-owned. 53 percent of our merchants are female-led or co-led. percent are heritage Pennsylvania Dutch. Every purveyor or merchant in the Market that would be eligible to accept SNAP and EBT in fact are registered and do participate. We are believed to be the largest redemption site of EBT and SNAP benefits in the entire Commonwealth. We're diverse, we're welcoming and we're here for all of Philadelphia. We do have a request in working hand-in-hand with Councilmember Squilla's office and the Commerce Director and her staff. We are requesting some unrestricted funds to help bridge gaps that we are currently facing. In particular and kind of tagging on to many of the conversations I heard today, one of the uses of the funds would be to upgrade our security camera system. That's not about retail theft. That really is about public safety. We welcome over million 4 shopping visits a year. Thank you 5 very much. That concludes my testimony and I'm available to answer any questions.
So I will admit from time to time I am one of those secret shoppers. I remember my grandfather taking me to the Reading Terminal and watching those butcher shops, watching those seafood purveyors in an up, close and personal way was a different experience than going to a grocery store, so thank you for that. And could you -- again, the number one budget request is for cameras and what other --
The two again, we ask for unrestricted -- just candidly on any given day we're never sure what might break here. What we're hoping to use it for is to upgrade our camera system for our security both inside the market and around our block. And then secondly, we have in the past had sort of a pathway to merchantship, a day stall program, which is a low barrier to entry for a short-term vendor program. That was sunsetted at the pandemic and we would be using some of those funds to create space that we could reinstitute or bring back that short-term day stall program. That program in the past has been very successful in bringing in very small micro- merchants and helping them grow into full-time merchants. For example, Luhv Vegan Deli, Really Real Ginger, A Taste of Spain, Sweet Nina's, Sweat T's Bakery, Little Marrakesh and Russ Brown Photography all started as a day stall merchant in the market.
All right. So thank you. Are there any questions for this witness? (No response.)
Hearing none, Mr. Glass -- thank you for your testimony.
Mr. Glass, who's next to test -- oh, we have the Sheriff, I understand.
Yes, Mr. Chairman. The Sheriff's Office was having some technical difficulties. They are connected now.
Sheriff Bilal? SHERIFF BILAL: Yes, sir. Can you hear me?
Yes, we can. Can you state your name for the record and please -- SHERIFF BILAL: Give us one second. We're working on our audio now. One second.
You sound good to us. SHERIFF BILAL: We can barely hear you.
Okay. Testing, testing. Is that coming across any better? SHERIFF BILAL: Excellent, better. Now, we hear you.
All right. Sheriff Bilal, please state your name for the record and begin your testimony. SHERIFF BILAL: Good afternoon. Good afternoon, Chairperson Curtis Jones and members of the Appropriations Committee. I'm Rochelle Bilal. And as the Sheriff for both the City and County of Philadelphia, I am here today to testify in support of the Philadelphia Sheriff's Office General Fund request of $1.555 million funds required for IT service. This is offset by an interdepartmental transfer of 250,000 and 1,300,000 in revenue. The proposed funding halts any corrective action I am executing, which my staff has uncovered as an incomplete from the past two Administrations. The deficiencies that exist prior to my arrival cannot be overcome without the functional and skilled civilian staff along with the technology support for continuous operations and improvements. The amount reflected in the transfer ordinance represents only percent of the 6 million-plus 4 requested by my staff for Fiscal 5 Year 2024. An assurance that you 6 have all the information in front 7 of you dealing with vehicle 8 acquisitions, civil enforcement, IT 9 staff augmentation, software of 10 service and service recommendation, 11 Taser 7 seven acquisition, staff 12 and space expansion, all of those 13 entities are in our proposal for 14 Fiscal '24 and those that are 15 needed for the transfer ordinance. 16 I will end this shortly by 17 saying this: First of all, we've 18 been here since 10:30 a.m. this 19 morning as for slotted time to 20 testify on our transfer ordinance. 21 I just want to put that on the 22 record. And I want to make sure that if you have any questions of us, please feel free to ask. My staff is here. Let me introduce who's here. My CFO Patrick Lee, my Chief of Staff Erica Davenport and my Chief Budgeting Officer is here.
Good afternoon. Craig Martin. SHERIFF BILAL: Craig Martin, and we are ready to answer any questions that you have.
I want to first thank you, Sheriff Bilal, for your patience and being on standby as we perform our due diligence in order to make sure that all of the questions are asked, that our t's are crossed and our i's are dotted in order to appropriate any taxpayer dollars, so sometimes every now and then it takes a while. But I'll remember that when thinking of what order you should go in because you are a vital part of the City Administration. Let me ask a couple of quick questions. The IT portion of your request, tell me exactly, drill down on what that will update or replace.
Yes, sir. This is Patrick Lee, the Sheriff CFO. So just to clarify that, Chairman, it revolves around upgrades to software that's needed, one. Part of that is the accounting software system that's required to continue to run the office and to manage the I will say thousands of financial transactions that this office is responsible for, in addition to the upgrades to systems for our civil system that is ongoing at this moment. We as an independent office do not have dedicated IT staff so we also require IT staff augmentation. Those three elements alone are about half of the operating budget just to keep this office functioning with the upgrades that the Sheriff is able to manage prior to my arrival. So she immediately started this in 2020, but the budget for it grew as we started to add the appropriate software packages to every installation and every location and footprint that this office is responsible for. SHERIFF BILAL: And the fact that we are not supported by the OIT staff for the City.
Okay. All right. We got that. Can you tell me about Class 500 of -- there was an issue with your vehicles. Can you tell me what's going on with that? SHERIFF BILAL: It's a twofold portion -- and I will also have the Chief of Staff chime in. As we did a (inaudible) to various installation, one was to a warranty (inaudible). But every time a vehicle is turned in we don't get it replaced and/or if it's turned in for maintenance, we don't have any replacements that we can put in service as well. The interior of some of the vehicles that our Warrant Unit is using right now are severely deteriorated. A couple of vehicles they're using have donuts. They're not standard tires to function and move around. And we've gotten the support and information from Fleet, but Fleet can't order the vehicles until we get the money. Just note that our Warrant Unit people are out there in the streets hours a day, especially 17 dealing with warrants as far as 18 dealing with gun violence because 19 we're a part of the collaborative 20 to deal with the crime in this 21 City. All our vehicles are flagged 22 at this point. They do need to be 23 replaced and they need to be 24 upgraded. We're also looking at the expansion of the Protection From Abuse orders, those dealing with coming from the FJD people that say -- what are they called? UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: (Inaudible). SHERIFF BILAL: The FJD people who are out there doing evictions, so I call them the eviction people because ours are sworn personnel. So we're looking at all of that --
So can I stop you, Sheriff. How did that whole issue that was brought up by Member Brooks, Member Gauthier and members of the State House where are we at with that? Is that a function that is being transferred to your department? SHERIFF BILAL: State Representative Krajewski, we have had conversations back and forth with him as to what it will be as to what will be the needs of the office in order to assume that, and back and forth with the landlords as to what it is that they wanted to see out of that consumption. And so, those conversations are going back and is legislated on the state that's being produced.
Okay. Thank you very much. What about with the bulletproof vest situation? Are you rotating them out, getting new ones? How is that working?
Yes, sir. At this particular point we have about 60 percent, 70 percent filled because unfortunately we do have officers that are out on IOD and we can't require them to come in to get fitted for the equipment immediately. Within the last year we outfitted the bulk of the officers on duty with the office. However, it is ongoing because as we hire new officers we still have to get ballistic armor, so we have to have that funding readily available so we can acquire that particular resource. There's a reference made and I will (inaudible) with the Sheriff with regard to vacancies for agencies. Ours is about a 9 percent vacancy rate. We're 10 dealing with similar information. 11 You've heard retirement, 12 terminations and so forth -- 13
How 14 many -- what are the exact numbers 15 of the vacancies, not percentages? 16
Yes, sir. Our 17 target is 428. We are short 107, 18 and that's with the combination of 19 both sworn and civilian personnel 20 that we projected out over the last 21 three fiscal year periods. We've 22 identified it clearly. We know 23 where the shortages are. We know 24 that's roughly about a 70, maybe 75 25 percent fill rate. Our top number is 660. But if we can get to 428, that will stabilize operations while the Sheriff is continuing to add hiring classes to the offices.
So I'm going to ask you this question: So a lot of the police academy cadets wind up washing out over the time it takes at the point it takes to do the physical run and other challenges. Would you be in support of moving that test and requirement to a latter part in the training? Would that be something you would support, Madam Sheriff? SHERIFF BILAL: We are -- training is done at Penn State. And our biggest issue is the fact here we can probably hire more but because they have to spend 19 weeks up at Penn State and not come home five days a week, that has been a problem for us. If our training was here at the police academy, which they do have room, I've had this conversation with them and now we're dealing with our State Representatives in order to get this done. We can hire more here if they was able to go to class and go home at night for families, so it's a harder press.
Got it. Understood. Thank you. Are there any members of the Committee that wish to ask the Sheriff questions? (No response.)
Mr. Chairman, there are no Members wishing to be recognized at this time.
So thank you, Sheriff Bilal and your team, for your testimony. SHERIFF BILAL: And I -- can I say one thing, my Budget Officer?
Yes. One of the things in Class -- SHERIFF BILAL: State your name.
My name's Craig Martin. I'm the Budget Officer. One of the things that we just have to address is Class 100 in terms of hiring personnel. We don't have extra money in Class 100 even if we don't hire our personnel because Class 100 for hires is Subject-object Code 101, but they charge us with other sub-object codes such as IOD, injured on duty, overtime and terminal leave. When those classes are utilized, they go up. It takes away from the money that we have to hire people. So it's a sequence even if we do get a candidate or some candidates that are released, at a slow pace we have to go back and get consent to hire. And what they do is do a computation based on where we are until the end of the year and they tell us we've overdrawn. But here we are just halfway through the year we shouldn't be overdrawn, but some of those categories that carry a big balance are not budgeted categories. So they suck out Class 100. And when we're ready to hire, we have to do this big fight for money even though those bodies were approved at the beginning of the year. SHERIFF BILAL: And what's the resolution to that?
The resolution 17 to that is Class 101 is the class that hires. And what happens is when there is an overdraft in any of the sub-object codes, they hit or they suck that money out. If we're going to be able to hire -- especially with injured on duty, we can't predict what that's going to be. That could be anywhere from $350,000 to $1 million, so that knocks out a bunch of bodies we cannot hire. We have to be able to utilize the money that has been budgeted in Class 101 to hire the amount of staff that we need to hire that's being computed in that category. If not, any overdraft in any part of 100 will (inaudible). When we need to hire or maybe even at the end of the first or second quarter, we're just out of the ballpark. And right now we've been told that there is a freeze on the hiring for the Sheriff's Office.
Madam Sheriff, can you send that detail to Josh Cohen in my office right away? SHERIFF BILAL: Yes, sir.
And we will distribute that to other members of the Appropriations Committee. SHERIFF BILAL: You will have that within the hour. Yes, sir.
Thank you very much. Thank you for your testimony. SHERIFF BILAL: Thank you so much. I appreciate it. Thank you.
Good afternoon. I'm sorry. I was unmuted when I wasn't supposed to be and then muted when I was supposed to be. Sorry about that.
I'm LaTrista Webb. I am the Founder and Executive Director of The Elevation Project. We are in the 4th District at 63rd and Haverford. And I'm here just to speak about my experience with The Promise for the last year-and-a-half. The Elevation Project has been working with The Promise on record clearing clinics that we've been able to host as community events. We have hosted three so far, two in the 4th District and one in the 3rd, but all of them in West Philadelphia. We've been able to service over 290 people just to meet with a lawyer just to find out what was on their record and to get their record cleared. Why I think this is important, record clearing happens in a lot of places, in a lot of offices. You can go online and sign up to get your record expunged through the Defender's Association, through Community Legal Services, through PAWS, through all of those great programs. But what makes this special is you don't have to leave the neighborhood. You can get your record cleared right in your neighborhood. You don't have to go far. West Philadelphia residents are able to come to West Philadelphia and get their record cleared. And we have parties when we do it. So it's not --
It's not a boring event. It is a party. This last one that we had was a block party and it had a concert. It had slides for the kids. We had food out there, everything you needed, and it was a safe event. Record clearing is important for a lot of reasons. There was a person who was at our clinic. His name is Jay. I believe Jay was supposed to testify today so I won't share Jay's story. But I will say that record clearing is an opportunity to people that they wouldn't have otherwise known that they had, right. So if I don't know what's on my record -- first, the clinic is important to find out what's on my record, right. Then I'm able to find out what can be expunged, what can be sealed, whether I need a pardon for, all of those things at the clinic. And then you have the neighborhood program that you can always come and knock on our door. I'm in our office now. So this bright beautiful (inaudible), you can come knock on the door and find out what's going on with the process. The process takes a year. That's probably a conversation for another day. But when you're in a yearlong process, it's great to know that you can always come to The Elevation Project, walk to 63rd and Haverford and know what is going on with your record. And I think The Promise is important because lots of people on here are asking for money. I was impressed. I've been on here since 10:30 this morning. I didn't know all of this went down, right. So lots of people are asking for lots of money. But The Promise gives chances to small organizations. I think I've developed a great relationship with you, Councilman Jones. But I credit a lot of that to the work that I've been able to do with The Promise. And so, The Promise has helped The Elevation Project become a household name in West Philadelphia, but we wouldn't have been able to do that without their support and they've opened doors for us that I believe are important for smaller organizations, because we're like family-led. My daughter is sitting here with me and she's watching cartoons. If someone wants to know what's happening with their records, they can walk in with their kids, with their stroller, whatever and find out what's going on. So that's why I believe that The Promise should receive the funding that they're requesting. Thank you.
First of all, at that event which when on the surface seemed like a solemn event where people were trying to straighten out past actions, but it was a block party for sure. There were lines all the way down the street of people waiting to get services and they were your everyday neighbor. They weren't stereotypical folk. They were people who might have gotten into something years ago, moved on 6 with their life, changed their 7 life, raised families, got jobs and 8 still could not get rid of that 9 blemish. 10 I know an individual who 11 was a turnkey store manager for a 12 corner store. And it was a Friday 13 night, he wanted to go out on a 14 date. He snuck back into his store 15 where he had a key. The alarm went 16 off. He got caught. He was 17 convicted. He is a senior citizen 18 who cannot do certain things, can't 19 get public housing. There's like 20 200 different things he cannot do. So I say that long story short, short story shorter, is that what you do changes lives. So thank you for what you do, and thank you for your testimony. And I look forward to the next block party. It was a real event. I had a good time and doing the right thing, so thank you.
Seeing none who's our next person to testify, Mr. Glass?
Otis Bullock. Mr. Bullock, are you connected? Hello, sir. How are you?
I am. I am. Good afternoon, Chairman. I appreciate your time. I want to say hello to the other members of the Appropriations Committee. I've known you all. Otis Bullock, CEO of Greater Philadelphia Community Alliance formerly Diversified Community Services. And I'm here for the same reasons that Ricky Duncan and Anton Moore and LaTrista are here, which is to support the Poverty Action Fund aka The Promise. Just to give everybody a little background on my organization, GPCA is the result of a merger between Diversified Community Services and United Communities Southeast Philadelphia. Our mission is to break the cycle of generational poverty by ensuring equitable distribution of resources for vulnerable children, families and communities. And as a result of the merger, we now serve all of South Philly from river to river, from Schuylkill to the Delaware, as well as Southwest Philly. I've been doing this work around poverty for a long time. Many of you have --
-- worked with me directly. If not at GPCA, you may remember that I started my career in this Chamber years ago 8 as a legislative aide in Council to 9 Councilmember Jannie Blackwell. I 10 was a staffer there during the time 11 when two of your former colleagues 12 and the current Mayor-elect were 13 staffers as well, the Honorable 14 Cherelle Parker and Derek Green. 15 That's a long time ago. 16 Chairman, you may remember 17 that as the Executive Director of 18 the Mayor's Office of Community 19 Services, MOCS, I put together a 20 strategic plan for coordinating poverty-related services under Mayor Nutter's Administration. That plan eventually became what we know as Charitable Prosperity. And, Chairman Jones, your eyes were two of the first eyes to see it, if you remember.
But what you guys did three years ago was different. It has the potential to be transformational. To create a public-private partnership that is committed to lifting 100,000 Philadelphians out of poverty by 2025 is what Council President Clarke called your moonshot. This type of partnership is also the first of its kind. I don't know if you guys knew that. The Poverty Action Fund supports organizations like mine and other grassroots community-led programs in being more collaborative while doing our work. We understand that no one organization can solve our most pressing problems alone. So for example, my organization is the lead for South Broad partnership. Partners who are part of my group include Anton Moore and Unity in the Community, SEAMAAC, Campaign for Working Families, Community Legal Services, Benefits Data Trust, Cambodian Association of Greater Philadelphia, Juntos and even Puentes de Salud. Together we support and connect South Philly residents to an array of benefits to build economic stability. We also are expanding housing, counseling and economic empowerment programs. None of this would be possible without the funding from City Council and your partnership with the United Way. And I think LaTrista pointed that outer earlier too. This funding allows me to expand partnerships with organizations like Unity in Community. GPCA brings organizational capacity and programmatic expertise while Anton Moore and Unity in the Community is the best grassroots community- organizing organization in the City hands down. For a number of years, Thoia Nguyen from SEAMAAC and I we've been trying to figure out how we could work together to better serve all of South Philly. Thoia wanted to offer his services in Point Breeze where the constituents are predominantly Black and SEAMAAC did not have the cultural bandwidth to get into the community. I wanted to ensure that GPCA was adequately serving the Latino and Southeast Asian population in South Philly. But like Thoia, my organization did not have the cultural bandwidth to do so. Then along came the Poverty Action Fund. This funding serves as a catalyst for organizations like SEAMAAC, GPCA, Unity in Community and many others to do exactly what my mission says, ensure that equitable distribution of resources to vulnerable children and families and communities and we couldn't do it without this funding. Three years ago City Council made a promise, a promise to lift 100,000 Philadelphians out of poverty by 2025. It was a bold promise. It has potential to be transformational. However, our work is not done yet as you said earlier, Chairman and Ricky Duncan, we're not done yet. And, Chairman, I respectfully request that Council keep its promise to continue funding the Poverty Action Fund, and I appreciate all your time. Thank you.
Mr. Bullock, thank you for your continued work in this space. I would also be remiss if I didn't mention former Councilwoman Marie Quinones-Sanchez who worked with President Clarke on this moonshot --
-- and it's an incredible thing that you see the fruits of that labor in what you guys are doing citywide. So I want you to know that we are working behind the scenes as we try to keep our promise. All right.
Mr. Chairman, Councilmember Thomas would like to be recognized.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I just wanted to take a moment to thank the organizations that have come before Council today to testify as it relates to the importance of the work that they're doing around violence prevention and (inaudible). I know it's very difficult to take time out of your day to come to testify. This is just a sentiment to what I said earlier. Another example of Councilmembers having their ears on the things that we could invest that's important to the City of Philadelphia that has a direct impact on quality-of-life issues. Listening to Mr. Moore, Mr. Bullock and Mr. Duncan and other organizations that were represented here today, it's imperative that we put ourselves in a position talking about making investments that's not recurring costs, that we're investing in things that we know will make Philadelphia a better place and this is just again another example of Councilmembers saying this is something that is important that we need and the Administration offering some type of pushback. So I'm not questioning anybody's intentions because we all are trying our best to make Philadelphia the greatest city that it could possibly be, but I really have to just take a moment to just communicate my support for these organizations, communicate my support to continue to invest in addressing this issue of poverty, my support in advocating and fighting for the Poverty Action Fund. So thank you, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate it. And thank you to all the other organizations that were represented here today as it relates to the work that you do to improve our City. Thank you, everybody.
Thank you, Member Thomas. Chair recognizes Member Johnson.
Yeah. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I just wanted to acknowledge the hard work of Mr. Otis Bullock. That organization that he represents, former Diversified Community Services, is in Point Breeze, South Philadelphia and I've seen firsthand him and his team's dedication to addressing the issue of poverty, but most importantly improving the quality of life of our young people in South Philadelphia. So I just wanted to take a moment to thank him. I see that again South Philadelphia organizations are running a table on being advocates on the front line day in and day out, addressing the quality of life of the neighborhoods here in the City of Philadelphia and most importantly having a unified front on how we move this great city forward. So I just wanted to acknowledge their hard work and dedication, acknowledge the work that the Philadelphia Promise is doing as we move forward. Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, and thank you for the work that they do. It's felt citywide. It's felt citywide. Mr. Glass, who do we have next?
Thank you. Good afternoon. Thank you for your patience. Please state your name for the record and begin your testimony.
Sure. Thank you, Chairperson Jones. My name is Michael Banks, Executive Director of The Promise. And before I go to my official remarks, I definitely want to thank all those that stuck around to testify about the impact that we're having in the City through The Promise. I think their patience and their perseverance speaks to the impact that everyone is having in the community, and I thank you for your time today. So good afternoon, Chairperson Jones and other members of the Committee on Appropriations. I am Michael Banks, Executive Director of The Promise, the Philadelphia Poverty Action Fund. I'm here today to provide remarks regarding Bill No. 230676, authorizing transfers and appropriations for Fiscal Year 2024. I always welcome the opportunity to speak before this great body, not just because I think of you as friends and valued colleagues, but because I know that your priorities are the shared priorities of myself and of The Promise to the Philadelphians out of poverty. It was, in fact, City Council nearly four years that released its groundbreaking Poverty Action Plan. At that time, Council President Darrell L. Clarke called this our City's moonshot moment. Out of that plan was born The Promise, the Philadelphia Poverty Action Fund, and its public-private partnership has moved forward. The Promise is immensely grateful for the million in City funds 18 received to date. These 19 contributions support a larger tax 20 base, improved neighborhoods, reduce crime, expand our workforce and produce more dollars for education. Dalila Wilson-Scott, governing Board member of The Promise, will soon highlight the tremendous results of our Family Stability challenge. But first, I would like to talk about a different major initiative of The Promise, our Jobs and Opportunity challenge. This work helps the many Philadelphians with prior criminal records find employment. The results are equally significant. We have helped 36 clinics on record clearing attended by more than $5,000 individuals. 1700 of them were able to meet with the attorneys and two-thirds of them are eligible to move forward with a record sealing expungement and/or a pardon. You can read these accomplishments of our PowerPoint presentation and the fourth and fifth pages detail those results. This work in turn allows people to get on with their lives to expand their employment opportunities and to avoid the difficult cycle of joblessness and further incarceration. We are grateful to the organizations that hosted those clinics and to our legal partners, Community Legal Services, the Defender's Association and Philadelphia Lawyers for Social Equity. Both the Families Philly challenge and Jobs Opportunity challenge demonstrate how the City's investments have already yielded huge returns changing lives and providing folks for (inaudible). And that is why the appropriation before you now for 10 million in Fiscal Year '24 makes sense for Philadelphia in multiple ways. It is an investment that demonstrates that we in the community have long known. Philadelphia City Council is committed to eradicating (inaudible). Councilmembers as I speak before you today, I cannot help but think back to my upbringing to better understand how I personally feel so strongly about the value of The Promise and impact of its work. You see, I relate to the feelings and experience of many served by The Promise. I was born in North Philadelphia raised by a single mom in the 5th District. I understand that when poverty is all you know, all you have seen, you do not always see a path out. What is out when you do not have resources, role models or experiences others do. Growing up even though we were poor and often struggled, we worked hard. My mother was always working and I excelled in school. An honor roll student since I was in 3rd grade. Education was going to be my path out.
(Inaudible) until I was years with scholarships and potential colleges line up, I was arrested and faced multiple legal charges. I knew I was innocent, but the interesting thing was it didn't matter how many times that I said I am not guilty, no one believed me. I learned that the innocent until proven guilty narrative is not applicable to people of color, especially for those not in poverty. This experience nearly broke me. I was lucky and as lucky as I could be in my situation. My mother who was working as a crossing guard at that time, she met a lawyer who was willing to take my case for very little money and I thankfully ultimately found not guilty. Still I had a record and still learned I needed something called an expungement. Again, we were poor. My community was poor. Not many of us knew what expungement was and I certainly did not know. I was a lucky that I had a lawyer, a resource and someone to walk me through the process towards a full expungement, finding employment opportunities and rebuilding my life. That's what The Promise is here to do, to be that resource for our neighbors. In this role, it is amazing to think of the folks I have been able to serve and wishfully offer some level of hope that I received. At times I struggle and I think why did I get out, why didn't I end up like many of my friends who couldn't get out of that neighborhood who were never able to escape from that situation. Thinking back, I was lucky to have had help. For others who unfortunately were not as lucky, to know that there are not enough services like the one The Promise coordinates. I'm talking about services that go into those neighborhoods, to offer resources and help people to get out of their situation whatever it may be. That is why the work of The Promise is so important. It gets people economical mobility and support they need to get their life back on track. And with the Chair's permission, I'd now like to hand the floor over to a governing Board member of The Promise, the Philadelphia Action Fund, Dalila Wilson-Scott, Executive Vice- President and Chief Diversity Officer of Comcast Corporation and President of the Comcast NBC universal Foundation. Thank you for your time and your support.
Technology. Thank you for your testimony and thank you for your sharing of the mic. Please state your name and begin your testimony.
Good afternoon, Chair Jones, members of the Committee on Appropriations. Thank you for the opportunity to testify today and to discuss this issue that we all know is critical for our City. My name is Dalila Wilson-Scott, VP and Chief Diversity Officer here at Comcast Corporation and President of our foundation. While Comcast is one of the proud supporters and funders of The Promise, I'm here today in my capacity as Chair and member of the governing Board of The Promise, the Philadelphia Poverty Action Fund and to speak to the request under your consideration. I want to start with a simple fact and, that is, that every single person in this room is thinking about the future of our City, our potential for growth, innovation, good jobs, quality of life, a brighter economic future. And simply put, we can't have a brighter economic future for our City unless we are focused on poverty. It's arguably one of the single largest threats to our City's future and we cannot, will not move forward if we are leaving our most vulnerable behind. Now, this is an area that we have to come together if we want to see real impact. An issue of this scale can only begin to move when multiple sectors come together as we have over these past few years under The Promise umbrella. And while the work is far from complete, The Promise has already become to pay dividends. Mike Banks referenced this earlier, but just one example, in the Family Stability challenge with the help of over 30 grassroots organizations across the City, 92,000 clients have been able to draw down 105 million in benefits and tax credits. That's dollars in the pockets of Philadelphians to support their families, 105 million. And that's money that would have been left on the table were it not for The Promise and our partners. That's major progress in a small amount of time but there is still so much more work to be done. I would be remiss if I didn't take a moment to thank all of our grantees and partners, some of which you've heard from. And I know we have others today and of course to thank our exceptional leader and Mike Banks. Without them, none of this is possible. The other point that I think is important to note is other cities are watching us. National funders are taking notice, this model, this innovation, public- private partnerships. It's producing results and it's centered on the community that needs it most. It's a model that I think others will seek to replicate and quite frankly I think that funders beyond Philadelphia will want to support it as well. But that will ultimately come to pass if we, ourselves, here in Philadelphia do not continue our investment. We cannot ask others to do what we're not willing to do ourselves. And finally, I can't guarantee that The Promise will eradicate poverty in the next 365 days. No one here can. But I do know that if we stop now, if we don't continue this investment, many across our City, those with no 23 safety net, those that many of us here have pledged to serve will have nowhere to turn and will fall deeper into poverty. And our potential as a city, our economic future will never be realized. I know that's the future that none of us want. So with that, thank you for your time today. Thank all of you for your commitment and service to Philadelphia. And with that, that concludes my testimony. Thank you, Chair.
Thank you so very much for your testimony, and thank you for your corporate commitment to ending poverty. When the private sector take steps of embracing the public sector along with nonprofits, we can get stuff done. And so, we will consider this request. You have many, many advocates within Council for it and some outside of Council, Marie Quinones-Sanchez still stalks City Hall to make sure that these funds are appropriated. So thank you for your testimony. And, Mr. Glass, do we have anyone else to testify?
Mr. Chairman, Councilmember Johnson would like to be recognized.
Thank you very much. I just want to also echo the sentiments of Chairman Jones just commending Mrs. Wilson- Scott and the Comcast Corporation for their commitment in addressing this issue. Comcast is one of the few major Fortune 500 corporations here in the City of Philadelphia that actually stepped up and actually put some skin in the game to actually improve the quality of life for the residents here in the City of Philadelphia. By Mrs. Wilson-Scott participating in this hearing but most importantly being a part of The Promise initiative is a testament to their commitment to move the City of Philadelphia forward. And so, I just wanted to take a moment to thank her and the Comcast Corporation for their dedication for helping us eradicate poverty here in the City of Philadelphia. And most importantly, I want to take a moment to acknowledge my good friend Michael Banks, who always wears his heart on his sleeve, who has a significant commitment to transforming the lives, particularly young people here in the City of Philadelphia, and similar to myself using his lived life experiences of how he transformed his life to help others as a part of his mission and current position with the United Way and being the Executive Director of The Promise initiative. So I just wanted to take a moment to acknowledge them for their hard work and dedication, and obviously I will be supportive for this particular request. Thank you very much, Chairman Jones.
Thank you, Member Johnson. Mr. Glass, who do we have next?
Mr. Chairman, Gretjen Clausing will be our next witness. They are connected.
Ms. Clausing, thank you for your patience. Please let me know you're connected and state your name for the record and begin your testimony. COUNCIL TECH SUPPORT: Gretjen, if you want to unmute your mic, you can press star 6.
Okay. Good afternoon, Chairman Jones and members of the Appropriations Committee. My name is Gretjen Clausing and I'm Executive Directive of the Philadelphia Community Access -- Philadelphia Public Access Corporation also known as PhillyCAM. And I wish I could see you. I'm not sure why I wasn't able to join by video, but I can visualize your (inaudible) Committee to support PhillyCAM's request in the FY2024 middle year transfer. PhillyCAM launched our cable channel back in 2009, has become a valued community resource that provides transformative opportunities for community members that (inaudible) reflective of the experiences of everyday people. Our workshop, our media program (inaudible) provides people with valuable digital media skills and results in Local content that reflects a (inaudible) perspective in individuals that makes our City what it is. And as you know, the 15-year Verizon franchise agreement is set to expire in February 2024. As of now, the Philadelphia Law Department offices and other respective consultants, we're negotiating a deal with Verizon and unfortunately that proposed ordinance did not make it to City Council for this session. This means that the agreement will not be passed and we're going to be kind of going into the next year without an agreement in place, which put PhillyCAM in a bit of a vulnerable situation. For the past three years, PhillyCAM has received no 2 funding as a result of the Verizon franchise agreement, and we had planned for that. But now going into Year 4 is becoming more problematic, and it's really limiting our ability to execute our current mission and really make it impossible for us to do any other work that we want to be able to do to expand our reach of our programs. So we are asking Council to consider a way to support our operating costs. We believe that $350,000 in the midyear transfer will tremendously support our organization while the Administration continues to negotiate the franchise. Money is vital to keep our operation thriving and continuing to make it possible for -- many of the nonprofits that have testified today have been an amazing group of organizations to hear all that they're doing. Many of them are members or carry on PhillyCAM and it's important for us to be able to expand our educational opportunities, meet people where they are in their neighborhoods and allow people to be the stewards of their own areas. And anyway, with that I just want to say our work is really only possible with the support and ways that we all can work together in partnership in the incoming year and the new administration. So thank you so much for your attention this afternoon.
Thank you so much for the work you do. I had the opportunity to see many people come through and be trained by you and your organization. My current (inaudible) person went through a number of your programs and certifications. So thank you, thank you and thank you.
Mr. Chairman, our next public comment will be Melissa Santiago.
State your name for the record and begin your testimony.
Sure. My name is Melissa Santiago. I am the Assets Building Coordinator at Ceiba. Ceiba is (inaudible) in the Latino community in Philadelphia and the backbone of the Latino Equitable Development Collective that Councilwoman Lozada was referring to a few minutes ago. Thank you, Councilwoman Lozada. The Collective brings together Latino nonprofit 7 agencies in the City of 8 Philadelphia to encourage 9 collaboration. And in this 10 Collective we seek to amplify our 11 impact on the community we serve. These include working together as one of the cohorts for The Promise. We believe that by combining together, each organization being The Promise, the Ceiba Latino Equitable Collective service delivery model allows certain people in the immediate need by also connecting them to a pipeline for opportunities for personal transformation. The Collective believes that this is essential to creating opportunities in the community. A place that is (inaudible) by affordable housing, great schools, safe streets, creative spaces and a (inaudible) community life. I would like to highlight one of our clients by the name of Alexander, which he is a Venezuelan immigrant who fled his country due to the political and economic turmoil. He was able to obtain much needed assistance from The Promise when he arrived in Philadelphia in the summer of 2022. Upon his arrival to the U.S. he was undocumented, homeless, jobless and hopeless. Ceiba helped him apply for an ID and tax ID number that helps immigrants pay their taxes. Ceiba also connected him with a lawyer to assist in his immigration process. Once his (inaudible) was approved by the IRS, he was able to secure not only a job but also save his apartment as he was behind on his rent and facing eviction. He's able to afford his rent. He's a responsible taxpayer and an active member of society. By working alongside people like Alexander, we can expand the economy allowing those experiencing poverty to support themselves and contribute more to their communities. This contribution supports our larger tax base neighborhood improvement, reducing crime, workforce expansion and more dollars to invest in education. I believe that dismantling poverty and changing Philadelphia's reputation as the poorest big city in the nation, The Promise and its partners must be adequately funded. Philadelphia Councilmembers who have long championed these goals are encouraged to allocate funding to The Promise in support to this transitional partnership and proven successes. With budget decisions being made at this moment, City Council's commitment to funding The Promise helps secure a promising future for our City. Thank you for your attention and we look forward to working with you on this and other opportunities to build a better Philadelphia. Gracias, thank you.
Thank you for -- I'm sure Councilmember Lozada wants to be recognized. Member Lozada, are you there?
Yes, I am. Thank you Melissa. I want to reiterate my support for this request. I've seen very directly the work of the Collaborative on the ground. Organizations like Ceiba and Esperanza, Aciente, APM, HACE, all of them have a very strong commitment to the people of that community and beyond because each one of those organizations while they are in very centralized parts of the 7th Council District have always been willing to work with and serve the constituents across the City of Philadelphia. And so, I'm grateful. As many of you know, many of us here on Council who were elected as a result of a Special Election last November today are celebrating our first year anniversary. And so, it has been an honor for me to serve as an elected to the residents of the 7th Council District, but more of an honor to work alongside organizations like that of the Collective, the Ceiba Collective who always have (inaudible) when serving and addressing the needs of the residents of the 7th Council District. And so, I can't speak enough to the need that we have in the District and how important this request is. It will transform the lives of many not just in the 7th but across the City of Philadelphia. And so, I ask that we seriously consider this request and do whatever we possibly can to ensure that we continue to improve the quality of life not just for the residents of the 7th Council District but for all of those individuals who are served by the work of the Poverty Action Fund. Thank you so much.
Thank you, Member Lozada. I echo your comments. It is citywide. It is impactful. It spreads to every part of the City of Philadelphia, so thank you. Mr. Glass, who is our next person to testify?
Yes. State your name for the record and please begin your testimony.
My name is Jay Grant. And I came to The Promise by way of The Elevation Project. I participated in the record-clearing clinic in 2022. On October 24, 2021, I was doing a double shift at the MSB Building. I received a distressing phone call informing me of a shooting that took place at my home. Racing back, I found my house riddled with 43 bullets, my wife shot in the head and my children in danger. Regardless of my desire to protect my family, my criminal record rendered me helpless in that crucial moment. Later I discovered a record-clearing program on Instagram, a social media platform, by The Elevation Project. Skeptical but hopeful, I contacted a representative. I filled out the questionnaire and began the process. Last month stating that my expungement as of June 26, 2023 I received an unexpected early birthday present that continues to give me for the rest of my life, an expungement. Eager to contribute to the program, I called my representative Ms. Webb expressing my willingness to share my story. As a child, I made regrettable choices. Poverty will do that. But this program did the groundwork allowing me to move forward, married for 15 years, a homeowner and crime-free. I owe much to The Promise confirming that I can be anything that I want to for my family with a fresh start. I contemplated careers as a 911 emergency operator. I just want to say thank you to everybody here, The Promise, you, Councilperson, and Kenyatta Johnson and everybody here. I just want to say thank you and I really appreciate this chance in which you guys done for me. And I'm living my second childhood but I'm grown now. Thank you.
Thank you for that insightful testimony and the personal story that you gave us. And I'm glad that the program has helped you. Thank you so much for your testimony. Mr. Glass.
Mr. Chairman, that was our final witness for public comment and our final witness for this panel. Next up we will have to move into our public meeting. Because there is an anticipation of continued negotiations, we will have to recess with a motion.
I recognize Councilman Johnson for a motion to recess Member Johnson. (No response.)
Chair, Councilmember Thomas is here. Do you need me to make a motion for --
Yes. Would you make a motion so that we can recess until 4:30, sir?
Mr. Chair, I make a motion that we recess the current hearing until we are ready to reconnect and go back to our public meeting.
That will be at 4:30 p.m. approximately. All those in favor will signify by saying aye. (Aye.)
The ayes have it. This Committee on Appropriations will stand in recess until 4:30 p.m. today.
Thank you for your patience guys. And for the record, for all those who waited to testify who started at 10:30, we started about a half hour earlier, okay, so we can relate. Thank you all.
Good evening, everyone. This is a continuation of the public hearing of the Committee on Appropriations from earlier. We will now conclude that public hearing and go into our public meeting. I thank everyone for their testimony. Thank you for your patience. And as people exit or who may have stayed on, can we then call the roll to establish a quorum for the public meeting. Mr. Glass.
Good afternoon, Mr. Chair and colleagues. I am present.
Thank you very much. Can I call on a motion from Member Johnson, Vice-Chair.
Mr. Chair, I would like to make a motion that we recess until Thursday, November 30th at 8:30 a.m.
It has been moved and properly seconded that we recess until 8:30, Thursday morning. All those in favor? (Aye.)
The ayes have it. Thank you all for a very long day and look forward to concluding our business on Thursday, 8:00 a.m. Thank you all.
Thank you. (Hearing concluded at 2:30 p.m.) C E R T I F I C A T I O N I, hereby certify that the proceedings and evidence noted are contained fully and accurately in the stenographic notes taken by me in the foregoing matter, and that this is a correct transcript of the same. __________________________________ TANEHA CARROLL