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