COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA PUBLIC HEARING BEFORE THE COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - - - Room 400, City Hall Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Monday, April 7, 2008, 10:15 a.m. - - - Bill 080022 - Amending Philadelphia Code re tax rates, credits, and alternative tax computation... Bill 080157 - Amending Philadelphia Code re tax rates, credits, and alternative tax computation... Bill 080160 - Re Parking Tax, establishing rate of taxation on parking transactions... Bill 080164 - Re construction, encroachments, projections over, on, and under streets... Bill 080165 - Re Philadelphia Building Construction and Occupancy Code, amending fee schedule for various construction-related activities... Committee Members Present: Anna C. Verna, Chair Marian B. Tasco, Co-Chair Darrell L. Clarke Bill Green William K. Greenlee Curtis Jones, Jr. Jack Kelly James F. Kenney Donna Reed Miller Frank Rizzo Maria D. Quinones-Sanchez - - - V A R A L L O Incorporated Litigation Support Specialists 1835 Market Street, Suite 600 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103 215.561.2220 215.567.2670 2 4/7/08 - Whole - 080022, 157, 160, 164, 165 I N D E X WITNESS L&I John Elfrey, Acting Commissioner.......... Bridget Greenwald, Admin. Services Dir. Deputy Commissioner Dominic Verdi......... 29 5 Deputy Commissioner Eileen Evans.......... 63 Otis Haigler, Legislative Affairs Dir. 173 6 Steve Agostini, Budget Director........... 85 7 Board of L&I Review 8 Bridget Greenwald, Admin. Services Dir. 181 9 Board of Building Standards Bridget Greenwald, Admin. Services Dir. 183 10 Board of L&I Review 11 Bridget Greenwald, Admin. Services Dir. 184 Susan Jaffe, Zoning Board Chair........... 187 Water Department Bernard Brunwasser, Commissioner.......... 199 Debra McCartey, Deputy Commissioner....... 217 Joseph Clare, Deputy Commissioner......... 222 Steve Furtek, Chief Engineer.............. 247 Rhina Cutler, Deputy Mayor................ 269 for Transportation and Utilities Steve Agostini, Budget Director........... 300 Board of Ethics Richard Glazer, Chair..................... 322 Shane Creamer, Executive Director......... 332 Youth Commission Benjamin Dubow, Appointee................. 411 Steve Agostini, Budget Director........... 417 3 4/7/08 - Whole - 080022, 157, 160, 164, 165
Good morning, everyone. This is a continued public hearing of the Committee of the Whole regarding Bill No.'s 080022, 080157, 080160, 080164, and 080165. The first department to testify... MR. McPHERSON: ... is the Department of Licenses and Inspections. (Witnesses come forward.)
Good morning. COMMISSIONER ELFREY: Good morning.
Please identify yourself for the record. COMMISSIONER ELFREY: I'm John Elfrey, Acting Commissioner for the Department of Licenses and Inspections.
Proceed with your testimony, please. COMMISSIONER ELFREY: Good morning, Council President Verna and 4 4/7/08 - Whole - 080022, 157, 160, 164, 165 members of Council. I am John Elfrey, Acting Commissioner for the Department of Licenses and Inspections. Accompanying me today are key members of the department's management team, including Deputy Commissioner Eileen Evans, Deputy Commissioner Dominic Verdi, and our administrative services director, Bridget Collins-Greenwald. We appreciate the opportunity to present our Fiscal Year 2009 Operating Budget request to City Council and to provide you with our plans for the upcoming year. The Department of Licenses and Inspections is requesting a total FY '09 budget of $40,602,397, of which $29,635,668 is in the City's General Fund, $10,250,000 is in the Grants Revenue Fund, and $716 729 is in the Community Development Fund. The FY '09 request will fund 374 General Fund positions and includes a total of $10 million in 5 4/7/08 - Whole - 080022, 157, 160, 164, 165 demolition funding. As always, we will continue to prioritize emergency, public safety, and economic development concerns, and will maximize productivity with current resources. The mission of the Department of Licenses and Inspections is to administer and enforce the City's Code requirements for the enhancement of public safety. Through the issuance the building, electrical, fire, plumbing and zoning permits, we will enhance public safety, foster economic development, contribute to healthy and sustainable neighborhoods, provide excellent customer service, and contribute to a high-performing government. Through our inspection process, we will enhance public safety, educate our customers, and improve the quality of life in our city. 6 4/7/08 - Whole - 080022, 157, 160, 164, 165 Finally, through our licensing process, we will provide exemplary customer service, foster healthy and sustainable neighborhoods, and contribute to the economic development of the City. We will develop plans for publicizing our customer service standards on our website and in waiting areas of the department. We are also working with the Law Department to determine redress standards if do not meet our established goals. We will develop more accurate measures to describe the benefits of the department's activities. Finally, we will coordinate our clean-and-seal, demolition, and inspection activity with the Philadelphia Police Department in the nine designated high-crime areas as well as other sections of the City. We will design our customer 7 4/7/08 - Whole - 080022, 157, 160, 164, 165 service standards through information gathered from focus groups and customer surveys. We will then implement customized customer-service training to improve the level of understanding of our customers' needs and begin to develop a comprehensive leadership team-building training to ensure that all of our managerial and supervisory personnel clearly understand and are working toward the same customer-service standards. We will electronically store historic zoning information and make it easily available for our customers and staff to access for research. We will also conduct an analysis to determine an appropriate fee structure to offset these costs. We are investigating establishing a local international code council chapter comprised of code officials, design professionals, developers, contractors, and others in 8 4/7/08 - Whole - 080022, 157, 160, 164, 165 the industry to work outside the Code -- to work together outside the Code enforcement arena to improve the built environment through cooperation, consistency, and integrity. This chapter will also sponsor training seminars on local codes and how to properly submit plans for the City, thus saving customers and employees the time they spend conducting multiple reviews for projects.
In cooperation with Licenses and Inspections, the Building Industry Association has recommended that the City more efficiently L&I sections of the public-area concourse in the Municipal Services Building. We will develop a plan to more efficiently utilize the back office space to raise the productivity level of our existing staff. Overall, through the use of FY '09 budgetary funds, the department is committed to achieving the maximum 9 4/7/08 - Whole - 080022, 157, 160, 164, 165 customer-service satisfaction, contributing to the safety of all citizens, and providing assistance in the areas of neighborhood sustainability and economic development. I would be happy to answer any questions at this time.
Thank you very much, Commissioner. Can you tell us how many General Fund positions you were budgeted for in Fiscal 2008? COMMISSIONER ELFREY: Council President, that number is 375.
I think -- I believe it was 386, according to the detail. COMMISSIONER ELFREY: The additional people were probably the Vacant Lot folks that are funded under the Managing Director's Office along with the CLIP personnel that would make up the difference. 10 4/7/08 - Whole - 080022, 157, 160, 164, 165
Would you look at of the detail, please. (Witness complies.) COMMISSIONER ELFREY: Yeah, the difference would be with the Vacant Lot folks funded in the Managing Director's Office and the CLIP Program.
So who's -- where are they going, to the Managing Director's Office or -- COMMISSIONER ELFREY: They've been there for quite some time, ma'am. Licenses and Inspections funds -- I'm sorry. Licenses and Inspections is reimbursed through the Managing Director's Office for the Vacant Lot Program and the CLIP Program. And we'll be happy to provide you a detailed analysis on that, but that's been happening for sometime.
Really? 11 4/7/08 - Whole - 080022, 157, 160, 164, 165 COMMISSIONER ELFREY: Yes.
I don't quite understand that, but -- so we're going to have approximately 6 positions eliminated or -- explain that 7 to me, because I'm not quite 8 understanding. 9 Somebody's doing the work in 10 your department and they had been in 11 your budget and they're not going to 12 be in '09; does that mean that we're eliminating positions? COMMISSIONER ELFREY: No, ma'am. I don't know that we're eliminating any positions. And we'll be happy to give you a detailed analysis of that.
Are you going to look at of the detail? COMMISSIONER ELFREY: I'm going to ask Bridget Greenwald to step up.
Good morning. I'm Bridget Collins-Greenwald, the 12 4/7/08 - Whole - 080022, 157, 160, 164, 165 administrative services director for the Department of Licenses and Inspections. In our target budget in FY '08, we were targeted for 375 General Fund positions. I don't think you're seeing that in the detail on ; you're looking at the original appropriation.
It was 386. In our target budget, though, for Fiscal Year '08, we were at 375. So basically, our Fiscal Year '09 budget mirrors our Fiscal Year '08 target budget.
So it's still a reduction of 12 positions, as we understand it.
There was a reduction from the original appropriation to the target budget last year, yes, but we're actually working 13 4/7/08 - Whole - 080022, 157, 160, 164, 165 within that target budget right now, so we're actually not really losing a position from where we're at currently.
Can you tell us how many vacancies you currently have? COMMISSIONER ELFREY: We have vacancies... all of which we're in 10 the process of filling. 11
I beg 12 your pardon? 13 COMMISSIONER ELFREY: All of 14 which we're in the process of filling; 15 we expect to have them all filled 16 within the next three months. 17
Yes. 22 The Chair recognizes Councilman Rizzo. 23
Could you be 24 specific and tell us where those 25 vacancies are, the 25, for the record, 14 4/7/08 - Whole - 080022, 157, 160, 164, 165 please? COMMISSIONER ELFREY: Sure. We have nine abatement workers for our clean-and-seal unit, four field investigators, a programmer analyst, a housing -- two housing and fire inspectors, public administration analyst, an engineering specialist, a contract clerk, two civil engineers, three service reps, and two more housing and fire inspectors.
That obviously would have an impact on any organization, Madam President, so I'm pleased to hear that -- within three months you're telling us -- COMMISSIONER ELFREY: We're confident.
We're going to follow up on that because when it's my turn, I have some questions about field inspections, so we'll talk more about that in a minute, but thank you for reporting that. 15 4/7/08 - Whole - 080022, 157, 160, 164, 165 COMMISSIONER ELFREY: Okay.
Are there any existing civil service lists for the vacancies that exist? COMMISSIONER ELFREY: Yes, there are.
Well, why would it take three months to fill these positions? COMMISSIONER ELFREY: I said for all of them, ma'am. There's lists for some. I think one or two we don't have a list, but I'll be happy to provide that information. We have lists for clean-and-seal workers, and that accounts for nine of the vacancies. We also have lists for some of the inspectors, and we're in the process of interviewing and pulling them off the list.
And you say that will take three months? COMMISSIONER ELFREY: I said 16 4/7/08 - Whole - 080022, 157, 160, 164, 165 that would take three -- I'm saying from this point forward for three months, we should have all filled, 5 okay. So I'm not saying for those that 6 have an existing -- 7
Well, 8 how about the nine that you say we have 9 an existing list for; when would they 10 be hired? 11 COMMISSIONER ELFREY: First 12 week of May. 13
14 That's a little different. 15 Commissioner, you mentioned in 16 your testimony that you will be 17 developing customer-service standards; 18 when do you expect to have them 19 developed? 20 COMMISSIONER ELFREY: Working 21 with Philly Stat and the Managing 22 Director's Office, we hope to have our 23 customer-service standards developed by 24 the middle to the end of May. 25
The 17 4/7/08 - Whole - 080022, 157, 160, 164, 165 revenue projection for your department are $45.6 million for Fiscal Year 2009. The projections indicate that you will be collecting $2.9 million from street use, an increase of $500,000 over Fiscal '08. Can you explain what street use is and how you will be able to generate an additional $500,000 in '09? COMMISSIONER ELFREY: I'm going to ask Miss Greenwald to give you an answer.
Yes. We projected that based on looking at historical data of the revenue that was coming in, so we increased the revenue projection somewhat for Fiscal Year '09. As for the street-use permit, I'm not exactly -- (Addressing colleagues.) Can you say exactly what that one is, the street-use permit? Hmm, I'd have to get back to 18 4/7/08 - Whole - 080022, 157, 160, 164, 165 you exactly on the specifics of that. We just looked at the historical trend of the revenue that was coming in. The street-use permit exactly, I, unfortunately, am not familiar exactly what that is.
Does anybody know? COMMISSIONER ELFREY: We will get that information for you.
You're also projecting to collect $20 million in building structure and equipment, which is also an increase of $500,000 over FY '08. Can you explain what permits generate these funds and how you will increase collections?
Yes. Those permits are our building permits, and we have had in the past -- historically in the past five years, we've seen the 19 4/7/08 - Whole - 080022, 157, 160, 164, 165 trend increasing in our building-permit fees, so we just based that projection on what we've seen over the past few years.
You know, with the current economy and I think -- I don't see much building going on these days.
Well, we actually -- excuse me. We actually haven't seen that decrease in our permit revenue coming in to date, so we've actually still have been pretty optimistic of with our revenue projections. We're actually ahead in Fiscal Year '08 of where we thought we would actually be at this point.
Commissioner, on of the Five-Year Plan, it states: L&I will develop a comprehensive public relations campaign to communicate about the services offered by the department. The campaign will involve print-media 20 4/7/08 - Whole - 080022, 157, 160, 164, 165 outreach of community and business groups and the distribution of fact sheets outlining services to more specifically-defined groups within the City. To deal with abandoned buildings, Neighborhood Services Division will formulate a targeted demolition plan. L&I will work with operating departments, City Council, and residents to coordinate efforts to bring neighborhoods into Code compliance. The department will develop measures to monitor success and communicate achievements to City residents. What is the projected cost of the public relations campaign? COMMISSIONER ELFREY: Most of the public relations -- it -- we project it to be minimal. I don't have a solid number yet, but most of that campaign will be through community meetings, working through City Council, working with neighborhood groups to get 21 4/7/08 - Whole - 080022, 157, 160, 164, 165 the word out. We also plan to enhance our website tremendously. We want to get the word out on what L&I does, how it does it, and how the community can help us to do our job, using the Web. We -- that's basically how we plan to do it.
Where would we find these minimal funds budgeted? COMMISSIONER ELFREY: They're basically on our Class 200 administrative costs. As I said, we don't have a solid dollar number yet; when we do, we will publicize it.
Can you tell us the status of the targeted demolition plan. COMMISSIONER ELFREY: Deputy Commissioner Evans, along with staff, is working with the amount that we have budgeted to try and do small 22 4/7/08 - Whole - 080022, 157, 160, 164, 165 neighborhood packages. We haven't identified completely where they are. We will, of course, talk to Council when we do. But the thought is that instead of going in and maybe doing one demolition on Fourth Street and then coming back two months later and another demolition on Fifth Street, we would try to target them in a package. Basically, it's a customer service issue too. Less disruption to the neighborhood. We're hoping to reduce costs with economies of scale, and we hope to have that plan started in July or August of this year.
What is the cost of a demolition these days for a two-story building? COMMISSIONER ELFREY: About $26,000, three-story.
26,000? I remember it being 8,000. 23 4/7/08 - Whole - 080022, 157, 160, 164, 165 COMMISSIONER ELFREY: Excuse me, ma'am?
I said, 26,000? I remember L&I doing them for 8,000 -- COMMISSIONER ELFREY: Oh.
-- a couple of years ago. COMMISSIONER ELFREY: Well, that includes --
I know time goes by when you're having fun. COMMISSIONER ELFREY: Well, I don't have fun knocking down buildings.
But it just seems to me that it was a couple of years ago that it was costing 8,000. Is this -- COMMISSIONER ELFREY: But that includes everything.
Is this for -- when you talk about demolition, are you including cleaning 24 4/7/08 - Whole - 080022, 157, 160, 164, 165 the lot and grassing and the fencing? Is all of that included -- COMMISSIONER ELFREY: Yes, ma'am, it is.
-- in the price? COMMISSIONER ELFREY: Yes, including the stuccoing on the side houses, if necessary. That's basically soup to nuts, yes.
Commissioner, can you tell us how you propose to bring neighborhoods into Code compliance? COMMISSIONER ELFREY: I think, basically, through education and enforcement. Of course, we don't like to use enforcement, but I think the more we get the word out to folks -- and I this Saturday was a perfect example with the Mayor's cleanup. We need to build on that and focus on keeping our neighborhoods and our properties clean. 25 4/7/08 - Whole - 080022, 157, 160, 164, 165 We're just going to try to educate the public through Council, through community groups, through community meetings, whichever, in any way we possibly can.
And can you tell us how you propose to bring City Council into the process? COMMISSIONER ELFREY: We would like to meet with City Council and ask us -- ask you to help us to get the word out. I think it's very important that we leverage the knowledge and the experience you have with the neighborhoods to help us.
In your opinion, does the proposed L&I budget for Fiscal Year '09 fund all of the initiatives as stated in the Five-Year Plan? How do we propose -- do you think we're going to be able to do all of that? COMMISSIONER ELFREY: We're certainly going to try, ma'am, yes. 4/7/08 - Whole - 080022, 157, 160, 164, 165
Okay. We wish you success. COMMISSIONER ELFREY: Thank you.
The Chair recognizes Councilman Rizzo. Oh, I'm sorry. Each Councilmember will get five minutes because there are a number of Councilmembers that do want to be recognized. Councilman Rizzo.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Prior to NTI, the budget item for demolitions, to follow up on President Verna's question, was $20 million per year. That money was committed to NTI bond debt service for thirty years to fund what essentially was a five-year program. In this budget, I see that the funding for the Five-Year Plan for demolition is now $10 million a year. 27 4/7/08 - Whole - 080022, 157, 160, 164, 165 Why -- you know, what's that about, and is that an adequate funding level at this time? COMMISSIONER ELFREY: You're speaking of the NTI funding or the General Fund demolition?
The NTI funding went from twenty to ten. COMMISSIONER ELFREY: Yeah, and I think that's basically being reduced because it's towards the end of the program. There's demolitions left in approximately five Council Districts, totaling, I believe, about 198 demolitions.
But it was initially planned for million, so 19 someone changed the number. 20 COMMISSIONER ELFREY: I can't answer that question, sir.
Could you get back to us on that. COMMISSIONER ELFREY: Certainly.
How that 28 4/7/08 - Whole - 080022, 157, 160, 164, 165 number got changed, please. COMMISSIONER ELFREY: Sure.
Going back now to the vacancies that you have 6 -- 7 COMMISSIONER ELFREY: Mm-hmm. 8
-- let's 9 talk about the ones that I kind of 10 think are very, very important. Let's 11 talk about inspections that you -- your 12 department does. Could you go over the 13 various types of inspections that you 14 do? 15 COMMISSIONER ELFREY: The 16 neighborhood services unit does 17 quality-of-life inspections basically 18 for exterior quality-of-life property 19 maintenance violation. We do housing 20 and fire inspections, both in 21 commercial buildings, we do inspections 22 inside homes. We do inspections for 23 demolition activity. We do weights and 24 measures inspections. We visit gas 25 stations and supermarkets to check the 29 4/7/08 - Whole - 080022, 157, 160, 164, 165 scales and check to make sure that the proper amount of gas is being issued.
Restaurants. COMMISSIONER ELFREY: Permitting, construction services.
Restaurants? COMMISSIONER ELFREY: Well, we do restaurants as it relates to housing and fire and electrical -- not housing and fire, but fire and electrical inspections. The Health Department does inspections for restaurants.
Let me ask you, are some of those inspections that you just described, are they required annually, semiannually? How frequently are you required to do that work? COMMISSIONER ELFREY: Let me ask Deputy Commissioner Verdi to step up. (Witness comes forward.) DEPT. COMMISSIONER VERDI: Good morning. Deputy Commissioner Dominic Verdi. 30 4/7/08 - Whole - 080022, 157, 160, 164, 165 To answer your questions, Councilman, some are required yearly, some are required every two years. I'd have to give you a list of what type of -- if you'd let me know what type of inspection you're speaking of, I can give you a better answer.
I'll get right to my point; we don't need to go do a lot of research. Are you current -- based on 13 vacancies -- and I did hear in the 14 list some inspectors -- are you 15 meeting your mandate? Are you doing 16 all you're supposed to do annually 17 where you're required to do annually 18 and every two years? Are you on 19 target? Are you behind in any 20 inspections in our city? 21 COMMISSIONER ELFREY: I am told 22 we are behind, yes. 23
You are 24 behind. 25 COMMISSIONER ELFREY: Yes. And 31 4/7/08 - Whole - 080022, 157, 160, 164, 165 we are currently --
Where are you behind? COMMISSIONER ELFREY: We are behind in housing inspections, quality-of-life inspections.
That's it? COMMISSIONER ELFREY: I've asked Deputy Commissioner Verdi and Deputy Commissioner Evans to compile of list of what we are behind in --
How significant -- COMMISSIONER ELFREY: -- and how -- I don't have the final numbers yet, sir.
Well, let's -- if you're behind, somebody has a feeling how significant it is. I don't need to know if it's six months, two hours and 43 minutes. Do we have a problem or don't we? COMMISSIONER ELFREY: I don't know that we have a problem that we 32 4/7/08 - Whole - 080022, 157, 160, 164, 165 can't overcome once we get our full inspection staff on board.
Well, how many inspectors in that are you 6 missing? That doesn't sound like -- I 7 heard two, three. 8 COMMISSIONER ELFREY: No. I 9 think it's more than that. 10
Well, tell 11 me again. 12 COMMISSIONER ELFREY: It was a 13 total of seven. 14
So you're 15 down seven inspectors and you have a 16 list for those inspectors? 17 COMMISSIONER ELFREY: Correct. 18
You're 19 behind and you don't hire them? 20 COMMISSIONER ELFREY: Yes, we 21 are hiring them, sir. We're in the 22 process of hiring them now. 23
Okay. So 24 you'll have all -- 25 COMMISSIONER ELFREY: What I 33 4/7/08 - Whole - 080022, 157, 160, 164, 165 said was, all 25 would be on board in three months in total.
When will the seven inspectors be hired? COMMISSIONER ELFREY: I think we have lists. They should be on board, I would assume, by the middle of May.
So you're telling me the reason we're behind -- at least you believe we're behind is because of the lack of these seven inspectors? I mean, it makes sense. COMMISSIONER ELFREY: Sure. It contributes to it, absolutely.
So we need to -- we would appreciate a report on how behind we are. And you anticipate that when you employ these seven inspectors, there's certainly a learning curve, how quickly you're going to be back on track, because obviously, we would want the most -- that inspection should be prioritized 34 4/7/08 - Whole - 080022, 157, 160, 164, 165 in my opinion. The most significant inspections should be conducted first; would you agree with me on that? COMMISSIONER ELFREY: You're simply right, sir, and that's exactly what we've asked for.
Mm-hmm. Okay. Well, we really need to get a report. And I think we need to re-call L&I, Madam President, to talk about the significance of the backlog of work that they have. You're okay with that?
We're going to ask you to come back here with that information for the record. Thank you, Madam President.
You're welcome. The Chair recognizes Councilman Jones. 35 4/7/08 - Whole - 080022, 157, 160, 164, 165
Thank you, Madam President. I understand that you're behind, but can you enlighten me with the types of inspections we are behind on, the categories? I know there are inspectors that inspect buildings, I mean, but can you give us the categories of which we are behind on? COMMISSIONER ELFREY: Okay.
And while the clock is still ticking, I'd like to also know, when it comes to landlords and renters and housing conditions, is that one of the categories we are behind on? COMMISSIONER ELFREY: Go ahead. DEPT. COMMISSIONER VERDI: One of the categories we are behind on is some of the housing-related issues. We -- there's a staffing need, which the Commissioner has addressed, and we are going to prioritize all complaints and inspections regarding 36 4/7/08 - Whole - 080022, 157, 160, 164, 165 fire and life safety.
I have "A Tale of Two Cities," and I'm going to try describe 'em. In one part of my district, which is the lower end of my district, which is the low- to moderate-income end of my district, I have a high concentration of renters and landlords, where conditions are falling below standard. And there is a need for L&I to come out and assist tenants on the conditions of those properties that they live in. In another part of my district -- East Falls, Roxborough and Manayunk -- we have a high degree of renters. The difference is quality-of-life issues, town-and-gown issues, where they aren't given a high degree of priority, because when you have to choose between an imminently dangerous party and someone's beer party, you tend to go to the 37 4/7/08 - Whole - 080022, 157, 160, 164, 165 imminently dangerous party, which is logical. What I want to know is two things: One, can we ask that in high-renter districts that we tack on a -- and let's say if we came up with a formula that says when a neighborhood has over 40 percent renters that there be a zoning overlay or a requirement that they help to defray some of the costs by way of inspections or added inspections, both for areas like that, but also town-and-gown areas where we have high degrees of populations of students that are kind of running amok and the owners don't tend to care as much about the people who are actually stakeholders and home owners that get besieged with beer parties. So is there a way to -- I know there's a law on the books, I know it's not being enforced as much 38 4/7/08 - Whole - 080022, 157, 160, 164, 165 because we don't have inspectors, but is there something we can do about that? DEPT. COMMISSIONER VERDI: We could work with Council to look at any type of a zoning overlay or any overlay that Council would like to have initiated. But just to let you know, just to clear up one issue: There is no -- I mean, we do have different types of inspectors. And when you say we respond to a dangerous building case before we respond to beer parties, we respond to them both in the same manner. We have two different inspectors that deal with that. We have inspectors that do deal with just dangerous buildings, and they come under Deputy Commissioner Eileen Evans. I have a group that deals with beer parties or those type of issues, 39 4/7/08 - Whole - 080022, 157, 160, 164, 165 and we work closely with the Fifth District captain up in the Manayunk area in reference to the Nuisance Task Force. So we do address those issues equally when the complaints come to our attention.
I can assure you -- I've spent -- and I'm, in fact, going to invite the at-large Councilmembers to join me in a walking tour on a Friday or a Saturday night that shows what people have to live -- the conditions they have to live under. And I'm going to encourage my colleagues to join me on that. And I'm going encourage you to come with me -- DEPT. COMMISSIONER VERDI: I'd be happy to do that.
-- to see if we are addressing that issue. And I would argue that we're not. And I'm not blaming you here 40 4/7/08 - Whole - 080022, 157, 160, 164, 165 today. I'm saying that we have to address that issue. We have a good law on the books. What we don't have is enforcement. Same thing on the other end of my district, where we have a high degree of renters and we have a high degree of landlords who tend to know that they can, in fact, duck L&I inspections for a period of time because of the long degree of rotation; they know this. I know for a fact that Councilman Green and Councilman Rizzo have addressed that in different parts of this city. So maybe you're not up on it and but the owners are. And what we want to do is not point fingers or blame. We want to figure out what it takes to resolve these issues, and that's what we want a commitment to work with you on. COMMISSIONER ELFREY: Councilman, we'll be happy to work with 41 4/7/08 - Whole - 080022, 157, 160, 164, 165 you and we look forwarded to doing and resolving these issues. That's why we're here and that's what we plan to do, sir.
Well, the first thing, we're going take that walk with the at-larges and walk around the district and kind of take a bird's eye look at what many of the residents of the 4th District already know, which is that we need to get you some more resources up there. COMMISSIONER ELFREY: We will be happy to accompany you and we will bring staff.
Thank you. The Chair recognizes Councilman Greenlee.
Good morning. My questions are kind of along 42 4/7/08 - Whole - 080022, 157, 160, 164, 165 the same line as Councilman Rizzo and Councilman Jones. And particularly Councilman Jones said the one word, "enforcement," and that seems to be in my previous life, working with Councilman Cohen for many, many years, dealt with L&I a lot. And it seems like this is still pretty much the same situation. A person calls in with a complaint, a citizen, we do, whatever. And the original inspection gets done maybe not too bad a period of time, but that's when -- that's when it seems like it almost halts. The follow-up time, especially if it's not like a really, really major life-and-death thing. And then if still the violation isn't solved on the -- upon the second inspection, to get to enforcement through court seems to take forever. And these problems sit for long, long periods of time 43 4/7/08 - Whole - 080022, 157, 160, 164, 165 again. Again, a lot of them may not be life and death,but they're certainly, as Councilman Jones said, a real problem in the community. And I was wondering -- and I know, when it gets to the enforcement or court, that's somewhat out of your hands 'cause you got court backlog and all, but could you just take me through the timeframe of what ideally you would like to see as far as original inspection, how long it takes, how long for a follow-up, and then if, again, the violator either refuses or is unable to do something, you know, how we finally get it done through enforcement. COMMISSIONER ELFREY: I would like to see, after the original inspection, depending on the severity of the violation, that a reinspection occur within 30 days.
Mm-hmm. COMMISSIONER ELFREY: That 44 4/7/08 - Whole - 080022, 157, 160, 164, 165 would be the best-case scenario. Now, some violations do not require a 30-day reinspection; I think some are a little bit longer than that. And, Dominic, you can jump in in a second if you wish. But I would like to see us get into a program and follow that program and monitor it and track it and chart it and give this information to the public where we say, you know, inspection one is July 1st, inspection 2 is July 31st.
Right. COMMISSIONER ELFREY: And then soon after, another reinspection, if they don't comply, it goes to court. And we're going to do everything on our end because we control some of the flow with the Equity Court cases to get the cases out our shop as quickly as we possibly can and into the Law Department's hands. And, Dominic, if you can -- 45 4/7/08 - Whole - 080022, 157, 160, 164, 165 DEPT. COMMISSIONER VERDI: Councilman, I understand. The one part of your question is a valid question in reference to court cases. We have an issue -- our inspector will write a violation. The problem is, we don't always have physical contact with the owner.
Right. DEPT. COMMISSIONER VERDI: We have to make sure that the ownership is a valid ownership, then we have to -- and we go do the reinspection. For the moment, the reinspections are being done on a timely fashion. We have a new system that is able to track it and the supervisors will track it. Our problem is -- and you're correct in stating that our problem becomes an issue when it goes to the Municipal Court. The issue with Municipal Court is that it's then turned over to the court system to 46 4/7/08 - Whole - 080022, 157, 160, 164, 165 actually or physically get a body to accept the subpoena that requires us to get them into court. Now, what happens is, in most cases -- in cases that involve major public safety, like if there's a fire alarm issue or if there's things of that nature, we'll try to abate the situation, and most of the times, 90 percent of that abatement means evacuating the building based upon its occupancy. But the issue does become a little -- it becomes cumbersome when it does have to go into the municipal court system. In larger buildings or buildings that we know we have a viable owner, we'll send it to Common Pleas Court, where we're able to get to give us judge --
Right. That's for equity -- DEPT. COMMISSIONER VERDI: Right, Equity Court, to be able to get 47 4/7/08 - Whole - 080022, 157, 160, 164, 165 a judge to give this person a total deadline on when that case needs to be, you know, back before the judge. And even in them cases, we have issues where the judge may continue it, the lawyers may continue it; it becomes more or less a court issue.
Mm-hmm. DEPT. COMMISSIONER VERDI: But years ago, when we had the availability for some abatement, we were actually physically fixing the problem. But, unfortunately, we don't have that funding.
You talk about -- COMMISSIONER ELFREY: And, Councilman, I'd just like to add that. We plan to take a wholistic approach and work with the Law Department on these issues too.
Okay. COMMISSIONER ELFREY: Go ahead. 48 4/7/08 - Whole - 080022, 157, 160, 164, 165
When you talk about abatement, it brings up one particular issue that I see one of the signs back here talked about and I was going to ask anyway. Landlords providing heat to residents, to tenants, you know, there's some, maybe they don't know, but there's obviously isn't adequate heat at certain times during the winter and people call in and complain. That seems to be that that should take a real priority; that should just go through, well, in 30 days, you're supposed to fix it. COMMISSIONER ELFREY: No, it doesn't, it doesn't.
And I -- yeah, that's what I was going to say. Could you take me through that? I mean, is there a issue when, say, a heater is just plain-out broken, the landlord won't fix it? Does L&I have the ability to just force the issue, go 49 4/7/08 - Whole - 080022, 157, 160, 164, 165 in, fix it, bill the owner, that kind of thing? DEPT. COMMISSIONER VERDI: In some cases, we do have the ability -- we have emergency processes to repair the heat.
Mm-hmm. DEPT. COMMISSIONER VERDI: Just to give you -- to let you know that most heat complaints are answered within a 24-hour period; I should say mostly. From what I see, all, 14 hours. 15
Mm-hmm. 16 DEPT. COMMISSIONER VERDI: We 17 have a heat hotline that's answered 18 nights and weekends. 19
Right. 20 DEPT. COMMISSIONER VERDI: We 21 have an emergency-duty person on 22 standby seven days a week, twenty-four 23 hours a day. So the heat complaints 24 are being responded to. I can't tell you how many 50 4/7/08 - Whole - 080022, 157, 160, 164, 165 times I was called throughout the winter of people telling me they had to evacuate a building because of no 5 heat. We're not going to let people stay in the building, we're not giving that that 30-day process. Now, with our new reinspection fees, we're able to actually find the owner for any lengthy noncompliance, so we are taking a proactive stance on those type of violations, or those complaints.
You're welcome. The Chair recognizes Councilman Green.
Thank you, Madam President. I was reviewing a bunch of questions I had for you when Councilman Greenlee was asking 51 4/7/08 - Whole - 080022, 157, 160, 164, 165 questions, so I apologize if he's already asked you this. One of his early questions related to following up after the initial inspection and then being able to keep track of that. You mentioned a, I guess, relatively new computer system that -- can you -- do you have essentially a work order entry or work order management system or an inspection computer system that creates deadlines and alerts for people to go out at different times, and can you talk about that briefly? COMMISSIONER ELFREY: Yes. It's called the Hansen (sp?) system, and cases care created when a customer calls in. A case number's assigned, it's assigned to an inspector, depending on the type of violation it is. And there is something within the system that tickles -- for lack of a better term -- a reinspection date 52 4/7/08 - Whole - 080022, 157, 160, 164, 165 once the original inspection is made.
So the only question that I think we have is: What if a customer didn't call in; how does -- routine inspections or inspections, you know, every few years of a particular property or a property, whether it was trouble, how does that get into a system that generates additional -- COMMISSIONER ELFREY: It's -- that's entered by the inspector. I think it's commonly referred to as "a pickup."
Commonly referred to as a...? COMMISSIONER ELFREY: As "a pickup." If the inspector's out on the street and notices something that doesn't look right or sees a violation of a particular property, they can enter the violation information themselves.
But what 53 4/7/08 - Whole - 080022, 157, 160, 164, 165 about standard inspections? COMMISSIONER ELFREY: Same thing. An inspector enters that too. They'll go out onto the site at a particular location; if there are violations, they would be entered into the Hansen system by the inspector.
But what about things where you -- I mean, don't you, every once in a while, inspect major apartment buildings? don't you, every once in a while, inspect restaurants? COMMISSIONER ELFREY: Mm-hmm.
Don't you -- COMMISSIONER ELFREY: They're called "program inspections," yes, sir.
Are they in the Hansen system also? COMMISSIONER ELFREY: Yes.
Okay. So now, every single inspection that the City is required to do on some sort of annual or biannual basis -- whether 54 4/7/08 - Whole - 080022, 157, 160, 164, 165 it's a restaurant, whether it's an apartment building, whether it's a follow-up -- is now in the Hansen system? COMMISSIONER ELFREY: That's correct.
Okay. That sounds promising. COMMISSIONER ELFREY: Yeah, I think it is. And we're looking forward to --
How long has that system been up and running? COMMISSIONER ELFREY: Final implementation was last year. We're still working internally to identify management reports and tools that we can better utilize to make our jobs easier in exactly this type of situation. So it's been in operation for a year, but we're still tweaking it.
Is there a paper report implemented in addition to 55 4/7/08 - Whole - 080022, 157, 160, 164, 165 reporting within Hansen? COMMISSIONER ELFREY: What type of report, sir?
So an inspector's in a field, they notice a violation; do they write something on paper in addition to putting something in Hansen? COMMISSIONER ELFREY: They may jot down a location if they don't have their computer with them at the time and then transfer that information into Hansen. And correct me if I'm wrong, Dominic that's -- DEPT. COMMISSIONER VERDI: Yeah. Councilman, every inspector now is assigned a laptop or notebook. There is really no need for any paperwork for them to turn back into the department. Everything is able to be reviewed by the supervisor, that inspector's supervisor, as it's being written. The only paper that's 56 4/7/08 - Whole - 080022, 157, 160, 164, 165 generated from that system is a violation notice or any subsequent paperwork that's required to go to owner or tenant or whoever's the building property manager, but there isn't any paper to be submitted to the City.
Do you have any estimate on how much time or how much more productive inspectors and other people can be now that you've eliminated paper record-keeping? COMMISSIONER ELFREY: I don't. I don't have that information with me, no, sir.
Mr. Verdi? DEPT. COMMISSIONER VERDI: As far as the information, I mean, I've seen an upswing as far as inspections compared to four or five years ago. As far as a definite number, I couldn't give you that information until we look into how much clerical staff we -- before, the process would be that the 57 4/7/08 - Whole - 080022, 157, 160, 164, 165 inspector had to write the violation. I think the bigger issue is the time it takes for notification at this point. To give you a look back historically, a violation was written on paper, then given to a supervisor who had to sign off. Then that supervisor would then have to put it on a clerical person's desk to be input into the system. As we declined in the clerical staff, that backlog got bigger and bigger. Now -- and it would take -- if, for instance, a violation was written today, an owner may not get it for ten days. If that violation is put in the system today by the inspector, tomorrow morning, a paper copy is printed out in the mailroom and it's mailed out by sometime tomorrow afternoon. COMMISSIONER ELFREY: And that's exactly the type of information we're looking to track with the system 58 4/7/08 - Whole - 080022, 157, 160, 164, 165 moving forward. When I said "tweaking it," those are the type of reports that I want to see and, I'm sure, the deputy commissioners and our management team want to see because that's going to help us manage and guide our day-to-day process.
Oh, well, I'll talk to you in a second. Thank you. (Laughter.)
Thank you. The Chair recognizes Councilman Clarke.
Thank you, Madam President. Good morning. COMMISSIONER ELFREY: Good morning.
I'd like to 59 4/7/08 - Whole - 080022, 157, 160, 164, 165 shift the focus a little bit briefly. The City of Philadelphia recently did a bond initiative, and we floated approximately $150 million in bonds for demolitions, and the number may be off. And the assumption is that we have depleted those bond dollars, 'cause I know I'm pretty much out of my money in my Council District, so I'm assuming that most of the other Councilmembers are also. And I know we have a debt service payment that we have to pay on the bond. And you have allocated $10 million per year for demolition? COMMISSIONER ELFREY: Correct.
And you mentioned earlier in your statement that you were going to do bid packages, I think I heard you say? COMMISSIONER ELFREY: That is correct.
Will the 60 4/7/08 - Whole - 080022, 157, 160, 164, 165 bid packages be similar to the old process under the NTI Program? COMMISSIONER ELFREY: We want to take the best of both worlds Licenses and Inspections has some very good work processes internally relating to curbside bids. And in the NTI Program, there were economies of scale in doing the bid packages. So what our staff is doing, and it's actually being directed by Eileen Evans, Deputy Commissioner Evans, is trying to get the best of best of worlds to make us the most efficient and productive that we can be with these demolition packages.
Meaning that if the bond dollars had been available, or were available, and you had to utilize -- instead of hiring -- I forget the name of the company that we hired. We hired a company to oversee the process; who was -- COMMISSIONER ELFREY: Hill 61 4/7/08 - Whole - 080022, 157, 160, 164, 165 International.
Hill International. So had we internally been in the position to use a process that included economies of scale and had the ability to implement a somewhat, quote/unquote, curbside process to expedite the demolitions, done that internally, we wouldn't have had to have hired Hill International. COMMISSIONER ELFREY: I can't say that, sir. I don't know the answer to that question. And I wouldn't know.
I always wondered why we did that if we had internal systems. And I know you're relatively new, so that's why you -- COMMISSIONER ELFREY: Yeah, that's --
It's fortunate for you that you can't answer that question. COMMISSIONER ELFREY: Right. I can't -- 62 4/7/08 - Whole - 080022, 157, 160, 164, 165
You also referenced that you had 198, I think you said, properties to be demolished? COMMISSIONER ELFREY: Over five Council Districts, yeah.
Why do you think it's only 198. Is that -- that's what's on your list or -- COMMISSIONER ELFREY: That's what was left on the NTI, five active demolition bid packages, and it was about 198 properties.
Does that mean that that's all you intend on doing? COMMISSIONER ELFREY: Oh, no, that's -- no. 22 Eileen, do you want to explain that.
Explain that to me. 63 4/7/08 - Whole - 080022, 157, 160, 164, 165 DEPT. COMMISSIONER EVANS: Good morning. Deputy Commissioner Evans.
Good morning. DEPT. COMMISSIONER EVANS: The 198 properties refer to what's left in the existing NTI bid packages. That doesn't speak at all to what we intend to do going forward, just what's currently existing in the NTI bid packages as NTI phases out.
And that will be done under utilizing NTI bonds or using General Fund -- DEPT. COMMISSIONER EVANS: NTI bonds.
NTI bonds. DEPT. COMMISSIONER EVANS: Yes. COMMISSIONER ELFREY: And then all those NTI bonds will be depleted. DEPT. COMMISSIONER EVANS: Yes.
Okay. COMMISSIONER ELFREY: Just for a point of clarification, sir, we've, 64 4/7/08 - Whole - 080022, 157, 160, 164, 165 with the General Fund dollars, we've done about 224 demolitions to date, and we think we can do about 156 more by the end of the fiscal year.
Wait a minute. Say that again. DEPT. COMMISSIONER EVANS: Out of the General Fund money to date, we have demolished 224 properties by curbside, not counting NTI bond money or NTI demolitions.
Right. DEPT. COMMISSIONER EVANS: And the projection is that by the end of the fiscal year, we will demolish another 156 by curbside.
And then we will be relegated to $10 million in demolition. DEPT. COMMISSIONER EVANS: That's correct.
How does that compare to prior years prior to the NTI Program in terms of available 65 4/7/08 - Whole - 080022, 157, 160, 164, 165 revenue for demolition; is that low, high, or about the same? COMMISSIONER ELFREY: I'd have to go back and get that information. I don't have that information, sir. Eileen, do you remember? DEPT. COMMISSIONER EVANS: No, I don't. I'm going to wait for the Commissioner to go back and get that information.
Excuse me, please. The Chair recognizes Councilman Green for a point of information.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Just to follow up on Councilman Clarke's question, for the record, can you tell us the difference between the cost of L&I, the traditional cost of L&I demolishing a property versus the cost of the 66 4/7/08 - Whole - 080022, 157, 160, 164, 165 per-property, the average cost of demolishing it under the NTI bid package process? COMMISSIONER ELFREY: We'd have to go back and get that for you, sir. I don't have that information with me today.
I believe it's $9,000 for L&I and $20,000 under the NTI bid package process. So you may want to re-look at whether or not we can do twice as many homes by taking -- by, you know, perhaps going back to the old systems. I don't know if that's where Councilman Clarke was going with his question about, you know, efficient -- about how many are done, but if you could report that number back to the Chair, I'd appreciate it. COMMISSIONER ELFREY: We sure will.
Thank you, Madam Chair. 67 4/7/08 - Whole - 080022, 157, 160, 164, 165
All right. The Chair recognizes Councilman Clarke.
Thank you, Madam President. I actually wasn't going there, but just to expound on that particular reference -- and correct me if I'm wrong -- we asked that question earlier on about the process 'cause we noticed the increase in demolition costs in NTI years versus prior years under these traditional systems. And we were told that the treatment level on demolitions under NTI was different than the treatment level under the traditional L&I demolitions, where L&I would essentially go out. There was a lower-cost stucco process, there was no treatment to the ground that remained, and I'm assuming that there was some level of costs associated with the administrative fees from Hill 68 4/7/08 - Whole - 080022, 157, 160, 164, 165 International. COMMISSIONER ELFREY: Right. I --
And my question to that is, since Councilman Green brought it up, as we move forward under the process in the next fiscal year, what level of treatment on demolitions will we have moving forward? (Timer bell rings.)
'Cause under the old NTI demolition, we used to have, like I said, a higher level of sidewalk, stucco, it was the greening and the fencing, and it at least made it -- on an interim basis, it made the lot look somewhat decent until we could figure out what to do with it on a long-term basis. COMMISSIONER ELFREY: Correct me if I'm wrong, Eileen, but we're going to be providing the same level of treatment with the grading of the lot 69 4/7/08 - Whole - 080022, 157, 160, 164, 165 after the demolition and the stucco on the side walls, but we will not be doing fencing. DEPT. COMMISSIONER EVANS: No, that's correct. Councilman Clarke, your assessment is correct. The answer that we have given was that there was a difference in the quality of the demolitions between NTI and traditional L&I. There were some discussion that we should bring them both up to the same standard, which accounts, to some degree, for the increase in cost, but also explains the difference in the cost in the past. We are going to do stucco of the same quality, greening and seeding. And as Commissioner has indicated, it will not include fences.
And participation goals were extremely high in the last -- 70 4/7/08 - Whole - 080022, 157, 160, 164, 165 DEPT. COMMISSIONER EVANS: Yes, exactly.
That's all going to be a part of the new process? DEPT. COMMISSIONER EVANS: Yes. COMMISSIONER ELFREY: Absolutely.
Okay. I tried to sneak that in. Sorry, Madam President. (Laughter.)
I think you just said fencing would not be included? COMMISSIONER ELFREY: No, fencing is not included on General Fund demolitions moving forward; it is included on NTI. And if I misspoke, I apologize for that.
Okay. The Chair recognizes -- COMMISSIONER ELFREY: I think I said "soup to nuts," ma'am, and maybe I -- I'm sorry if -- 71 4/7/08 - Whole - 080022, 157, 160, 164, 165
That's okay. The Chair recognizes Councilman Jones.
Thank you, Madam President. On the minority participation, it says you spent, I believe, $8 million last fiscal year; is that right? And what was your participating -- COMMISSIONER ELFREY: Yes. That's the figures we have, $8,029,420, correct.
And how much went to MBE and WBE/DBE firms? COMMISSIONER ELFREY: I don't have that breakdown in front of me, but we will provide that information. I have it as a percentage but I don't have it as a dollar number.
Well, what's the percentage roughly? COMMISSIONER ELFREY: 72 4/7/08 - Whole - 080022, 157, 160, 164, 165 African-American was 15.48 percent. Asian was 12.7 percent. Indian was 1.77 percent. Women were 9.94 percent. And there was another approximate percent in two or more 9 categories. 10
And did that -- COMMISSIONER ELFREY: But I can get you -- I'm sorry.
It says you contracted with 32 non-governmental agencies; what does that mean? COMMISSIONER ELFREY: That's 32 private entities.
So these are the contracts in question. COMMISSIONER ELFREY: Mm-hmm, correct.
Okay. Let me shift questioning to commercial corridors. What types of inspections 73 4/7/08 - Whole - 080022, 157, 160, 164, 165 do you do along inner-city commercial corridors to the businesses that are there? And what I'm specifically talking about is internal but also signage, unified signage; are you on top of that? What type of inspections do you conduct? COMMISSIONER ELFREY: There's several types of inspections. There's the business compliance unit to make sure the folks have their business- privilege licenses, that everything is in order within the business, and they're up to date with whatever license, depending on the type of business that is required. As far as external signage is concerned, there's also inspections on that. If there are signs that are out there on the commercial corridors and they shouldn't be there, they're not permitted, they're there illegally, they don't have the zoning for them, we will write a violation. 74 4/7/08 - Whole - 080022, 157, 160, 164, 165
So we are on the corridors within the 4th Councilmatic District in compliance with the signage? DEPT. COMMISSIONER VERDI: Councilman, unfortunately, it changes daily. Our inspectors go out today and get those -- some of those businesses in compliance, and then tomorrow, they seem to add signs all over the building. Our inspectors have been in all of those corridors, and we have worked together with some of the community groups in that district. And we do inspect yearly those businesses. The problem with those businesses is, a lot of them will get extra income from cigarette companies or whatever to put these signs up. When we get complaints, it's -- we do do a programmatic inspection throughout the business corridors 75 4/7/08 - Whole - 080022, 157, 160, 164, 165 every year, but we also respond to complaints when they're sent to our office in reference to excessive signage.
My issue -- and I led you to this point -- is that there are several issues. One, there are good businesses. And then there are businesses that need some incentive to be good. And so, in cases like that, I'm going to look to a cooperation with L&I so that the community deserves a good, unified, well-kept shopping district. So when businesses aren't good neighbors, whether they put their trash out, short-dump, whether they have illegal signage, whether they sell drug paraphernalia, we want to keep them as good neighbors. So we want to work with you. As we get complaints in our office, we want to refer them to you. When businesses don't close when they are 76 4/7/08 - Whole - 080022, 157, 160, 164, 165 supposed to and are attractions to elements that aren't altogether law-abiding, we want to work with you to help those businesses become better neighbors, if you would. I believe that L&I can play an important developmental role in inner-cities to keep the standards high. We deserve a healthy shopping environment, and we believe that you are strategic partners in that and want to utilize you fully. We're trying to hold -- we're getting ready to put $1.2 million worth of site improvements to Lansdowne Avenue, for example. It doesn't matter if we do trees, sidewalks, curbs if the existing businesses don't understand because they are absentee landlords reaping investments as they sit on the beach in Florida, that we are serious about upgrading the shopping experience for people in that corridor. 77 4/7/08 - Whole - 080022, 157, 160, 164, 165 So we're going to need you to kind of help us to make them better citizens and good neighbors. COMMISSIONER ELFREY: Councilman, many of things that you just said fit nicely with the Mayor's Strategic Plan, and we are a big part of that, and we look forward to working with you.
Thank you. The Chair recognizes Councilman Greenlee.
Thank you, Madam President. Just to follow up quickly on the other questions I had when I ran out of time, Deputy Commissioner Verdi, you had -- we were talking about the problems with enforcement and particularly in Municipal Court, 78 4/7/08 - Whole - 080022, 157, 160, 164, 165 has there been some conversations with some of the officials at Municipal Court? Is there a way to sort of speed the process up, address those a little bit better? DEPT. COMMISSIONER VERDI: We've spoken to some of the judges, and we have an enforcement person that's working very closely with them. I don't want to put the full blame again, like I said, on them totally.
No, I understand. DEPT. COMMISSIONER VERDI: It's also an issue with actual servicing of the paperwork.
Mm-hmm. DEPT. COMMISSIONER VERDI: In some cases, they -- if we can't find an owner to serve with a subpoena, that also could be a delay.
Mm-hmm. And you talked about some cases go to 79 4/7/08 - Whole - 080022, 157, 160, 164, 165 Common Pleas Court, and I know over the years I've tried to push some of those cases, 'cause the court can actually order you or instruct you to do something, you know. What is roughly the percentage of cases that would wind up in Equity Court? And what's kind of the rough, defining line there, you know, to get it to Equity Court. DEPT. COMMISSIONER VERDI: It's based on the severity of the situation. As far as percentage, I can get -- we can get you a percentage of our cases that go to Common Pleas Court.
Okay. DEPT. COMMISSIONER VERDI: But it's relatively -- it's an issue whether or not it imposes immediate life-safety issues.
Talking about that and about the heat complaints that I referenced before, in order to actually go in and fix the 80 4/7/08 - Whole - 080022, 157, 160, 164, 165 heater and bill the owner, do you have to get a court order -- I guess you have to get some kind of court order to do that, or do you have the ability to just go in and do it or -- DEPT. COMMISSIONER VERDI: We have the ability in some cases to go in and just do it.
Okay. And as -- do you do that a lot? I mean, if it's -- DEPT. COMMISSIONER VERDI: I wouldn't say a lot.
Mm-hmm, okay. 'Cause I'm just thinking -- I guess -- is it accurate to say that a lot of times, it's either the same properties or the same landlords that are delinquent in this kind of thing or guilty in this kind of thing? DEPT. COMMISSIONER VERDI: It's just -- it's just that -- it's -- I'm not saying it's the same type -- it's the same types of landlords. 81 4/7/08 - Whole - 080022, 157, 160, 164, 165
Mm-hmm. DEPT. COMMISSIONER VERDI: Land lords as, Councilman Jones mentioned, who are not good neighbors --
Right. DEPT. COMMISSIONER VERDI: Where somebody wants to live on a beach in Florida and have someone live in their apartment here.
Mm-hmm. And on that line, is there -- do you have a mechanism for that kind of landlord; if he or she applies for another property, you know, for a license or whatever, can you hold up those licenses, saying, you know, You've screwed up six other properties and we're not letting you screw up three or four more. DEPT. COMMISSIONER VERDI: Yes. There's a process that we have. We're able to flag licenses and flag owners.
Okay. DEPT. COMMISSIONER VERDI: And 82 4/7/08 - Whole - 080022, 157, 160, 164, 165 we do have, in fact -- and in some cases, when we have -- our inspectors notice a pattern of a certain landlord, we'll actually get all of the properties of that landlord together in one package and take that type of package into Equity Court.
Okay, good. That's kind of what I was going to say, 'cause, you know, sometimes the person can be really a bad neighbor but then they get other properties and it just makes 'em worse neighbors. DEPT. COMMISSIONER VERDI: One of the difficult situations is, a lot of the tenants may know it's the same person. We, in fact, might get it as "that address, LLC."
A different name. DEPT. COMMISSIONER VERDI: And then another address is a different LLC. So it's kind of hard for us in some in cases to physically track the 83 4/7/08 - Whole - 080022, 157, 160, 164, 165 person that's behind the corporations.
Mm-mm. And I think, since we're complaining here, let me give you some -- I think what everybody admits is good news, it seems like the line down there in the MSB has really gotten a lot better as far as getting licenses and -- COMMISSIONER ELFREY: Thank you. Well, thank you. I hear that --
Thank you. COMMISSIONER ELFREY: That's on behalf of the staff.
Right. COMMISSIONER ELFREY: I mean, Deputy Commissioner Verdi and Evans and the folks at L&I have been tremendous over the last couple of months and are really trying to get that done.
I've heard that from a lot of people. COMMISSIONER ELFREY: Yeah. And the credit goes to them. 84 4/7/08 - Whole - 080022, 157, 160, 164, 165
And I know I -- and that's good because there were those individuals who just got frustrated and actually wanted to do the right thing and didn't do it because they just didn't want to wait that long. Now at least they don't have that excuse. DEPT. COMMISSIONER VERDI: There's no excuse anymore.
Right. COMMISSIONER ELFREY: And we want everyone to do the right thing, and we want to make it as painless as possible for them.
And along that line, Madam President, for the record, certainly over the years, Deputy Commissioners Verdi and Evans in their various positions have been very helpful, and I appreciate that. So I know you guys try to do the best you can sometimes, but it's -- the system is the problem, but 85 4/7/08 - Whole - 080022, 157, 160, 164, 165 we appreciate all of your help. Thank you. COMMISSIONER ELFREY: Thank you. DEPT. COMMISSIONER VERDI: Thank you.
You're welcome. I understand the budget director would like to come to the witness table to explain something that was addressed earlier. (Witness comes forward.)
Good morning, Madam President. Steve Agostini, Budget Director. Good morning, members. I understand and I apologize I wasn't here earlier. I had a personal matter I was trying to take care of. 86 4/7/08 - Whole - 080022, 157, 160, 164, 165 With respect to the issues that have been raised today but in other days, the issues with respect to the budget targets that were implemented by the prior administration and that we have been working with as we've put together the for the budget for '09 as well as the Five-Year Plan, with respect to the issues of the number of vacancies that have been clearly identified for a number of departments, including L&I, where services are very critical and those vacancies have not helped that situation, the Administration understands what your concerns and frustrations are. We're trying to get our hands around that. I would just ask you to be patient. Today, I think, marks the beginning -- or the end of the third month for us. For myself, I'm trying to get a handle on what all of that means and what the impacts are. 87 4/7/08 - Whole - 080022, 157, 160, 164, 165 As I've said to you and committed to this body and to you, Madam President, we're planning to get our hands around those vacancies, we're planning to get our hands around the target budgets and in an attempt to be sure that the services that you expect and that citizens expect are, indeed, delivered. I would just ask you to give us a little time, be patient with us as we try to work through what has been issues that have taken some time to get to this point, and it's going to take us a little time to get our hands around and try to resolve. We understand your frustrations; we've heard them loud and clear and we're working through them and expect that you will point those out and keep us to task on that, and I would appreciate that as well. But if you would give us a little patience and -- and we're 88 4/7/08 - Whole - 080022, 157, 160, 164, 165 trying to get our hands around it.
Thank you. We appreciate that. Okay. Councilman Green.
Thank you, Madam Chair. To follow up once again on the line of questioning from Councilman Greenlee, I don't understand why you can't serve process to people, and maybe we can go through that a little bit, because every LLC, every partnership, every corporation, every entity formed in the State of Pennsylvania is required to have an agent for service of process listed with the Department of State. If they don't, then the State will go after them and find out who they are at the State's expense, because every person, every LLC -- so you don't have to find the person behind the owner; you just go to the Department of State, you look up who 89 4/7/08 - Whole - 080022, 157, 160, 164, 165 their agent for service to process is, and you send the process there via certified mail, and you're done. They have notice, they don't show up, the court grants the relief you want, you go in and do it, it's a lien against the property, it's over. I don't understand with a extraordinary efforts people are taking to contact people behind the LLC. DEPT. COMMISSIONER VERDI: Councilman, I guess to answer your question, first of all, we don't serve our own writs; it's done by the court system. That's number one. Number two is, when I mentioned LLCs, I'm mentioning different properties. The Councilman asked, Could we track an owner? Now, LLCs, a lot of owners hide will behind --
I'm not -- I understand that point. 90 4/7/08 - Whole - 080022, 157, 160, 164, 165 DEPT. COMMISSIONER VERDI: Okay.
I'm not asking about that point. DEPT. COMMISSIONER VERDI: Okay. The third thing is, we want the owner to show up; we try our best to get that owner to show up. We don't want the court to give us, in some cases, relief by a fine, 'cause what happens with that relief by a fine, if the owner is served and the court -- and the person does not show up in court, the judge is going to normally give him a $5,000 fine. It doesn't solve the violation issue.
But why can't -- but if there's a violation and the owner doesn't show up, why isn't part of the relief you're seeking the ability to go in and remediate at the owner's expense, putting a lien against the property? DEPT. COMMISSIONER VERDI: The 91 4/7/08 - Whole - 080022, 157, 160, 164, 165 fine -- as far as the $5,000 fine that sits there, because that $5,000 fine does not go into the General Fund, we don't have the funds to go in and relieve every violation on every property.