COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA STATED MEETING Room 696, City Hall Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Thursday, December 18, 2003 10:30 a.m. PRESENT: COUNCIL PRESIDENT ANNA C. VERNA COUNCILWOMAN JANNIE BLACKWELL COUNCILMAN DARRELL L. CLARKE COUNCILMAN DAVID COHEN COUNCILMAN FRANK J. DICICCO COUNCILMAN W. WILSON GOODE, JR. COUNCILMAN JAMES F. KENNEY COUNCILWOMAN JOAN L. KRAJEWSKI COUNCILMAN MICHAEL A. NUTTER COUNCILMAN BRIAN J. O'NEILL COUNCILMAN ANGEL L. ORTIZ COUNCILWOMAN DONNA REED MILLER COUNCILWOMAN BLONDELL REYNOLDS BROWN COUNCILMAN FRANK RIZZO COUNCILWOMAN MARIAN B. TASCO PATRICIA RAFFERTY, CHIEF CLERK V A R A L L O Incorporated Litigation Support Services Eleven Penn Center 1835 Market Street, Suite 600 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103 215.561.2220 215.567.2670
Good morning, everyone. I note that the hour that has come and in an a quorum of this Council present. Councilmembers will please take their seats. To give our invocation this morning, the Chair welcomes the Reverend Thomas Niblack, Pastor of the Gethsemane Baptist Church. He is here today as the guest of Council President Verna. All members of guests will please rise.
Shall we bow in prayer. Our Father and our God, we do thank you for, again, allowing us to be here today. We pray for wisdom and guidance and understanding most of all, Lord. You said in all our ways acknowledge you and you will direct our paths. We pray, oh, God, that you would direct the pathway of Council today. Bless each one as we open this Council session. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
The Chair Niblack for his very inspiring invocation. Council will be at ease. (Council at ease.)
The next order of business is the approval of the Journal of the meeting of Thursday, December 11, 2003. And the Chair recognizes Councilwoman Blackwell.
Thank you, Madam President. I move that the Journal of the meeting of Thursday, December 11, 2003, stand approved.
It has been moved and properly seconded that the Journal of the meeting of Thursday, December 11, 2003, stand approved. All in favor will indicate by saying aye. (Aye.)
The ayes have it. The motion carries. And the Journal of the meeting of Thursday, December 11, 2003, is approved. The next order of business is requests for leaves of absence. And again, the Chair recognizes Councilwoman Blackwell.
Thank you, Madam President. Today a leave of absence is requested for Councilman Mariano.
The Chair thanks the Councilwoman, and leave will be granted. The Chair recognizes Councilman O'Neill.
Madam President, on behalf of the Republicans, there are no requests for leaves of absence.
The Chair will dispense with the regular order of business to recognize the guests and visitors joining us in Chambers this morning. On behalf of all Members of City Council, I welcome you to our Council Session. We appreciate your taking the time to join us as we attend to the legislative affairs of our City. We certainly invite you to come again. I know that we are really quite crowded in here. I would just like to make a few guidelines. We respect you and we appreciate your attendance. And in return, we expect respect. We don't want any shouting. We do not want anybody crisscrossing shouting each other or having anything to say to the Councilmembers. If that is done, you will be escorted out of the room. So they will be the guidelines for today. Thank you all very much. The next order of business is communications. The Chair requests that the Sergeant-at-Arms deliver the messages from the Clerk. THE
To President and Members of the Council of the City of Philadelphia, I am pleased to advise you that on December 18, 2003, I signed all the bills that were passed by Council on December 4, 2003 except 030562, 030686, and 030714. And I am herewith returning to you as disapproved Bill No. 030714, which shifts primary responsibility for the repair of sidewalks from the adjacent property owner to the City. And I am also returning Bill No. 030562, which would establish local campaign contribution limits for candidates for Mayor or City Council. And I am returning to you as disapproved Bill No. 030686, which would amend Title 14 of the Philadelphia Code, entitled "Zoning and Planning." And I am transmitting for the consideration of your honorable a draft of a resolution entitled, a resolution approving the authorization for the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority to use NTI bond proceeds to acquire certain properties, under certain terms and conditions.
The messages will be printed in the Journal. The Chief Clerk will please read any other communications in her possession. THE
Thank you. The next order of business is the introduction of bills and resolutions. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Blackwell for a motion.
Thank you, Madam President. I move that the Rules of Council be suspended so as to permit the immediate consideration of resolutions at their time of introduction. (Duly seconded.)
It has been moved and properly seconded that the Rules of Council be suspended so as to permit immediate consideration of resolutions at the time of introduction. All in favor will say aye. (Aye.)
The ayes have it and the motion carries. The Chair recognizes Councilman Kenney.
Thank you, Madam President. I have no bills or resolutions today.
The Chair thanks the gentleman. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Blackwell.
Thank you, Madam President. Today, I introduce one resolution.
The Clerk will please read the title of the resolution. THE
A resolution recognizing the week of December 29, 2003 through January 3, 2004 as Haitian Independence Week to celebrate Haiti's 2,000 anniversary as an independent nation.
Thank you, Madam President. I move for the adoption. (Duly seconded.)
It has been moved and properly seconded that the resolution be adopted. All in favor will say aye. (Aye.)
The ayes have it, and the motion carries. The Chair recognizes Councilman Cohen. Apparently, he's not in the room. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Krajewski.
The Chair thanks the Councilwoman. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Tasco.
Madam President, I have no bills or resolutions today.
Thank you, Madam President. I have no bills or resolutions today.
Thank you. The Chair recognizes Councilman Nutter. (No response.) The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Brown.
Thank you, Madam President. I have no bills or resolutions this morning.
The Chair thanks the Councilwoman. The Chair recognizes Councilman Goode.
Thank you, Madam President. I have no bills or resolutions.
Thank you. The Chair recognizes Councilman Ortiz.
Madam President, on behalf of Councilman Cohen and myself, I have one resolution.
Thank you. The Clerk will please read the title of the resolution. THE
A resolution recognizing the central role of Nora Castaneda, President of the Woman's Development Bank of Venezuela in guaranteeing the rights of women and the poor in Venezuela as a model for caring economy for Philadelphia and beyond.
I move for the adoption of the resolution. (Duly seconded.)
It has been moved and properly seconded that the resolution be adopted. All in favor will signify by saying aye. (Aye.)
The ayes have it, and the motion carries. The Chair recognizes Councilman DiCicco.
The Clerk will please read the title of the first resolution. THE
A resolution authorizing the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority to use NTI bond proceeds to acquire certain properties, under certain terms and conditions.
Thank you, Madam President. I have move for the adoption of the resolution. (Duly seconded.)
It has been moved and properly seconded that the resolution be adopted. All in favor will signify by saying aye. (Aye.)
The ayes have it, and the resolution has been adopted. The Clerk will please read the title of the second resolution. THE
A resolution also naming the 1100 block of Filbert Street as Harry Ox Way in honor of a long-time Reading Terminal Market merchant Harry G. Ox, Jr.
Thank you, Madam President. I move for the adoption of the resolution. (Duly seconded.)
It has been moved and properly seconded that the resolution be adopted. All in favor will signify by saying aye. (Aye.)
The ayes have it, and the motion carries. The Chair recognizes Councilman O'Neill.
The Chair thanks the gentleman. The Chair recognizes Councilman Clarke.
The Clerk will please read the title of the first resolution. THE
A resolution authorizing the Commissioner of Public Property to execute and deliver to the Redevelopment Authority deeds located in the 18th, 20th, 37th and 43rd Wards of the City of Philadelphia.
Move for the adoption of the resolution. (Duly seconded.)
It has been moved and properly seconded that the resolution be adopted. All in favor will say aye. (Aye.)
The ayes have it, and the resolution has been adopted. The Clerk will please read the title of the second resolution. THE
A resolution approving the redevelopment contract and disposition supplement of the Redevelopment Authority of the City of Philadelphia for the redevelopment and urban renewal of a portion of the Model Cities Renewal Area.
Move for the adoption of the resolution. (Duly seconded.)
It has been moved and properly seconded that the resolution be adopted. All in favor will say aye. (Aye.)
The ayes have it, and the resolution is adopted. The Chair recognizes Councilman Rizzo.
Thank you. The Chair recognizes Councilman Cohen. Councilman Cohen, do you have any bills or resolutions?
Thank you, Madam President. I apologize. I have three resolutions, the first of which if I could ask if the Chief Clerk would read the full resolution.
Thank you. The Clerk will please read the first resolution in full, please. THE
A resolution commending Mr. Bernard Gay for his services as President of the Greater Philadelphia Hotel Association and for his leadership in the hospitality community.
Sorry. A resolution authorizing the Committee on Commerce and Economic Development to hold hearings to investigate the proposed closure of the Medical College of Pennsylvania by Tenet Healthcare Corporation and the devastating impact that such a closure would have on the patients and employees of MCP, the East Falls community, and the City of Philadelphia, and further authorizing the Committee in furtherance of such investigation to issue subpoenas as may be necessary to compel the attendance of witnesses and the production of documents to the full extent authorized under Section 2-401 of the Home Rule Charter; and Whereas, the Medical College of Pennsylvania is 153-year-old hospital located within the East Falls community and is the eighth largest general hospital in the City with 365 staff beds and provides general psychiatric services and is used by Drexel University to teach medical students; Whereas, MCP has approximately 1,000 employees and slightly more than 500 active physicians; and Whereas, in 1998, MCP was acquired by Tenet Healthcare Corporation, a for-profit company in an effort to rescue the failed and bankrupt Allegheny Health Systems; and Whereas, the City and State provided Tenet with various tax breaks and financial incentives to help with the purchase of MCP and other bankrupt hospitals within the Allegheny Health System; and Whereas, as part of the purchase of these healthcare institutions, Tenet signed agreements regarding the provision of healthcare and community investments; and Whereas, one of the fundamental principles contained in the Hippocratic oath, as to disease, make a habit two things, to help or to at least do no harm; and Whereas, Tenet has violated this fundamental commitment and has hypocritically turned its back on providing essential healthcare services to the citizens of the City; and Whereas, the Committee on Commerce and Economic Development must investigate the decision by Tenet to close MCP, analyze the managerial operations of Tenet, and evaluate the financial soundness of MCP, along with the economic and employment impact of this devastating decision on the City of Philadelphia. Now, therefore, resolved by the Council of the City of Philadelphia that the Committee on Commerce and Economic Development is authorized to hold hearings to investigate the proposed closure of the Medical College of Pennsylvania by Tenet Healthcare Corporation and the devastating impact that such a closure would have on the patients and employees of MCP, the East Falls community, and the City of Philadelphia. Further resolved that the Committee on Commerce and Economic Development is authorized to issue subpoenas as may be necessary to compel the attendance of witnesses and the production of documents to the full extent authorized under section 2-401 of the Home Rule Charter.
Thank you. The Chair recognizes Councilman Nutter.
Thank you, Madam President. I wish to move the adoption of the resolution, but I wish to speak on the resolution. (Duly seconded.)
Thank you, Madam President. Madam President, this is an outrage in this City that a company that was welcomed into this town from nowhere that no one had ever heard of that we appreciate, step to the plate to rescue a failed healthcare system, the Allegheny System, has now come to tell us out of nowhere last night after the financial markets closed in a press release at 5:30 this morning West Coast Time that a hospital, one of the premiere institutions in Philadelphia, MCP -- the history of that hospital, the service is provides -- with virtually no notice on the same day that the nurses who were here last week who I spoke to who are not necessarily thrilled with some of the comments, but they were for a purpose, to drive the company and the nurses to the table that today they are prepared to sign an agreement with the company that someone in California, some accountant, some financial person somewhere would make a decision to close the hospital on the same day that they're about to assign a contract to save the hospital is an outrage in this City. It will not be accepted. We will have hearings about this particular issue. This mess is not over; it has only started today. (Applause.)
The City of Philadelphia, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has helped the company do a number of things. I have worked with them. Many people who are known to us in this Council, community people, not the usual suspects, not the people who we all see all the time, but regular neighborhood people have devoted time and effort to develop one of the best charity care policies in the United States of America. It is a model. Commitments were made. Decisions were taken. People gave time and effort to work with the company that no one knew. That trust has been violated. It will not accepted easily. I notified Mr. Shinegold last night when he told me at 5:30 of this decision, I told him at 6 o'clock, "You have my resignation from the Community Board of Advisors. I cannot work with you under these circumstances and represent my constituents in the way they deserve to be represented. This will not be accepted." (Applause.)
They didn't even have the courtesy to notify Governor Rendell, Congressman Fattah, Senator Hughes, or any other elected official in this City. I just happened to be across from their offices and they didn't want to take the chance of not telling me about it. But telling me about it is not enough. We will work with anyone in the community. We will work with the nurses, our ward leaders in the neighborhood, Ralph Winder and Lou Agre, and anyone else who is interested. This decision will not be accepted easily. Let me assure you. The Committee will have hearings. We will subpoena anybody from anywhere about this particular issue. We are not finished. Thank you, Madam President. (Applause.)
Thank you. It has been moved and properly seconded that the resolution be adopted. All in favor will signify by saying. Aye. (Aye.)
The ayes have it, and the motion carries. The Chief Clerk will please read the title of the second resolution. THE
A resolution commending Mr. Bernard Gay, his service as President of the Greater Philadelphia Hotel Association and for his leadership in the hospitality community.
Thank you, Madam President. I move the adoption of the resolution. (Duly seconded.)
It has been moved and properly seconded that the resolution be adopted. All in favor will say aye. (Aye.)
The ayes have it, and the resolution has been adopted. The Chief Clerk will please read the final resolution. THE
A resolution authorizing the Commissioner of Public Property to execute and deliver to the Redevelopment Authority of the City deeds located in the 34th Ward of the City of Philadelphia.
Thank you, Madam President. I move the adoption of the resolution. (Duly seconded.)
It has been moved and properly seconded that the resolution be adopted. All in favor will signify by saying aye. (Aye.)
The ayes have it, and the resolution is adopted. Do all Councilmembers have three Mayor's bills that he's vetoing? If you don't, please -- do we have copies of Bill No. 030686? (Pause.)
Does everyone now have a copy of the letter regarding Bill No. 030686? If you do not, please raise your hand so that we'll make certain that you have a copy of the letter. So I'm assuming everyone has a copy of the letter. Do Councilmembers want a brief time to read the letters since we just received them? (Pause.)
Council will now proceed under a special order of business to the reconsideration of Bill No. 030562. This bill was passed by the Council at its December 4, 2003 Session and was returned disapproved by the Mayor to today's Session of Council. At this time, the Chair recognizes
Thank you, Madam President. I move that Council reconsider Bill No. 030562, which was approved by Council on December 4, 2003. (Duly seconded.)
And I would like to be heard at the appropriate time on the veto override.
The Clerk will please read the title of the bill. THE
Bill No. 030562, an ordinance amending Title 20 of the Philadelphia Code, entitled "officers and Employees," by adding a new chapter entitled "Campaign contributions and expenditures, under certain terms and conditions.
All in favor, let it known by saying aye. (Aye.)
The ayes it, the motion carries. Council will now reconsider the vote by which Bill No. 030562 was passed. The Chief Clerk has already read the title of the bill. Councilman Goode wants to be heard on the motion.
Thank you, Madam President. Today as is the last session of my freshman term in Council. First I want to sincerely thank every member of this Council for their unanimous support of my first 17 bills. I also want to thank Councilwoman Brown for her cosponsorship of this bill. In addition, I must give Councilmen Kenney, Ortiz and Cohen credit for their leadership on this issue over the last few years. Today, this Council answered a fundamental question: Should a candidate to become Mayor of this City or candidate to become a member of this Council be able to take as much money as they want from whoever they want whenever they want? The answer Today, a majority of this Council will vote to override the Mayor's veto of this bill that establishes fair and reasonable contribution limits, establishing some rules rather than none. Today, a majority of this Council will protect the most fundamental precept of American democracy, the precept that we live in a one-person, one-vote political system. Others may argue that we also live in a capital system of free enterprise protected by First Amendment rights. The Supreme Court recently ruled on that matter as it relates to political money. To paraphrase majority opinion of the Court, the influence of political money is corrupting our system of democratic governance. It is clear that big political money is destroying our one-person, one-vote system. Wealthy political contributors are consciously seeing to strip economically disadvantaged Americans of their political equality. Let me repeat that. It's clear that big political money is destroying one-person, one-vote system. Wealthy political contributors are consciously seeking to strip economically disadvantaged Americans of the political equality. It's time to do the right thing. Vote for reform. Thank you. (Applause.)
Thank you. The Chair recognizes Councilman Kenney.
Thank you, Madam President. I would like to thank Councilman Goode for his leadership in this issue and for his comments relative to myself and Councilmember Ortiz's efforts over the last number of years to get something like this passed. I'm glad that he's had the fortitude, the stick-to-itiveness to stick to this issue and to see it through, and I think we will be successful today. There is no piece of legislation that is perfect. And anyone, if you have a lawyer in the room one or more lawyers, will find a way around any piece of legislation. historic opportunity for us in this City in this body today to take a step forward to change the perception that the general public has about the way we do business. Do I think that people take campaign contributions automatically to give a quid pro quo for consideration of bills? No, I do not think that people in this body act that way. I don't think the Mayor acts that way. But I think the public perceives it that way. And with all the money that we're talking, all the money we need to raise to run our elections, from Council to the Mayor, we need to change the way we do this business. And if this is a small step -- it may be an imperfect step, there may be people who try to find ways around it; fine. We will try to plug those holes as we go along. But this is an opportunity, especially in the environment that we are in today, with all that's swirling around our government, with all that's swirling around this City, we need to take a step forward and stand up to do something that's right that's a And I want command again Councilman Goode and Brown for efforts in this regard. And I urge all of our members to examine their conscience and know that we need to move forward in the right way and send the right message to the people of this city and the state and this country. We need to be leaders in ourselves. I remember the same argument was made about issues regarding apartheid and legislation that went throughout this country city by city. It was said that the state government should do it first, that the federal government should do it first. Well, the reason that the apartheid measures were so successful is because they went -- the anti-apartheid legislation was so successful is because it went city by city. Grass roots people cared about an issue, stood up, and the local governments responded. I think we need to respond and take the chains of money away from our process, away from our elected process and override this veto. And thank the vote today. Thank you, Madam Chair. (Applause.)
Thank you. The Chair recognizes Councilman Ortiz.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I also want to join in thanking Councilman Goode for bringing it up and having this legislation at this point. We have tried over the years in this Council to bring some sort of sense to campaign contributions. This is the end of Councilman Goode's first term. It is the end of my 20 years in Council. And I think it would be very good and it would be a great going away gift if we bring some sense and taking away of the influence of big money from political elections in City politics. We have seen how the cost of elections in this City have gone up over the years. When you have elections, District Council elections in districts likes 5th, 7th, 1st, 2nd, and every other district in the City of Philadelphia, and in those district elections, the cost of getting elected has gone from a few thousand dollars to over a quarter of a million dollars to half a million dollars, it isn't the citizens of those districts that are contributing the money. It is the corporate institutions that want to build in this City cheaply and at the expense of taxpayers who are contributing the money. (Applause.)
It is the individuals, the developers with big pockets, deep pockets, who want their way to be done. When poor people, when working class people need something from this Council, it takes a heck of a lot of work to get it done. When a developer needs something, a contribution gets it done. Let me tell you something. It does get it done. Money talks. (Applause.)
The Mayor in his veto message says -- and I'm going to quote -"That each of us as candidates knows all too well that the time required to raise money keeps increasing. But we also know that to remain competitive and discourage competition, we will put in the time required to fund our campaigns." Well, the purpose of a democracy, a representative democracy is not to discourage competition; it is to have competition for elective office. And we should try to make it as easy as possible for people, ordinary people, working class people, professional, other individuals that do not have great amounts of money to be able to run for political office. We should not be able to use money to discourage competition. We should not be able to use campaign contributions to remain in office just because we have more money and we're able to spend it, we're able to buy it, and we're able to then get our way done. Money corrupts. It has been a the political process. I think it's time to end it. A long journey starts with one step. This is our step. Thank you. (Applause.)
Thank you, Madam President. And I'd like to take this opportunity to speak in favor of this bill as well. As someone who probably has the ability to raise more money than just about any other Councilperson in this body, I can tell you firsthand, and I think most of you would share this same feeling, that it is probably one of the most of the demeaning things for me to have to do. But as Councilman Ortiz pointed out, it's just the way things are done in Philadelphia, and probably in other communities as well across this nation. The cost of running elections is just increasing and continues to increase, and I just don't know where it will all end unless today to at least let the people in this City know that we understand and we care. It's interesting. I'm seeing a lot of signs out here today in opposition to Wal-Mart and some in favor. But there's a sign the lady's holding in front of me, and if you look at it, it says, Whose, and there's dollars sign where the S should be after whose and there's some other dollar signs. And I would suspect that the lady probably thinks that somehow the developer's gotten to me somehow -(Applause.)
-- that somehow the developer's money flowed into my campaign or my future campaign and that has caused me to make the decision to support the Wal-Mart development. (Applause.)
And I know that probably no matter what I say, unless each and every one of you takes a look at my financial report, will always be of the opinion that in way, shape, or form I was bought off. I'm not here to defend myself, but to say that in this case -- and I know that Councilman Ortiz didn't mean this personal to me when he commingled his statement about Wal-Mart and campaign contributions. I understood exactly what he was referencing. There was money. There is no money coming from the developer. There has been no money. The record is open. But I think what we need to do today is set the record straight and hopefully, hopefully, people will think a lot different about us when they realize that this kind of legislation will prevent any suggestion or reality that we would be able to collect or raise money from developers as a quid pro quo. Thank you. (Applause.)
Thank you. The Chair recognizes Councilman Goode.
Thank you, Madam President. I'll be real brief. to mention also that there are 50 local jurisdictions around this nation that have laws limiting campaign contributions. The City of Chicago has a law, although the state of Illinois does not. The City of Albuquerque has a law, although New Mexico does not. The City of Austin has a law, although Texas does not. This is not the time to pass the buck to Harrisburg. The buck stops here right now. We have to make a decision. Are we reformers or are we just status quo politicians?
Thank you very much. The Chair recognizes Councilman Clarke.
Thank you, Madam President. Madam President, I was not going to speak, but I feel that I need to speak on this particular bill. First, I'd like to say I want to commend Councilman Goode and some of the other members who have been working on this issue time; I think Councilman Cohen and Ortiz and Kenney. And I support their efforts, although I may not support this particular piece of legislation. I do believe that there should be some reform, but I'm extremely concerned about this particular piece of legislation, as I was the legislation that did not pass because I think it creates an environment that we do not have a level playing field, particularly for those members who are running for Council or who are incumbent Councilmembers or Mayor. I don't think it's right for Members of Council and members of the Mayor to be limited in terms of their ability to raise money but every other elected official, not only in the municipality of this City of Philadelphia but in the State of Pennsylvania and on a federal level those Congress people who represent areas within the City, can raise unlimited amounts of money. I am extremely concerned about the soft money issue. And I understand the sponsor of the bill addressed that issue and, in fact, he does not have the authority nor have the authority to limit soft money, but soft money finds a way in our campaigns. Unfortunately, it has not found a way into my particular campaign because I was never able to take advantage of the numerous packs that are around the City and that has funded campaigns. I represent a district that, frankly speaking, had some problems. I represent portions of my district that, frankly speaking, were it not for my ability to contribute to the local drill team or to contribute to the local recreation center, they would not be able to have a program. Yesterday morning, I sponsored a breakfast for 150 senior citizens at the Spring Garden Older Adult Center. If I did not have money in my campaign, I would not be able to bring happiness to those individuals. Last night I had a function, a holiday function, where I had over a hundred people, community leaders, that I had to pay for out of my campaign expense fund. Saturday, I will have a function at Center for children where we've invited 200 children, and we will hopefully bring some joy to those underprivileged individuals . I have to pay for that out of my campaign expense account. I do not have a healthy non-profit corporation that can sponsor such events in my particular district. So while I agree in terms of the spirit of this particular legislation, I just think that this particular Councilperson will not be in a position to do the numerous things that I am called to do on numerous occasions throughout the course of the year. I would like at some future date to work with members of this body to address the other numerous problems associated with campaign expense reforms regardless of the outcome of this particular bill. But because of the concerns that I have raised in this particular discussion, I cannot vote for this particular bill. So I just wanted to say that while I can't be supportive, I commend the sponsor on his efforts and look forward to sponsor and numerous other Members of Council in the future to work on needed expense reform, but in a fair and equitable way, in a way that allows me to represent the constituents in the 5th Councilmanic District. Thank you, Madam President.
You're welcome. The Chair again recognizes Councilman Goode.
Thank you, Madam President. Let me first address to my colleague Councilman Clarke that it is actually inappropriate to use political money for those types of things and he should probably set up a charity to handle those types of needs within his district. But let me say there have been two very false arguments put out about this bill. One, that there is an unlevel playing field between the Members of Council and the Mayor with regard to competing with other people in truth of the matter is this bill does not say anything about office holders, but candidates; any candidates. And any person who's a candidate for City Council or Mayor, whether they happen to be existing Councilperson or an incumbent Mayor, everyone has to play by the same rules. So that's a false argument. The second false argument has been made that somehow something is going to happened on the state level with regard to campaign finance reform. But my particular concern with that is that this body is about to adjourn a term. Members will be sworn in on January 5th, will not run again until 2007 if they choose to. If state reform is going to come even within the next year, how much big money do you have to take between now and when state reform comes?
Thank you. Councilman Clarke, your light is on. Do you wish to be recognized.
Yes. I just want to make one point. While I agree with sponsor, and I traditionally don't debate with this particular sponsor because we tend to agree on most things and we have similar interests as it relates my COUNCIL district, with respect to the issue on a candidate, the reality is an individual, a State Representative as an example, can raise unlimited amounts of dollars clearly understanding that they are target that particular Councilperson. Those monies can be spent to influence the vote, not necessarily the vote for that particular seat because, obviously, you would have to file a campaign expense report and a Committee for Council. But knowing some of the state elected officials and their ability to do whatever they need to do, they can clearly get their name out, they can clearly influence individuals as it relates to the popularity of those particular individuals, and I think they can clearly position themselves once they have to file for that particular office and file a Campaign Committee that they will essentially have gotten a leg up on the particular that's all I'm saying on that one.
Thank you. The Chair again recognizes Councilman Goode.
Thank you, Madam President. I won't belabor this too much more but, once again, another false argument. The truth of the matter is anybody, whether they're a State Rep, whether they're someone just thinking about running for Council can raise as much money as they want. But under this bill, they cannot transfer it from one Committee to another Committee except in allotments of $5,000, and that is appropriate. So there's a level playing field for all candidates for Council. And that's just a false argument. And lastly, this whole argument about State Reps and State Senators running for City Council, I don't even remember who the last State Rep or State Senator running for City Council was. I believe it might have been John White back in 1979.
Thank you. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Brown.
Thank you, Madam President. It's clear by the dialog and discussion we've had on this bill that I cosponsored with my colleague Councilman Goode that this is an enormously important issue. Councilman Goode shared with us that campaign finance reform has taken place in other cities across the country, namely Chicago. So though imperfect, I think we have a responsibility to start somewhere. This bill is a beginning of starting somewhere with the expectation and hope that the State will do the right thing and pull their heads together to provide us with comprehensive campaign finance reform. So I felt compelled to support my colleague because it is a beginning of us taking a hard look and trying to put a stop to what we already see in campaigns, and currently that is unlimited giving. Thus, I will be supporting this bill.
Thank you. The Chair recognizes Councilman Clarke.
Madam President, I'm going to defer to my good friend Councilman Cohen.
Thank you, Madam President. I want to say today I think is a very important day because very important issues are coming up. We're going to find out if Council has a spine for good government. This is the first bill that's going to question that. I think the arguments made by the speakers in favor of overriding the veto are compelling. You can always find an excuse to do nothing. This is a time when we've got to be clear and clean, and both things require a vote to override the Mayor today on this bill. Thank you. (Applause.)
Thank you, Madam President. Councilman Goode forgot to mention that New York City has campaign finance reform. And not only does it have campaign finance reform, but it has campaign finance that is financed by the taxpayers of the City. And in order to get that assistance, you have to commit yourself to only spend a certain amount in any campaign. Last time around, the current Mayor of New York City, Mayor Bloomberg, spent, I think, $80 million to get elected of his own money. And if anybody's been reading the papers for the last seven months in the City of Philadelphia, you have become very much aware of the term "pay-to-play." Anytime you pick up the Daily News, The Inquirer, that is the phrase. Well, the taxpayers of this City understand what pay-to-play means. So it is very clear. This is one step. It is not the perfect, but it's the first step. And in to begin a very long journey, we have to begin here. It doesn't begin at the State level; it begins here in City of Philadelphia, the largest City in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. (Applause.)
Thank you. At this time the Chair recognizes Councilwoman Tasco.
Thank you, Madam President. I just want to say in a moment of levity that I hate campaign finance reform, but I do plan to vote for this bill because I think it's the right thing to do. Thank you very much.
Thank you. This bill having been read on two different days was duly approved by City Council December 4, 2003, and was returned to Council by the Mayor as disapproved at today's Session of Council. The question now is, shall Bill No. 030562 pass notwithstanding the Mayor's disapproval. a vote of aye, a vote of aye is a vote to override the Mayor's veto. And a vote of no, a vote of no is to sustain the Mayor's veto. At this time I would ask the Chief Clerk to please call the roll. THE
The veto overridden. The ayes are 12, the nays are 3. Council will now proceed again under of business on the reconsideration of Bill No. 030686. The bill was passed by the Council at its December 4, 2003 Session and was returned disapproved by the Mayor at today's Session of Council. At this time, the Chair recognizes Councilman Nutter.
Thank you, Madam President. I move that Council reconsider Bill No. 030686, which was approved by Council or December 4, 2003. (Duly seconded.)
There has been second. All in favor, let it be known by saying aye. (Aye.)
The ayes have it. The motion carries. Council will now reconsider the vote by which Bill No. 030686 was passed. The Chief Clerk will please read the bill. THE
Bill No. 030686, an ordinance amending Title 14 of the Philadelphia Code entitled "Zoning and Planning," by establishing certain restrictions on land sought by acquisition by the City, under certain terms and conditions.
Thank you, Madam President. If it's the appropriate time, I wish to be heard on this particular matter.
Thank you. Madam President, there are was a news article back on September 28th about a somewhat unusual circumstance involving a property in downtown Philadelphia. Councilman DiCicco and I discussed this matter. The location is actually in his Councilmanic district. And what the individuals did in this particular situation, Madam President and my colleagues, you know that the Pennsylvania Convention Center is planning to expand here Now, that planning process has gone on for sometime. It's been delayed for a variety of reasons that I certainly won't burden this record with. But all of us, I think, certainly agree that the Pennsylvania Convention Center is a major economic development engine in this City. Its future means a great deal to this City, the region and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania who are partners in making sure that the Convention Center operates properly. What happened this past summer is the owners of a vacant industrial building decided to improve their building. This building happens to be directly in the path of the expansion zone for the Pennsylvania Convention Center. And what they did was went to the Zoning Board of Adjustment, got a zoning variance to change the building's use from industrial to residential, secured permits, and now plan to build 60 loft apartments in a building that is directly in the path of the expansion of the Pennsylvania Convention Center. Now, you may wonder why would someone do that. Well, we're in America; we're not in Baghdad. In the land of the free and the home of the brave and where entrepreneurial spirit still lives, they decided, well, they're going to expand the building, we'll improve our building, and when we improved it and have 60-some-odd families living in it, they'll have to buy the building which the Pennsylvania Convention Center and the Redevelopment Authority estimated we would probably have to spend about $2 million to acquire a vacant industrial building but now a newly improved building will probably cost us somewhere between 8 to $12 million. Now, where does that money come from? It comes from the people in this room. It comes from the people in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It's taxpayers money that has to pay to acquire these properties. This is incredible. And so the Councilman and I worked together and we put together this bill which is now called the pending public acquisition simple concept. We work with the City Planning Commission, we work with the City of Philadelphia Law Department to create a concept that says when the government decides and has the necessary forms and documents and drawings, not just a thought on someone's mind, but actually takes an action that says, We want to expand for a government purpose and designate an area and file a document with the Chief Clerk, we don't want people coming in and ripping off the taxpayers of the City of Philadelphia and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. We're putting you on notice that that's area that we're going in. We put a two-year sunset on it so it doesn't last forever, but we don't want people improving buildings for the sole purpose of driving up the cost in order to make the taxpayers pay more. Without this nonsense, over the past five to six years we already know that through the normal forces of the market, the value of properties in this area have increased on average 20 percent over the last few years. That's automatically this kind of nonsense, we go to a $2 million cost to possibly $10 million of public dollars. So we drafted a bill. The Planning Commission worked on the bill. The Law Department worked on some amendments. They sent over a legal opinion with the recommendations of what amendments should be included, which were in the public hearing.
3 billion in payroll, 58,000 people affected by the hospitality and tourism industry. The Board took action yesterday to to ask Governor Rendell and the General Assembly to send us some amount of money, more than a little bit of money, to start the acquisition, relocation, demolition process right now so that we can control our cost and not have this project balloon out of the sky. I ask my colleagues to support this effort to make sure that the taxpayers don't pay any more than they should, any more than fair market value, and stop peopling from ripping off this government and the state government inappropriately improving properties in an area that they know the Convention Center plans to expand. You would have to live under a rock not to know that we're planning to come in that area in it is inappropriate to engage in this kind of activity, and that's the purpose of this bill. I ask my colleagues to support the override in this matter. Thank you, Madam President. )
Madam President, just a few brief remarks following up on my colleague Councilman Nutter. As he pointed out, I am a member of the Convention Center Authority Board and I was part of not only drafting this legislation but part of the group that devised the resolution that we signed yesterday to be sent up to the Governor and the General Assembly. But just to put things in perspective, when Councilman Nutter speaks about the millions of dollars in additional cost to the taxpayers, the report that we have in relationship to the 20 percent of the market value that has already increased, in pure raw numbers, every month that we do not acquire the land necessary for expansion will cost the taxpayers $2.5 million because of the market rate increase. Am I correct, Councilman Nutter, 2.5 million monthly?
$2.5 million per month. Now, we're not even certain if the General Assembly and the Governor are going to send the money down to us to do the acquisition, but without the legislation, even if we got the money, that market value on those properties will continue and at some point the taxpayers will have to flip the bill. This is necessary legislation in order to grow the economy and to grow the Convention Center. And I, too, would urge my colleagues to support this bill. (Applause.)
Thank you, Madam President. I, too, urge my colleagues to support this bill. While we in the 9th District does not as of yet have the kind of expansion that might be analogous to the Convention Center, I will just share with you. 1986 when we had the explosion in Logan and Mayor Goode set up a process to relocate those families, we had a lot of speculators go to Logan, bought up houses thinking that they were going to make a windfall. At the end of the term when we were thinking about developing. And so we have now set up pretty much with all of the people in Logan, but now we have to spend money to take care of people who did not live in Logan at the time of the explosion and the relocation of those families. But we still have to spend Public dollars to buy out those speculators who went in there and bought those properties. So I think this is a good bill. It protects the taxpayers; dollars, and that's what we're responsible for. That's just a small example. It's not billions of dollars or millions, but $500,000 is a significant amount when you think you can spend it on something else. So I think it's very important that we pass this bill. (Applause.)
Thank you. been read on two different days, was approved by City Council on December 4, 2003, and was returned to Council by the Mayor as disapproved at today's Session of Council. The question is, shall Bill No. 030686 pass notwithstanding the Mayor's disapproval? Again, I would call your attention that a vote of aye is to override the Mayor's veto. And a vote of no is to sustain the Mayor's veto. At this time I would ask the Chief Clerk to please call the roll. THE
Aye. The ayes are 15, the nays are 0. A two-thirds majority of all Councilmembers having voted in the affirmative, the Mayor's veto is overridden. (Applause.)
Today, we have a third. Council will now proceed under a special order of business to the reconsideration of Bill No. 030714. This bill was passed by Council at its December 4, 2003 Session, and was returned disapproved by the Mayor to today's Session of Council. At this time, the Chair recognizes Councilman Nutter.
Thank you, Madam President. I move that Council reconsider Bill 030714, which was approved by Council on December 4, 2003. (Duly seconded.)
All in favor let it be known by saying aye. (Aye.)
The ayes have it, the motion carries. Council will now reconsider the vote by which Bill No. 030714 was passed. The Chief Clerk will please read the title of the bill. THE
Bill No. 030714, an ordinance amending Section 11-505 of the Philadelphia Code entitled "Sidewalk Paving and Other Improvements by Property Owners," by revising the process governing the grading, paving, repaving or repair of sidewalks and setting or resetting of curbs, and by revisiting the assessment of property owners for the cost of such work, all under certain terms and conditions.
Thank you, Madam President. I'll try to be brief on this. President, this is an issue that I have worked on over the years probably for almost all of my time here in City Council, which is trying to reestablish in a different way a process that was already in place prior to my arriving in City Council which is, how does the City try to address the concerns that homeowners have about the general condition of their curbs and sidewalks. We recognize that the general liability and responsibility for the homeowners with regard to curb and sidewalk still rest with them. But the question always occurs. In many of our neighborhoods throughout this City where you have the deterioration of the curb and sidewalk area, the excessive cost that is involved in trying to deal with this, how are homeowners supposed to respond to make sure that their curb and sidewalk are in good repair, in good order? There is at least one program in the City that operates in only a couple of neighborhoods because of cost which is called the Model Blocks Program. It is a program by the William Penn Foundation as well as the City's Office of Housing and Community Development with a grant from our Community Development Block Grant funds. And what happens in that program is, when the block organization works with the Model Blocks Program, they determine the full cost of repairing the curb and sidewalk. Thirty percent of the cost is covered by the homeowners. The other 70 percent of the cost is covered by the program. What this bill seeks to do is move us one step closer to having an actual program that is responsive needs of our citizens. Now, we received a message here today from the Mayor. And I respect the Mayor's message and I respect his concerns. I think though, unfortunately, the concerns are overstated and premature at this moment. One, we have a very limited program. Two, other than that, there is no program that responds to the concerns of citizens, unlike the situation in Chicago where they have a program for people and an additional program for citizens, and many other cities across the country. But this bill today, notwithstanding the message that we received, does not cost the City any money for a couple reasons: One, there is no identified funding source. Two, if you read the bill in its entirety and look at Section 11-505 of the Philadelphia Code, that section which we have amended reads, "Whenever the Department of Streets determines that it is necessary to grade, pave, repave or repair the sidewalks and to set or reset the curb of any public street in the City, it shall give written notice of the Department's intention have such work done and the provisions of this section to the owner of the property adjoining which such work is to be done or to his agent," and on and on. It is within the full discretion in this bill still of the Department of Streets to determine when they are out repaving a street, which is our responsibility, if the curb and sidewalk area are so deteriorated that it is necessary to have the curb and sidewalk, this bill starts to set up a process by which there would be payment, reasonable payment by the homeowners, similar to the process that we put in to effect a couple years ago when I raised the issue, and many Members here supported, the issue of retaining walls. Now, for years we were told, the City can't do anything about retaining walls, we can't afford it, they're too expensive, they're too many of them, on and on and on, horror stories day and night. Last year during the NTI hearings, the issue was raised about having some of the NTI money provided for a study and a pilot program to deal with retaining walls.
Today, three retaining walls have been done in this City; one in the 8th Councilmanic District, one in the 9th Councilmanic District, and one in my own in the 4th Councilmanic. As a result of the start of a similar process, determining what the cost would be, we decided in this Council before we had a funding source identified, before we had a program in place, that homeowners would only be responsible for $50 per linear foot on the repair of a retaining wall. Then we identified a funding source, and then a study was done, and now work has been completed. Apparently, the City likes the program so much, they did a pilot program of three walls this year, NTI anticipates doing eight to twelve retaining walls next year. But every year that I've been here until last year, I was told by the government, We cannot do retaining walls, they cost too much, it's too expensive for the City, which is the same message in this particular letter today. We need to establish a process. People have been asking for years, when is the City going to do something about this? We talk about neighborhood revitalization and what it means. Well, it means different things to different people in different neighborhoods. This is the kind of neighborhood revitalization that some people would like to see. It's not a helter-skelter situation. It's not about 23 hundred miles of streets and 4500 acres of sidewalks. Of going to do every curb and sidewalk in the City because every curb and sidewalk in the City does not need to be done and you have to have a rational program to do it. But we don't re-surface everybody's street every year either, even though they may be need. We allocate a specific amount of money for re-surfacing. That's what we have, that's what we use. And if we don't have any more money for your street, we'll try to get you next year. So we're trying to establish a rational process for how we address this particular issue. " All I heard from people was yes. Now we have a bill that passed this Council I believe unanimously. Now it's come back. If you supported the concept before, it seems to me that you should support the concept now because nothing has changed in the last two weeks between on December 4th and now the bill coming back to us on December 18th. So I ask my colleagues to support this effort, to start a process as we go into next year's budget process and next year's discussion about NTI. Let us give something to the taxpayers of this City. Let us give them something that they have been asking for and establish a rational process that allows us to get from Point A to Point B. Doing the streetscapes in this City does improve the quality of life in many of our neighborhoods. So I ask my colleagues to support this effort, to start a process of putting a program in place. Thank you, Madam President.
You're welcome. The Chair recognizes Councilman Clarke.
Thank you, Madam President. Madam President, I just wanted for the record the sponsor indicated that there was a unanimous vote. I voted against the I voted against the bill upon its passage. And unfortunately, because I to some degree agree with the concept of the bill, will be voting today and it's purely for budgetary issues. So I just wanted for the record to correct the sponsor.
Thank you. The Chair again recognizes Councilman Nutter.
Thank you, Madam President. I knew I was on slightly shaky ground. Some of you may have noticed I hesitated when I said unanimous. I was wondering about that, and I appreciate Councilman Clarke correcting the record. I meant certainly no disrespect to him in mischaracterizing. I do appreciate the Councilman's concern about the financial implications. I think -- and the Councilman knows me well. I think I've indicated over some of my time here in City Council that I share similar concerns about financial pressures and budgetary issues. As I laid out earlier though in my comments, at the moment this bill would not cost the City anything because the only people who at the moment under this bill who would be able to determine that anything was going to happen would be the Department the Streets. Last I checked, the Department of Streets was a major part of the City Administration and the Executive branch of government. And I think until we've identified a funding source, the Department of Streets probably won't respond to the particular provisions of this bill. But it does, again, as I indicated, at least start a process. I'm very mindful of the fiscal concerns that we are facing. At the same time, we do spend money every day. We make spending decisions not only in this Council but in the government; some of which we actually have a hand in, some of which we don't. This is an issue that is very, very important to many people throughout the City. So I would only ask members to think about their colleagues, think about the needs and requests that people have made, and vote in particular measure. Thank you, Madam President.
Thank you. The Chair again recognizes Councilman Clarke.
Thank you, Madam President. Madam President, I'm not suggesting or in any way attempting to influence anyone's vote. I just simply wanted to indicate the basis for my vote. I personally don't like setting unrealistic expectations for the constituents of my particular Council District. So until I can, hopefully, identify a reasonable funding source or the possibility of a funding source, I just don't feel comfortable voting this bill. Thank you, Madam President.
You're welcome. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Tasco.
Thank you, Madam President. colleagues to support this bill because Councilman Nutter and I and a number of other Councilmembers represent areas where this issue of curbs and sidewalks, retaining walls, driveways -- when I go to a meeting, I know immediately what they're going talk about because it's important and their community and the quality of life. We had the same struggle over the retaining wall issue during the NTI hearings. My district was the beneficiary of getting one of those retaining walls, and it made all the difference to those neighbors up in East Oak Lane because that crumbling, blighted retaining wall was repaired, and the people were very happy. All they ask us to do is to try and find a way to help them. They don't ask the City to pay the whole freight. Just set a process in place so that we can participate. Five people don't want to pay for a hundred houses. They want everybody to pay their fair share. And so therefore, if we begin -- and we've been for years looking at what is the process, then we need to have a process in place to begin to So I think that this is a good bill and we ought to support it.
Thank you. This bill having been read on two different days was duly approved by City Council on December 4, 2003, and was returned to Council by the Mayor as disapproved at today's Session of Council. The question is, shall Bill No. 030714 pass notwithstanding the Mayor's disapproval. Again, a vote of aye is a vote to override the Mayor's veto. And a vote of no is to sustain the Mayor's veto. At this time I would ask the Chief Clerk to please call the roll. THE
Aye. The ayes are 13, the nays are 2. A two-thirds majority of all Members of Council having voted in the affirmative, the Mayor's veto is overridden. There are neither reports from committees nor bills on the First Reading Calendar this morning. Therefore, the Chair asks Councilwoman Blackwell to please call up the bills on the Second Reading and Final Passage Calendar to be considered today.
Thank you, Madam President. Today Bills No. 010181, 03040, 030767, 030768, 030769, 030825, 020826, 030742, 030743, 030785, 030788, 030731, 030732, 030733, 030734, 030735, 030736, 030737, 030738, 030739, 030741, 030784, 030682 030772, 030773, 030774, 030775, 030776, 030777, 030778, 030779, 030780, 030781, 030782 030827 are being called up for second reading and final passage today. Thank you.
Thank you. All other bills will be held. The Chief Clerk will please read title of the first bill to be considered, Bill No. 010181. THE
An ordinance amending Title 14 of the Philadelphia Code, entitled "Zoning and Planning," by amending Chapter 14-1500 entitled "Area Surrounding Airports," by adding a new Section 14-1503 entitled "Building Setback Line," under certain terms and conditions.
This bill having been read on two different days, the question now is shall the bill pass finally. The Clerk will please call the roll. THE
Aye. The ayes are 14, the nays are 0. A majority of all Members having voted in the affirmative, the bill passes. The Clerk will please read the title of Bill No. 030740. THE
An ordinance to amend the Philadelphia zoning maps by changing the zoning designations of certain areas of land located within an area bounded by Allegheny Avenue, Collins Street, Westmoreland Street and tulip Street.
This bill having been read on two different days, the question now is shall the bill pass finally. The Chair recognizes Councilman
Thank you. If this is the time in which to speak, I'd be very pleased to speak, Madam President.
Council has, so far, indicated that it's concerned about the people of Philadelphia. We will find out when the real issue comes today whether Council is interested in saving neighborhoods, a fine neighborhood like Port Richmond, a neighborhood that cannot tolerate being the home of a group of people who run business into the ground, who chose to employ people without health benefits putting the cost of taxpayers health benefits instead of accepting them, a group of people who seek to introduce into the United States the notion that workers have no rights, that a job is not worth having because it doesn't pay to support your family, it doesn't take care of health benefits, it doesn't take care of retirement plans. Who's going to provide for retirement? A company so each of the last two years, over a half of all of its employees leave because they can't stand the conditions, a company with a representation that even -- Councilman O'Neill, I'm going to mention one of your favorite candidates, Republican candidate for Senate and current Senior Senator from Pennsylvania Arlen Specter says -- and remember, he's Republican. And he says, "It's time for Wal-Mart to meet the human race." (Applause.)
AFL President John Sweeney seems to disagree with the contingent of carpenters that have occasionally come here to speak in support of Wal-Mart. Sweeney says that Wal-Mart has delayed war on labor and on the American worker because Wal-Mart is trying to bring to the United States third world citizenship. He's trying to treat the people of United States as workers unfit to be able to support their family. That's why so many of them leave each year. It's a company that compels people under various circumstances to work for are afraid to -- they're asked to stay overtime and they're not even paid. And my suggestion is that any person in public life, any person in public life who supports that kind of standard has no business representing the people of the United States. (Applause.)
When we get sworn in for the next term on January 5th, just like every other swearing-in ceremony, we swear to do things in the interest of the people of Philadelphia and to break the wage standards. And to say that 8 to $10 an hour is a fair wage is not servicing the good of Philadelphia. I, at the last meeting, spoke about the blight that I think Wal-Mart is, and it's a blight that's getting recognized everywhere. More than 20 communities have already been engaged in these kinds of battles against Wal-Mart because Wal-Mart is open and the clear, they hate the labor movement, they think workers should have no rights except the knee and crawl on the floor and tell their families that they're entitled after two years if they last that long -- and very few do -- that they're entitled to health benefits, but you're not. They say that to their wife and their children. And if it's a wife working, she has to say it to her husband and her children. Because when they finally award health benefits, they award it only to the worker, not to the family. Don't they appreciate that a worker is concerned about his family? I say a company that operates that way has no right to exist. It is a blight to the nation. And we're going to join, I hope, today the more than 20 other communities that have rejected Wal-Mart. And I can't understand under any circumstance why anybody in this body would vote to employ Wal-Mart. The City of Philadelphia is much better without any Wal-Mart anywhere. (Applause.)
But certainly, in a residential area with the small streets that Richmond, this will be the death nail of the hospital. And without a hospital, a community dies. (Applause.)
I also represent Port Richmond. It isn't only a District Councilman that represents, I run in every area of the City, and I'm concerned about every area of the City. The people in Port Richmond voted overwhelmingly to send me back to Council. They also voted for Councilman DiCicco. I see my duty to protect the people of Port Richmond. And I think the people of Port Richmond appreciate that fact. (Applause.)
So I'm appealing to my colleagues, each of whom received a memorandum from me yesterday outlining the joint bipartisanship in opposition to Wal-Mart and the way in which the business groups think about Wal-Mart. Just a week ago, Monday night, Brookin Institute that issued that famous report about two weeks ago saying that backward and Philadelphia has moved backward over the last 50 years, is now at across road. And the author of that report said plainly at a hotel that the choice is clear, Philadelphia's at the crossroad, it either goes the Wal-Mart way, which means to provide jobs that don't support families, or get focused on economic development which pays a wage that enables the worker to support his other her family and provide for retirement and for health benefits. And the author of this report said, "If we do it the Wal-Mart way, then 50 years from now we're going to go back again, as his report does, to the last 50 years and say for this second set of 50 years, Philadelphia and Pennsylvania have also moved backward. So that the business community -- Brookin Institute is no liberal group but is a group in between moderate and conservative. But they are interested, apparently, in seeing Pennsylvania develop. I think it's shameful that the Wal-Mart proposal is even being presented to of Philadelphia. And I urge all my colleagues, respect the citizens of Philadelphia say no to Wal-Mart. Vote no on this issue. Thank you, Madam President. (Applause.)
Thank you, Madam Chair. I think Councilman Cohen is very eloquent on the issue. We're supposed to be a labor town, a labor City. Wal-Mart is the biggest enemy that organized labor has in this country or any country across the world. (Applause.)
It pits one union against the other in order to get short-term benefit for one union. But the unions that support building this Wal-Mart, it isn't about building that we're opposing. We want the warehouse to be filled. We want the warehouse to be fixed up. We want the warehouse to become profitable. We want the warehouse to provide jobs. It is who and how. And the way to go. (Applause.)
The company today is almost a government unto itself. It tells the government of Bangladesh how much they're going to pay an hour so that they can produce the products that they then sell here very cheaply. They tell the government of Honduras that a factory has become unionized and the factory has gone up from 25 cents an hour to 35 cents an hour. And since they have gone up, they are moving their product to nearby Guatemala which we'll pay them 25 cents an hour. They want and they employ over a million individuals across this country. Close to 2 million, I think. They don't pay a living wage. Wherever they go, they put other retail businesses out of business. (Applause.)
We have right close by Aramingo Avenue, a very thriving retail sector. Aramingo provides lots of jobs to citizens of Philadelphia, to the people of neighborhoods around it. The businesses on Aramingo Avenue pay a living wage. The competition will be Wal-Mart, a huge Wal-Mart. Many of those businesses that are now on Aramingo Avenue will not survive. People will be out of work. And the interesting thing about all of this issue is that we have put forward this project without having an economic impact done on the community and how it would affect the retail businesses that surround it. No economic impact. We do know how Wal-Mart has affected and impacted other communities. We have seen it all over the United States. We have seen malls close down after Wal-Mart comes in and out-bids, out-sells them because they can, they can put low prices on their products because, like I said, they're a government unto themselves. The revenues that they gather is probably more than 40, 60, 70 nations across the world. We need to be able to protect our own retail businesses. We need to protect the businesses on Aramingo Avenue. We need to and the retail individuals on Allegheny Avenue and up towards Kensington. Those people have been there for years. They haven't left. Even when the neighborhood started going down, they came in and they stayed. (Applause.)
And those unions that support it today, let me tell you something. When Wal-Mart is in charge, there will be no unions. (Applause.)
And the way they are going across this country -- look what is happening in LA, in Los Angeles, in California today. The City Council of California today is considering bills of how to prevent the establishment of Wal-Marts across the City of Los Angeles. The State Legislature is looking into how do you prevent the economic disaster that would occur in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Sacramento, if you leave this company to have its way. It isn't about development; it is about jobs, living wage, and how do we Wal-Mart way is not the way to go. (Applause.)
It is very simple. We need to have a plan for the warehouse. We need to sit down with the economic development people that the Mayor has, with PIDC, and start looking. Look, we don't need to go begging in this City. This City is here, it is up and coming. We don't need to say, "You can come in and exploit our communities and our workers the way you exploit the third world in order to have a warehouse full with cheap stuff that will be bought when people will not get a good salary, with no health benefits, no job security; a company that right now in over 20 states across the country have been using illegal labor, exploiting illegal aliens, exploiting them. And now the federal government is looking into how they have used in order to prevent and to avoid paying good janitorial services and other services that they need. It's a company that goes and cuts corners in a profit. A profit becomes the end-all and be-all of this company. They violate human rights in the third world and they violate union and human rights in the United States. I don't think we're that desperate for a few jobs. I think we vote against Wal-Mart. Thank you, Madam President. (Applause.)
Thank you, Madam President. Madam President, I was born and I was raised in Port Richmond. (Applause.)
And I don't think one person here in Council knows Port Richmond the way that I know Port Richmond. I rise to a different issue. We have three major Catholic churches right there on Allegheny Avenue. We have funeral parlors on Allegheny Avenue. We have doctors that I go The traffic just could not take a Wal-Mart. There is no way. (Applause.)
A Wal-Mart will destroy Port Richmond, believe me, because I am familiar with the traffic. I'm there practically every other week. And there is no way that I could support a Wal-Mart at Tulip and Allegheny. My question is, Where will the traffic come from? Will it go off Westmoreland? Will it come down Richmond? Will it go up I-95 at Allegheny and proceed towards Kensington? Where is this traffic going? I don't think there is a plan where that traffic is going. What happens when the children are coming out of the schools? What happens on Sunday? (Applause.)
There are many, many issues. I feel -- and I'm asking my colleagues to vote no against Wal-Mart. (Applause.)
I think we had some guidelines. Please do not do that.
Thank you, Madam President. First, I'd like to thank everyone again. I know a number of you have been here for, I think, the last two weeks. There are folks in favor of the Wal-Mart, and there's obviously folks opposed to it. And I want to thank you all again for coming to these meetings and participating in the process. These are never easy decisions to make, especially when a District Councilperson receives numerous, thousands of petitions. And when I look through those petitions as best I could determine, my best guess -- and it's only a guess because it's impossible to determine whether they're all authentic or not. And if I take out what you think is not authentic and you remove the signatures of people who live in Northeast Philadelphia, Chestnut Hill, Gladwyne who signed petitions opposed, you start to wonder really what is the true feeling in the community. I've been around long enough, as most of the Council folks in here, anytime there is opposition to anything, the people who are opposed to situation, a bill or what-have-you, although they may not be in the majority, are generally the most vocal. I have deliberated this issue for the last 15 months, and there are those who still believe that the hospital fully intends to take that site and develop it. I, for one, am still not convinced of that. The hospital had a chance for 15 months -- for three years, as a matter of fact, since the Goldman Printing Company went out of business, to buy that site. And for them to come to a public hearing and to suggest that they're going to as another parking lot when they have a parking lot on the south side of Allegheny Avenue that is normally locked up is ludicrous; is ludicrous. It's insulting. (Applause.)
The one thing when I began this process that I never thought, at least about three months into this process, I never thought I'd have to deal with was the issue of a Wal-Mart not being accepted because this Council recently supported a bill in Councilman O'Neill's district on the site of the Whitman Chocolate factory on the Boulevard to develop a number of big boxes, including a Wal-Mart. For me, it was never a question of being pro-Wal-Mart or anti-Wal-Mart. For me it was a question of what is in the best interest of the community at large. And we do differ. We do have our differences. I never ever once suggested that a Wal-Mart or any other type of retail or industrial development at the Goldman Paper SITE would not increase traffic. Anything there, including an annex to the hospital, which I never think will happen although I would like to have seen happen, would increase traffic. Granted, not to the extent that a Wal-Mart may, there will be additional traffic no matter what becomes developed on that site. And to suggest that all of the churches and all of the parishes along Allegheny Avenue which are now all in my district are totally against it is incorrect. I received a letter yesterday from the principal of Our Lady Help of Christians supporting a Wal-Mart. She believes, as I do, that the removal of a two block blighted building which is a potential disaster to the entire Port Richmond community and the hospital is much better than what you are all proposing, to let it sit there and hopefully somebody else beside a developer for Wal-Mart will come along and do something with that site. UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Tear it down.
If you tear it down, who's going to pay for it? The taxpayers. And then what we have is a vacant lot. And I can tell you, because I will be for better or worse representing you for the next four years, the next complaint will be, "What are we going to do about the vacant lot, the short dumping and all the other problems that are there?" That being said, that being said, as a courtesy to everyone and especially some of my colleagues who still are not certain about what to do with this bill, I am going to hold this bill with the purpose of -- so that you all understand, the people with placards opposed, this means the bill is dead for the time being. Okay? The bill is dead. I am giving the hospital and all of the community leaders who say that they have an interest in getting something done positive three the next few months to come up with a plan that works in everyone's best interest. Thank you. (Applause.)
Please leave quietly. We're still trying to conduct very much.
The Chair recognizes Councilman Cohen for a point of order.
Thank you. I want to thank Councilman DiCicco for his action today. It averts immediate dangers. But I want the Port Richmond community to know, don't relax. Don't relax. You have a legitimate interest in what's going to happen to that building. We want it used in a way that's to the good of the community, not hurting it. And once more, I want to thank Councilman DiCicco for recognizing that it's not wise to punish a community with a decision they're not prepared to receive. So thank everybody in Richmond. You won a great victory for everybody in Philadelphia. Thank you.
I would ask the Clerk to please read the title of Bill No. 030762. THE
An ordinance to amend the Philadelphia Zoning Map by changing of certain areas of land located within an area bounded by Fillmore Street, the County Line and Oxford Avenue..
This bill having been read on two different days, the question now is shall the bill pass finally. The Clerk will please call the roll. THE
Aye. The ayes are 15, the nays are 0. A majority of all Members having voted in the affirmative, the bill passes. The next bill to be called for consideration is Bill No. 030768. THE
An ordinance amending Title 14 of the Philadelphia Code entitled "Zoning and Planning," by amending provisions relating to the reconstruction of non-conforming structures, under certain terms and conditions.
This bill having been read on two different days, the question now is shall the bill pass finally? The Clerk will please call the roll. THE
Aye. The ayes are 15, the nays are 0. A majority of all Members having voted in the affirmative, the bill passes. The next bill to be called for consideration is Bill No. 030769. THE
An ordinance amending Section 19-1303 of the Philadelphia Code by extending the exemption period for certain existing grants of exemption, under certain terms and conditions.
This bill having been read on two different days, the question now is shall the bill pass finally. The Clerk will please call the roll. THE
This is Bill No. 030769. Can I have everyone's attention please. I know that our visitors were leaving and it was somewhat noisy. We are now considering Bill No. 030769. I would please ask the Chief Clerk to call the roll.
Madam Chair, could somebody tell me the details of the bill? Is this the bill that is going to extend the abatement privileges for the hotels that already have gone through the 10-year period?
Thank you, Madam President. This bill, so everyone understands, was a result of requests from hotel owners who have fallen into -- they were coming to the end of a three-year tax abatement. This Council had extended on, I think, October 27th of 2001 that extended the commercial tax abatement to 10 years. These particular properties were in the construction phase and did not qualify for the 10-year extension. As a result of some of the problems we've been having post-911 with our hospitality industry and especially considering some of the difficulties we've experienced with our Convention Center-- and hopefully has been shown to be making a come-back through the leadership of Councilman Nutter and Councilman DiCicco on the Board there, seem to be coming out of the woods and will hopefully be able to rebound our convention business over the next three to five years. in the bill was an extension of seven years of the three-year tax abatement to make it ten. We decided during the course of debate that because of the three to five year cycle to get us back into the convention business, back strongly in the convention, that we would scale back the abatement to five-year extension, making it a total of eight years as opposed to the ten. There is an economic cost associated with this. It is not money that the City is currently collecting so that it is not giving any money back. It was money that we had expected to collect, but this bill would request a forbearance of that until our hotel industry can get out of the problems that it's having. This bill does not affect every hotel. There are certain hotels in our City that have taken advantage of TIFs; they are not eligible. There are certain hotels that are much older, places like the Society Hill Sheraton and others that will not -- Double Tree, which will not qualify. But we have to hotels got a five-year tax abatement when they first came online. That expired. And every hotel is struggling, and we need to find ways of -- can somebody turn their cell phone off. It is really, really very annoying. Thank you. We are trying to work with them to find ways to help them in their situation also. The issue for me, however, is that in the last number of years, four of our hotels have converted to condominiums. We have lost the jobs associated with the hotel conversions. And more importantly or as importantly, we have lost the taxes that were being paid by that institution because they qualified for the 10-year tax abatement on conversion. So my concern in the 10 hotels that are involved in this, there are 1500 jobs associated with those hotels. Not all of them will close, not all of them will convert, but potential for them to do so is there. The people who are employed in the hotels do make They're not high-paid jobs, but they are jobs with full medical benefits. They're making 10 or $12 an hour. It's a nice environment to work. And many, many, many of these people came from Welfare to Work through training programs with the City of Philadelphia and the State. We have helped them transition from Welfare into the service industries that are a major component of our City's economy. This bill will take some money, unrealized money at least, away from the City, money they won't be able to collect, and it will affect the School District similarly. My concern is that if those hotels -- any of them, all of them, some of them -- convert to condominium or luxury apartments, we will lose the jobs and their wage taxes. We will also lose the real estate taxes because they will now -- if it's extensive conversion, will qualify for a full 10-year abatement. So the possibility is we're going to lose the real estate taxes and the jobs.
Now, Councilman Cohen raised some very important issues during the course of the debate. We did not have full auditing of these businesses. We expect -- and I think everyone will agree that the hotel industry in general in the City is suffering. I didn't think it was necessary to go through the process of a full audit of all of these hotels. I take people at their word when they tell us that they have some serious concerns about their economic condition. And I think all of the things surrounding it, 911, Convention Center, slacking off of convention business, I think we can all agree that most of our hotels are doing their best to struggle to stay afloat. Again, this is not affect and in some ways is not fair to the other hotels that have been in existence for a long time. If they received a TIF, there's nothing to abate because we already accelerated the abatement my doing the TIF. So I would ask Councilmembers to consider all the factors involved. I impact. We did try to scale it back to make the economic impact less than it would have been in the original bill. I am concerned about the 1500 jobs that are potentially in jeopardy. And I am concerned about the conversion of hotels to condos and apartments for two reasons: Number One, as I said before, we lose the taxes because they will qualify for a 10-year tax abatement; and Number Two, three to five years from now if we're back in this business strong, we might not have enough hotel rooms to accommodate the new convention business that we're trying to bring here through all our efforts. So I recognize it's a difficult decision. I recognize it's a complicated issue and have many factors associated with it. I would appreciate everyone's consideration in voting the bill. But I think it's important to bring the issue forward. And in next term, if this is not successful, try to find ways to help all of our hotels. So I thank you for our consideration.
Madam President, there's a list. One is the Hyatt on the Waterfront -- I'll read the list. It's the Ritz-Carlton, Hilton Garden Inn, Sheraton Rittenhouse, Raddison Warwick, Sofitel, Hampton Inn, Rittenhouse Square B&B, Inn on Locust, and the Hyatt Penns Landing. As it relates to the Hyatt Penns Landing, I can say the City was very much, through Penns Landing Corporation, urging the Hyatt to be built at that site with the promise or at least the hope of a promise that there would be a major development there; the Simon project, for example, that went away, that there would be a tram creating a critical mass where people can come and enjoy the waterfront. That hasn't happened yet, and we're working towards doing that. But we kind of, through Penns Landing and with the help of pension and with the help of the DRPA, kind of created the opportunity for that hotel to be built. And I'd hate to see that -- it's a prime site for condo conversion. And there's 265 jobs at that location alone. So again, this is -- and the reason that we had to do this quickly is we were advised legally that if there was a break in the abatement -- the abatement ends December 31st. If there's a break in the abatement, it would be impossible to extend it or at least much more difficult legally to extend it, and that's the reason why it was done in a short period of time at the end of our term. Any other questions, I'd be happy to answer.
Thank you. At this time the Chair recognizes Councilwoman Brown.
Thank you, Madam President. Let me first command the sponsor of this bill for what I believe to be a very Councilman Ortiz' questions on the details of the bill. I will speak to additional details of this bill which ultimately negatively impact the Philadelphia Public School System. Conservative figures for this bill estimate that the School District will lose approximately $2.3 million a year or close to 12 million over five years. A teacher's salary, benefits, and other supports cost the district about $80,000 a year. That's 29 teachers that will not be hired should we lose this money. $2.3 million dollars a year will buy textbooks for 25 of our area schools. And while this district is well underway in getting new textbooks, again, this is an area I believe should not be compromised. All of us know, understand, and agree that we need to be advocates for the hospitality industry. We know the tremendous added value impact that they have on this economy. Where I part ways is the impact on Philadelphia Public School System. And for that reason, I cannot be and will not be measure in the legislative body that will negatively impact the Philadelphia Public School System now and/or in the future. Therefore, I will be voting no on this bill.
The Chair recognize Councilman Kenney for a point of order.
I appreciate going out of order. And I do appreciate and respect the comments of my colleague. I know she's been a tireless advocate for the schools and I respect and appreciate her position. I just again want people to consider, we know what the numbers are and what they buy in textbooks and teachers, but I don't think we can calculate the impact on a family from a mom or dad losing their job. These children also go to school. I know the family is disrupted. And the taxes that we lose as a result of loss in wage tax and other taxes, sales tax from buying power and all those things should be factored in. But again, I think it's very important to any or all of these hotels convert -- and the potential is there because four have converted in the last few years. If any of them convert, we lose for 10 years all the real estate taxes on the improvements made. So that would short-change the School District and the City and we would, again, los3 those jobs. So I do appreciate Councilwoman Brown's position. I think it's a valid one. But I do think that other factors related to the loss of employment and the conversion of hotels to condos and apartments also impact the School District and the City. So I thank her for her consideration.
Thank you. The Chair recognizes Councilman Cohen.
Very good. The Chair recognizes Councilman Clarke.
Thank you, Madam President, having participated in the debate on the Hyatt in particular when I was a member of Penns Landing, I concur with the sponsor of the bill with respect to -- and I hate to say the dream that we sold to the developer that we would Penns Landing because at that time I think we all thought, having had the largest retailer not only in this area but in the United States targeting that particular portion of land for development, we anticipated that that would be done. And I'm sure had Mr. Keating not known that that deal ultimately would not be implemented, he probably would have opted out of that particular project. But the reality is, is that as a result of this particular piece of legislation, it will create a gap in the City's five-year plan, as does most of the things that we do, frankly speaking, as witnessed by the letter of the PICA Board, an organization of which I don't always agree with. But I think that this particular issue in a broader nature. I think that it is creating, to some degree, an unfair advantage for some of the hotels that are in this particular legislation. At a minimum, I think the perception is there by owners and developers of all the hotels throughout the City of Philadelphia. When I met with Mr. Keating and his representative to talk about this particular piece of legislation, I suggested that we continue discussion in the new Session of Council and more of a comprehensive approach, creating an environment and some incentives that might help all of the hotels, because I, frankly speaking, think all of the hotels as result of 911 and as a result of the Convention Center downturn are suffering. So I think it would, frankly speaking, be inappropriate at this time to pass a measure that would target only 10 hotels, particularly one which, frankly speaking, is the only call that I got, although four other hotels are in my district at this particular time. more than willing, as the Councilman suggested, in the next Session of Council if this bill is unsuccessful to work diligently to ensure that we have a healthy hotel atmosphere, realizing that a substantial amount of the workers in those particular hotels are in fact from my Council District having gone through various programs at the OIC. But at this particular time, I just think that it's probably not a good idea to do this at this time, given the uncertainties of the impact of this particular bill. Thank you, Madam President.
You're welcome. The Chair recognizes Councilman Cohen.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I wanted to support what Councilman Clarke said and say I respect Councilwoman Brown's point of view that she won't support anything that's going to reduce income for the schools, but I think there's a much broader understand why hotels should be put on a welfare program for five years. I've never heard of such a waist of funds. Nobody ever studied whether all these hotels were necessary in the first place. There was a lot of criticism at the City giving any financial support to any of these hotels because there was never a study made by a responsible group that indicated these hotels would be economical. We were in a wild building craze. And now that it's been proved that they should have had a study in the first place so they wouldn't have built all these hotels, now they're telling us this fanciful story that's going to take three to five years before they get to be self-paying and therefore we ought to support them during this period. What happened to the notion about developers wanting to make profits? " But now that they're afraid of money, now suddenly they want to become partners in the City and rob the taxpayers. That's what we're talking about. I don't understand Councilman Kenney's push for the hotels just to grant them this money. What happened to -- we always talk about, let them market decide. Well, the market is deciding. If these hotels can't stand it, they ought to get out of business. They should probably never have been built in the first place. And to talk about saving the workers' jobs, you know, I can't believe that any Councilmember would believe that hotels would keep people on the payroll if they weren't needed. All the hotels are going to do is to grab that money and use it the way they want to. It's going to have nothing to do with labor. When I asked the witness the question, he admitted that, of course, hotels only employ people when needed. Either the people are needed, and if they're needed, then there's going to be money to support them, not taxpayers but money from the customers. If they're not needed, the hotel is not going to employ them. I don't understand this view that hotels, composed of mostly investors who are very rich who want to get richer but who never want to take a risk. All they want to do is to have taxpayers take the risk. It would be wasteful spending. I think this bill ought to be defeated. You know what's going to happen if we pass this bill? Every hotel in town is going to find a way. Just think of what the attorney said in support of this bill. " Councilman Kenney admitted they're going to make those claims. We know they're going to do it because business have to in the business of making money. If they can't make it from customers, they're going to make it from the taxpayer. But when it comes to sharing, they don't want to share their money. None of them ever agree to pay the City a share of the properties if they make the profits, and none of them spent the time making studies as to whether a hotel was built. I don't share any view that the developer did us, the City, any favor. I've never known of a developer who did something because the City wanted it done. The developers do it because they have to do it to protect their investors as best they can. They do it because they expect to make money. And they like the City to encourage it because they have the reason to come back and ask for money at the beginning and then later on. You know, if we have free enterprise, let's practice free enterprise or let's develop a partnership in which the City shares profits and let's do things in a thinking way, let's not go on a mad orgy to build hotels.
But this notion of they're going to be able to take care of themselves years from now, well, let them do that. I never heard of giving money away to these hotels. I just don't understand that kind of philosophy. I'm urging everybody, vote no on this bill. We're told money is so tight that we worry about every expenditure now. Yet we're talking about giving millions away to these hotels and the other hotels that are follow in their request. They'll all have a case of fairness. That's what law firms are for, to spell out why it's unfair that their client hasn't yet been made rich by the City and why they ought to be made rich now because you made others rich, and there will be no end. So I'm urging everybody to vote no and let's restore some fiscal sanity to our decision in Council. We're doing very well today in City on issues affecting the people of Philadelphia. Let's not spoil it by just indicating that we're ready to just dispose of money, taxpayers money in a wild and unsynchronized and unthinking way. So I urge no on this bill. I would prefer if the bill were withdrawn because it has no reason to exist.
Thank you, Councilman. At this point, the Chair recognizes Councilman Nutter.
Thank you, Madam President. Madam President, I agree with many of the comments made by, I think, just about every Member who has spoken, and there have been comments on both sides of this issue. I am a cosponsor of this particular bill, although naturally Councilman Kenney has taken the leadership role on it. And I think my colleagues know me well enough to know that with virtual certainty, usually when I say I'm going to do something, I do it and I commit to it. Sometimes that's been good and sometimes maybe it's not been so good, but I do think it's important. I do have a couple perspectives on this matter, and they've been raised by a already. We've had a lot of discussion, certainly intense discussion, over the past year or so about taxes and tax policy here in the City. Whether it was the wage tax, property taxes, creation of the Tax Reform Commission, and a variety of other matters. We are constantly -- I think Members are constantly, legitimately searching for some answers about how we improve the business climate here in Philadelphia. I have the fullest confidence that next year we'll spend a significant amount of time hopefully working on a very sound tax policy for the City, utilizing much of the good work of the Tax Reform Commission that was created by the voters. The hotel and hospitality industry obviously is struggling to some extent. I don't, quite honestly, as I add it all up, I don't necessarily think that ultimately this matter is going to end in a positive situation, but I did make a commitment about it and I think the larger commitment should be to working with our entire hospitality of the hotels in Philadelphia to better understand what their circumstance and situation is. On the one hand, there's information around that the occupancy rate many of the hotels is about 66 percent, which is the same rate that it was last year. One of the major differences, though, in their pocket is the fact that the average room rate is lower this year than it was last year. So I think if we can more comprehensively work to address the hotel and hospitality industry issues, I'm certainly prepared to do that and have a significant amount of vested interest in that. At the same time, I am going to keep the commitment to my colleague and vote in support of the bill. But I think we will be revisiting this particular issue related to hotels, I am sure, next year. So with that, thank you, Madam President. I appreciate the opportunity.
Thank you. The Chair recognizes Councilman Kenney.
Thank you, Madam President. Just quickly, in the spirit of the holiday, I don't want to belabor this. And I admire Councilman Cohen's ability to argue laissez-faire capitalism in one instance and Roosevelt socialism in another, and I admire his abilities and skills. But let me finalize what the whole motivation was. There's three major areas. And Councilman Cohen may disagree with me, and that's fine. I am concerned about the jobs. There is no guarantee that people are going to continue to be employed, but I think this bill can give people some breathing room, give the business some breathing room, and maybe keep the people employed for a period of time until we recover in this industry. The second one for me is probably most important, and that is we have had four conversions of hotels to condominiums. The conversions of hotels to condominiums create a 10-year tax abatement where we lose the real taxes anyway. If any or all of these hotel convert, Councilwoman Brown's concerns will be the School District and the City won't be getting real estate taxes for 10 years, the people who are employed there as hotel service people will no longer be employed so the wage taxes that they pay will no longer be available, the business taxes associated with the hotel will go away. Now, those are my motivations. I recognize the unfairness because it doesn't affect all the hotels, but this is a window of opportunity where we did not have a break in the abatement where it expires, as I said, December 31st. And if we will try to do it next year and we have to look at some other ways and help the hotel industry next year, too, we're going to do that too. This was an effort to try to give these places some breathing room. My motivations were the employees, the potential loss of real estate tax revenue upon a conversion. So I appreciate everyone's consideration. If we'd like to call the vote up or down, I think, it's appropriate. Thank you
Thank you. This bill having been read on two different days, the question now is shall the bill pass finally. I would ask the Clerk to please call the roll. THE
Aye. The ayes are 10, the nays are 5. A majority of all Members having voted in the affirmative, the bill passes. The next bill being called for No. 030825. THE
An ordinance authorizing the Philadelphia Authority for Industrial Development to file an application with the Office of the Budget in aggregate amount not to exceed 15,350,000, all under certain terms and conditions.
This bill having been read on two different days, the question now is shall the bill pass finally. The Clerk will please call the roll. THE
Aye. The ayes are 15, the nays are 0. A majority of all Members having voted in the affirmative, the bill passes. The next bill to be called for consideration is Bill No. 030826. THE
An ordinance authorizing the City of Philadelphia in corporation with the Philadelphia Authority for Industrial Development to undertake a project to promote the health, safety, and welfare of the residents of the City of Philadelphia, all under certain terms and conditions.
This bill having been read on two different days, the question now is shall the bill pass finally. The Clerk will please call the roll. THE
Aye. The ayes are 15, the nays are 0. A majority of all Members having voted in the affirmative, the bill passes. The next bill to be called for consideration is Bill No. 030742. THE
An ordinance authorizing the Commissioner of Fairmount Park and the Commissioner of Public Property on behalf of the City of Philadelphia to transfer two certain slots or pieces of ground situate in the vicinity of McNulty and Townsend Roads, all under certain terms and conditions.
This bill having been read on two different days, the question now is shall the bill pass finally? The Clerk will please call the roll.
Aye. The ayes are 15, the nays are 0. A majority of all Members having voted in the affirmative, the bill passes. The next bill to be called for consideration is Bill No. 030743. THE
An ordinance amending Bill No. 990728, approved December 6, 1999, by extending the time for compliance with conditions until December 31, 2004.
This bill on two different days, the question now is shall the bill pass finally. The Clerk will please call the roll. THE
Aye. The ayes are 15, the nays are 0. A majority of all Members having voted in the affirmative, the bill passes. The next bill to be called for consideration is Bill No. 030785. THE
An ordinance authorizing the Philadelphia Authority for purchase a certain tract of land situate at the northwest corner of the Roosevelt Boulevard and Southampton Road, under certain terms and conditions.
This bill having been read on two different days, the question now is shall the bill pass finally. The Clerk will please call the roll. THE
Aye. The ayes are 15, the nays are 0. A majority of all Members having voted in the affirmative, the bill passes. The next bill to be called for consideration is Bill No. 030788. THE
An ordinance authorizing the Commissioner of Public Property on behalf of the City of Philadelphia to purchase on the northwest side of Algon Avenue at Fox Chase Road, all under certain terms and conditions.
This bill having been read on two different days, the question now is shall the bill pass finally. The Clerk will please call the roll. THE
Aye. The ayes are 15, the nays are 0. A majority of all Members having voted in the affirmative, the bill passes. The next bill to be called for consideration is Bill No. 030731. THE
An ordinance authorizing the revision of lines and grades on a portion of City Plan No. 152, all under certain terms and conditions.
This bill having been read on two different days, the question now is shall the bill pass finally. The Clerk will please call the roll. THE
Aye. The ayes are 15, the nays are 0. A majority of all Members having voted in the affirmative, the bill passes. The next bill to be called for consideration is Bill No. 030732. THE
An ordinance authorizing the paving of Reserve Boulevard, Tuscany Drive and Capri Drive, all under certain terms and conditions.
This bill having been read on two different days, the question now is shall the bill pass finally. The Clerk will please call the roll. THE
Aye. The ayes are 15, the nays are 0. A majority of all Members having voted in the affirmative, the bill passes. The next bill to be called for consideration is Bill No. 030733 THE
An ordinance authorizing the revision of lines and grades on a portion of City Plan 46-S, all under certain terms and conditions.
This bill having been read on two different days, the question now is shall the bill pass finally. The Clerk will please call the roll. THE
Aye. The ayes are 14, the nays are 0. A majority of all Members having voted in the affirmative, the bill passes. The next bill to be called for consideration is Bill No. 030734. THE
An ordinance amending Section 2 of an ordinance, Bill No. 030429, approved November 13, 2002, under certain terms and conditions.
This bill having been read on two different days, the question now is shall the bill pass finally. The Clerk will please call the roll. THE
Aye. The ayes are 14, the nays are 0. A majority of all Members having voted in the affirmative, the bill passes. The next bill to be called for No. 030735. THE
An ordinance establishing a "no truck parking" regulation on Friendship Street between Dorcas Street and Algon Avenue.
This bill having been read on two different days, the question now is shall the bill pass finally. The Clerk will please call the roll. THE
Aye. The ayes are 14, the nays are 0. A Members having voted in the affirmative, the bill passes. At this time, the Chair recognizes Councilman Clarke.
Thank you, Madam President. Madam President, I left the room briefly. I would like to be recorded as voting aye on the last three bills.
They will be Bill Nos. 030733, 030734, 030735. The record will so indicate that Councilman Clarke voted in the affirmative on those bills. (Councilman Clarke recorded as voting aye on Bill Nos. 030733, 030734, and 030735.) The next bill to be called is Bill 030736. THE
An ordinance authorizing the striking from City Plan No. 178, under certain terms and conditions.
This bill having been read on two different days, the question now is shall the bill pass finally. please call the roll. THE
Aye. The ayes are 15, the nays are 0. A majority of all Members having voted in the affirmative, the bill passes. The next bill to be called for consideration is Bill No. 030737. THE
An ordinance to authorize the Water Commissioner on behalf of the City to enter into an agreement with the owner of the property 5400 City Line Avenue, and conditions. The next bill to be called for consideration is Bill No. 030738. THE
An ordinance authorizing the Water Commissioner on behalf of the City to enter into an agreement with the owners of the property located at 8816 Ridge Avenue, under certain terms and conditions.
This bill having been read on two different days, the question now is shall the bill pass finally. The Clerk will please call the roll. THE
Aye. The ayes are 15, the nays are 0. A majority of all Members having voted in the affirmative, the bill passes. The next bill to be called for consideration is Bill No. 030739. THE
An ordinance authorizing Thomas Jefferson University to construct, own, and maintain an underground conduit duct bank, under certain terms and conditions.
This bill having been read on two different days, the question now is shall the bill pass finally. The Clerk will please call the roll. THE
Aye. The ayes are 15, the nays are 0. A majority of all Members having voted in the affirmative, the bill passes. Councilman Cohen, how do you feel about consent agenda, sir?
Well, the only time you can't have a consent agenda -(Inaudible. Off the microphone.)
The Clerk will please read the title of Bill No. 030741. THE
An ordinance authorizing the revision of lines and grades on a portion of City Plan No. 284 by widening Southampton Road, under certain terms and
This bill having been read on two different days, the question now is shall the bill pass finally. The Clerk will please call the roll. THE
Aye. The ayes are 15, the nays are 0. A majority of all Members having voted in the affirmative, the bill passes.
The next bill to be called for consideration is Bill 030784. THE
An ordinance amending Chapter 10-700 of the Philadelphia Code, entitled "Refuse and Littering."
This bill having been read on two different days, the question now is shall the bill pass finally. The Clerk will please call the roll. THE
Aye. The ayes are 15, the nays are 0. A majority of all Members having voted in the affirmative, the bill passes. The next bill to be called for consideration is Bill No. 030682. THE
An ordinance amending Title 10 of the Philadelphia Code by amending Chapter 10-400, entitled "Noise and Excessive Vibrations," all under certain terms and conditions.
This bill having been read on two different days, the question now is shall the bill pass finally. The Clerk will please call the roll. THE
Aye. The ayes are 15, the nays are 0. A majority of all Members having voted in the affirmative, the bill passes. The next bill to be called is Bill No. 030772. THE
An ordinance repealing Subcode M of the Philadelphia Code, as the Philadelphia Mechanical Code, all under certain terms and conditions.
This bill having been read on two different days, the question now is shall the bill pass finally. The Clerk will please call the roll. THE
Aye. The ayes are 15, the nays are 0. A majority of all Members having voted in the affirmative, the bill passes. The next bill to be called for consideration is Bill No. 030773. THE
An ordinance amending Title 4 of the Philadelphia Code as the Philadelphia Performance Code, under certain terms and conditions.
This bill having been read on two different days, the question now is shall the bill pass finally? The Clerk will please call the roll. THE
Aye. The ayes are 14, the nays are 0. A majority of all Members having voted in the affirmative, the bill passes. The next bill to be called for consideration is Bill No. 030774. THE
An ordinance amending Title 4 of the Philadelphia Code, entitled "The Philadelphia Building Construction Occupancy Code," all under certain terms and conditions.
This bill having been read on two different days, the question now is shall the bill pass finally. The Clerk will please call the roll.
Aye. The ayes are 14, the nays are 0. A majority of all Members having voted in the affirmative, the bill passes. The next bill to be called is Bill No. 030775. THE
An ordinance amending Title 4 of the Philadelphia Code, as the Philadelphia Fuel Gas Code, under certain terms and conditions.
This bill on two different days, the question now is shall the bill pass finally. The Clerk will please call the roll. THE
Aye. The ayes are 14, the nays are 0. A majority of all Members having voted in the affirmative, this bill also passes. 030776 is the next bill to be called. THE
An ordinance repealing Subcode F, the Philadelphia Fire Code, all under certain terms and conditions.
This bill having been read on two different days, the question now is shall the bill pass finally. The Clerk will please call the roll. THE
Aye. The ayes are 14, the nays are 0. A majority of all Members having voted in the affirmative, the bill passes. Bill No. 030777 is the next bill to consideration. THE
An ordinance amending Title 4 of the Philadelphia Code as the Philadelphia Energy Conservation Code, under certain terms and conditions.
This bill having been read on two different days, the question now is shall the bill pass finally. The Clerk will please call the roll. THE
Aye. The ayes are 14, the nays are 0. A Members having voted in the affirmative, this bill passes. The next bill to be called for consideration is Bill No. 030778. THE
An ordinance amending Title 4 of the Philadelphia Code as the Philadelphia Existing Building Code, under certain terms and conditions.
This bill having been read on two different days, the question now is shall the bill pass finally. The Clerk will please call the roll. THE
Aye. The ayes are 14, the nays are 0. A majority of all Members having voted in the affirmative, the bill passes. The next bill to be called for consideration is Bill No. 030779. THE
An ordinance repealing Subcode B as the Philadelphia Building Code, all under certain terms and conditions.
This bill having been read on two different days, the question now is shall the bill pass finally. The Clerk will please call the roll. THE
Aye. The ayes are 14, the nays are 0. A majority of all Members having voted in the affirmative, this bill passes. The next bill to be called for consideration is Bill No. 030780. THE
An ordinance amending Title 4 of the Philadelphia Code by modifying certain administrative and enforcement provisions, all under certain terms and conditions.
This bill having been read on two different days, the question now is shall the bill pass finally. The Clerk will please call the roll. THE
Aye. The ayes are 14, the nays are 0. A majority of all Members having voted in the affirmative, this bill passes. Bill No. 030781 is the next bill to be called for consideration. THE
An ordinance repealing Subcode E, as the Philadelphia Electrical Code, all under certain terms and conditions.
This bill having been read on two different days, the question now is shall the bill pass finally. The Clerk will please call the roll. THE
Aye. The ayes are 14, the nays are 0. A majority of all Councilmembers having voted in the affirmative, the bill passes. The next bill to be called for consideration is Bill No. 030782. THE
An ordinance amending Title 4 of the Philadelphia Code entitled "The Philadelphia Building Construction and Occupancy Code, all under certain terms and conditions.
This bill having been read on two different days, the shall the bill pass finally. The Clerk will please call the roll. THE
Aye. The ayes are 15, the nays are 0. A majority of all Members having voted in the affirmative, the bill passes. The final bill to be called for consideration is Bill No. 030827. THE
An ordinance amending Title 22 of the Philadelphia Code, entitled "Public Employees Retirement Code," 22-305 relating to maximum benefit limitations imposed by the Internal Revenue Code.
This bill having been read on two different days, the question now is shall the bill pass finally. The Clerk will please call the roll. THE
Aye. The ayes are 15, the nays are 0. A majority of all Members having voted in the affirmative, the bill passes. time, I offer congratulations to one of our colleagues, Councilwoman Tasco, who during the National League of Cities Conference held in Nashville Tennessee this past week was elected President of the National Black Caucus of Local Elected Officials. Congratulations. We're very proud (Applause.)
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank all of my colleagues for your hard work over the past four years. This afternoon, we bid farewell to Councilman Angel Ortiz, a long-time Councilmember who put his heart and soul into the matters that have come before this body. Angel, I want to wish you well. I bid you much success and offer this tribute: You have been one of the finest public servants I have had the privilege to know during my tenure in City Council. You have served the citizens of this City with You have been a resolute voice for the indispensable values, good, fair, and equitable government. You have fought hard to have this Council retain its independence. Council will not be the same without you. Your influence will linger in these halls long after you are gone from here. But please know that you are always welcome to come home, and I mean welcome at any time. Good luck, and may God bless you in your future endeavors. (Applause.)
Well, it's not the first time, Angel, that everybody wants to say something about you, good, bad, or indifferent, I guess. Councilman Nutter, please.
Thank you, Madam President. Madam President, when you said that Councilman Ortiz put his heart and soul into his work, apparently today it would be heart, soul, and his leg. I'm not sure what that's all about. He's a little banged up, but he's here with us. I know we'll have some other activities with the Councilman, but I do want to share in this way that he is one of three or four elected officials who have had a direct impact on my political life and career. Naturally, it's always dangerous to mention a whole host of people because you'll leave someone out, but I'll leave it at, I, as many people know, worked with the Councilman when he ran in the Special Election in 1984. Councilman called me and asked if I would run his election campaign in that Special Election. We have come to know each other through the late Councilman John Anderson. And certainly, I was very excited. I was kind of temporarily out of the business at a pretty young age, and the Councilman, then-candidate, called and asked, and as they say, the rest is history. We started together here in 1984. I was a staff person to him, and it certainly on my future endeavors and ultimately ending up here. So, one, it was just great to be able to work with someone, be here as a staff member and then ultimately come back and work with him as a colleague. I've learned a tremendous amount from you, Angel. And whether it's during hearings or even at the end of a session, the passion, the commitment, the insight, and the intellect are some of the things that I will certainly miss in terms of your service. You are a true friend. And in this business, as I mentioned earlier, one of the very important things as legislators is I never had to worry, I never had to be concerned either way, actually, if you said your position was X, then your position was X. The unfortunate aspect of that is there were times when our positions were not the same. And notwithstanding the friendship and notwithstanding the history, but I think out of respect to the business, even I at times could not get you to change your mind. I Hopefully, it didn't cost me too many votes from time to time with you being on the other side. I commend you for 19 years of elected public service. Obviously, your personal endeavors before being elected give you even more years of true public service or true service to the public, and I just commend you for it. I value the friendship, have enjoyed the time, and I appreciate the opportunity that you gave me almost 20 years ago, the result of which is that I'm here today in City Council. Thank you, my friend. (Applause.)
Thank you. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Miller.
Thank you, Madam President. I want to be recorded as voting aye on all bills during my absence from Council Chambers. Thank you.
Thank you. The record will so reflect that. DiCicco.
Thank you, Madam President. I certainly want to echo the comments made by both you and my colleague Councilman Nutter as it relates to Councilman Ortiz. And for about six of the eight years or so that I've been here, he sat to my right. For the last year or so that we've had these temporary quarters, he's been sitting on my left. And a lot like Councilman Nutter, he has had a profound impact on my life, my political career because I had no choice because I sat so close to him and behind Councilman Cohen, I usually got it from both ends, as they say. It was an experience. And you're right, Councilman Nutter, the one thing I found out about Councilman Ortiz, who I not only consider a colleague but a personal friend -- we've been out on several occasions, we've broken bread together, as they say, and had some fun out there, even during the which, unfortunately, did not turn out the way most of us would have liked it to turn out. He is a friend, and I think that given the insignificant, in my opinion, issue that probably led to his losing the primary election, when you look at the man's record over 20 years -- and like Councilman Nutter and I'm sure other folks in here, we had some major disagreements, the City of Philadelphia has lost an advocate. Whether I agree with his philosophy or not, one thing I always agreed on, that he was passionate about what he believed in and he did what he thought was best in the best interest of the citizens of this City, notwithstanding some criticism that he had taken from time to time. I will miss you as a colleague, but I certainly don't think that this is the beginning of the end of our friendship. I want to continue that, and you and I will get together, I'm sure, in the future to talk about things and enjoy our experiences. And it was a pleasure, again, having served with a feeling that some day you will be back. Thank you. (Applause.)
Thank you, Madam President. I want to start where Councilman DiCicco left off. I'm sure Councilman Ortiz will be back. And I guess I might have to wait to have the position of a sure second to a motion by me or a resolution I introduce. I may have to wait until Councilman Ortiz returns before I can be sure I'm going to get a second. And I think Councilman Ortiz might feel the same way, so I'm going to post a notice maybe in the newspapers advertising "looking for a second." But angel has been not only a dear friend, he's one of the people who sees public service the same way I do and some others do; and that is, it's public service. It's not self service; it's public service, and everything has to be thought of from that point of view. with him, he makes his speeches because I think he's one of the most eloquent people I've ever heard speak. He speaks with emotion, with feeling. He's dedicated. Who else -- even though he may have come originally from Puerto Rico, who else would think of going back there and sleeping on the beach to protest the presence of militarism there. And as a result of that kind of protest, the United States government has cleaned up its act. And Angel works in that quiet way. He goes off by himself sometimes to join others and protest conditions. And more often than not, a change occurs, and a change for the good. Angel, we're all going to miss you, because in many ways you've been our conscience. And in my way particularly -- so I mention my selfish interest -- I always know I could get a second. The only other Councilmember who agreed to be a sure second for me, Angel, was the late Councilman Longstreth. We had a 20-year agreement that any motion I made, he would always second if And so I have sign posted, "Wanted: A sure second on my motions," and I might return the same to the Councilmember who follows that position. But you're a very severe loss to the Council. I feel it because you and I have struggled together on so many issues that sometimes some of our colleagues think we're crazy for fighting. But I'm looking forward to you getting healthy again, getting that foot controlled, and being back here at the opening day of not this session but the next session as a colleague. Thank you, Angel, for what you meant to me. (Applause.)
Thank you. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Tasco.
Thank you, Madam President. To my brother and my friend, I'm going to miss you dearly. I'd like to say about Angel that he walked where others feared before this Council issue that were not popular at the time. And I think of the gay and lesbian issues way back in the mid-'80s when he brought the issue before the Council to take action on various issues that would support those who might be disenfranchised. He brought the issue of AIDS before the City Council and the concern of the healthcare centers. And certainly, I have the greatest administration for him because through his efforts on calling on the City to look at how we provide health services to our citizens, we ended up with the Mom Mobile. And certainly, the last great piece of legislation he passed was the MBE legislation. He has an outstanding track record in this Council, in this City, bringing to us issues and legislation that we passed because it was the right thing to do. The City has loss a strong voice. We don't want him to go away. We're going to find a way for him to be engaged. And certainly, if he decides that he wants to run 2007, the 50th Ward will be there with all the votes you need to get elected. We wish you well, my brother. And we will be friends forever. Thank you. (Applause.)
Thank you, Madam President. Councilman Ortiz, Angel, I want to thank you for your service to this City. It was certainly a good experience working with you. I think we accomplished a lot together. And I wish you the best and God bless you.
Thank you. The Chair recognizes Councilman Kenney.
Thank you, Madam President. Twelve years ago when I came here to this Council, Councilman Ortiz and I were adversaries. I grew up a little bit -- a little bit, not much but a little bit -- and I was lucky enough to become his friend. man, Angel. And you've served the City wonderfully over the years. I was proud to have voted for you. I'd vote for you again. And you are a major loss to this Council. The one thing I've always respected in legislators is their consistency. And even though sometimes Councilman Cohen and you are a little bit left of where I'm at, your consistency is always there. You don't flip-flop on things. You don't change your mind. You stick to it. And for that, I respect you and admire you and will miss you dearly. So good health, and we'll see you soon. Thanks.
Thank you. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Brown.
Thank you, Madam President. Angel, you have been an uncompromising champion on the on the issue of procurement opportunities for minorities and women. And you need to know that in the three I've worked with you, that issue above any other, your spirit on that issue has resonated for me. So be assured that you're passing a baton to a number of us who care about that issue and will continue to beat the drum on why that issue needs to be dealt with. Congratulations to you and family, because they get a chance to spend more time with you now.
Thank you, Madam President. I'd like to say just goodbye or so long right now to Councilman Ortiz. I've known him for many years prior to coming to City Council when I worked for Representative David Richardson. He was always someone we could call to depend on and count on, particularly when he was Chair of Health and Welfare and Dave was Chair of Health and Welfare for the State. I just want to thank him for his leadership when he championed the cause and report of "The minority Business Report. Inclusion By Exclusion." And I want to thank him for his leadership and commitment and dedication to addressing that whole issue. So I know you'll be around. I'm not saying goodbye because I'm sure you're not going to disappear and neither are we. So thank you.
Thank you. Councilman Cohen, you want to be recognizes again? Your light is on.
Yes, just one moment to assure Councilman Ortiz that when he runs again four years hence he will still be considerably younger than I was when I returned to City Council in 1980. And I think I've had a fairly lengthy career since then. So just enjoy the hiatus, Councilman. You'll be back.
Councilman DiCicco, your light is on. Did you want to be recognized?
Yes, very politicians, we normally forget to recognize the people who probably pay the biggest price for the business that we're in. I failed to recognize the fact that Councilman Ortiz' wife and his son is here today. Lydia, would you please stand up? (Applause.)
Family members pay the ultimate price for our business. I've learned that the hard way. Thank you.
Thank you. At this time, the Chair recognizes Councilman Ortiz.
Gosh, this has been a long session. Thank you, Madam President. I really appreciate your words. They really touch me and are very meaningful. I have a lot of people to thank. The reason I'm here is because W. Wilson Goode decided at one point that we needed representation in City Council. W. Wilson and, I believe, a great mayor. The words that the president said are very welcoming, and I'm very grateful. When I came into the City Council, we were a body that people used to make jokes about. We were a grouping of people that Bill Green labeled the worst legislative body in the universe.
Free world. Through Joe Coleman, to whom I'm very grateful for the help he gave me when I came in, this Council began on a path of independence, of becoming a true legislative body. At times, becoming a legislative body means that you became quite raucous and debates take a long time and there's a lot of passion that is expressed. I remember during the '80s I was part of the group of four that then became the gang of five. In essence, because at that point in time, we were advocating and, strangely enough, supporting the policies of Goode, the Mayor. We had issues that we differed with each Mayor that I served under. And no Mayor should ever be able to run this institution as it was run during the '70s and the '60s. Our independence has been gained through lots of battles and the issues of gaining respect. It was through Joe Coleman who said that every Councilperson needed a staff. And each one of us is really truly dependent on the staff that you put around you, that surrounds you. I've been very fortunate from the very beginning, from Michael to Issy Colon I've had great individuals that work with me; not work under me, but work with me, that shape the policies, directions, and legislations that we took on. And we took on big people. We took on PECO, the NRA. We took on those individuals that were trying to run the City through their influence and money. People mentioned the gay and lesbian community in the City. A french group at the time that I came into Council, a group that was discriminated against, oppressed, insulted every which way. There were insults to it from the floor of City Council. Today, that does not happen. Today that does not happen. The issue of drugs and assault weapons; we took that issue on. It took seven or six years, but a consciousness was created. HIV ran AIDS, infant mortality, lead poisoning, after school programs as a crime deterrent, all of these are policies that have come to be implemented and seen as the natural aspect of government. But those were policies that were not being discussed before I came to City Council. Campaign finance reform, a good gift going away, an issue that we took on created the atmospher for it and finally passed it today, the first step, not the last, because we really have have to pass meaningful campaign finance reform. So it is not an ending; it is a beginning. It is not goodbye; it is just farewell. I'm going to be around. I'm going My staff Ray and Issy, Danny, Sharon, Michael, Julio, Sue; they're great people. They are who I am. It is because of them that I was able to speak, develop, and support. And to my wife, my kids, my daughter in Hollywood -- I hope she makes it big. She will. And to you Madam President, the best president I have ever served under and a president that I think deserves the support of this Council. Do not divide yourself, do not weaken yourself, do not dilute yourself. Do not let short-term interest harm the institution of City Council. Be very much aware when you deal with the structure of this body. This body has to be the check and the balance. This body is the voice, really the voice of the people of Philadelphia, much more so than the Legislature and the State Representive and the Senators. It is the Councilpeople that are called upon to face the issues. So I know that there are that there are issues still to be debated, but once you say that, the institution has to be strong. And anytime you weaken the institution, you weaken each one of you individually. So tread softly in any changes that you perceive or want to make. We have fought over 20 years to make this body the independent political legislative body that it is. That is in your hands. I want to thank you. It's been a pleasure working with each and every one of you. And I'll still be around. Thank you. )
Before we conclude, I would just like to wish the people in our audience and our viewing audience who watch us just about every week on TV a very healthy, happy holiday season. At this time, the Chair recognizes Councilwoman Tasco for a motion to adjourn.
Thank you, Madam President. And before I do that, I'd just like to call my colleague's attention to a memo we sent around, following your lead as MBC, I defended our resolution on the floor at the National League of Cities to have the N word moved as a trigger word on the search engine for Ebay. And as of Monday, we were called to have a meeting with them. You started the ball rolling here in Philadelphia. The National League of Cities has picked it up to make a statement against it. And I thank you very much for your support. I wish you all a very happy holiday. I, Madam President, move that Council stands adjourned sine die.
It has been moved and properly seconded that Council stand adjourned sine die. All in favor will indicate by saying aye. (Aye.)
The ayes have it, and the motion carries. (Council adjourned at 1:44 p.m.) C E R T I F I C A T I O N I HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing proceedings of the Council of the City of Philadelphia of December 18, 2003, were reported fully and accurately by me, and that this is a correct transcript of the same. RE: STATED MEETING _________________________ Lisa C. Bradley, RPR