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CITY COUNCIL TO HOLD REMOTE MEETING ON MAY 1 TO RECEIVE REVISED CITY BUDGET PLAN FROM MAYOR AMID COVID-19 PANDEMIC

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Philadelphia, April 23, 2020 – City Council will hold a Meeting remotely next Friday, May 1st, to receive a revised FY2021 city budget proposal from Mayor Kenney and his administration. Today’s regular Meeting was cancelled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic that has infected over 11,000 Philadelphians and claimed the lives of 443 city residents.

The Stated Meeting on May 1st will take place at 11 a.m. The meeting will be held remotely using Microsoft Teams, a technology available to Council through its information technology office. This remote meeting can be viewed on Xfinity ch. 64, Verizon ch. 40 or live-streamed at www.PHLCouncil.com/watch.

Also on May 1, City Council’s Committee of the Whole will meet remotely at 9:30 a.m. The agenda of the Committee of the Whole includes resolutions regarding the Mayor’s nominees to the Philadelphia Board of Education, which require Council approval. That committee hearing can also be viewed on Channels 64 or 40 and live-streamed at www.PHLCouncil.com/watch.

Because of the ongoing pandemic, public comment for the May 1st Stated Meeting has been adjusted to meet with social distancing recommendations from the Health Department, while still allowing the public to weigh in on matters printed on the meeting agenda.

For agenda details, go to https://phila.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx.

Speakers interested in making public comment at the Stated Meeting must call 215-686-3406 by 5 p.m. on Thursday, April 30, and submit their name, a call-back number, and state whether they are for or against any specific bill or resolution on the agenda. Speakers who submit this information by April 30 will be called during the session and invited to the remote meeting. They will have up to three minutes to speak.

On March 13, the city issued a Declaration of Emergency relating to Coronavirus COVID-19 in Philadelphia. On March 16, Mayor Kenney ordered a halt to all nonessential city government operations, and ordered City Hall closed to the public. Those orders remain in effect as the outbreak continues citywide, across the Commonwealth and country.

For more information on public comment, go to: https://phlcouncil.com/offering-public-comment-at-council-sessions-temp/

City Council is exploring holding subsequent meetings and hearings remotely during the pandemic, particularly as they pertain to the revised FY2021 budget. Further information about subsequent meetings will be released as soon as it becomes available.

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In addition to the May 1st Meeting and Committee of the Whole session, Council’s leadership team will host a Virtual Roundtable the previous day, on Thursday, April 30th, at 11 a.m.

Council’s leadership team – President Darrell L. Clarke (5th District), Majority Leader Cherelle Parker (9th District), Majority Whip Curtis Jones, Jr. (4th District) and Deputy Whip Mark Squilla (1st District) – will host the one-hour virtual roundtable using Microsoft Teams technology.

Discussion topics will include the city’s ongoing response to the COVID-19 crisis, next steps for the city, and an overview of the budget challenges that City Hall will face because of the pandemic and its impact on the city’s economy.

The public is invited to watch the roundtable with Council’s leadership team on Channels 64 and 40 or live-stream at www.PHLCouncil.com/watch.  The public can submit questions in advance about these discussion topics to Council leaders at Q[email protected].

Questions submitted by the public should be emailed by Wednesday, April 29th at 5 p.m.  The questions will be submitted to Council’s leadership team, who will address as many as possible during the roundtable the next day.

Other Council members have held Virtual Town Halls to reach constituents with important news about the pandemic in recent days and weeks.  For more information on what Councilmembers are doing for constituents during the COVID-19 pandemic, go to phlcouncil.com/covid-19/ 

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