Philadelphia City Council members approved an abundance of resolutions and one bill during this week’s regularly stated meeting.
Among the legislation approved were:
• Resolutions #240337 (introduced by Councilmember Jamie Gauthier, 3rd District), #240338 (Gauthier), #240339 (Gauthier), #240344 (introduced by Councilmember Rue Landau, At-Large), #240350 (introduced by Councilmember Cindy Bass, 8th District), #240352 (Bass), and #240354 (Bass).
On May 2, Council approved Bill #240003, which would authorize the Commissioner of Parks and Recreation, on behalf of the City of Philadelphia, to enter into a multiyear agreement with Bennett Compost, Inc., for food scrap collection and management of a compost facility on City property located at 5650 Rising Sun Avenue. The bill sponsor was Councilmember Anthony Phillips (9th District).
Bill #240003 will go to Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker for either her signature or veto.
PHILADELPHIA CITY COUNCIL APPROVES EIGHT MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION
Philadelphia City Council last week confirmed eight of Mayor Parker’s Board of Education nominees: Reginald Streater, Sarah-Ashley Andrews, ChauWing Lam, Crystal Cubbage, Cheryl Harper, Whitney Jones, Wanda Novales, and Joan Stern.
Under law, Parker’s selections had to be submitted to the City Council for possible confirmation.
Council members voted 14-2 during a Committee of the Whole hearing earlier this week to withdraw the nomination of Joyce Wilkerson to the Philadelphia Board of Education. Parker has asked Wilkerson to continue serving indefinitely on the Board despite City Council’s objections. The appointment will last until Parker picks a replacement.
After discussions with Council’s leadership team and individual members, Council President Kenyatta Johnson said it was “very clear that Ms. Wilkerson would not get the necessary nine votes from Councilmembers for confirmation to the School Board.”
Johnson said the majority of Councilmembers find it inappropriate if Mayor Parker lets Wilkerson serve indefinitely without nominating someone to replace her.
”I know that Mayor Parker, who is a former member of this legislative body, will respect the decisions of the members of this body,” he said “We withdrew the Wilkerson nomination, and we expect the administration to send us a nominee to confirm. Council is not a rubber-stamp body.”
Seven confirmed school board members were sworn in for new terms on May 1.
Councilmember Isaiah Thomas (At-Large), chair of Council’s Education Committee, introduced and Councilmembers approved Resolution #240393 this week authorizing the Education Committee to hold hearings to explore possible reforms to the school board nomination, confirmation, and governance processes. No word on when the hearing(s) will take place.
COUNCIL IS COMING TO THE FINAL STRETCH OF FISCAL YEAR 2025 BUDGET HEARINGS
Council’s Committee of the Whole held its final stretch of hearings on the proposed Fiscal Year 2025 (FY ‘25) Budget, this week, with testimony from the School District of Philadelphia, Community College of Philadelphia, Office of Property Assessment, and the Board of Revision of Taxes. Mayor Parker testified in support of the School District’s budget.
City Council members also heard public comments on the City’s budget from dozens of people about the School District of Philadelphia’s budget on May 1.
The Committee of the Whole budget hearings are now scheduled to end on May 6 with a departmental call back testimony from the Register of Wills, Commerce, Planning & Development, Office of Homeless Services, Managing Director’s Office (including Office of Arts and Culture), Police Department and the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
The final FY ’25 25 budget must be approved by June 30. Fiscal Year ‘25 starts on July 1.
Check out Mayor Parker’s budget address, Operating and Capital Budgets, proposed FY ‘25-30 Five Year Plan and other information at City Council’s FY’25 Budget Center.
CITY COUNCIL HELD THE FINAL NEIGHBORHOOD BUDGET TOWN HALLS THIS WEEK
President Johnson held the final two Neighborhood Budget Town Hall meetings this week at West Philadelphia High School in West Philadelphia (hosted by Gauthier) and the Philadelphia Charter School of Arts and Sciences in Frankford (hosted by Councilmember Quetcy Lozada, 7th District)
A total of five Neighborhood Budget Town Halls were held throughout Philadelphia over the past few weeks to review and provide feedback on Mayor Parker’s proposed $6.29 Billion FY ’25 budget.
During all of the Neighborhood Budget Town Halls, the public heard a brief FY ‘25 Budget overview from City Council’s Chief Financial Officer. Thereafter, members of the public could testify about what they would like to see or not see in the FY ‘25 budget.
More than 600 people attended the successful Neighborhood Town Halls and more than 100+ people gave public comments at the Town Halls, including youth and student government members from the Philadelphia Charter School of Arts and Sciences.
Councilmembers Nicolas O’Rourke, Rue Landau, Katherine Gilmore Richardson, Jim Harrity, and Nina Ahmad also attended these town halls.
CITY OFFICIALS CELEBRATE A SOLAR POWER PROJECT THAT BRINGS PHILADELPHIA’S MUNICIPAL ELECTRICITY TO 30% RENEWABLE
Philadelphia City Councilmembers Mike Driscoll (6th District), Brooks, Landau and O’Rourke (all At-Large) joined Philadelphia Energy Authority (PEA) officials at City Hall this week to celebrate the completion of the Adams Solar Project. The 70-megawatt solar facility in Adams County, Pennsylvania now powers Philadelphia’s municipal buildings with approximately 25 percent of electricity needs.
The Adams Solar Project is one of the largest projects of its kind in Pennsylvania, featuring around 230,000 solar panels that span approximately 700 acres across a dozen parcels near Gettysburg. With the solar facility up and running, the City now uses close to 30 percent renewable electricity in its energy portfolio, making significant progress towards the Municipal Energy Master Plan goal of powering municipal facilities with 100 percent renewable electricity by 2030.
Power Purchase Agreements for renewable energy are a key tool for the City to power municipal buildings with 100 percent renewable electricity by 2030. The City hopes to purchase enough electricity from solar, wind or other renewable energy projects to fulfill the remaining 70 percent of municipal energy needs with renewable electricity. More information about this opportunity can be found here.
PHILADELPHIA CITY COUNCILMEMBER LOZADA AND COUNCIL PRESIDENT JOHNSON ANNOUNCED MEMBERS OF COUNCIL’S NEW SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON KENSINGTON
President Johnson and Councilmember Lozada gathered outside Philadelphia City Hall this week to announce the members of Council’s new Special Committee on Kensington.
The members of the Special Committee are Councilmembers Lozada, Mark Squilla (1st District), Councilmember Curtis Jones (4th District), Driscoll, Ahmad and Harrity, Lozada will chair the committee and Jones will serve as the committee’s Vice Chair.
On April 18, City Council approved Resolution #240294 to establish Council’s Special Committee on Kensington to analyze and examine the effectiveness of current polices to further develop data driven solutions and restore stability in the Kensington area.
Kensington has been nationally known for experiencing a surge in illicit drug activities, including open-air drug markets and other criminal offenses. This has created a growing concern among residents and calls for immediate action to address the issue. The Special Committee will help establish a framework for addressing the root causes of these problems by focusing on initiatives such as affordable housing, job creation, community policing, and addiction treatment programs by identifying steps to create a safer and more prosperous community in Kensington.
The Special Committee will be responsible for various duties, including but not limited to convening regular meetings to plan and coordinate activities, evaluating the effectiveness of current programs and policies, identifying the best practices at the local and national levels, engaging community leaders, enhancing the capacity for data collection and analysis, reviewing the allocation of City resources to ensure optimal outcomes, and holding public hearings to report on the Special Committee’s progress and gather public feedback.
The next Meeting of City Council is scheduled to take place on Thursday, May 9, 2024, at 10 a.m. The meeting will take place in person in Council’s Chambers on the 4th floor of Council. It will also air on Xfinity Ch. 64, Fios Channel 40, and stream at www.PHLCouncil.com/watch.
