PHILADELPHIA CITY COUNCILMEMBER KENYATTA JOHNSON PRAISES THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA FISCAL YEAR 2024 OPERATING AND CAPITAL BUDGETS
PHILADELPHIA, PA (June 23, 2023) –Philadelphia City Councilmember Kenyatta Johnson (Second District) voted yes on final passage of the City of Philadelphia’s Fiscal Year 2024 (FY’24) Operating and Capital Budgets this week.
The $6.2 Billion Operating Budget for Fiscal Year 2024 focuses on recruiting and retaining city workers, improving quality of life in neighborhoods, violence prevention and public safety.
“I want to thank my Council colleagues and Mayor Jim Kenney’s administration for working together to build a budget that will prioritize everyday Philadelphians and that makes investments in solving our city’s most pressing issues,” said Johnson, Chairman of the Special Committee on Gun Violence Prevention. “This year, I advocated for additional funding for youth programming as part of my ‘Save Our Youth’ budget proposal. Our city’s young people are in crisis and youth violence is a pressing issue that demands immediate attention and comprehensive solutions. With the investments in this budget, Philadelphia will make significant strides toward our common goal of creating safe, healthy, and prosperous communities for all Philadelphians.”
In the FY ’24 Operating budget, Johnson was able to secure $5 Million in additional funding to the Philadelphia Streets Department to support 200 additional positions in the Future Track Program to assist young adults in developing the skills and experience necessary for professional success.
He was also able to secure an additional $500,000 for PowerCorpsPHL, an AmeriCorps program that trains young people to work in the Green Economy and urban farming, and secure funding for the City Year Philadelphia Program to create more supportive school communities and develop civically engaged young adults.
Securing funding for the Future Track Program, PowerCorpsPHL and City Year Philadelphia were all part of the Save Our Youth budget plan.
The goal of Johnson’s Save Our Youth budget plan was to prioritize funding for youth and anti-violence programming in the FY ‘24 budget. Supporting youth and anti-violence programming will ensure that our city’s young people have meaningful opportunities to develop as young adults and will ensure Philadelphia has the tools to combat the epidemic of violence among our young people.
The Save Our Youth funding plan was supported by the Urban Affairs Coalition; The Philadelphia Youth Network, which oversees the WorkReady Youth summer job program; PowerCorpsPHL; City Year Philadelphia; Kevin Bethel, Chief of School Safety at The School District of Philadelphia; and Dr. Marquita C. Williams, Ph.D., Senior Executive Advisor to the Commissioner, DBHIDS; and all members of Philadelphia City Council.
“The employment and job-training programs that have been funded in the FY ’24 Operating Budget will lay the foundation for the future success of our city’s young people by providing economic security and fortifying social networks across their neighborhoods,” said Johnson. “These investments will create dedicated, low-barrier job opportunities for young people who are most at risk of gun violence, including guaranteed employment for youth in those neighborhoods that are most impacted by the gun violence epidemic. Young people are our most precious asset, and funding youth and anti-violence programming is an investment in the future.”
Johnson also got a total of $1 Million in the FY ’24 Operating Budget to help a variety of groups including:
- Ready, Willing and Able for addition street cleaning in the Point Breeze section of South Philadelphia.
- Philadelphia Clef Club of Jazz and Performing Arts
- The Anderson Monarchs, a sports-based youth development organization based in South Philadelphia.
- American Legion Lincoln Post 89 in South Philadelphia, one of the oldest American Legion posts for African Americans in the nation.
- NOMO (New Options More Opportunities) Foundation, who mission is to provide a safe space for youth and young adults to develop positive life skills and nurture their potential to break the cycle of poverty.
- Mothers In Charge, a national group based in Philadelphia that advocates for families affected by violence and provides counseling and grief support services for families when a loved one has been murdered.
In the FY’ 24 Capital Budget, Councilmember Johnson was able to secure an additional $13 Million for the Improvements to Existing Facilities (ITEF) funds. Through ITEF funding, the Mayor and the 10 District Councilmembers can mutually allocate funds to City-owned assets throughout Philadelphia, including streetscape improvements, facility upgrades, and investments in cultural institutions. The additional money will be used citywide.
Johnson will continue to fight for funding for his Save Our Youth plan and additional programs in the Second Council District during the mid- year budget transfer process, which takes place every fall.
Fiscal Year ‘24 will start on July 1, 2023, and end on July 30, 2024, meaning it will stretch through the final six months of Mayor Kenney’s administration and the first six months of the next mayor, who will be sworn into office in January 2024.
Councilman Kenyatta Johnson, a former Pennsylvania State Representative represents the 2nd Council District, which includes parts of Center City, South Philadelphia, and Southwest Philadelphia. He is Chairman of City Council’s Special Committee on Gun Violence Prevention.
