COUNCILMEMBER JOHNSON OFFERS RESOLUTION TO HOLD HEARING ON WATER DEPARTMENT’S PROPOSED RATE HIKE
Councilmember Kenyatta Johnson (2nd District) offered a resolution this week in Council to hold hearings on a proposal by the Philadelphia Water Department to raise water and sewer rates on homeowners and property owners by 20 percent over two years.
The proposed water and sewer rate increase would raise an additional $144 million for the Water Department to address increased costs of operations and infrastructure needs.
Under the proposed increase, residential customers would experience a 12 percent increase this September, and an additional eight percent increase in 2024. The average residential water and sewer bill currently is $69.31 per month. Under the proposed rate increase, that average water/sewer bill would reach $77.50 a month this year, and $84 a month next year.
Under Johnson’s resolution, which Council approved on Thursday, Council’s Committee on Transportation and Public Utilities will hold hearings to examine the Water Department request to increase water and sewer rates, “and its impact on the citizens of Philadelphia.”
“The increase in rates will significantly impact many Philadelphians who have experienced increased financial burdens over the past few years,” the resolution stated. “Record inflation rates, increasing cost of food, and the 2022 property reassessment has created hardships for many families.”
“The [Water] Department has not been immune to these negative financial trends and has the need for additional resources to pay increasing costs for operations and for upgrades, repairs, improvements, maintenance activities, and more,” the resolution continued. “Despite the need for revenue, a 20 percent water bill increase will have a negative impact on low-income Philadelphians who are already struggling to get by, as well as middle-class families who are often ineligible for assistance programs.”
“A public hearing is necessary to review the proposed rate increase plan and to explore options to mitigate the need to pass all of these costs onto residents,” the resolution concluded. The hearing will be scheduled at a later date.
COUNCILMEMBER JONES INTRODUCES RESOLUTIONS TO HOLD HEARINGS ON ISSUES IMPACTING PHILADELPHIA STUDENTS
Majority Leader Curtis Jones, Jr. (4th District) introduced four resolutions to hold hearings to examine the following education-related issues. Each of the hearings will be held in Council’s Education Committee, chaired by Councilmember Isaiah Thomas (At Large):
- Examining the levels of learning loss and attendance trends as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, and to understand how the School District of Philadelphia plans to address these issues.
- Evaluating the tracking for post-graduation pathways including college retention rates, career alternatives, military opportunities, and the school-to-prison pipeline.
- Examining the progress of the school “safe corridors” program, to understand its effect on violence reduction.
- Examining the top performing magnet schools in Philadelphia, to understand their strengths in relationship to under-performing schools, and develop strategies for future success.
COUNCIL PASSES BILL CREATING NEW OVERLAY DISTRICT FOR COBBS CREEK GOLF COURSE REVITALIZATION
A long, contentious public debate over a $60 Million plan to revitalize the Cobbs Creek Golf Course in West Philadelphia culminated in Council this week, when Council unanimously approved a new Overlay District for the revitalization plan.
But not before residents and citizens offered public testimony on the revitalization plan, both pro- and con, at Thursday’s public meeting. Supporters of the revitalization, led by the private Cobbs Creek Golf Course foundation, pointed to the extensive rehabilitation of the once-grand course, one of the first integrated golf courses in the area, which had fallen into disuse and disrepair in recent years.
Opponents of the revitalization opposed the foundation’s plans to remove numerous trees from the course, as well as broader objections to the amount of funds being spent on the golf course’s revitalization, at a time when Philadelphia faces multiple other public challenges, including poverty, gun violence and a dearth of affordable housing.
Council Majority Leader Jones, whose district includes the golf course and who sponsored the overlay bill, noted before the voting that “Not a single dollar of public money is included in this revitalization plan.” Jones thanked his Council colleagues for raising issues of environmental justice in the plan, and pledged to continue working with supporters and opponents as it moves forward.
SEEN ON SOCIAL MEDIA…
The 31st Annual African-American Children’s Book Fair is taking place on Saturday, February 11 from 1-4 p.m. at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, 12th and Arch. Our office is a sponsor of the event. For more information, go to https://t.co/Veft985g8S pic.twitter.com/oPcQnESyg9
— Kenyatta Johnson (@CouncilmemberKJ) February 1, 2023
MEMBERS APPROVE COUNCILMEMBER VAUGHN’S RESOLUTION CONDEMNING UNION LEAGUE FOR HONORING FLORIDA GOVERNOR DESANTIS
A resolution introduced by Councilmember Sharon Vaughn (At Large) last week, “condemning the Union League of Philadelphia for bestowing its highest honor, the Gold Medal, upon Florida Governor Ron DeSantis,” passed Council on Thursday by a vote of 14-2.
Vaughn’s resolution first went through the Union League’s origins in 1862 as a bastion of pro-Union, anti-slavery support and supporting the policies of President Abraham Lincoln.
When the Union League recently decided to award its Gold Medal to controversial Fla. Gov. DeSantis, the Black community and many others strongly objected outside the League, and Councilmember Vaughn introduced the resolution condemning the League for its about-face from its historic origins.
“Gold Medal recipients over the years have included Presidents and Vice Presidents, Cabinet Secretaries, Supreme Court Justices, Senators and Governors – nearly all of whom could be described as conservative Republicans – whose sense of decency and respect for democratic ideals and the constitutional rights of all Americans were beyond reproach,” the resolution stated.
“By contrast, Governor Ron DeSantis’s tenure as Governor of Florida has been marked by cruelty, division, censorship, political gamesmanship, and the undermining of our democratic system – attributes that seem to run counter to the Union League’s professed ideals and Gold Medal criteria.”
“Gov. DeSantis has banned books, censored teachers and professors, cajoled children for choosing to wear masks, and fired public health officials and a duly-elected Attorney General, limiting individual and parental freedoms under the guise of expanding them,” the resolution continued.
“Gov. DeSantis’s words and actions as Governor of Florida run counter to the values of the Union League, the City of Philadelphia, the United States Constitution, and democracy itself,” the resolution concludes, resolving that “the Council of the City of Philadelphia does hereby condemn the Union League of Philadelphia for bestowing its highest honor, the Gold Medal, upon Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.”
IN OTHER NEWS
Councilmember Gilmore Richardson Introduces Resolution Supporting More Vocational Technical Training for Students in Trades and Technology. Councilmember Katherine Gilmore Richardson (At Large), a champion of career and technical training for Philadelphia students, introduced a resolution authorizing public hearings in the Education Committee on the creation of the 21st Century School District of Philadelphia CTE middle and high school focused on careers in trades and technology.
The Education Committee hearing will be scheduled and held at a later date.
Councilmember Kenyatta Johnson Introduces Resolution regarding Police- Involved Shootings and Passage of Congressional Legislation. Johnson, Vice Chair of Council’s Public Safety Committee, introduced the resolution urging Congress to pass H.R. 1280, the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2021.
“H.R. 1280 addresses a wide range of policies and issues regarding policing practices and law enforcement accountability, including combating excessive force, and racial bias in policing,” the resolution stated. “The bill increases accountability for law enforcement misconduct, restricts the use of certain policing practices, enhances transparency and data collection, and establishes best practices and training requirements.”
“H.R. 1280 establishes a framework to prevent and remedy racial profiling by law enforcement at the federal, state, and local levels. It limits the unnecessary use of force and restricts the use of no-knock warrants, chokeholds, and carotid holds.”
The federal legislation passed the House in 2021, but stalled in the Senate. Following the killing on Jan. 7, 2023 of Tyre Nichols, brutally beaten to death by Memphis police officers, Johnson’s resolution states, “his senseless murder has reignited conversations about federal police accountability legislation, such as H.R. 1280.”
Councilmember Brooks’ Resolution Honors Longtime Community Advocate. Councilmember Kendra Brooks’ (At Large) resolution honored and recognized Betsy “Ms. Betty” Beaufort, whose determined advocacy on behalf of her South Philadelphia community strengthened her neighborhood in Point Breeze.
Brooks’ resolution details Ms. Betty’s long years of Point Breeze-centered activism, from working to prevent Comcast from converting a local pharmacy into a hub, due to their concerns about the health ramifications to the neighborhood, to the Coalition to Save Libraries in 2008-09—a cross-neighborhood alliance that fought Mayor Nutter’s proposal to close 11 public libraries throughout Philadelphia. And also the Save Smith School in 2013—a group of Point Breeze neighbors that organized in an attempt to prevent the School District from selling the Walter G. Smith Elementary School to a private developer to be turned into an apartment building and luxury homes. “Though their campaigns were not always successful, Ms. Betty’s passion and devotion to the work was a huge asset to those campaigns,” the resolution explains.
On the floor of Council this week, Councilmember Brooks said Ms. Betty has been a mentor to her, helping her understand how neighborhood-centered campaigns over deeply-felt issues can ripple and echo citywide.
“Ms. Betty’s passion for her neighbors and community is best captured in the advice she gave when reflecting on the 2008 battle to keep libraries open: “Fight for what you want cause if you don’t fight, you not gonna get nothing.”
OTHER SIGHTS AND SOUNDS FROM THE COUNCIL WEEK
Committee of the Whole 1-31-2023
Stated Meeting of Philadelphia City Council 2-2-2023
The next Stated Meeting of City Council is scheduled to take place on Thursday, February 9, 2023 at 10 a.m. in Philadelphia City Hall, Room 400 and will air on Xfinity Ch. 64, Fios Channel 40 and stream at www.PHLCouncil.com/watch.
Featured Photo: Jared Piper/PHLCouncil
