Welcome to Thursday’s City Hall Roll Call, powered by The Committee of Seventy.
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Welcome to City Hall Roll Call, a summary of City Council’s weekly Stated Meeting. Reminder, the information provided below is not an official or complete record. City Council’s official legislative database can be accessed through Legistar.
For a full play-by-play of the Council session, including speeches and public comment, be sure to follow me on Twitter. Also, don’t forget to tune in on Tuesday mornings at 10:25 a.m. to WURD Radio and Reality Check’s “City Council Calendar with Lauren Vidas.” Show host Charles Ellison and I preview the issues and break down the legislation that Council will tackle at its Thursday meeting.
A Chance to Go Off the Record with Mayor John F. Street
Session Recap:
Today’s City Council session was relatively routine, with a couple of noteworthy introductions and honorees. Councilmember Gauthier and her colleagues honored activist Jamal Johnson whose advocacy work around gun violence has received national attention. A cadre of people testified in support of the resolution recognizing Johnson, who recently went on a hunger strike outside of City Hall to get the Mayor to declare gun violence a public health emergency.
Councilmember Allan Domb introduced a resolution to hold hearings to examine what appears to be a growing staffing crisis with the Philadelphia Police Department. Two recent reports by the Philadelphia Inquirer have called attention to staffing issues within the PPD. The first “M.I.A.: Crisis in the Ranks” documents abuse of disability benefits, finding “numerous cops who have claimed to be too injured to work, but at the same time launched new businesses, toiled at physically strenuous jobs, and more.”
A second Inquirer report highlighted worsening response times by officers to emergency calls, finding:
By the end of last year, wait times for even the highest-priority calls had nearly doubled on average in Kensington’s 24th and 25th Districts, which saw some of the highest homicide rates in the city. Average wait times for domestic abuse calls, like those reported by Graciani and others, had quadrupled in North Philadelphia’s 35th District to as much as an hour and 40 minutes, the newspaper’s analysis found. Homicides linked to domestic disputes spiked 240% citywide over the same period.
In a speech to Council, Domb made clear his hearing was not intended to criticize or assign blame, but rather to identify solutions to the issues and make sure the department is “properly staffed.”
Councilmember Helen Gym also introduced a resolution authorizing a look into a local agency - the Philadelphia Parking Authority. The hearing will investigate the PPA’s request that the School District of Philadelphia return nearly $11 million that the PPA alleges was overpaid to the District. Calling the request “unorthodox,” Gym stated that additional oversight over the PPA’s finances was long overdue. The fiscal relationship between the PPA and SDP has long been fraught, with school funding advocates arguing that the PPA has historically failed to live up to its financial obligations to the District.
Council stands adjourned until Thursday, February 24th at 10 a.m.
Bills and Resolutions Introduced Today (By Subject Matter)
Due to the volume, ceremonial resolutions introduced by Councilmembers that honor or memorialize individuals or organizations will not be listed below, but can be found on Legistar.
🚦Streets
Bill adding streetery locations in the 2nd Councilmanic District. (Johnson)
Bill prohibiting street vending on certain portions of Market Street (Admin. / Gauthier)
Bill authorizing a bicycle lane on West Market Street between 30th Street and 34th Street. (Admin. / Gauthier)
🗺️ Land Disposition / Acquisition
Resolution authorizing land transfer from PRA to Land Bank. (Squilla)
🔏 Contract Authorization
Resolution conveying interest in a Redevelopment Agreement for a project located in the 5th Councilmanic District.
⚖️ Privileged Resolutions (Authorizing Hearings / Urging Action)
Resolution authorizing the Committee on Children and Youth and the Committee on Finance to hold hearings to investigate the Philadelphia Parking Authority’s unorthodox request for the Philadelphia School District to repay $11 million in funds to the PPA. (Gym)
Resolution authorizing the committees on Public Safety, Labor and Civil Service and Fiscal Stability to hold hearings on the current staffing landscape of the Philadelphia Police Department. (Domb)
Bills and Resolutions Introduced Today (By Member)
Due to the volume, ceremonial resolutions introduced by Councilmembers that honor or memorialize individuals or organizations will not be listed below, but can be found on Legistar.
Councilmember Mark Squilla (D-1st)
Resolution - Authorizing land transfer from PRA to Land Bank.
Councilmember Kenyatta Johnson (D-2nd)
Bill -adding streetery locations in the 2nd Councilmanic District.
Councilmember Jamie Gauthier (D-3rd)
Bill - Prohibiting street vending on certain portions of Market Street (Admin.)
Bill - Authorizing a bicycle lane on West Market Street between 30th Street and 34th Street. (Admin.)
Council President Darrell Clarke (D-5th)
Resolution - Conveying interest in a Redevelopment Agreement for a project located in the 5th Councilmanic District.
Councilmember Allan Domb (D-AL)
Resolution - Authorizing the committees on Public Safety, Labor and Civil Service and Fiscal Stability to hold hearings on the current staffing landscape of the Philadelphia Police Department.
Councilmember Helen Gym (D-AL)
Resolution - Authorizing the Committee on Children and Youth and the Committee on Finance to hold hearings to investigate the Philadelphia Parking Authority’s unorthodox request for the Philadelphia School District to repay $11 million in funds to the PPA.
Bills and Resolutions Passed by City Council at Today’s Session
Resolutions:
📛 220121 (Clarke): Confirming the appointment of Sophia Lee as a member of the Board of the Philadelphia Energy Authority, to serve in the term ending January 1, 2023.
🏆 220123 (Johnson): Honoring Maxwell Brown for his longtime dedication to community empowerment and to the mentorship of young men through his Max Out of Life program. Johnson
🗺️ 220124 (Quinones-Sanchez): Authorizing the Philadelphia Land Bank to dispose of 2257 Hope Street located in the 7th Councilmanic District in accordance with the terms of Chapter 16-700 of The Philadelphia Code.
🏆 220126 (Brooks): Honoring the life, courage, and resilience of Ona “Oney” Judge, whose story of escape to freedom has become a pillar in Black American history for its themes of autonomy, self-actualization, pride, and its particular significance in Philadelphia’s abolitionist history.
🏆 220128 (Gauthier): Honoring and recognizing the work and contributions of community activist Jamal Johnson for his tireless advocacy against gun violence in the City of Philadelphia, and across the nation.
🗺️ 220129 (Gauthier): Authorizing the Commissioner of Public Property to transfer land to the Land Bank located in the Third Councilmanic District.
🗺️ 220130 (Gauthier): Authorizing the Commissioner of Public Property to transfer land to the Land Bank located in the Third Councilmanic District.
🗺️ 220131 (Gauthier): Authorizing the Philadelphia Land Bank to dispose of 3625 Wallace Street located in the 3rd Councilmanic District in accordance with the terms of Chapter 16-700 of The Philadelphia Code.
🏆 220134 (Thomas): Honoring and congratulating Champion of the Week and Black Business Crawl organization, the National Marian Anderson Museum & Historical Society, on their dedication to Black art and historical preservation of Marian Anderson’s life and her home in Philadelphia.
🏆 220135 (Squilla): Honoring, congratulating, and thanking Darin L. Gatti on the occasion of his retirement from the Streets Department and his many years of service to the citizens of Philadelphia.
🔏 220136 (Bass): Initiating action to continue the Mt. Airy Business Improvement District beyond its termination date.
🗣️ 220137 (Bass): Urging federal policymakers to ensure that individuals with Sickle Cell Disease have access to all medications and forms of treatment for Sickle Cell Disease, no matter their form of health care insurance.
🏆 220138 (Oh): Recognizing and honoring Aaron Turner and Eric Schroder of the 18th Police District for their courageous actions which led to the confiscation of an illegal firearm and stolen vehicle
🏆 220139 (Oh):Declaring March 6th as Lithuanian Independence Day in the City of Philadelphia in honor of its Restoration of the State Day on February 16th and Restoration of Independence Day on March 11th.
⚖️ 220### (Gym): Authorizing the Committee on Children and Youth and the Committee on Finance to hold hearings to investigate the Philadelphia Parking Authority’s unorthodox request for the Philadelphia School District to repay $11 million in funds to the PPA.
⚖️ 220### (Domb): Authorizing the committees on Public Safety, Labor and Civil Service and Fiscal Stability to hold hearings on the current staffing landscape of the Philadelphia Police Department.
📆 Upcoming City Council Public Hearings
(Click on the Committee listing to download the full agenda of bills and resolutions for the meeting.)
Tuesday, February 22md
Committee on Intergenerational Affairs & Aging, 10:00 AM - Council will hold public hearings examining solutions to the ongoing housing crisis impacting senior Philadelphians.
Tuesday, March 1st
Committee on Rules, 10:00 AM - Council will consider six bills amending zoning maps throughout the city and one bill authorizing land transfer to the Philadelphia Housing Authority.