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From YouTube: Committee on Finance 4-30-2021
Description
The Committee on Finance of the Council of the City of Philadelphia held a Public Hearing on Friday, April 30, 2021, at 9:30 AM, in a remote manner using Microsoft® Teams to hear testimony on the following items:
210203 An Ordinance authorizing and approving the execution and delivery of one or more Service Agreements between The City of Philadelphia and the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority and/or one or more other City related Authorities relating to the financing of a Neighborhood Preservation Initiative which includes housing, commercial corridors, and neighborhood infrastructure programs; approving the issuance by each such Authority of bonds, notes or other evidences of indebtedness (including reimbursement obligations related to lines or letters of credit) in one or more series to finance or refinance such initiative and authorizing and approving the obligation of The City of Philadelphia to pay in full when due the Service Fee and other amounts payable under each Service Agreement; authorizing certain City officers to take certain actions required to issue such bonds, notes or other evidences of indebtedness; covenanting that The City of Philadelphia will make necessary appropriations in each of the City’s fiscal years to provide for, and will make timely payments of, the Service Fee and other amounts due under each such Service Agreement; and authorizing and approving the Director of Finance of the City and other City officials to take other necessary or appropriate actions to effectuate the purposes of this ordinance; all under certain terms and conditions.
210191 Resolution authorizing the Committee on Finance to hold hearings regarding the potential of land value taxation in and for Philadelphia.
A
A
Due
to
the
current
public
health
emergency
city,
council
committees
are
currently
meeting
remotely,
we
are
using
microsoft
teams
to
make
these
remote
hearings
possible
instructions
for
how
the
public
may
view
and
offer
public
testimony
and
public
hearings
of
council
committees
are
included
in
the
public
hearing,
notices
that
are
published
in
daily
news
put
up
in
choir
and
illegal
intelligence
here
prior
to
the
hearings
and
can
also
be
found
on
phl
counsel
dot
com.
I
now
know
that
the
hour
has
come
to
begin.
This
hearing
will
the
clerk?
A
Please
call
the
role,
take
attendance
members
that
are
in
attendance?
Will
you
please
indicate
that
you
are
present
when
your
name
is
called
as
well
as
say
a
few
words
so
that
your
picture
and
image
can
be
displayed
on
screen
when
you
speak
to
make
sure
that
you
have
a
microphone
check
for
the
court.
C
A
A
A
And
I'm
president
good
morning
to
everyone
who
is
here
to
my
colleagues
and
to
the
viewing
public,
as
well
as
the
witnesses
as
scheduled
to
testify
this
morning.
I
would
like
to
thank
the
clerk
mr
inuzi
quorum
of
the
committee
is
present,
and
this
here
is
now
called
to
order.
This
is
the
public
hearing
of
the
committee
on
finance
regarding
bill
number
two
one:
zero.
Two,
oh
three
and
resolution
number
two,
one:
zero,
one,
nine
one!
Mr
iron
news.
Will
you
please
read
the
titles
of
the
title
of
the
bill.
B
Bill
number
210203
an
ordinance
authorizing
and
approving
the
execution
and
delivery
of
one
or
more
service
agreements
between
the
city
of
philadelphia
and
the
philadelphia
redevelopment
authority
and
or
one
or
more
other
city-related
authorities
relating
to
the
financing
of
a
neighborhood
preservation
initiative,
which
includes
housing,
commercial
corridors
and
neighborhood
infrastructure
programs,
etc.
All
under
terms
and
conditions.
A
Thank
you
before
we
begin
to
hear
testimony
from
the
witnesses
we
have
here.
For
today.
Everyone
who
has
been
invited
to
the
meeting
to
testify
should
be
aware
that
this
public
hearing
is
being
recorded,
because
the
hearings,
because
the
hearing
is
public
participants
and
viewers,
should
have
no
reasonable
expectation
of
privacy
by
continuing
to
participate
in
this
hearing.
You
are
consenting
to
being
recorded
additionally
prior
to
recognizing
members
for
questions
or
comments
they
have
for
witnesses.
A
I
will
note
for
the
record
at
this
time
that
we
will
use
the
chat
feature
available
on
microsoft
teams
to
allow
members
to
signify
that
they
wish
to
be
recognized
in
order
to
comply
with
the
sunshine
act.
The
chat
feature
must
only
be
used
for
this
purpose
and
be
used
by
members.
Only
before
I
call
the
clerk
to
call
the
first
panel
for
bill
number,
two
one
zero.
Two,
oh
three
were
there:
are
there
any
opening
comments?
Prior
to
our
first
panel.
G
Sure,
good
morning,
chairperson,
green
and
members
of
the
finance
committee,
my
name
is
jacqueline
dunn,
and
I
am
the
city
treasurer
here
with
me.
Today
are
natalia
dominguez,
buckley,
first
deputy
city,
treasurer
and
matthew,
bowman,
sinking,
fund,
executive
director-
and
we
are
here
to
testify
in
support
of
bill
210203
and
its
amendments.
G
The
bonds
would
be
issued
at
an
aggregate
aggregate
amount
of
up
to
400
million
dollars
outstanding,
plus
the
related
cost
of
issuance
credit
enhancement
and
discount.
The
bonds
would
be
secured
by
the
city's
obligation
under
the
service
agreement
to
budget
and
appropriate
annually
amounts
necessary
to
pay
the
service
fee,
which
would
be
sufficient
to
pay
debt
service
on
the
outstanding
bonds.
G
The
bond
proceeds
would
be
used
to
finance
programs
to
improve
and
enhance
housing,
small
business,
commercial
corridors
and
neighborhood
infrastructure
within
the
city
in
order
to
promote
the
health,
welfare
and
safety
of
the
residents
of
the
city.
Prevent
and
eliminate
blight
and
encourage
the
provision
of
healthy
homes,
a
decent
living
environment
and
adequate
places
of
employment
for
residents
of
the
city
throughout
through
redevelopment
renewal,
rehabilitation,
housing
conservation,
urban,
beautification
and
or
commercial
section
and
neighborhood
development
activities.
G
G
A
Yes
correct
and
then
could
you
provide
some
perspective?
I
know
in
the
past
when
we've
had
financing,
you
provide
information
on
the
type
of
professionals
that
you
have
used
historically
in
the
treasurer's
office.
Can
you
give
some
perspective
on
the
nature
of
the
professionals
you
anticipate
using
for
this
type
of
borrowing.
A
G
A
F
No,
not
at
all
just
some
questions,
mr
chair,
to
put
on
the
record.
We
have
used
a
kind
of
general
broad
categories
to
do
this
financing,
but
I'd
like
to
drill
down
for
a
second,
we
are
talking
about
infrastructure
repair
as
well
preservation
as
well.
I
have
two
examples
of
that.
I
have
retaining
walls
in
the
fourth
district,
like
in
other
areas
of
the
city
of
philadelphia
that
are
in
a
state
of
disrepair.
G
So
this
transaction
does
include
funding
for
a
program
to
address
infrastructure
needs,
including
dangerous,
retaining
walls
and
we're
also,
I
should
have
mentioned-
also
joined
by
colleagues,
from
the
from
planning
and
development,
from
otis
and
from
commerce
to
help
answer
questions
in
more
detail
on
the
actual
program
uses
of
the
proceeds
and
so
they're
also
available.
Today,
okay,.
F
And
feel
free
if
the
chairman
allows
them
to
answer
after
their
testimony.
But
I
wanted
to
put
on
that
that
question
on
the
record
and
secondly,
I
am
in
the
fourth
district
plagued
like
other
areas,
with
multi-unit
structures,
apartments
that
have
seen
better
days
and
have
been
in
effect
not
treated
well
by
ownership,
and
sometimes
they
develop
serious
illinois
violations.
F
G
B
F
A
Thank
you
councilman.
Thank
you,
councilmember
jones,
also
as
a
disappointing
information.
My
understanding
is
that
the
program
statement
will
also
be
part
of
our
consolidated
plan
hearing,
which
will
also
be
part
of
the
finance
committee
similar
as
similar
as
we've
done
in
years
past,
when
we
have
the
consolidated
plan,
which
includes
other
federal
funding
like
home
dollars
and
community
developed
block
grand
dollars.
A
There
may
be
additional
amendments
to
that
program.
Statement
as
you
may
all
may
know
that
the
federal
government's
fiscal
year
does
not
start
until
october
1
and
also
as
we
are
going
as
a
nation
through
conversations
regarding
the
american
jobs
plan
and
president
biden's
discussion
regarding
not
just
traditional
infrastructure,
but
other
types
of
infrastructure
that,
if
it
does
get
passed,
will
probably
pass
through
reconciliation,
which
will
also
occur
in
the
fall
and
may
also
provide
some
opportunities
for
changes
to
the
program
statement.
I
G
Sure
good
morning,
council,
member
dom
for
tax
exempt
borrowings
we're
required
by
federal
tax
law
to
make
expenditures
of
those
dollars
within
36
months
and
there's
also
other
time
frames
along
the
way.
So,
for
example,
you
have
to
have
the
first
five
percent
contracted
to
spend
within
six
months,
for
example,
and
so
it's
a
very
concise
time
frame
that
we
work
towards
with
taxable
borrowings.
D
I
G
G
You
know
they
know
exactly
what
they
need
to
requisition
the
funds
so
that
everyone's
ready
to
go
once
we
actually
price
and
close
and
receive
the
funding,
and
we
also
work
particularly
with
innovative
programs,
to
really
make
sure
we
build
in
some
flexibility
within
the
ordinance
we
work
with
bond
council.
We
work
with
the
program
users
to
really
understand
you
know
all
the
different
ways
they
may
want
to
use
the
money.
So
we
build
in
maximum
flexibility
to
allow
us
to
be
able
to
pivot
or
adjust.
H
A
E
Chair,
I'm
sorry
I
was
trying
to.
I
am
unfortunately
not
able
to
get
into
teams
through
my
traditional
routes,
so
I
apologize
for
all
of
that.
I
just
wanted
to.
First
of
all,
thank
you
very
much.
Council
chair.
I
appreciate
it
so
for
some
of
the
witnesses
I
just
wanted
to
check
in
about
bindingness,
because
I
think
that's
one
of
the
questions
that
we
had.
E
G
Sure,
good
morning,
council,
member
again
good
morning,
the
the
ordinance,
the
service
agreement
and
the
program
descriptions
are
we
draft
them
with
as
much
flexibility
as
we're
able
to
allow
within
state
law.
So
the
law
that
governs
you
know,
for
example,
our
ability
to
issue
debt
through
a
service
agreement
with
the
redevelopment
authority
in
this
case,
as
well
as
tax
law,
and
we
have
to
work
within
those
guidelines,
but
we
do
work
to
make
the
actual
permission
permissible
spending
within
the
programs
as
flexible
as
possible.
G
E
G
So
I
think
that
would
be
a
question.
I
would
take
back
to
bond
council
to
ask
you
know
to
work
with
them
and
flesh
out
what
permissible
uses
we
might
be
looking
to
to
include
within
that
specific
program,
and
so
I'm
happy
to
talk.
You
know
outside
of
the
hearing,
if
you'd
like
on
those
questions-
and
we
also
have
bond
counsel
on
now-
and
I
could
ask
them
if
you
have
more
specifics-
that
you'd
like
to
walk
through.
E
G
J
E
If
you
don't
mind,
please,
you
know,
I
think
I
mean.
I
generally
think
that
that
we
will
resolve
this.
But
I
part
of
the
question
that
I
have
is
how
binding
the
language
is
and
whether
it
prohibits
expansion
of
use,
unless
it's
like
specifically
delineated
sure
that
makes
sense.
So,
for
example,
there
might
be
language
that
says
that
you
know
if
there's
an
identified
specific
program
and
identifies
funding
for
housing
counselors
for
housing,
counseling
services
for
tenants,
mediation
services.
Is
that
broad
enough
like?
E
B
A
Mm-Hmm,
chancellor,
I
just
have
a
point
of
clarification
for
miss
mays.
I
know
in
the
past
when
and
I'm
reflecting
during
the
neighbor
transformation
initiative
when
we
wanted
to
use
dollars
from
nti
or
individual
private
property.
There
was
an
issue
in
doing
so
only
if
it
was
a
public
safety
issue,
and
that
was
the
reason
why
we
should
not
do
driveways,
but
we
could
do
retaining
walls
using
nti
bond
dollars
on
private
property
because
it
was
a
public
safety
issue.
E
That
you're
comfortable,
I
think
we're
going
to
resolve
the
regardless,
but
but
I
think
it's
helpful
to
know
that
that,
in
general,
your
your
your
goal
is
for
the
language
to
be
flexible.
I
think
that
the
question
is,
we
have
a.
I
think,
if,
if
this
is
a-
and
this
is
why
I'm
asking
like
how
how
careful
do
we
have
to
be
about
language?
Because
I
think
if
it's
said
eviction
diversion
it
could
be
fine.
E
The
question
is:
is
program
specific
to
the
existing
program
that
exists,
which
would
be
narrow,
for
example,
as
opposed
to
eviction,
diversion
or
other
forms
or
adding,
in
like
words
around
legal
services.
Would
that
make
it
just
cautious
for
us
so
that
we
don't
have
to
worry
about
how
it's
interpreted
or
that
we're
in
any
way
limited.
E
A
M
Thank
you,
councilman
gracias,
for
giving
seba
the
opportunity
to
testify
today.
My
name
is:
will
gonzalez
I'm
the
executive
director
of
seba
seba's
mission
is
to
promote
the
economic
development
and
financial
inclusion
of
the
latino
community
through
collaborations
and
advocacy
aimed
at
ensuring
access
to
quality
housing
for
our
community.
M
We
also
respectfully
request
that
you
maximize
the
impact
of
this
bond
initiative
maximize
all
facets
of
community
and
economic
impact
by
prioritizing
allocations
to
community-based,
non-profit
cdcs,
with
a
track
record
of
developing
affordable
housing.
Sabers
collective
has
the
capacity
experience
and
strength
to
maximize
your
impact.
This
collective
includes
some
of
the
best
cdc's
in
the
city,
apm
asset,
nora
square
community
alliance
esperanza.
M
The
latino
community
is
ready
to
multiply
the
impact
of
these
investments
in
terms
of
producing
affordable
housing
in
eastern
north
philadelphia.
Thanks
to
a
collective
agreement
with
the
philadelphia
housing
authority
that
agreement
transfers,
240
properties
to
the
four
latino
cdcs
of
the
collective,
those
240
pha
properties
are
in
one
of
the
most
rapidly
gentrifying
neighborhoods
of
eastern
north
philadelphia.
M
We
also
want
to
highlight
that
improving
access
to
affordable
housing
is
more
than
just
brick
and
mortar.
It
includes
strengthening
the
city's
housing
counseling
capacity.
We
have
a
tale
of
two
cities.
We
also
have
a
crisis
of
not
having
enough
housing
counselors.
We
have
low
to
moderate
income
families
blessed
with
the
possibility
of
buying
their
first
home.
Yet
at
the
same
time,
you
have
many
families
facing
foreclosure
eviction,
urgent,
home
repairs.
M
Housing
counselors
are
the
front
line
workers
and
we
need
more
of
them
to
handle
both
sides
of
the
of
the
increased
demand
for
their
services.
Without
more
housing
counselors,
we
will
face
a
bottleneck
and
helping
low
to
moderate
income
families
access
the
help
that
they
need
in
many
fronts
to
stay
housed.
M
Please
also
ensure
meaningful
community
input
in
the
allocation
process
of
the
npi
bond
funding.
We
want
to
make
sure
that
we
have
access
to
data
as
to
how
the
funds
are
spent
and
how
equity
goals
are
met.
The
bottom
line
is,
if
you
want
to
see,
if
we
are
making
progress
with
equitable,
affordable
housing
development,
we
must
follow
the
carpenter's
adage
measure
twice
to
act
once
we
look
forward
to
working
with
you
on
maximizing
the
positive
impact
of
the
neighborhood
preservation
initiative,
investments
in
our
city,
muchas,
gracias,.
A
B
Good
good
morning,
my
name
is
kent:
vegas,
I'm
the
exec
director
of
the
affordable
housing,
centers
of
pennsylvania,
we're
a
dhcd
housing,
counseling
organization.
I
want
to
thank
you
begin
by
thanking
chairman
greene
and
members
of
the
finance
committee
for
permitting
me
to
present
my
testimony
today.
B
My
testimony
is
to
discuss
the
indelible
nature
that
housing,
counseling
services
will
have
to
the
city
to
achieve
the
goals
outlined
in
the
neighborhood
preservation
initiative
and
the
looming
crisis,
as
will
gonzales
just
mentioned.
As
far
as
the
resumption
of
morse
foreclosures
and
convictions
that
will
have
once
the
the
moratoriums
are
have
been
lifted.
I
also
want
to
address
the
concerns
about
the
proposed
cuts
in
the
housing
trust
fund
from
20
million
dollars
to
six
million
point
six
point:
eight:
six
million
dollars
in
the
mayor's
fy
22
budget.
B
B
All
of
the
these
housing
initiatives
outlined
in
the
mpi,
whether
it's
to
restart
the
philly
first
home
grant
or
to
support
tenants
facing
eviction
or
foreclosure,
require
the
mobilization
of
the
dhc
housing
counseling
network.
To
be
successful,
we
serve
as
the
advocates
to
help
residents
access
these
programs
to
achieve
these
goals.
B
For
a
long
time,
city,
council
and
d.c
have
taken
for
granted
the
accessibility
of
housing,
counseling
services,
there's
a
good
reason
for
that
for
every
major
housing
program
that
the
city
has
created,
which
involves
the
housing
counselors.
It
has
been
successful.
Programs
such
as
the
morris
diversion
program,
the
owner-occupied
payment
agreement,
31st
home
grant.
Now
the
eviction
diversion
program
are
viewed
as
successes,
some
of
which
are
seen
as
national
models
replicated
by
other
municipalities.
B
Most
of
these
programs
were
unfunded
mandates
for
housing
counselors,
and
we
have
served
more
households
without
the
funding
support
to
increase
the
capacity,
for
example,
with
the
affiliate
first
home
grant
acopa.
My
organization
provides
counseling
service
to
33
more
clients
than
we
saw
in
the
previous
year.
B
You
can.
This
fall.
Housing
councils
will
be
even
more
overextended
in
addition
to
implementing
the
objectives
of
the
mpi
housing
council
will
be
assisting
households
avoid
eviction
foreclosure,
as
the
more
terms
will
most
likely
be
lifted.
Thankfully,
relief
for
these
household
distressed
households
is
here
and
more
is
coming
through
the
american
rescue
plane
regardless.
This
will
create
a
car
crisis
capacity
as
demand
for
housing.
Counseling
services
will
spike,
in
addition
to
an
increased
demand
for
services.
B
B
This
new
certification
rules
will
present
a
supply
issue
that
will
undermine
philadelphia
residents
ability
to
access
services
to
avoid
eviction
foreclosure.
We
need
the
support
of
city
council
to
include
housing
counseling
in
existing
workforce
development
programs
to
access
qualified
candidates.
I
implore
the
members
of
the
city
council
to
recognize
the
housing
crisis
presented
before
us.
B
Therefore,
I
urged
to
include
the
funding
from
the
mpi
funds
to
pay
for
some
administrative
and
house
accounting
services
that
will
most
likely
be
needed
to
address
this
crisis,
as
well
as
to
advocate
for
the
restoration
of
funds
with
the
housing
trust
fund.
This
cannot
be
an
either
or
conversation,
both
sources
of
support
and
we're
looking
forward
to
be
involved
with
this
process,
and
in
regards
to
the
fact
that
these
resources
will
enable
these
house
counseling
each
properly
address
the
looming
crisis
to
fill
the
objectives
of
the
mpi.
N
N
Pacdc
has
four
requests
of
city
council
in
the
kennedy
administration.
Regarding
this
initiative,
first
ensure
that
neighborhood
preservation
initiative
investments
are
in
addition
to
and
not
in
place
of,
previous
funding.
Commitment
to
the
city's
general
fund,
including
the
full
20
million
annual
commitment
to
the
housing
trust
fund
funding
for
the
land
bank,
and
to
fully
renew
the
phl
taking
care
of
business,
cleaning
contracts
and
small
business
support
programs
operated
by
the
department
of
commerce.
N
A
Thank
you
all
for
your
testimony.
Just
have
a
few
quick
questions
and
then
I'll
open
it
up
for
questions
from
members
of
the
committee.
I
guess
I
have
a
question
in
reference
to
the
dodd
act.
When
made
reference
to
housing,
counselors
now
have
to
be
certified
what
impact
has
had
on
housing
in
philadelphia.
B
B
A
M
N
M
A
B
N
A
J
Good
morning
to
all,
and
thank
you
for
hosting
today's
hearing,
I'm
jennifer
rodriguez,
president,
ceo
of
the
greater
philadelphia
hispanic
chamber
of
commerce
for
the
past
three
decades,
gphcc
has
been
the
leading
voice,
developing,
promoting
and
advocating
for
12
000
hispanic
businesses
in
philadelphia,
while
encouraging
the
advancement
and
economic
of
the
hispanic
community
in
philadelphia.
Building
an
inclusive
economy
has
become
the
top
priority
of
the
private
public
sector.
J
This
priority
has
become
ever
more
critical
in
light
of
the
disproportionate
impact
of
the
pandemic
in
communities
of
color
and
in
the
hispanic
community
in
particular
at
gphcc.
We
firmly
believe
that
entrepreneurship
is
one
of
the
keys
to
solving
the
inequity
that
hampers
the
growth
and
development
of
poor
and
hundred
percent
underrepresented
communities
and
should
be
a
priority
of
city
government
as
it
plans
the
allocation
of
funding
and
resources
in
this
budget
process.
J
We
firmly
believe
that
city,
council
and
mayor
kenny's
administration
should
approach
the
budget
process
and
the
allocation
of
federal
recovery
dollars
and
the
administration
of
sources
such
as
the
obligations
presented
here
today
as
opportunities
to
grow
philadelphia's
economy.
By
supporting
diverse
businesses,
we
encourage
city
council
to
invest
in
the
organizations
that
make
up
our
local
entrepreneurship
ecosystem
with
the
goal
of
increasing
the
size
and
the
number
of
diverse
businesses
which
ultimately
will
result
in
new
jobs,
taxes
and
wealth
creation
in
the
communities
that
need
it
most.
J
J
J
J
J
At
the
hispanic
chamber,
we
are
committed
to
supporting
latino-owned
businesses
as
they
recovered
from
the
impact
of
the
pandemic
positioning
them
for
the
successful
reintegration
to
the
economy
under
the
new
normal.
But
this
requires
a
shared
voice
and
collective
action.
So
as
business
leaders
as
community
leaders
and
as
residents
of
the
city,
we
must
plan
for
a
safe,
equitable
and
robust
economic
recovery.
J
A
O
You
good
morning
my
name
is
andrew
frischkoff,
I'm
the
director
of
lisk
philadelphia.
Thank
you
for
the
opportunity
to
testify
on
bill
number
210203.
Today,
lisk
supports
authorizing
400
million
dollars
in
neighborhood
preservation
initiative
bond
funds,
especially
for
affordable
housing,
economic
development
and
equitable
neighborhood
development.
O
Lisk
has
suffered
through
covet
19
and
increasing
philadelphia
has
suffered
through
covet
19
and
increasing
violence
which
have
taken
too
many
lives
and
livelihoods.
We
need
significant
investment
in
affordable
homes
and
in
commercial
corridors
for
economic
recovery,
an
investment
in
vibrant
community
spaces
and
programs
for
a
safe
return
to
community
building.
J
A
A
P
Good
morning,
chairman
greene
and
members
of
the
commit
the
finance
committee,
my
name
is
stephanie
selden
and
I
am
the
president
and
ceo
of
rebuilding
together
philadelphia,
rebuilding
together,
philadelphia,
revitalizes
communities
by
transforming
vulnerable
owner-occupied
houses
into
safe,
healthy
and
energy-efficient
homes.
If
you
are
looking
for
my
paper
testimony,
you
will
not
find
it.
P
This
homeowner
is
now
sorry
is
now
asking
us
for
bulletproof
glass,
so
just
think
of
the
strength
that
these
three
families
have
and
the
fortitude.
So
I
want
you
to
know
also
about
our
numbers:
rebuilding
together,
philadelphia,
revitalizes
about
120
homes.
A
year
we
make
repairs
from
roofs
to
grab
bars
and
we
average
about
an
eleven
thousand
dollar
investment
per
year.
P
We
cannot
do
this
without
our
partners,
assay
achievability,
new
kensington,
cdc,
the
enterprise
center
and
soon
we
hope
germantown,
united
cdc.
We
could
not
do
our
work
without
these
partners
recruiting
the
homeowners
and
deciding
where
in
their
own
neighborhoods,
they
believe
homeowners
are
most
in
need.
P
I
want
to
thank
all
the
city
mayor,
kenny
city
council
for
the
500
000
and
targeted
housing
prevention
program,
money
that
habitat
for
humanity,
philadelphia
our
partner
and
rebuilding
together
philadelphia
receive
it's,
not
cash.
It's
in-kind
services
from
bsrp
contractors
through
phdc
with
that
250
000,
half
of
the
money
that
rtp
well
half
of
the
in-kind
services
that
rtp
receives.
P
Rtp's
vision
is
a
safe
and
healthy
home
for
everyone,
and
again,
like
other
people,
have
testified,
call
on
your
non-profits
with
the
experience
to
enact
the
vision
that
this
amazing
400
million
dollar
bond
could
achieve.
So
I
just
want
to
leave
you
with
one
happy
story.
Last
week,
rebuilding
together,
philadelphia
was
in
haddington.
P
Excuse
me
in
dunlap,
with
the
great
enterprise
center,
and
we
were
working
with
miss
geraldine.
Miss
geraldine
was
considering
moving
until
rebuilding
together
philadelphia
and
the
enterprise
center
repaired.
Her
home
we
miss
geraldine
is
was
out
sweeping
her
streets
at
seven
in
the
morning,
and
now
she
has
a
home
that
she
can
pass
on
to
the
next
generation
and
have
that
wealth
and
the
asset
building.
Because
of
our
collaboration
and
the
support
of
the
city.
A
C
C
So
there
are
some
things
that
are
program
related
right,
that
we
really
need
to
get
the
city
administration
to
align
so
that
when
we're
making
some
of
these
infrastructure
investments,
so
I
want
to
know,
like
you
know,
in
your
space
in
your
world,
you
know
what
is
it
that
you
see
is
the
top
priority
on
infrastructure
investment,
and
I
know
stephanie
talked
a
little
bit
around
some
additional
housing,
but
you
know
jennifer,
you
know
what
else
right
I
mean.
I
know
we
do
the
security
camera
program.
C
C
It's
there's
going
to
be
some
programmatic,
but
you
know
you're
borrowing
into
your
future.
It's
not
good
practice.
Just
you
know.
The
idea
of
the
bond
is
we're
going
to
be
able
to
make
some
structural
investment
and
then
in
our
operating
you
align
that
right,
so
we're
leveraging
one
with
the
other.
So
you
know
what
are
some
of
the
things
that
we
currently
don't
do
as
it
relates
to
preservation
and
infrastructure
that
you
think
we
should
immediately
consider.
J
Well,
I
mean,
I
think,
the
the
the
the
look
and
feel
of
our
commercial
quarters
in
our
neighborhoods
needs
significant
investment.
They
should
be
walkable
and
attractive
to
residents
and
to
to
shoppers
right.
If
you
don't
have
a
safe,
walkable
and
attractive
shopping,
district
you'll
choose
another
walkable
safe
and
attractive
shopping
district.
To
go
to
so,
I
think
in
terms
of
infrastructure.
J
I
think
that
it's
important
that
the
investments
be
focused,
this
idea
of
spring
sprinkling
a
little
bit
of
money
across
a
wide
selection,
just
really
doesn't
get
the
impact
that
you
need
the
concentration
of
of
of
investment.
I
think
it's
critical.
I
think
what
we've
seen
a
lot
of
is
you
do
something
here
and
you
do
something
there,
but
it's
just
not
enough
to
really
turn
the
corner
of
any
individual
commercial
corridor.
So
I
think
it's
important
to
prioritize
because
the
resources
are
limited.
J
Now,
when
you,
when
we
the
way
that
I
look
at
it
when
you
invest
in
the
physical
environment,
that's
the
building,
but
how
about
the
operator
behind
that
building
or
behind
that
that
business
there
needs
to
be
some
real
high
quality
capacity
building.
For
those
for
those
entrepreneurs
and
oftentimes
we're
letting
or
where
we're
we're,
telling
the
commercial
quarter,
managers
to
be
commercial
quarter,
managers
and
technical
assistance
providers
and
finance
experts-
and
I
think
that's
just
in
our
opinion
at
the
chamber-
that's
just
really
a
recipe
for
disaster.
J
A
lot
of
this
really
requires
very
specialized
specialized
knowledge
right,
so
access
to
to
attorneys
that
can
really
help
businesses
negotiate
leases,
accounting
services
so
that
businesses
can
get
their
fundamentals
in
in
order.
You
know
there
we
have
seen
how
intensive
comprehensive
education
of
for
entrepreneurs
really
does
help
them
make
the
right
decisions
for
their
business.
J
We
at
the
chamber
have
a
program
called
accelerate
latinx
that
during
the
pandemic,
15
entrepreneurs
in
the
latino
community
that
went
through
the
seven
month
program
created
20
jobs,
retained,
66
jobs
at
a
cost
of
less
than
two
thousand
dollars
for
jobs
created
and
retained.
So
we
know
that
when
you
do
the
fine-tuned
investment
that
is
targeted,
if
you
coupled
programmatic
investment
with
a
physical
investment,
I
think
you
there's
an
opportunity
to
really
do
a
lot
of
of
you
know.
C
Good
here,
thank
you
stephanie.
You
know,
we
have
basic
systems,
you
know
which
we
all
work
with,
and
then
we
have
the
wonderful
work
that
you
do
with
habitat
and
rebuilding.
If
I
were
to
say
to
you,
what
is
the
next
level
of
work
that
you
guys
could
do
that?
You
see
some
work
and
you
know
I
heard
your
story
about
the
woman
in
the
bulletproof
windows.
What
is
that
kind
of
work
look
like,
and
you
know
what
is
the
investment
per
family
that
could
be
transformative
and
and
the
work
so
leverage?
P
C
A
O
Thank
you.
I
apologize
for
the
loss
of
internet.
My
name
is
andrew
fishkoff,
I'm
the
director
of
lisq
philadelphia,
I'm
not
sure
exactly
where
I'll
left
off,
but
I
will
just
start
with
lisk
strongly
urges
city
council
to
encourage
wise
and
bold
investments
for
through
npi,
including
ensuring
npi
investments,
are
additive
too
not
replacements
for
previous
funding.
Commitments
from
the
city's
general
fund
prioritizing
the
allocation
of
funds
to
non-profit
organizations
who
have
long-term
commitment
to
rebuilding
communities
and
addressing
the
needs
of
lower-income
residents.
O
We
also
urge
council
to
direct
funds
to
a
significant
portion
of
serving
at-risk,
affordable
rental,
housing,
neighborhood
commercial
corridors
and
vibrant
community
spaces,
and
also
ensuring
meaningful
community
input
around
the
allocation
of
npi
bond
funds
and
and
access
data,
and
how
funds
are
being
spent.
Equity
goals
are
being
met
in
neighborhoods
throughout
the
city.
Our
affordable
housing
priorities
for
mpi
npi
include
production
and
preservation
of
subsidized,
affordable
rental,
housing,
preservation
of
non-subsidized,
affordable
rental
housing,
improving
housing
condition
to
improve
the
health
of
homeowners
and
tenants.
O
In
addition
to
ensuring
resident
participation
in
in
planning
activities
for
npi,
we
encourage
support
for
community-based
organizations
to
involve
residents
in
planning
and
in
creating
vibrant
community
spaces.
Turning
blighted
crime
hot
spots
into
spaces,
where
community
members
can
come
back
together
as
we
start
to
ease
from
covert
restrictions.
E
E
So
for
mr
frischkoff,
one
of
the
questions
that
I
have
is
that
you
know
we
don't
have
an
ability
to
necessarily
control
rents
and
average
rent.
I
think,
even
in
some
of
our
you
know
some
of
the
neighborhoods
that
are
struggling
as
close
to
a
thousand,
if
not
higher
a
month
which
far
exceeds
and
what
I
would
say,
is
market
rate
rent,
which
far
exceeds
the
capacity
of
individuals,
probably
by
it,
could
be
more
than
double.
E
O
That's
set
at
sixty
percent
or
in
some
cases
below
of
area
median
income,
and
so
I
think
that
low
income,
housing,
tax,
credit,
rent
threshold
of
sixty
percent
of
every
median
income,
generally
speaking,
should
be
the
ceiling
of
what
we're
talking
about
in
rental
housing.
It's
not
that
there
shouldn't
be
housing,
affordable
for
incomes
above
that,
but
we
know
the
crisis
is
really
below
that
threshold,
and
so
we
need
to
both
refresh
those
federal
subsidies,
but
also
where
we
need
to
replace
them
with
city
subsidies.
O
I
think
we
need
to
mirror
that
affordability
as
much
as
possible
and
that's
specifically
for
the
housing
that
was
developed
with
public
assistance
in
the
first
place,
such
as,
I
think,
council
member
jones
referenced.
The
other
piece
of
it,
though,
is
we
have
you
know
much
naturally
occurring
affordable
housing,
usually
smaller
scale,
one
to
four
unit
buildings
that
were
not
built
with
subsidy
and
are
not
necessarily
owned
by
nonprofits,
who
are
mission
driven
or
necessarily
owned
by
deep
pocketed
for-profit
owners.
O
That's
both
the
high
risk
and
the
potential
high
reward
with
funds
like
npi.
Can
we
help
those
owners
who
aren't
mission
oriented
to
renovate
repair
their
buildings?
In
some
cases
they
actually
need
the
same
business,
technical
assistance
that
that
jennifer
described.
You
know
that
other
businesses
may
need,
but
they
need
it
as
the
business
of
landlords.
O
But
in
return
for
assistance
from
the
public
sector,
we
need
to
get
a
commitment
from
them
for
long-term.
You
know
stable,
affordable
rents
and
again,
I
think
you
know
targeting
60
and
below.
It
would
be
great
if
we
had.
You
know
significant
new
section,
eight
tenant
vouchers
that
could
be
coupled
with
the
city
funds
that
could
help
get
that
those
rent
thresholds
even
lower,
but
even
if
we
can't
use
the
federal
funds,
I
think
we
need
to
use
npi
and
other
city
resources
for
those
for
those
units.
E
O
E
E
Are
we
doing
some
analysis
on
that
level
to
understand
that
and
then?
Secondly,
you
know
to
understand
like
where
the
need
actually
is,
as
opposed
to
just
kind
of
throwing
out
the
you
know
the
zero
to
60
or
whatever
ami
threshold
we
may
by
capacity
try
to
choose
it's
not,
it
may
not
be
a
needs-based
capacity.
I
guess
that's
the
question.
I
want
a
needs
based
I'm
interested
in
seeing
if
there's
a
needs-based
number
and
then.
O
Yeah,
so
I
think
that
part
is
is
complicated.
I
don't
know
that
anybody
has
in
the
nation
has
solved
it,
though
I
would
say
that
the
income
range
analysis.
The
most
recent
one
was
really
the
one
done
by
the
city
for
the
housing
action
plan,
but
I
think
to
you
know
to
everybody's
point.
Those
numbers
now
sort
of
could
go
out
the
window,
because
so
many
people
lost
income
in
the
last
year
and
a
half
that
whatever
the
numbers
were
of
sort
of
how
many
people
were
at
zero.
O
You
know
to
30
percent,
for
instance.
I
think
we
could,
probably
you
know
add
you
know
those
by
a
factor
of
30
at
least,
but
the
basic
sort
of
analysis
had
been
done.
What
hadn't
been
done
and
hasn't
been,
I
think,
is
looking
at
sort
of
what
are
the
the
situations
of
those
people
in
those
lowest
income
brackets
again,
particularly
pre-covered,
and
what
are
their
opportunities
for
increased
income
if
they
have
stable
housing?
And
what
are
you
know?
Where
are
there
situations
where
no
matter
what
else
happens?
O
O
The
non-profits
are
redirecting
resources
to
provide
food,
behavioral
health
and
other
supports
for
their
residents,
and
I
think
that
then
becomes
part
of
the
equation.
We
can
look
at
the
rents
and
the
rents
need
to
be
one
factor,
but
what
other
supports
do
we
need
to
have
in
place
for
residents
who
again
are
going
to
need
additional
supports
or
have
the
opportunity
with
stable
housing
to
get
back
on
their
feet
economically
and
eventually
be
paying
higher
rent
and
reducing
the
need
for
that
level
of
subsidies?
I
don't
think
anybody's
done
that.
O
E
Well,
to
be
continued
jennifer.
Thank
you
very
much,
jennifer,
similarly
to
councilman
kenyon
sanchez's
question.
You
know,
I
absolutely
agree
with
the
idea
of
a
need
for
very
specific
kind
of
service
oriented
programs
that
would
allow,
for
maybe
a
shared
like
legal
services
and
for
a
corridor,
or
you
know
shared
kind
of
types
of
things,
but
I'm
also
curious
about
whether
you
know
if,
if
there's
questions
about
like
basics,
like
you
know,
is
the
in
some
areas
like
we,
I
don't.
E
And
secondly,
I
you
know
one
of
the
things
that
we
have
been
talking
about
with
commerce
was
that
you
know
traditional
forms
of
of
incentives,
which
are
often
you
know,
maybe
like
like
tax
credits
or
things
like
that.
What
we're
hearing,
what
we
were
hearing
with
commerce
a
little
bit
was
that
for
a
boost
to
a
business,
sometimes
the
upfront
grant
can
be
more
effective
than
a
back-end
tax
credit
and
I'm
curious
about
your
concepts
of
that.
J
J
The
tax
incentives
are
very
difficult
for
businesses
to
avail
themselves
off
unless
they
have
a
very
competitive,
a
competent
accountant
and
most
of
them
just
go
to
tax
preparers
or
a
lot
of
them.
So
tax
preparers
are
often
times
not
well
versed
on
incentives
and
programs
that
are
available
tax,
preparers
oftentimes.
J
What
they
do
is
they
try.
They
practice
tax
avoidance
within
you
know
within
the
law.
If
you
will
that's
not
really
the
ideal,
the
ideal
advice
for
for
businesses.
Nonetheless,
that's
where
our
businesses
are
going,
which
is
why
we
are
advocating
for
really
helping
businesses
acquire
and
contract
with
quality
professional
services,
but
for
that
we
will
need
subsidies
right.
E
J
A
J
Collection,
beautification,
sidewalks,
proper
lighting,
proper
facade
improvement
is
something
that
the
south
philadelphia
immigrant
merchant
community
could
absolutely
benefit
from
and
they
are
relatively
disconnected
from
the
business
infrastructure
business
ecosystem
within
that
community.
So
so
they
are
really
interested
in
receiving
you
know
and
getting
benefits
that
way
in
north
philadelphia.
J
You
know
the
the
cdc's
you
know
really
have
in
many
ways
have
that
under
control,
in
the
sense
that
they
advocate
for
the
commercial
quarters
there.
I
think,
there's
more.
The
leadership
there
is
much
stronger.
In
that
sense,
they
are
are
more
networked
in.
But
again
I
think
what
we
are
seeing
is
that
there
is
this
piecemeal
approach
to
the
improvements
and
then
under
one
you
know
under
one
session
they
get
lighting,
but
they
don't
get
facades
or
they
don't
get
sidewalk
cleaning
under
the.
J
So
I
think
it's
to,
in
my
opinion,
is
the
layered
approach
that
really
would
make
the
difference.
One
other
thing
I
would
say-
and
I
don't
know
if
this
falls
within
the
preservation
parameters,
but
the
commercial
districts
have
not
had
planning
in
a
long
time.
So
if
you
were
to
ask
how
many
neighborhood
commercial
coordinators
have
a
a
plan
for
their
quarter,
that
really
outlines
the
opportunities
and
the
challenges
and
on
an
action
plan
for
investment,
you
probably
will
see
very
few
that
have
that.
J
E
It's
incredibly
helpful.
Thank
you
so
much.
I
really
appreciate
that
and
we
will
keep
it
in
mind.
I
mean
this
conversation
is
obviously
about
npi,
but
but
there
you're
giving
indications
for
broader
conversations
that
we'll
have
outside
of
this,
and
I
look
forward
to
continuing
those
with
you.
Thank
you.
Thank
you
very
much,
mr
chair.
A
A
I
O
I
I
I
The
bia
believes
that,
in
order
for
the
bond
program
and
the
initiatives
laid
out
in
exhibit
a
of
the
bill
to
work,
there
must
be
increased
capacity
to
handle
applications
that
can
reach
over
a
thousand
homes
a
year,
mostly
being
built
on
infinite
lines.
We
believe
that
increased
capacity
is
needed
for
disposing
city
land,
as
well
as
more
capacity
eight
projects
with
more
than
50
affordable
components
through
the
approval
process.
I
Furthermore,
we
believe
having
an
affordable
housing
czar,
which
would
oversee
the
processes.
Capacity,
issues
and
streamlining
of
applications
would
be
a
good
idea
to
hold
everyone
accountable
for
the
sake
of
reaching
the
goal
that
these
bonds
are
set
to
accomplish
between
city
council,
the
housing
trust
fund,
the
land
bank,
the
redevelopment
authority
and
phdc.
I
There
are
still
too
many
different
groups
in
the
kitchen
when
the
demand
is
urgent
and
timing
is
off
the
essence.
Finally,
I
want
to
share,
as
co-chair
of
the
bia's
affordable
housing
committee,
that
we
have
spent
the
last
six
months
sharing
with
council
members
our
blueprint
for
attainable
housing,
which
is
attached
to
my
testimony
today.
I
Our
blueprint
is
a
community
reinvestment
plan
that
brings
to
bear
our
expertise
to
build
housing
for
residents
in
the
neighborhoods
where
they
live
now,
because
there
is
a
massive
need
and
we
believe
we
can
solve
that
need
more
efficiently
than
anyone
else.
We
have
developed
financial
models
for
city
government,
as
well
as
our
membership,
to
better
demonstrate
what
it
takes
to
bridge
the
gap
needed
to
provide
these
affordable
homes.
The
bia
is
sincere
in
its
desire
to
be
part
of
the
solution.
I
L
Thank
you
anthony
good
morning,
chairman
greene
and
members
of
city
council.
My
name
is
sandra
dungy
glenn
and
I
am
joined
by
my
partner
taipe
smith,
and
we
are
speaking
on
behalf
of
the
collective,
and
I
do
want
to
note
that
anthony
fallard
who
you'll
be
hearing
from
is
also
a
member
of
the
collective.
L
I
thank
you
for
the
opportunity
to
present
testimony
today
on
the
neighborhood
preservation
initiative
and
its
potential
to
catalyze
equitable
development
in
philadelphia.
Philadelphia
has
the
highest
number
of
people
in
the
lowest
echelon
of
poverty
in
america.
Philadelphia's
black
residents
and
communities
have
been
victims
of
public
policies
that,
as
reported
by
the
national
trust,
have
left
black
neighborhoods,
with
higher
rates
of
demolition,
undervalued,
housing,
underfunded,
services
and
reduced
access
to
financing,
all
major
contributors
to
the
racial
wealth
gap
for
philadelphia
to
thrive
and
modernize.
L
It
must
invest
in
black
philadelphia
and
dismantle
the
systems
of
racism
that
plague
it.
I'm
speaking
today,
as
convener
and
partner
of
the
collective,
the
collective
is
an
experienced
group
of
real
estate
developers,
investment
professionals
and
public
policy
experts.
We
are
raising
capital
to
create
and
grow
real
estate
assets
that
produce
attractive
investment
returns,
while
increasing
black
home
ownership
and
wealth.
L
The
collective
believes
real
estate
is
a
portal
to
change,
particularly
in
the
areas
of
health,
climate
and
economic
development.
We
have
learned
that
four
pillars
explain
the
relationship
between
housing
and
health,
cost
conditions,
consistency
and
context.
We
explain
more
about
each
in
our
written
statement.
L
Investing
in
real
estate
should
be
part
of
a
broader
strategy
to
create
a
healthy
city
and
healthier
built
environments
that
are
inclusive,
equitable
and
sustainable.
The
collective
aims
aims
to
break
the
cycle
of
systemic
racism
and
inequitable
access
to
capital
by
employing
a
holistic
approach
to
community
development
and
advancing
social
impact.
Investing
in
philadelphia's
real
estate
sector
philadelphia's
real
estate
market
today
is
highly
investable.
L
L
Black
families
are
at
a
greater
risk
of
displacement
due
to
a
lack
of
affordable
housing
and
local
businesses
face
the
constant
risk
of
closure,
which
has
been
exacerbated
during
the
covet
19
pandemic.
Struggling
communities
are
being
left
behind,
while
outside
investors
enjoy
the
rewards
of
tax
preferences
such
as
opportunity
zones.
L
The
collective
met
with
several
members
of
city
council
on
march
24th
and
shared
recommendations
that
we
believe
will
accelerate
holistic
community
development
led
by
experienced
black
developers
and
help
close
racial
equity
gaps.
We
will
share
four
recommendations
that
we
ask
be
added
to
your
priorities.
L
Number
one
enhance
and
expand
the
25
million
dollar
accelerated
fund
to
provide
credit
enhancement
and
cover
pre-development
costs
for
developers
whose
projects
have
a
quantifiable
social
impact.
We
recommend,
broadly
broadening
the
criteria
for
qualifying
projects,
raising
the
guarantee
limit
and
increasing
the
investment
amount.
L
Second,
the
neighborhood
preservation
initiative
should
use
an
expanded
definition
of
affordable
housing
to
capture
the
need
to
provide
high
quality
housing
options
to
working
class
residents.
Moderate
income
residents
who
provide
essential
services,
such
as
health
care
day
care,
transit
and
hospitality,
are
also
in
great
need
of
affordable
housing
options.
Therefore,
mpi
should
incentivize
mixed
income
development.
L
L
Finally,
the
collective
would
like
to
partner
with
city
council
to
implement
research-based
impact
metrics.
The
collective
network
is
developing
social
impact
metrics
to
determine
how
real
estate
development
affects
the
quality
of
life
in
the
neighborhoods
where
it
is
occurring.
We
welcome
the
opportunity
to
partner,
as
an
independent
third
party,
with
city
council,
to
apply
these
metrics
to
npi
investments.
L
Our
science-based
metrics
and
diligence
process
will
help
ensure
that
philadelphia
meets
its
impact
targets
according
to
appropriate
benchmarks.
In
closing,
our
recommendations
are
based
on
research
and
our
members
experience
working
in
philadelphia,
real
estate.
We
would
be
delighted
to
work
with
you
to
maximize
the
impact
of
capital
in
philadelphia,
neighborhoods
we're
happy
to
discuss
this
roadmap
further
and
how
best
to
put
it
in
action.
I
thank
you
for
your
time.
I
F
It
made
it
a
very
successful
program,
because
now
one
can
learn
how
to
do
business
as
a
crime,
not
as
a
subcontractor,
not
as
one
that
needed
support
from
a
gc
that
largely
are
a
majority
firm
and
and-
and
so
we
were
very
satisfied
with
that,
but
my
questions
would
be
in
support
of
this
bond
that
buy
at
that
time.
With
250
million
dollars,
this
bond
is
stated
to
be
400
million
dollars.
F
I
have
not
seen
what
were
the
specifics,
as
as
it
relates
to
this
400
million
dollar
bond
of
what
specifics
would
that
actually
cover
the
200
million
dollar
bond
that
was
floated?
It
was
specifically
for
about
14
000
properties.
I
don't
know
if
we
have
that
kind
of
breakdown
specifics
of
how
this
money
is
going
to
be
used
specifically,
so
that
we
know
you
know
the
various
areas
of
the
opportunities
again.
F
The
city
of
philadelphia
represents
over
45
percent
of
african-american
people
that
live
here,
and
so
that
that
would
be
a
very
great
opportunity,
not
only
for
small
businesses,
but
also
for
workforce
as
well.
So
so
I
just
would
like
to
see
that
kind
of
break
down.
Secondly,
I,
as
I
was
listening,
I
heard
that
there
will
be
local
banks,
such
as
pnc
involved
into
the
bond
proceeds,
and
I
guess
that
they
will
be
the
housing
bank
or,
however,
that's
going
to
break
down.
F
So
it's
those
types
of
level
of
detail
that
I
would
be
looking
for
and
that
I
hope
that
we
can
mimic
of
what
we
did
when
we
footed
the
bond
back
when
in
ti
was
being
implemented,
then
I
have
a
a
few
other
things
points
that
I
want
to
also
make
is.
What
is
the
timing
of
this?
We
hear
about
flying
the
bond
we
hear
about.
F
F
And
then
again?
I
hope
that
in
this
plan
and
in
this
initiative
that
as
what
we
was
able
to
do,
when
we
did
the
nti
emerging
conference
program,
we
was
able
to
establish
a
back
office
operation
for
these
small
businesses
for
the
for
these
small
contractors
to
ensure
that,
as
they
are
able
to
get
these
contracts
get
these
opportunities,
but
to
ensure
that
they
can
be
successful
from
start
to
finish
as
they
do
these
projects.
F
So
so
I
don't
know
if
we
have
those
types
of
specifics,
but
those
are
the
things
that
we
would
be
looking
for,
that
we
would
be
looking
to
try
to
work
with
the
city
of
philadelphia
to
work
with
this
initiative
to
ensure
that
african-american
businesses,
minority
businesses
can
also
work
through
this
in
a
seamless
and
successful
way.
You
know
we
can
always.
F
You
know
provide
money
and
provide
these
e
initiative,
but
if
there's
no
real
support
behind
to
to
to
ensure
that
we
are
successfully
seeing
our
small
businesses
grow
and
beast
and
and
and
being
successful,
you
know,
as
they
are
doing
business
in
the
city
of
philadelphia,
then
is
all
for
not
and
and
then
I'm
going
to
digress.
Also
as
relates
to
african-american
developers.
A
A
From
my
understanding,
it
will
be
similar
to
the
neighbor
transformation
initiative
under
the
street
administration,
whereas
part
of
the
consolidated
plan
hearing
that
we
have
that
we
will
have
in
this
science
committee,
there
will
be
a
program
statement
which
will
provide
that
that
type
of
information
regarding
how
the
dollars
will
be
spent
after
we
take
all
the
testimony
for
this
bill.
We're
gonna
ask
john
christmas
to
come
on
and
explain
the
revised
program
statement
which
has
been
provided
in
the
chat
and
kind
of
run
through
that
information.
A
A
Based
on
the
question
that
you,
mr
fular,
had
raised,
and
we
like,
as
I
said
a
few
moments
ago,
we
will
have
the
program
statement
as
part
of
the
consolidated
plan
hearing
here
in
the
finance
committee
this
spring
and
that's
my
understanding
of
how
the
neighbor
preservation
initiative
will
move
forward
and
also
like
nti.
That
program
statement
may
be
amended,
I'm
going
into
the
future
as
other
dollars
become
available.
A
You
also
raise
some
very
key
points
and
represent
how
we
help
grow
businesses
of
color
and,
more
specifically,
african-american-owned
businesses
in
the
city
of
philadelphia.
I
will
restate
some
of
my
concerns
that
I
stated,
after
the
mayor's
budget
address,
based
on
the
fact
that
this
city
is
going
to
receive
1.4
billion
dollars
now
of
that
1.4
billion
dollars
and
we're
going
to
need
at
least
450
million
to
address
our
deficit,
that's
that
we
have
for
this
year,
but
I
still
leave
significant
amount
of
dollars.
A
Hundreds
and
millions
of
dollars
that
to
me
should
be
more
invested
into
economic
development,
especially
in
our
black
and
brown
communities.
If
we're
going
to
get
out
of
the
issues
of
poverty,
we're
going
to
have
to
grow
wealth,
especially
in
those
communities,
700
million
of
that
1.4
billion
dollars
will
come
this
spring.
The
balance
of
those
dollars
will
come
next
year
and
those
dollars
have
to
be
spent
by
the
end
of
2024..
A
You
also
reference
pnc
bank
pnc
bank
is
one
of
the
underwriting
banks
on
the
other
bank
is
seibert
williams,
shank,
which
is
african-american
owned.
Investment
banking
firm,
is
the
number
one
public
finance
firm
in
the
country.
They've
done
a
number
of
investment
banking
underwriting
for
the
city
of
philadelphia.
They
are
the
what's
called
the
book
runner
on
this
initiative
and
pnc
is
the
secondary
bank
as
well
as
the
bond
council
on
this
matter.
A
We
heard
from
susan
mays
from
coastal
o'connor
as
well
as
ahmad
zafarese
as
the
other
council
on
this
offering
and
then
one
other
thing
I
would
like
both
of
well
at
least
you,
mr
falar,
and
maybe
you
mr
rushdie,
to
talk
about
the
accelerator
fund.
I
know
separately.
I've
talked
to
both
of
you
about
that
fund.
If
you
could
provide
some
more
information
just
for
members
of
council
about
that
fund.
I
I
We've
had
a
a
call,
a
very
important
call
last
week
with
jp
morgan
chase,
with
alex
rodriguez,
the
head
of
the
30
billion
dollar
fund
that
will
be
dispersed
through
cities
to
promote
diversity,
affordable
housing
in
cities
that
are
going
to
be
investing
into
directly
into
neighborhoods
into
cdfis,
and
mortgage
programs
that
would
target
a
lot
of
down
payment
assistance,
closing
cost
credits
and
so
on
and
so
forth.
So
the
accelerator
fund,
I
mean
the
the
products
are
pretty
much
there.
I
We
are
looking
to
start
dispersing
accepting
applications
the
third
quarter
of
this
year.
It
is
going
to
be
based
on
a
scoring
system.
We
have
a
third-party
underwriter
for
policies
and
procedures
to
make
sure
that
we
are
not
violating
any
kind
of
fair
housing
lending
procedures
they
are.
We
are
going
to
have
this
current
system
that
will
score
applications
based
on
where
these
applications
are
going
to
be
using
the
funds
to
build
that.
You
know
neighborhoods
that
have
higher
poverty
rates.
I
Black
and
brown
businesses
will
get
higher
scores.
Black
and
brown
partnerships
with
existing
developers
will
get
some
plus
points
so
again,
the
the
we
think
the
program
is
going
to
be
a
very
successful
one.
As
an
executive
officer
of
the
bia,
we
do
know
of
the
issues
of
accessibility
for
capital
for
black
and
brown
developers.
I
Pre-Construction
activities
such
as
engineering
architecture,
testing,
all
kinds
of
stuff
that
these
land
bank
applications
or
these
city
applications
for
land
require
for
you
to
to
provide
an
application.
It
would
be
help
these.
These
funds
would
be
the
seed
money
needed
by
a
lot
of
minority
developers
to
be
able
to
kind
of
take
that
step
into
the
developing
world.
F
F
Now
the
accelerated
fund
is
definitely
certainly
needed
because,
because
of
of
of
the
type
of
banking
and
secondary
banking
climates,
that
is
out
here,
okay
and
so
from
what
their
accelerated
fund
and
and
and
what
they
want
to
bring
to
the
table
for
black
and
brown
developers.
Specifically,
as
mr
rusty
said
as
far
as
the
pre-development
construction
cost
is
definitely
something
that
is
solely
needed.
F
But
again,
as
I
you
know,
will
state
over
is
that
the
issue
is
is
what
the
secondary
markets
these
that
are
out
there,
that
are
loaning
money
to
black
and
brown
businesses,
black
and
brown
developers.
That
is
not
conducive
for
their
project.
It
is
not
conducive
for
them
to
develop
their
projects
in
a
successful
way,
so
the
accelerated
foot
is
definitely
needed.
I
The
the
majority
of
the
of
the
development
costs
like
you're,
saying
they're
going
to
be
coming
from
senior
debt,
and
we
see
that
low
interest
or
interest
only
here
that
that's
that's
a
mission
that
we
have
been
trying
to
do
and
thurman
green
has
been,
has
been
introducing
us
to
a
lot
of
banks
so
that
we
can
pitch
the
senior
debt
for
philadelphia
into
making
sure
that
trying
to
not
only
look
at
it
from
the
pre-development
side.
This
is
a
this
is
a
complete
circle.
I
This
is
a
full
circle
issue.
This
is
a
diversity,
equity,
inclusion
issue.
This
is
access
to
capitalism.
This
is
a
senior
debt
issue
and
interest
rates
and
making
sure
that
the
affordable
projects
work
financially,
not
just
on
legislation
on
paper,
and
so
we
came
up
with
these
very
sophisticated
models
that
divides
the
city
into
three
different
regions.
We
came
up
with
models
that
basically
allows
the
city
to
see
what
these
very
transparent,
with
the
with
the
finances
of
how
these
products
work
and
whether
that
they
are
financiable
with
senior
debt
or
not.
I
So
you
know
this
is.
This
is
a
very
important
point,
and
I
stress
that
and
a
few
of
the
council
members
on
this
call
have
heard
me
talk
about
this.
This
is
really
about
making
these
projects
work
like,
like
you
said,
mr
fuller,
it's
it's
it's
about
having
the
financial
products
that
make
me
find
the
outcome,
whether
it's
to
an
investor,
whether
it's
a
lender,
that
it
can
be
financial.
A
Thank
you.
Thank
you,
mr
rushdie
and
mr
fullard,
and
before
I
call
on
councilmember
sanchez,
you
raised
a
question
and
a
point
that
I
want
to
ask
mr
smith
and
miss
dungy
glenn.
Regarding
the
collective
I
know.
Recently,
there
was
an
announcement
about
20
banks
are
going
to
provide
about
100
million
dollars
in
resources
for
minority
owned
firms,
and
I'm
curious
from
the
perspective
of
both
of
you
from
the
collective
and
I
know,
you're,
raising
money
to
your
initiative.
I
I
That
would
make
us
not
have
an
exoskeleton
to
protect
us
from
a
pandemic
right
and
then
to
be
frank,
some
of
our
bureaucratic
institutions
and
players
who
I
would
need
the
help
of
a
council
person
to
get
me
to
meet
with
now.
Name
drop
me
a
miss
sandra
when
they're
talking
about
initiatives,
because
I
think
to
jennifer's
point
earlier.
There
is
no
holistic
plan
for
communities.
I
There
are
many
plans
for
parasitic
capital,
but
there
are
very
few
holistic
plans
for
black
people
in
particular,
are
marginalized
communities
or
67
percent
of
the
city's
population,
which
is
people
of
color,
and
I
would
also
say
if
we
think
about
the
real
estate
industry,
from
real
estate
brokers,
to
commercial
developers,
to
the
finance
industry
to
arguably,
until
the
last
two
years.
Most
of
the
people
that
we
talked
to
at
banks
who
identify
as
african-american,
were
on
the
cra
side
of
the
bank,
or
they
were
on
the
pr
public
relations
community
communications.
I
But
there
were
very
few
african
americans
and
women
on
the
investment
side
of
cap
capital
allocation
effects.
So,
dare
I
say
we
are
in
a
reconstruction
era
and
we
should
be
thinking
about
a
new
new
deal
for
people
of
african
descent
in
particular,
because
why
we
have
a
10x
differential
between
black
household
wealth
and
white
household
wealth
is
public
policy
in
an
era
of
white
flight
that
created
an
infrastructure
that
allows
people
to
service
poverty
in
philadelphia.
I
L
So
with
that
said
councilman,
I
would
just
add
that
the
I
think
the
value
of
the
collective
one
has
been
the
timing.
There
is
now
increased
attention
to
the
need
to
invest
in
black
communities
and
other
communities
of
color
through
the
in
through
the
hands,
quite
honestly,
of
black
leadership
and
and
business
people,
and
I
think
that
is
the
value
of
the
the
collective
as
we've
come
together.
L
These
are
african-american
developers
who
have
been
working
in
these
communities
know
them
well
know
what
works
and
what's
needed,
and
I
think
the
important
piece
connected
to
nbi
is
that
the
developments
of
real
estate
that
they
are
undertaking
is
very
closely
connected
and
joined
at
the
hip,
as
you
might
say,
with
what
we
call
social
impact
development.
So
it
deals
with
issues
around
food
insecurity.
L
Our
our
developers
have
a
portfolio
combined
of
about
300
million
dollars
in
projects,
and
so
that
does
talk
about
capacity
and
then
and
obviously
leveraging
impact.
So
I
think
that's
the
value
we've
been
able
to
bring
at
this
particular
point
in
time,
and
I
think
what
some
of
the
attractiveness
is
to
capital
beyond
philadelphia,
a
region
quite
honestly,
we're
hoping
that
some
of
our
local
banks
will
also
be
a
part
of
it.
I
I
It
would
take
him
to
make
a
certain
amount
of
money
off
a
50
million
dollar
deal
or
100
million
dollar
deal
was
worth
his
time
and
although
my
deal
was
attractive,
it
was
too
small.
So
if
you
think
about
what
massandra
just
mentioned
in
the
collective,
we
have
approximately
three
hundred
thousand
dollars
of
shovel-ready
deals.
We
are
not
looking,
we
have
a
million,
I'm
sorry,
300
million.
Excuse
me
I'm
talking
too
fast.
I
C
Thank
you,
mr
chair.
I
just
want
to
thank
mo
from
the
bia
and
the
members
of
la
collective,
the
collective,
I
think
you
know
when
we're
normally
talking
about
these
kinds
of
neighborhood
investments.
We
all.
You
know,
we
appreciate
all
of
the
work
of
our
cdcs
that
are
nonprofit
partners,
but
the
fact
that
the
private
sector
is
saying
we
need
to
be
part
of
the
solution
and
getting
to
a
more
equitable
recovery.
C
I
mean,
I
think,
there's
an
urgency
of
now
and
you
know
I
want
to
echo
your
sentiments,
mr
chair,
that
you
know
the
the
budget
in
its
current
form
and
its
presentation
is
not
bold
enough
right,
but
how
we
leverage
this
and
then
realign
some
of
the
the
proposals
that
have
been
but
being
put
forth
by
the
mayor.
I
think,
are
going
to
be
a
huge.
You
know
when
I
look
at
justifying
communities
like
south
kensington
that
you
know
the
market's
going
to
do
what
the
market's
going
to
do.
C
C
E
E
You
know
I'm
I'm
interested
in
self-determination
and
the
ability
for
communities
to
be
able
to.
As
I
think
mr
smith,
you
said,
control
their
not
only
just
their
financial
destiny,
but
you
know
the
destiny
overall
and
I'm.
I
am
interested
in
this
issue
that
you
pulled
up
that
I
think
we
drew
out
with
jennifer
rodriguez
is
the
issue
of
planning
and
making
sure
that
there
are
more.
You
know
more
voices
at
the
table
and
a
purposeful
planning
initiative
that
goes
beyond.
E
E
E
E
A
Thank
you.
I
want
to
thank
this
panel
for
your
testimony
this
afternoon
appreciate
the
input
that
you
provided.
I'm
going
to
ask
mr
inuzi
to
call
the
next
panel.
This
is
the
last
panel
on
this
bill
after
this
panel.
We
will
then
hear
from
mr
christmas
to
go
over
the
amendment
and
then
we
will
actually
move
into
our
public
meeting
to
vote
on
the
bill
and
then
we'll
come
out
of
the
public
meeting
to
go
back
in
the
public
hearing
regarding
resolution.
A
B
A
A
K
K
K
It
prevents
access
to
repair
grants
and
loans
that
we've
heard
a
lot
about
this
morning
and
it
can
prevent
folks
from
making
arrangements
for
back
utility
bills
and
for
mortgage
payments
and,
if
left,
unresolved,
tangle
title
issues
inevitably
mean
that
a
family
can't
stay
in
their
home,
which
is
exactly
what
we
all
want
to
prevent
at
vip.
We
recruit
train
and
support
volunteer
attorneys,
who
represent
over
100
new
tangled
title
clients
every
year.
These
cases
take
anywhere
from
a
few
months
to
maybe
two
years
to
resolve
they're
pretty
complex.
K
Tangle
title
fund
is
a
really
important
piece
of
the
puzzle
because
it
pays
for
the
costs
that
can't
be
waived
in
resolving
title
issues
at
vip.
We
have
excellent
relationships
with
a
lot
of
city
agencies,
but
even
with
those
great
relationships,
there
are
just
unavoidable
costs
that
have
to
be
paid
for
to
resolve
these
title
issues
and
we're
really
grateful
for
the
continued
support
of
the
tangle
title
fund
to
make
sure
that
that
money
is
there.
The
average
tangle
title
client
needs
about
1700
from
the
tangled
title
fund
to
resolve
their
title
issue.
K
We're
raising
awareness
through
outreach
with
community
partners,
which
is
something
we've
been
able
to
do
a
lot
more
of
in
the
last
two
years,
thanks
to
support
from
dhcd
and
we're
recruiting
volunteers
to
help
those
clients
who
are
coming
into
us
who
weren't
coming
into
us
before
and
to
help
those
clients
with
their
estate
planning.
We
all
know
that
creating
a
will
is
so
much
simpler.
K
So
with
further
investment
from
the
city.
Through
this
neighborhood
preservation
initiative,
we
can
make
more
meaningful
dents
in
this
systemic
problem.
We
can
keep
people
in
their
homes
and
we
can
strengthen
our
blacks
and
our
communities.
Thank
you
for
allowing
me
the
opportunity
to
testify
today.
B
Good
afternoon,
councilmember
greene,
thank
you
for
allowing
me
to
speak
at
this
hearing.
My
name
is
alex
balloon
and
I'm
the
executive
director
and
corridor
manager
of
the
toconi
community
development
based
in
the
taconi
neighborhood
of
northeast
philadelphia.
We
are
a
volunteer
driven
main
street
organization.
B
Or
focusing
on
our
commercial
corridor
and
I'll
summarize
my
remarks
in
2020
philadelphia's
commercial
corridors
were
hit
especially
hard
by
civil
unrest,
coveted
shutdowns
and
a
significant
economic
recession.
Due
to
covid19
in
tocconi,
a
number
of
stores
were
damaged.
We
lost
a
significant,
a
significant
number
of
neighborhood
businesses.
B
Many
of
the
business
owners
we
work
with
are
women,
new
americans
and
entrepreneurs
of
color.
We
support
the
neighborhood
preservation
initiative
because
it
invests
in
philadelphia's,
neighborhood
commercial
corridors
in
outlying
commercial
districts,
while
affordable
housing
is
an
expansive
and
critical
need.
We
urge
the
city
council
to
designate
a
significant
portion
of
these
funds
for
proven
programs
in
neighborhood
economic
development.
We
know
these
investments
lead
to
significant
returns
in
terms
of
job
creation,
investment
and
neighborhood.
Revitalization,
with
spillover
benefits.
B
The
commerce
department
has
some
smaller
neighborhood
economic
development
grant
programs
that
are
proven
to
work
and
have
quick
turnaround
times.
These
include
programs
for
storefront
improvements,
camera
grants,
corridor
cleaning,
we've
put
them
all
at
work
in
tocconi
and
we've
seen
direct
and
tangible
benefits
to
improve
our
cdbg
eligible
neighborhood,
we've
renovated
38
storefronts
we've
seen
a
decline
in
effective
vacancy
rate
in
vacant
buildings
from
30
to
3
percent
and
a
100
increase
in
median
home
sale
price
over
the
last
five
years,
leading
to
an
unprecedented
investment
in
housing
rehabilitation.
B
M
M
M
This
will
restore
the
cuts
made
to
the
successful
philadelphia
eviction
prevention
project
in
the
budget
and
will
take
steps
towards
funding
implementation
of
right
to
counsel
for
tenants
and
eviction.
Hearings.
City
council
unanimously
passed
right
to
council
in
2019
and
now
is
the
time
to
start
funding
it
systemized
racial
inequality
has
led
to
black
communities
being
hit
hardest
by
the
pandemic,
with
higher
rates
of
infection
coupled
with
less
access
to
quality
health
care.
M
These
same
communities
are
the
ones
most
at
risk
for
imminent
eviction
or
mortgage
foreclosures.
When
the
courts
resume
effectuating
addictions,
while
we
have
access
to
unprecedented
unprecedented
rental
assistance,
this
money
alone
doesn't
help
many
of
many
renters
with
disabilities.
Many
of
our
clients
are
shut
out
from
increased
unemployment
benefits
and
rental
assistance
due
to
their
fixed
incomes.
They
face
unique
challenges
that
only
a
lawyer
could
help
them
navigate.
I've
worked
with
clients
that
don't
understand
their
eviction
lawsuit
due
to
cognitive
disabilities.
M
I've
worked
with
clients
who
need
accommodations
in
their
homes
so
that
they
can
live
there
safely,
and
I've
worked
with
clients
who
just
need
time
to
move
into
a
safe
and
suitable
home
before
a
lockout
landlord
tenant
court
reopened.
This
past
september
and
tenants
facing
court
are
facing
court
eviction.
Hearings
and
illegal
evictions
need
legal
services
to
prevent
eviction,
connect
with
resources,
improve
habitability
of
their
homes
and
stabilize
their
housing.
M
Legal
services
is
also
essential
to
training
and
supporting
the
city's
housing
counselors,
who
are
now
working
with
tenants
to
access
rental
assistance.
The
philadelphia
eviction,
prevention
project
or
pep
was
created
by
city
council,
because
you
recognize
that
not
only
does
poverty
cause
eviction,
but
evictions
cause
a
prolonged
poverty.
Pep
is
pep.
Has
made
a
lot
of
progress
over
the
past
three
years
in
resolving
evictions
and
philly
was
in
a
better
position
to
deal
with
the
pandemic
because
of
the
support
pep
provides
to
renters.
M
Unfortunately,
the
budget
is
cutting
pep
in
half
gutting
representation
of,
and
support
for
renters
facing
a
vision
for
what
amounts
to
a
drop
in
the
budgetary
bucket
pep
has
been
incredibly
successful.
95
percent
of
renters
helped
by
pep
have
successful
outcomes.
They
are
more
likely
to
win
their
cases,
avoid
default
judgments
and
enter
enter
into
agreements
that
avoid
disruptive
displacement.
M
J
They
don't
have
enough
leftover
for
other
basic
needs.
I'm
here
today
in
support
of
bill
210203,
but
once
bond
funds
are
authorized,
our
coalition
is
advocating
for
these
resources
to
be
focused
on
philadelphians
that
are
hurt
the
most
by
the
affordable
housing
crisis.
People
of
color
people
with
disabilities,
women
and
children
in
every
council
district,
at
least
44
percent
of
renters
and
26
percent
of
homeowners
are
paying
too
much
for
their
housing.
J
J
As
a
city
we've
been
losing
ground,
there's
real
mismatch
between
what
most
residents
can
afford
to
pay
for
housing
and,
what's
available,
we've
come
to
believe
that
mayor
kenny
is
not
taking
this
growing
affordability
gap
seriously
and
that's
why
he's
proposing
to
cut
funding
to
the
housing
trust
fund
in
the
coming
years
budget?
It's
clear
to
us
that
we
need
both
the
bond
funds
and
the
money
that
was
committed
from
the
general
fund
to
ensure
that
we
can
make
a
difference
and
more
philadelphians
have
the
phones
they
can
afford.
J
I
was
limiting
this
to
two
minutes,
but
we
really
care
about
sustained
affordability,
community
control
and
have
a
lot
of
interest
in
understanding
if
money
is
going
to
private
developers
to
help
subsidize
housing.
How
are
we
thinking
about
ensuring
long-term
affordability
and
the
support
for
tenants
who
will
be
renting
the
private
developers
units.
E
Yes,
thank
you
very
much,
mr
chair.
I
just
want
to
thank
this
panel.
In
particular,
you
know
legal
services
for
the
disabled
and
nora.
I
want
you
to
know
that
our
city
council
absolutely
hears
you
on
this
issue
and
we're
really
proud
that
council
has
been
leading
the
charge
on
housing
and
we
will
continue
to
do
so.
I
also
just
want
to
thank
the
testifier,
I'm
sorry.
I
forgot
your
name
for
legal
services
for
legal
clinic
for
the
disabled.
E
E
But
there's
no
question
that
your
your
emphasis
on
the
role
of
legal
counsel
is
is
critically
important
and
I
think
we
want
you
know.
I
just
want
to
express
that.
Our
our
job
is
to
stay
the
course
and
to
seek
to
end
poverty-based
evictions
in
philadelphia
with
the
amount
of
money
that
we
have
in
rent
assist
with
the
kind
of
partnership
that
we
have
now
we
can
stand
together
and
say
at
this
point,
as
we
are
facing
an
economic
recovery
that
we
should
try.
E
We
should
be
ending
poverty-based
evictions
in
philadelphia,
and
if
we
can
do
it
in
the
highest
poverty
city
in
the
country,
then
anybody
can
do
it
with
the
right
amount
of
focused
work.
That
being
said,
I
you
know.
I
also
want
to
emphasize
that
you
know
I
want
to
thank
council
president
clark.
I
want
to
thank
council
chair.
The
committee
chair
rather
council
member
greene,
for
their
leadership
in
ensuring
that
legal
services
will
be
will
be
covered
so
to
steve
and
to
cls
and
to
other
legal
service
entities.
E
It
really
does
need
to
be
something
that
needs
to
be
funded
and
as
the
city
budget
expands,
and
if
we're
going
to
talk
about
tax
breaks,
we
must
be
able
to
say
that
this
money
and
supports
for
renters
in
crisis
and
for
affordable
housing
is
both
an
investment
through
npi
for
the
long
term
and
as
well
a
year
to
year.
Commitment
from
this
administration
through
our
regular
budgeting
process
both
can
exist.
E
But
the
importance
for
us
is
to
is
to
make
sure
that
housing,
affordable
housing
and
affordable
housing,
as
norah
said
for
folks,
who
are
literally
at
risk
for
imminent
eviction
for
long-term
instability
or
for
homelessness,
have
to
be
prioritized
as
we
as
we
begin.
You
know
as
we
continue
to
expand
this
work,
but
I
want
to
thank
both
of
you
for
your
testimony
and
your
and
for
your
tremendous
commitment.
We've
made
incredible
strides.
E
We
are
seeking
to
stay
the
course,
and
you
know
I
think
your
partnership
has
been
really
critical
to
to
to
that
being
even
possible,
because
I
don't
think
it
would
have
a
year
ago
from
where
we
were
here
a
year
ago.
The
worst
was
on
the
horizon
today.
Philadelphia
is
actually
a
leader
and
that's
pretty
amazing,
and
that
is
all
due
to
credit
that
that
all
of
you
have
done
on
the
ground
day
to
day.
So,
thank
you
very
much,
mr
chair.
C
How
we
treat
folks
and
just
want
to
continue
to
put
on
your
radar.
You
know
the
the
need
to
continue
to
to
push
for
the
language
access
component
of
this,
so
that
all
communities
really
have
access
to
this,
and
I
know
you
guys
do
I
just
want
to
you-
know-
put
it
out
there
just
because
you
know,
as
we've
released
the
courts
and
sometimes
on
some
of
the
other
systems.
We
want
to
make
sure
that
people
always
have
that
access,
so
we
appreciate
your
partnership.
C
We
appreciate
what
you've
done
and
you
know
I
want
to
echo
this
sentiment.
This
work
is
the
best
homeless
prevention
we
could
do
and
that
need
this
kind
of
funding
needs
to
be
structurally
put
in
the
budget
as
a
line
item
that
just
doesn't
get
touched
that
every
single
year
we're
not
here
fighting
about
it,
because
I
think
this
last
year
we've
been
able
to
prove
through
covet
not
only
the
necessity
but
the
effectiveness
of
what
we
can
do
when
it's
all
hands
on
deck.
C
So
thank
you
for
the
work
and
I
look
forward
in
this
budget
discussion
as
we've
done
every
year.
It
gets
really
frustrating
mr
chair
that
we're
always
fighting
for
stuff.
We
say
it's
important
and
you
know
we
will
continue
to
do
that
as
our
role
in
council,
but
the
administration
has
to
really
understand
and
prioritize
this
work
in
this
space
because
of
the
effectiveness
and
the
collaboration
that
we've
seen,
that's
been
very
unique.
So
thank
all
of
you.
We
look
forward
to
working
with
you.
A
Thank
you,
council
members,
gaming
sanchez,
for
your
comments.
I
want
to
thank
this
panel
for
your
testimony,
all
of
you
and
for
the
great
work
that
your
organizations
have
done
from
vip
and
tls
and
and
mr
tash,
I
think
we
are
scheduled
or
planning
to
have
a
follow-up
conversation
regarding
some
of
the
issues
you
addressed
and
how
we
can
address
that
in
this
year's
budget
process
and
going
forward.
A
With
that,
I
believe
that
is
the
last
panel
of
witnesses
for
this
bill.
There
was
a
amendment
that
was
circulated
in
the
chat
feature.
This
is
an
adjustment
to
the
amendment
that
was
circulated
to
all
the
members
of
council.
I
see
mr
eye
news
is
now
on
the
screen.
Are
you
going
to
walk
us
to
the
amendment,
or
is
mr
christmas.
Q
Q
Q
A
Mr
christmas,
thank
you
for
that
explanation
of
that
part
of
the
amendment.
If
you
could
just
give
a
brief
overview
of
the
items
in
the
program
statement,
there
are
some
questions
that
were
raised
regarding
the
program
statement
and
neighborhood
preservation
initiative
and
how
the
dollars
will
be
spent,
and
I
believe
the
program
statement
lays
out
those
categories,
but
just
for
the
record,
we
could
just
kind
of
give
a
detail
of
those
areas.
Q
A
Thank
you.
Are
there
any
questions
for
mr
christmas,
I'm
seeing
none
from
members
of
council.
Thank
you,
mr
christmas,
for
joining
so
for
the
witnesses
that
were
testifying
on
this
bill.
Bill
number
two
one:
zero
2,
0
3!
You
can
leave
the
meeting.
I
know
we
do.
We
do
have
other
witnesses
that
are
here
for
the
resolution.
C
A
A
210191
has
frank
breslin
from
our
revenue,
commissioner
and
I'll
be
followed
by
another
panel
of
two
individuals,
and
then
we
have,
I
believe,
two
other
individuals
that
may
be
available
to
testify.
So
I
would
advance
adventure,
hopefully
we'll
be
able
to
finish
by
I
hate,
to
use
estimates
and
assumptions,
but
I
would
hope
that
we'll
be
able
to
finish
by
1
30
with
the
finance
committee
hearing.
C
A
A
A
I
N
B
A
I
will
know
for
the
record
that
the
bill
the
amendment
to
210-203
was
seconded
by
council
member
gim.
It
is
probably
moved
and
seconded
that
amendment
to
bill
number
two
one:
zero,
two
zero
three
be
approved.
All
those
in
favor
of
the
motion
will
signify
by
saying
aye
those
opposed
the
eyes
hat
the
eyes
have
it,
and
the
motion
carries
amendment
to
bill
number
two
one
zero
203
has
been
approved
at
this
point.
We're
now
asked
call
on
council
member
keenan
for
a
motion
on
bill
number
210203,
as
amended.
Q
A
For
the
record,
it
has
been
seconded
by
councilmember
maria
keone
sanchez.
It
has
been
moved
and
probably
seconded
that
bill
number
210
203
as
amended,
be
reported
from
this
committee
with
a
favorable
recommendation
and
further
move
that
the
world's
accounts
will
be
suspended
to
permit
first
reading
of
this
bill
at
the
next
section
of
council.
All
those
in
favor
of
the
motion
will
signify
by
saying
I
I
I
those
opposed
the
eyes
carry
and
the
motion
passes
at
this
point.
We
will
we
can.
A
A
N
N
Additionally,
we
do
not
believe
that
a
land
value
tax
would
meet
the
requirements
of
the
univer
uniformity
clause
of
the
constitution
of
the
commonwealth
of
pennsylvania,
enacting
a
land
value
tax
will
likely
spur
costly
litigation
against
the
city.
Furthermore,
the
law
department
does
not
believe
the
city
would
prevail
in
court.
If
we
enacted
such
attacks
and
lost
in
court,
it
is
possible
that
the
entirety
of
real
estate
tax
revenue
for
both
the
general
fund
and
the
school
district
could
be
in
jeopardy
for
the
tax
year
in
question.
N
N
Yeah
I
I'll
I'll,
allow
mr
wakefield
to
join
in
on
the
the
legal
side
of
this.
But
just
in
general,
from
my
perspective,
is
that,
if
the,
if
the
tax
was
found
to
be
unconstitutional
for
a
given
tax
year,
that
it
is
possible
that
the
that
the
courts
could
rule
that
the
tax
in
being
unconstitutional
would
have
to
be
refunded
to
the
taxpayers.
N
Yes,
my
understanding
is:
there's
approximately
14
tax
14
jurisdictions
that
have
a
land
value
tax
in
pennsylvania
and
up
to
21
that
had
it
at
one
time.
I
think
seven
have
repealed
it,
including
pittsburgh,
but
but,
as
you
stated,
no
no
cities
of
the
first
class
and
cities,
the
cities
that
have
it
have
been
granted
authority.
A
A
N
I'm
not,
I
am
not
sure
of
that.
I
know
pittsburgh
had
the
land
value
tax
for
I
guess
they
did,
but
they
had
it
for
quite
some
time.
I
think
they've
been
you
know,
there's
jurisdictions
that
have
had
this
for
decades
and
decades,
but
I'm
sure
at
some
point
I
guess
at
some
point
they
had
to
make
that
transition
and
steve.
If
you
have
any,
if
you
have
any
insight
there
or
and
anything
I
said,
please
join
in.
A
So
the
follow-up
on
mr
bretton's
commentary
and
from
your
point
and
I
think
from
his
perspective,
he
raised
a
concern
that
if
this
was
deemed
not
constitutional,
that
could
cause
a
challenge
for
the
finest
of
the
city
in
reference
to
a
refund.
And
if
you
could
stay
for
the
record,
some
of
your
perspectives
on
the
challenges
of
philadelphia,
implementing
a
land
value
tax
based
on
mr
breslin's
statements.
D
So
the
biggest
concern
that
we
would
face
in
implementing
this
tax
is
not
so
much
the
statutory
authority
which
you
can
always
go
to
the
general
assembly
and
acquire
the
statutory
authority.
The
largest
hurdle
is
that
the
statutory
authority
that
the
general
assembly
grants
still
has
to
comport
with
the
uniformity
clause
of
the
pennsylvania
constitution,
and
so
what
the
uniformity
clause
essentially
states
for
those
who
don't
know
is
that
all
tax
on
a
particular
class
of
objects
must
be
uniform
within
the
commonwealth.
D
The
pennsylvania
supreme
court,
acknowledging
that
this
is
apropos
of
nothing,
has
decided
that
there
is
one
class
of
real
property
in
pennsylvania,
and
that
is
real
problem.
So
absolutely
all
real
property
in
the
commonwealth
of
pennsylvania
is
part
of
a
single
class
and
you
cannot
have
any
disparate
treatment
and
still
comport
with
the
uniformity
clause.
D
So
in
the
recent
decision
in
valley
forge
towers,
which
is
a
2017
case,
it
didn't
deal
with
this
directly,
but
there's
a
lot
of
discussion
of
the
uniformity
clause
and
what
it
means
for
taxing
jurisdictions
and
something
the
supreme
court
was
very
clear
about.
Is
that
any
systemic
treatment
which
is
disparate
and
is
intentional,
violates
the
uniformity
clause
and
the
supreme
court
goes
on
actually
at
length
to
say
that
it
doesn't
matter
what
your
reasons
are.
D
It
doesn't
matter
how
wise
your
decision
may
have
been,
that
any
sort
of
systemic,
disparate
treatment
itself
violates
uniformity
and
itself
is
unconstitutional.
There
are
other
income
tax.
There
are
other
taxes
in
pennsylvania
which
have
been
rendered
completely
void,
but
under
the
uniformity
clause,
so
pennsylvania
has
on
multiple
occasions
tried
to
tax
income,
and
everybody
knows
right
now
we
do
have
an
income
tax.
D
The
income
tax
has
almost
no
exceptions
to
it
and
it's
not
graduated
and
the
reason
for
that
is
we
used
to
have
a
graduated
income
tax
in
pennsylvania
because
we
had
a
graduated
income
tax.
The
entire
tax
was
ruled
invalid
by
the
pennsylvania
supreme
court,
so
we
passed
another
income
tax
in
pennsylvania
that
used
the
taxable
income
number
from
the
federal
government.
The
supreme
court
said
because
the
federal
government's
number
includes
some
items
of
income
and
excludes
other
items
of
income
that
is
not
uniform
and
they
invalidated
the
entire
tax.
D
And
so
the
risk
that
we
run
here
is
that
if
it
is
found
to
be
unconstitutional
pursuant
to
the
uniformity
clause,
that
the
supreme
court
could
invalidate
the
entire
tax
and
then
invalidating
the
entire
tax
could
create
a
requirement
that
we
refund
any
taxes
which
have
been
collected
under
that
invalid
tax.
And
that
would
probably
be
the
remedy
that
anyone
suing
us
would
seek
nobody's
going
to
sue
us
just
for
a
declaration
that
this
is
unconstitutional,
they're
going
to
sue
to
get
their
money
back,
and
so
that
would
be
the
remedy.
Is
this
refund.
A
So,
to
follow
up
on
your
point
in
reference
to
the
concern
of
potential
remedy
from
litigation,
then
with
the
jurisdictions
that
mr
breslin
identified
that
currently
have
the
land
value
tax.
Why
has
that
attacked
in
those
jurisdictions,
although
they
do
have
and
we'll
get
to
the
statutory
authority
issue?
At
some
point
later,
there
has
not
been
litigation
regarding
the
uniformity
clause
in
those
jurisdictions,
and
so
I'm
curious
why?
D
A
That
provides
an
opportunity
for
me
to
get
refunded
from
the
tax
you're
assessing
in
a
city
of
the
third
class
that
provides
opportunity,
but
that
litigation
has
not
occurred
as
of
yet
so
it
could
be
used
in
a
reasoning
for
why
it's
not
a
uniformity
clause
issue,
even
though
there
has
not
been
any
litigation
as
of
yet
I
mean.
I
understand
the
concern
that
mr
president
raised,
but
the
fact
that
this
litigation
has
not
occurred
as
of
yet
also
provides
some
perspective,
and
it's
I'm
sure,
there's,
probably
reasoning
why
that's
also
not
occurred.
D
So
I
might
be
able
to
provide
some
perspective
as
to
why
this
hasn't
occurred,
so
I
actually
did
not
start
in
government.
I
started
doing
local
taxation,
work
and
real
estate
work
in
the
counties
as
a
private
side
of
attorney
and
actually
four
of
the
jurisdictions
which
have
this
bifurcated
military
were
areas
that
I
worked
in
when
I
was
in
private
practice.
D
Also,
the
individual
parcels,
the
amount
of
taxation
that
you're
talking
about
is
generally
not
sufficient.
There
are
no,
there
are
no
hundred
million
dollar
buildings
in
the
city
of
washington
right
there
are
known
one
million
dollar
buildings
in
the
city
of
washington.
Washington
is
an
incredibly
depressed
area.
They
don't
have
the
same
kind
of
huge
commercial
space
that
we
have
additionally,
because
they
don't
fill
the
entire
county,
all
their
walmarts.
D
D
You
do
not
have
anyone
with
a
sufficient
interest
to
pay
the
freight
on
this
thing.
Nobody
is
going
out
to
pay
their
lawyer
to
invalidate
their
1500
a
year
tax
bill
on
you
know
on
on
their
fifty
thousand
dollar
property
in
in
the
third
class
city.
Mckeesport,
it's
just
not
happening
here
in
the
city
of
philadelphia.
You
have
a
much
greater
incentive
for
one
person
to
come
in
just
based
on
their
own
taxes.
D
If
you
have
a
hundred
million
dollar
building
in
the
city
of
philadelphia-
and
you
are
then
paying,
of
course,
one
and
a
half
million
dollars
in
taxes-
and
you
say
to
yourself
look
if
I
spend
ten
or
twenty
or
thirty
thousand
dollars,
trying
to
invalidate
my
million
and
a
half
dollar
tax
bill.
The
return
on
your
investment
is
staggering.
D
D
If
you
look,
some
of
the
jurisdictions
that
have
had
this
bifurcated
millage
only
had
it
for
a
single
year,
uniontown
and
oil
city
had
it
for
very
short
periods
of
time.
So
you
have
to
ask
yourself:
was
there
was
that,
in
response
to
a
lawsuit
in
those
places
after
seeing
that
lawsuit,
you
know,
was
the
determination
made
that
they
would
lose?
Did
they
instead
voluntarily
relinquish
this?
Now
we
don't
know,
we
don't
know
either
way,
but
I
don't
think
it's
safe
to
say
that
the
challenge
has
never
been
brought.
A
Right
and
the
fact
that
it's
been
never
fully
litigated,
I
think,
raises
a
question
of
whether
it's
unconstitutional
for
a
uniformity
clause
that
what
the
outcome
of
what
you
said
in
wrapping
the
oil
see-
and
I
would
also
venture
similar
to
pittsburgh-
was
as
a
settlement
of
not
going
forward
with
the
litigation.
There
was
a
decision
to
abandon
land
value
tax
and
that
was
an
outcome
between
parties,
not
a
determination
by
the
pennsylvania
supreme
court,
that
a
land
value
tax
is
in
violation
of
the
uniformity
clause.
D
Yes,
that
is
correct,
so
all
taxation,
even
in
home
rule
cities
in
pennsylvania,
is
still
at
the
permission
of
the
general
assembly.
So
we
have
the
sterling
act
and
the
little
sterling
act
here
in
philadelphia
and
the
rest
of
the
state.
You
have
what's
called
the
local
tax,
enabling
act
every
tax
that
a
municipality,
whether
it
be
a
borough
city.
A
C
Thank
you,
mr
chair.
I
think
you
guys
were
enjoying
that
a
little
too
much.
So
my
question
is,
you
know
again,
you
guys
have
debated
the
litigation,
whether
it
can
happen,
whether
it
could
not
happen.
Is
the
administration
opposed
to
looking
what
at
what
a
land
value
tax
proposition
would
look
like
in
the
city.
As
we
all
know
many
times,
council
has
come
up
with
different
policy
changes
and
we
have
successfully
worked
with
harrisburg.
C
I
think
some
members
who
were
former
house
members
would
say
we've
been
successful
in
getting
authorization
from
the
state
to
do
things
differently.
You
know
cigarette
tax,
a
bunch
of
other
things,
so
is
the
administration
totally
opposed
to
saying?
Let's
look
at
this
given
where
we
are
as
we're
fixing
our
assessment
process.
N
C
Thank
you.
Thank
you,
mr
chair.
I
want
to
honor
and
respect
the
time
and
our
other
colleagues
who
are
waiting
and
q.
Thank
you
so
much
for
bringing
this
issue
of
a
chair,
and
you
know
we
should
continue
this
conversation
because
I
think
it's
a
trigger,
as
we
again
fix
our
assessment
process,
it's
another
tool
that
we
need
to
figure
out
if
we
pushed
it.
If
we
needed
to
advocate
for
it,
how
would
it
create
more
equitable
city
in
the
city
of
philadelphia?
So
thank
you,
mr
chair.
A
Thank
you.
Thank
you,
mr
breslin
and
mr
wakefield.
I
don't
see
additional
questions
for
this
panel,
we'll
now
go
into
the
next
panel
on
this
resolution,
mr
news,
if
you
could
call
steve
mullen
and
joshua
vincent
and
actually,
if
there's
any
other
witnesses
that
would
like
to
testify
on
this
resolution,
if
you
could
state
your
name
after
mr
vincent
testifies,
so
we
can
conclude
all
the
witnesses
for
this
resolution
for
this
afternoon.
A
A
Okay
and
don't
say
mr
mueller
yeah
steve
mullen
hi
okay,
I
will
start
with
mr
mullen,
mr
vincent,
mr
she
and
then
any
other
individuals.
I
would
like
to
testify
after
mr
xi
testifies.
Please
come
on
to
the
hearing
with
your
picture
and
state
your
name
for
the
record,
we'll
begin
with
mr
mr
mullen
and
enjoy
the
the
picture
and
the
great
greenery
behind
you.
H
Plenty
of
oxygen
in
here
thank
thank
you,
mr
chairman,
and
my
name
is
stephen
mullen,
I'm
a
principal
with
econsult
solutions,
and
I've
been
asked
to
testify
here
some
thoughts.
I
think,
on
the
in
the
world
of
of
what's
the
what
kind
of
applications
and
and
with
the
land
value
tax,
might
it
be
a
good?
Might
it
be
a
good
policy
sort
for
overall
growth
and
development
and
fairness
and
equity
equity?
I
will
I
will
note.
H
H
H
Our
property
tax
assessment
system
in
those
in
those
days
could
not
generate
reliable
assessments
of
the
land,
reliable
assessment
of
what
is
the
land
and
what
is
the
improvement
value
there?
So
it
was
a.
It
seemed
to
be
more
of
a
theoretic
theoretical
exercise
at
that
time,
I'm
familiar
with
the
history
of
land
value,
taxation
and
its
promoters
over
the
years.
H
Sometimes
you
stop
just
short
of
saying:
it'll
cure
everything,
including
the
common
cold
here
advocates
today
and
you'll,
hear
from
my
fellow
panelists
here
are
not
that
out
front
here,
but
rather
carefully
consider
the
various
advantages
and
disadvantages
of
land
value
taxation.
One
big
question
I've
had
through
my
years
of
looking
at
this
has
been.
Is
this
it?
Is
this
an
alternative
or
a
compliment
to
tax
abatement?
Do
you
do
you
need
one,
or
do
you
not
have
one
as
tax
abatement?
H
Does
tax
abatement
get
you
the
tax
abatement
program,
so
to
get
you
what
you
are
getting
in
land
value,
taxation
or
vice
versa,
and
I
think
it's
I
think
it's
both
especially
in
in
in
a
world
where
you're
not
doing
full
land
value
taxation,
so
the
care
must
be
taken
when
developing
any
actual
program.
I
have
to.
H
I
think
I
think
I'm
I'm
a
person
who's
in
favor
of
a
version
of
that
of
land
value
taxation,
and
the
first
thing
you
need
is
accurate
and
trustworthy
property
assessment.
When
I
say
trustworthy,
it's
trust
that
people,
basically
trust
that
you
have.
You
have
the
the
land
value
a
portion
of
the
overall
parcel.
Well-
and
I
know
a
lot
of
people-
think
that
we
don't
have
that
yet.
H
I
think
that
would
if
we
were
able
to
able
to
implement
that,
pass
and
implement
that.
But
if
that
that
would,
if
combined
with
certain
regulatory
changes
and
zoning
changes,
lead
to
significant
increases
in
capital,
investment
in
the
city's
commercial
and
residential
buildings,
building
base
and
meaning
greater
supply,
and
especially,
I
think
it
would
have
a
very
positive
impact,
though
not
solve
before
one
our
major
league
problem
with
affordable
housing
and
the
housing
supply
for
all
for
all
citizens
of
philadelphia.
H
H
Tell
me
something
that
that's
something,
not
quite
so
obvious
number
one
and
number
two,
we
don't
the
impact
part.
Is
we
don't
know
what
the
impact
yet
is
on
property
tax
revenues?
It
obviously
wasn't
immediate
here
or
here,
because
the
revenues
that
the
the
taxes
were
assessed
before
and
they
don't
change.
H
But
I
do
believe
that
the
that
the
assessment,
a
higher
assessment
on
land,
will
allow
our
our
economic,
the
economic
benefits
of
growth
in
the
city
here
to
be
spread.
The
the
positive
externality
of
somebody
down
down
at
the
end
of
my
block,
fixing
up
things
and
investing,
makes
my
property
more
valuable,
and
so
I
like
that,
I'm
a
fan
of
that
of
being
able
to
account
for
that
in
some
way
shape
or
form.
S
If
I
may
respond
to
the
law,
department,
scranton
and
pittsburgh
were
both
given
permission
to
do
the
bifurcated
tax
in
the
second
class
code.
However,
in
the
1970s
late
1970s,
both
cities
took
advantage
of
the
home
rule
municipality
clause
and
that's
when
they
expanded
their
land
value
tax
beyond
the
the
ratio
that
had
been
mandated.
S
I
should
also
mention
that
harrisburg
is
trying
to
get
its
school
district
to
enact
land
value
tax
and
in
fact,
eight
school
districts
can
enact
land
value,
tax
and
and
two
have,
and
in
1997,
governor
ridge
signed
legislation
allowing
boroughs
to
enact
a
land
value
tax
in
which
farmland
is
not
included
us
in
the
land
value
tax.
So
that's
just
a
little
bit
of
housekeeping,
so
lvt
is
been
around
for
a
long
time
and
there
are
some
cities
that
have
tried
it.
S
There's
some
cities
that
have
pulled
back
on
it
and
the
reason
for
that
is
actually
against
my
organization's
advice.
Uniontown
went
almost
whole
hog
the
first
year
and
my
my
predecessor
warned
that
people
will
come
after
you
and
yeah.
That's
what
happened.
The
tax
rate
was
too
high.
Too
much
revenue
was
coming
from
land
so
that
nobody
could
prepare
many
diverse
communities
in
pennsylvania,
use
lvt
and
we've
helped
with
the
pennsylvania
experience.
States
such
as
connecticut,
maryland
and
virginia
have
expanded
the
the
option
for
cities
to
enact
land
value
tax.
S
So
I'm
working
right
now
in
collaboration
with
the
center
for
property
tax
reform.
I
hope
some
of
you
may
be
attended
our
webinar
some
months
ago,
where
we
dove
deep
into
the
data
using
gis
and
current
assessments
to
figure
out
what
the
impact
of
a
land
value
tax
would
be
so
land
value
tax-
and
I
don't
want
to
repeat-
what's
been
said,
but
it's
a
fiscal
tool
and
a
reform
that
increases
the
mill
rate
on
land
and
decreases
the
mill
rate
on
buildings.
S
Lbt
addresses
the
need
for
economic
reform
that
we
need
in
this
city
so
that
all
people
can
take
part
in
the
growth
of
themselves
and
the
community.
So,
while
philadelphia
struggles
with
past
and
current
financial
crises,
lvt
can
really
play
a
role
in
frankly
plugging
the
hole
in
the
dike.
The
revenue
hole.
S
I'd
like
to
actually
reference.
I
did
submit
testimony,
but
I'd
like
to
reference.
Mr
mullins
commentary
on
the
stability
of
the
property
tax
and
in
the
2022
budget.
The
mayor
presented
a
section
of
a
pew
charitable
trust
study.
That
essentially
says
philadelphia
is
right
behind
detroit.
As
far
as
the
general
budget
shortfall
in
2021
and
interestingly
at
the
bottom
of
that
list
is
boston.
S
Boston
is
on
pretty
even
keel
and,
as
mr
mullen
said,
they
get
about
78
of
all
of
their
tax
revenue
from
the
property
tax,
not
a
land
value
tax,
but
a
property
tax.
Nevertheless,
and
we
could
do
worse
to
just
strengthen
the
property
tax
as
as
it's
already
used,
so
the
ongoing
effects
of
coven,
19
unemployment
and
personal
and
business
crises
show
that
inherent
weakness
in
our
tax
structure.
S
The
property
tax,
even
under
the
worst
case
scenario,
as
envisioned
by
the
controller's
office,
is
going
to
see
no
change
in
property
tax
revenues,
and
I'm
not
saying
there
won't
be
because
assessments
always
take
time
to
catch
up
with
reality.
But
I
think
it
could
give
us
some
breathing
room.
So
what
would
a
land
value
tax
achieve?
S
Well,
the
relative
slowness
of
opa
assessment
time
frames
the
transition
of
many
properties
away
from
the
10-year
tax
abatement
and
the
inherent
lack
of
progressivity
in
the
current
property
tax,
and
indeed
all
taxes
in
philadelphia
and
pennsylvania
call
for
change
modest
at
the
outset.
This
is
a
process
and
it
can
take
years
for
a
city
to
get
where
it
wants,
with
the
land,
value
tax
or
any
other
tax
reform.
S
So
currently,
philadelphia
collects
25
cents
of
every
property
tax
dollar
from
land,
which
is
the
most
immovable
subject
of
taxation
that
exists
and
that
75
cents
from
buildings
serves
clearly
as
a
disincentive
and
repellent
to
a
buyer,
a
builder
and
most
important.
The
long-time
homeowner
partnering
with
the
robert
schalkenbach
foundation
and
the
center
for
property
tax
reform.
S
We've
provided
data-driven
tax
results,
tax
incentive
studies
and
property
class
code
outcomes
in
a
scalable
perspective.
In
other
words,
what
would
happen
if
there
was
no
tax
on
buildings?
What
would
happen
if
there
was
no
tax
on
land?
Each
of
those
revenue
options
are
studied
and
we
have
a
very
good
gis
crew
that
did
that
for
us.
S
So
the
debate
about
the
10-year
tax
abatement
has
often
provided
more
heat
than
light,
while
regular
study
demonstrated
the
effectiveness
of
the
abatement,
it
worked.
Public
perception
focused
on
the
tale
of
two
cities
and
it's
essentially,
why
shouldn't
long-term
homeowners
and
small
businesses
without
abatements?
Why
shouldn't
they
be
similarly
rewarded
by
their
physical
and
fiscal
efforts,
with
a
tax
break
on
buildings,
lbt
abates
all
buildings
from
the
tax
bill
from
taxation,
with
no
discriminatory
treatment
from
property
to
property.
S
The
city
can
facilitate
the
expiration
of
10-year
tax
abatements
to
people
enjoying
the
abatement
by
reducing
the
importance
of
building
value
in
in
the
property
tax
bill.
We
have
many
abated
properties
coming
off
the
abatement
and
they
will
probably
freak
out
once
they
realize
what
their
tax
bill
is
going
to
be.
We
can
address
that
ahead
of
time
by
simply
de-emphasizing
the
built-in
building
portion
of
the
property
tax,
the
status
quo
in
pennsylvania
and
philadelphia.
S
S
So
we
believe
that
we've
shown
the
progressivity
of
the
tax.
In
my
testimony,
I
provided
the
lvt
outcome
by
value
quintiles,
in
other
words,
the
more
low
valued
a
property's
total
value,
the
more
it
benefits
from
land
value,
taxation
which
fits
theory,
and
you
can
you
can
examine
that
and
it
plays
out
across
all
property
code,
descriptions
from
residential
to
commercial
to
multi-family,
etc
and,
of
course,
vacant
land
which
does
not
serve
the
city.
S
We've
been
looking
at
this
in
philadelphia
from
1988
to.
I
think
the
last
chat
was
in
2006,
in
other
words,
both
pre-avi
and
post
avi,
and
the
effect
on
property
tax
codes
has
shifted
somewhat
into
a
progressive
outcome,
as
I
referenced
above
and
vacantly
in
post.
Api
finally
appears,
as
mr
mullen
said,
to
assume
some
of
its
fair
share,
at
least
in
taxation.
S
S
Commercial
property
owners
should
be
pleased
with
this,
particularly
small
business.
So
I
urge
we
go
forward
to
explore
this
there's
no
ifs,
ands
or
musts,
but
the
the
legal
issue
I
I
think
can
be
dealt
with,
but
I'm
not
an
attorney.
So
I
want
to
thank
you
very
much.
Everybody
and
the
center
for
property
tax
reform.org
go
on
to
the
page,
and
I
have
my
colleagues
standing
by
if
you
have
other
questions.
A
A
T
T
T
Firstly,
I'd
like
to
comment
a
bit
about
you
know
the
situation
with
opa's
assessments
and
how
it
has
affected
the
way
we
fundamentally
value
property
in
the
city.
If
a
few
years
ago,
the
city
controller
released
a
report
in
2019
about
you
know
the
accuracy
of
ops
assessments
and
it
found
that
that
there
was
a
huge
discrepancy
created
by
opa
with
land
evaluation.
T
It
found
that
land
values
are
quote
not
not
set
not
based
on
property,
location
or
lost
type,
but
rather
using
a
method
that
lies
outside
of
the
generally
accepted
best
practices
for
land
valuation,
and
also
that
these
findings
do
not
necessarily
translate
to
land
values
for
vacant
properties
as
well.
You
know,
given
that
you
know
their
actual
value
initiative
was
supposed
to
more
fairly
address
assessments.
T
T
You
know
a
couple
of
single
single
value
dollars
per
square
foot,
maybe
eight
dollars
per
square
foot
all
the
way
to
thirty
dollars,
a
square
foot
just
on
the
same
road
house
block,
and
given
that
you
know
that
philadelphia
already,
you
know
assesses
you
know
land
as
25
of
the
total
property
tax
value.
This
already
represents
a
huge.
T
You
know
a
huge
miscalculation
in
how
we,
you
know,
can
fairly
access
popular
tax
and
what
lvt
would
do
would
essentially
be
to
really
simplify
the
way
that
opa
now
has
to
you
know
calculate
property
value.
If
you
switch
most
of
that
evaluation,
you
know
from
improved
properties.
You
know
conditional
property,
the
density
of
that
of
the
house
or
structure
away
from
that
and
towards
a
more
much
more
uniform
analysis
of
land,
then
opa
is
able
to.
T
Lbt's
effects
upon
the
10-year
property
tax,
a
10-year
tax
abatement,
which
has
certainly
been
a
hot
topic
among
the
progressive
contingent
in
city
council
about
its
potential.
You
know,
total
abolition
and
phase
out
lvt
would
present
the
only
solution
that
would
both
address
the
progressive
concern
about
the
10-year
tax
payment,
while
still
encouraging
owners
of
vacant
land
to
redevelop
their
properties.
T
You
know
currently
tax
abatement
holders.
You
know
they
already
get
to
enjoy
opa's
under
assessment
of
land
values
while
paying
nothing
it
improved
property
tax
because
of
the
abatement,
it
is
essentially
an
incentive.
An
extra
incentive
upon
you
know
already
existing
values
to
develop
their
property.
But
if
you
switch
to
a
proper
land
value
tax,
then
the
city
would
instead
impose
a
decisive
on
land
to
not
develop
their
property
and
to
leave
it
vacant.
T
As
such,
in
saying
that,
if
you're
leaving
the
vacant,
you'll
still
have
to
pay
the
land
value
tax
anyway
and
so
you're,
basically
just
losing
money
by
by
not
by
not
developing
it,
and
so
this
would
simultaneously
encourage
the
type
of
development
that
the
city
is
trying
to
encourage
with
the
abatement,
while
also
ensuring
that
we
don't
have
to
mess
with
it
with
exemptions
or
abatements
anymore.
For
for
for
any
other
purpose,
you
know
solely,
for
you
know,
stimulating
development.
T
I
I
also
like
to
echo
mr
vincent's
comments
on
the
lobby
swinging
plan
and
about
how
they
went
about
you
know
trying
to
get
their
plan
adopted.
Obviously
it
didn't
go
anywhere
because
of
the
roadblock
of
the
uniformity
class.
You
know,
which
obviously
does
present
a
huge
roadblock,
but
you
know
with
the
multiple
examples
of
second
and
third
class
cities.
You
know
implementing
their
form
of
split
rate,
land
value
taxation,
which
essentially,
what
you
know
the
philadelphia
could
do.
T
A
Thank
you,
mr
xi.
Is
there
anyone
else
here
to
testify
for
this
panel?
I
do
have
I
just
just
some
additional
questions.
That
is
just
interesting
in
reference
to
the
conversation
regarding
the
land
value
tax,
for
both
mr
mullen
and
also
for
mr
vincent,
but
I
know
we
are
somewhat
pressed
for
time
today
and
will
continue
to
delve
into
these
conversations.
A
But
I
will
say,
mr
vincent,
when
you
responded
to
some
of
the
questions
that
were
raised
by
the
law
department,
you
may
reference
to
school
districts
who
are
now
looking
to
do
land
value
tax
and
those
jurisdictions
that
are
that
have
school
districts
that
are
looking
to
do
a
land
value
checks
from
your
understanding
to
have.
They
received
explicit
authorization
from
the
general
assembly
to
implement
a
land
value
tax.
S
A
Okay,
well,
definitely
that's
a
much
more
work
than
it
gets
to
be
done.
Regarding
this
conversation,
I
know,
and
talking
with
councilman
sanchez,
we're
looking
at
how
we
traditionally
study
this
concept,
both
from
addressing
some
of
the
legal
issues
that
have
been
raised
by
the
law
department,
but
also
the
I'm
challenging
implementation.
A
But
my
understanding
from
both
reviewing
your
testimony
will
all
thrive.
You
from
your
testimony
that
this
is
something
that,
if
we
were
to
implement,
we
have
to
do
it
over
a
period
of
time
in
order
to
make
a
transition,
not
impact
negatively
on
constituents
within
the
city
of
philadelphia,
and
that
gets
to
be
the
advice
that
you
would
give
for
any
jurisdiction.
That's
looking
to
introduce
a
land
value
tax
to
their
city.
A
H
If
I,
if
I,
if
I
could,
every
once
in
a
while,
let's
kind
of
get
an
opportunity
to
to
deal
with
former
students
on
on
a
on
things
like
a
panel
together
and
I
have
to
say
mr
xi
as
glad
to
see,
I
felt
very
comfortable
with
the
fact
that
I
gave
him
an
a
in
public
policy
a
couple
of
years
ago.
So
great
to
have
him.
On
the
panel
with
me.
A
All
right
well,
since
we
started
this
this
hit,
while
this
part
of
hearing
having
a
almost
law
review
type
perspective,
I'm
glad
we're
now
to
able
to
shift
into
a
public
policy
graduate
level
focus,
but
I
want
to
thank
all
of
you
for
your
testimony.
Are
there
any
other
witnesses
here
regarding
this
resolution
that
would
like
to
testify.
A
Okay,
this
is
miss
foss.
Okay,
I
had
a
new
list.
Maybe
you
could
just
state
your
name
for
the
record
and
then
receive
your
testimony,
and
we
are
well
over
our
committed
time
period
of
hours
of
one
o'clock.
So
if
you
could
be
someone
a
brief
summation
of
each
testimony
because
we
are
have
another
committee
that
was
supposed
to
start
at
one
o'clock,
so
thank
you.
R
I
will
be
brief.
Yes,
my
name
is
josie
foss,
I'm
the
executive
director
of
the
robert
shockenbach
foundation
and
the
co-director
of
the
center
for
property
tax
reform,
a
colleague
of
josh's.
I
only
wanted
to
interject
some
very
recent
recent
research
findings
just
to
get
them
onto
city
council's
radar
as
you're
thinking
about
this
policy.
R
So
josh
mentioned
in
his
testimony
that
philadelphia
is
lagging
behind
detroit
in
terms
of
budget
shortfalls.
Detroit
has
that
is
actually
looking
at
a
land
value
tax
as
well,
assisted
by
the
lincoln
institute
for
land
policy
and
they've
done
some
very
recent
studies
of
the
pennsylvania
experience,
and
so
I
just
wanted
to
be
sure
that
the
findings
of
those
studies
which
are
you
know
focused
on
these
cities
and
towns
that
already
have
a
land
value
tax
or
a
split
rate.
Tax
are
known
to
city
council.
R
So
they
kind
of
fall
into
three
categories
and
I'll
be
very
brief.
Desirable
development
is
the
one
that
I'll
I'll
tackle.
First,
infill
development
is
seen
in
the
municipalities
that
implement
these
tax
policies
in
the
first
decade
after
implementation,
they
see
an
increase
in
density
of
between
2
and
10
percentage
points
that
is
relative
to
neighboring
jurisdictions
that
do
not
use
these
policies
reductions
in
land
speculation.
R
In
that
same
vein,
new
construction,
significant
and
statistically
significant
amounts
of
new
building
permits
are
pulled
immediately.
Following
the
passage
of
these
tax
policies,
a
lot
of
those
permits
are
to
build
new
homes.
So
five
percentage
point
increase
in
the
first
year
of
new
home
construction
in
these
places
and
the
homes
that
are
being
built
are
what
I
would
describe
as
right
size.
So
they
are
infill
development
by
and
large
and
they
are
of
the
same
character
and
size
as
the
existing
neighborhoods.
R
The
next
category
is
benefits
to
residents
lower
taxes.
Overall
josh
spoke
to
that.
That's
something
in
our
original
analysis
of
philadelphia
data.
We
saw
that
as
well,
but
that
has
played
out
over
and
over
in
the
places
that
use
these
taxes
increased
tax,
progressivity
again,
we've
shown
it
or
we've
seen
it
in
the
numbers
for
philly,
but
that's
been
seen
elsewhere
in
the
state
as
well.
R
Reduced
property
tax
delinquency,
which
makes
sense,
as
your
bill
goes
down,
you're
better
able
to
pay
less
likely
to
go
into
foreclosure
or
tax
arrears
increase
home
values
relatively
immediately
in
the
jurisdictions.
Using
these
taxes,
the
increases
in
the
first
year
have
been
between
2.3
and
8.9
percent.
R
Increased
commercial
market
values
for
property.
So
in
the
first
year
about
10.6
increase
in
commercial
property
values,
and
then
the
last
thing
that
I
will
mention
is
that
these
tax
policies,
favor
capital,
intensive
businesses,
so
we're
talking
about
retail,
wholesale
manufacturing
transportation
and
construction.
R
A
Thank
you
for
your
testimony.
I
just
want
to
thank
all
of
the
panels
that
testified
on
this
resolution,
as
well
as
all
the
panels
that
testified
for
today's
finest
committee
hearing.
It
was
quite
lengthy,
but
we
dealt
with
a
number
of
important
issues,
not
only
in
reference
to
development
through
our
city,
using
the
neighborhood
preservation
initiative,
but
also
discussing
the
idea
of
providing
land
value
tax,
and
now
that
I
know
that
some
of
the
other
cities
are
looking
at
this.
A
Based
on
mr
vincent's
testimony
and
ms
foster's
testimony,
I
will
reach
out
to
some
of
my
colleagues
through
the
national
cities
and
democratic
missile
officials
to
get
their
perspective
on
this
type
of
initiative
and
how
it
could
possibly
be
helpful
for
their
jurisdiction
and
with
that.
That
concludes
the
business.
For
the
committee
on
finance.
For
today,
I
want
to
thank
all
of
my
colleagues
for
attending
and
participating
in
this
hearing
and
having
this
conversation
regarding
important
matters
regarding
the
future
growth
of
the
city
of
philadelphia.