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Description
Mayor James F. Kenney's FY2017 Budget Address to Philadelphia City Council, delivered during the Stated Meeting of Council held March 3, 2016.
With Mayor Kenney on the podium are Council members: Council President Darrell Clarke, Majority Leader Bobby Henon, Majority Whip Blondell Reynolds Brown, Deputy Majority Whip William K. Greenlee; Minority Leader Brian O'Neill and Minority Whip David Oh.
The Stated Meeting of Philadelphia City Council held Thursday, March 3, 2016 including Mayor James F. Kenney's first Budget Address to Council.
For more information on the Budget, visit PHLCouncil's Budget site: phlcouncil.com/council-budget-center
A
Time
has
come
for
us
to
consider
the
mayor's
presentation
of
this
annual
budget
message
to
pull
off
the
Home
Rule
Charter
states
that
the
mayor
shall
submit
the
council
no
later
than
90
days
before
the
end
of
the
fiscal
year,
his
operating
budget
message
and
proposed
operating
budget
ordinance
for
the
ensuing
fiscal
year.
At
the
same
time,
the
mayor
shall
submit
the
council.
The
recommended
capital
program
and
capital
budget
has
received
from
the
City
Planning
Commission
to
the
extent
approved
by
the
mayor.
B
Thank
you
I
want
to
thank
the
council
president
and
for
all
my
colleagues
and
council
for
welcoming
me
to
speak
today.
It
feels
really
good
to
be
home.
I
spent
about
just
half
my
life
in
this
chamber,
I
started
in
1992
under
then
council
president
Street
right
over
there
and
I've
since
had
the
privilege
to
work
with
two
more
great
council
presidents,
Anna,
C,
Verna
and
now
council.
B
President
Clark
I've
also
had
the
distinct
pleasure
over
the
years
to
getting
to
learn
a
lot
from
all
of
you
through
the
work
we've
done
together,
you
have
helped
me,
you
have
helped
shape
me
and
I
believe
you
will
see
that
impact
reflected
in
our
first
budget.
Together
in
this
budget,
we
continue
to
try
to
protect
the
rights
of
our
most
vulnerable.
B
B
Our
police
officers
will
also
be
getting
more
resources
to
protect
and
serve
the
citizens
of
Philadelphia
under
this
budget
proposal.
In
addition
to
repairing
infrastructure
to
in
our
Police
District
stations,
this
budget
equips
our
police
force
with
body-worn
cameras,
as
councilman
Jones
pointed
out
passionately
during
hearings.
Last
year,
body,
worn
cameras
have
been
extremely
successful,
the
use
of
force
and
as
a
pleat
and
reducing
the
police
abuse
allegations
all
across
the
country.
B
I
am
confident
that
the
expansion
of
the
body,
worn
cameras
in
consultation
with
our
local
FOP
in
Philadelphia,
will
further
the
admirable
community
policing
efforts
led
by
our
great
commissioner
Richard
Ross.
This
budget
also
increases
community
safety
by
dedicating
resources
to
preventing
traffic
related
fatalities,
as
councilman
bass
has
consistently
pointed
out.
It
is
unacceptable
that
we
treat
these
deaths
as
a
fact
of
life
in
Philadelphia
working
with
key
stakeholders.
B
Our
new
office
of
Complete
Streets
and
the
managing
directors
office
will
identify
changes
that
we
can
make,
whether
to
be
better
lining
or
signage,
or
a
change
in
traffic
flow
to
protect
that
child
walking
to
school
and
the
cyclists
just
trying
to
get
to
work.
The
streets
department
in
lni
will
also
work
to
advance
our
vision,
zero
goals
by
enhanced
by
enhancing
their
right-of-way
activities.
The
recent
explosion
of
development
has
significantly
increased
sidewalk
and
street
closures.
B
This
budget
would
allow
us
to
ensure
safe
travel
around
those
closures
and
to
better
enforce
penalties
against
those
that
are
illegal,
raising
revenue
for
the
city
and
preventing
these
dangerous
encroachments.
In
the
first
place.
This
budget
will
also
continue
City
Council's
efforts
to
ensure
that
the
27-month,
22nd
and
market
collapse
will
never
happen
again.
B
Today
we
are
proposing
funding
for
additional
code
enforcement
unit
and
for
two
additional
Illinois
district
offices.
These
offices
would
be
strategically
located
in
areas
of
the
city
that
are
experiencing
the
most
construction
activity
so
that
we
are
increasing
oversight
of
these
construction
projects
and
allowing
businesses
to
get
permits
more
efficiently.
B
This
investment
will
specifically
increase
vacant
lot
and
exterior
property
abatements
by
five
thousand
over
the
next
year.
Clip
also
serves
as
a
critical
workforce
development
tool,
allowing
folks
who
have
gone
astray
to
pay
back
their
debt
to
the
community
while
gaining
professional
experience
and
skills.
B
Additionally,
this
investment
would
bring
in
one
hundred
thousand
dollars
in
new
revenue
for
the
city
through
the
collection
activities
of
clip
employees
as
councilmembers,
Parker
and
Squealer
have
been
saying
for
a
long
time.
Clip
has
a
pretty
incredible
return
on
investment
for
both
the
city
and
our
neighborhoods,
thanks
to
the
efforts
of
councilmembers,
Henan
and
Alvin
Berger.
This
budget
also
supports
our
small
businesses
by
establishing
a
line
item
for
the
storefront
Improvement
Program,
which
will
help
fund
approximately
100
upgrades
this
year.
B
Research
shows
that
facade
improvements
lead
to
additional
foot
traffic,
increased
revenue
and
the
creation
of
new
jobs
when
our
commercial
corridors
almost
lost
this
successful
long-standing
program
after
a
change
in
federal
regulations,
while
council
members,
while
councilmember
Henan
successfully
fought
last
year
for
a
temporary
funding
measure,
the
city's
commitment
to
our
commercial
carter's
should
never
be
in
doubt,
which
is
why
we
are
so
proud
to
introduce
a
stable
funding
source
in
this
new
budget.
In
addition
to
growing
local
businesses,
we
will
also
continue
to
expand
Philadelphia's
international
profile.
B
I
want
to
thank
councilman
Oh
in
particular
for
all
his
work
in
promoting
Philadelphia
globally.
We
will
soon
be
hiring
a
director
of
international
investment
whose
job
will
be
built
on
the
councilman's
efforts,
increasing
export
activity
and
attracting
new
businesses
to
locate
here
in
Philadelphia.
B
This
budget
also
proposes
several
measures
in
line
with
councilmembers
quill
and
Dom's
focus
laser
focus
on
decreasing
tax
delinquency,
I'm,
proud
to
say
that
we
already
expect
to
collect
69
million
dollars
more
an
additional
delinquent
tax
revenue
over
the
next
five
years
and
to
help
address
this
problem.
Further
we're
proposing
to
increase
the
number
of
taxpayer
service
representatives
and
to
add
technical
programming
to
revenues
IT
system.
B
The
budget
also
addresses
systemic
issues
in
the
city's
mail
room
which
says
controller,
but
give
it's
recently
brought
to
light,
have
wasted
taxpayers
dollars
and
delayed
critical
communications
to
philadelphians
on
everything
from
subpoenas
to
water
bills,
while
the
backlog
of
the
mail
room
has
been
eliminated,
funding
will
be
allocated
to
consult
with
industry
experts
and
the
hire
additional
staff.
So
this
issue
does
not
reoccur.
B
These
programs
are
important,
but
by
themselves
do
not
change
the
status
quo.
I've
been
listening.
The
budget
addresses
in
this
chamber
for
over
two
decades
and
while
we've
had
great
mayor's,
who
have
done
many
important
things,
the
core
challenge
facing
our
city
has
not
changed
and
that's
just
unacceptable.
B
While
over
the
past
five
years,
city
funding
for
our
schools
has
gone
up.
Nearly
four
hundred
million
dollars
annually.
Funding
cuts
from
Harrisburg
continue
to
deprive
our
children
of
the
education
they
deserve.
Council
members,
game
and
Blackwell's.
Recent
hearings
on
the
state's
our
schools
have
an
earth-sun,
shocking
and
troubling
statistics.
B
Philadelphia
is
the
second
largest
percent
is
second
highest
percentage
of
work.
Age
residents
who
are
out
of
the
labor
force
only
Detroit
has
a
higher
percentage.
The
report
that
just
came
out
Tuesday
also
found
that
nearly
half
of
Philadelphians
live
in
what
are
classified
as
distressed
zip
codes.
In
these
zip
codes,
there
is
high
poverty,
few
people
with
high
school
degrees
marginal
of
any
increase
of
businesses
in
recent
years.
B
Councilwoman
Reynolds
Brown
was
among
the
first
to
educate
me
on
the
importance
of
pre-k
of
importance
of
affordable
quality
pre-k,
especially
for
our
low-income
communities,
because
most
of
the
child's
brain
development
occurs
in
the
first
five
years
of
life.
Quality
early
education
gives
our
most
vulnerable
children
the
tools
to
compete
with
their
wealthier
peers.
B
In
fact,
a
range
of
study
shows
that
children
who
participate
in
quality,
pre-k
or
4
are
likely
to
succeed
than
those
who
don't
a
study
by
the
William
Penn
foundation
found
that
the
percentage
of
four-year-olds
with
strong
academic
and
social
skills
more
than
tripled
after
participating
in
the
state's
pre-k
program.
A
Chicago
based
study
found
that
children
who
participated
in
high
quality
preschool
were
20%
less
likely
to
be
arrested
for
a
felony
or
incarcerated
as
young
adults
than
those
who
did
not
attend
by
age.
B
30
individuals
served
by
a
North
Carolina
Early
Learning
Program
were
four
times
more
likely
to
graduate
college
and
42
percent
more
likely
to
be
consistently
employed.
In
addition
to
improving
our
school
districts,
academic
outcomes,
quality
pre-k
also
has
positive
fiscal
benefits
for
our
entire
school
system,
by
reducing
the
need
for
special
education
services.
B
B
There
are
also
very
real
economic
benefits
for
both
small
businesses
and
overall
job
creation.
The
report
frequently
cited
by
the
economy
League
found
that
for
every
$1
spent
on
pre-k
at
least
a
dollar
79
is
generated.
Local
spending
that
same
study
also
found
that
for
every
20
jobs
created
in
the
Pennsylvania
early
education
industry,
five
unrelated
jobs
were
also
created
outside
of
that
sector.
B
B
B
I
want
to
thank
the
council
president
for
his
leadership
on
this
issue
and
for
working
with
me
to
advance
this
initiative.
As
many
of
you
are
already
aware,
community
schools
are
public
schools.
We're
a
dedicated
coordinator
directly
integrates
largely
already-existing
social
services
into
that
school,
so
children
can
access
them
easily.
In
many
cases,
these
services
are
also
available
to
the
larger
community,
making
the
school
a
hub
of
the
neighborhood.
This
helps
increase
parental
engagement
and
community
investment
in
the
success
of
the
school.
B
The
services
provided
in
each
school
will
vary
based
on
the
needs
of
that
community,
but
the
idea
is
the
same.
If
we
can
address
the
things
happening
outside
the
classroom
that
keep
our
students
from
learning,
whether
that
be
poverty
or
hunger
or
health
care,
then
we
can
improve
the
lives
and
futures
of
our
kids.
B
The
effectiveness
of
the
community
school
strategy,
particularly
in
low-income,
low
performing
districts,
can
be
seen
all
over
the
country.
There
is
a
community
high
school
and
one
of
Los
Angeles's
highest
need
neighborhoods,
where
99%
of
the
students
graduate
and
go
on
to
college
and
Cincinnati
closed
its
racial
and
socio-economic
achievement
gap
by
ten
percent.
Thanks
to
the
community
school
model,
the
federal
policy
that
will
make
a
real
difference
for
both
our
education
system
and
our
neighborhoods
is
a
350
million
dollar
investment
in
our
community
infrastructure.
B
And
I
couldn't
help
to
think.
If
we
had
the
resources
to
actually
make
their
a
center
of
the
community,
then
these
parents,
wouldn
t,
be
here,
maybe
in
the
other
room
watch,
other
kids
playing
basketball
and
the
facts
back.
That
up.
Study
after
study
shows
that
we
can
improve
the
public
safety
of
our
neighborhoods,
expand
educational
opportunities
for
our
children
and
create
jobs
all
by
just
investing
in
our
existing
parks,
libraries
and
recreation.
Centers.
B
The
Department
of
Parks
and
Recreation,
including
the
free
library,
are
the
largest
provider
of
after-school
programs
in
the
city
and
according
to
the
National
Center
for
Educational
statistics.
Students
who
do
extracurricular
activities
are
more
likely
to
have
a
higher
attendance
rate
and
GPA
than
those
who
don't.
Investments
and
Parks
have
also
been
shown
to
reduce
crime.
When
the
city
and
the
Fairmount
Park
Conservancy
invested
five
million
dollars
in
hunting
park,
crime
went
down.
B
B
These
investments
also
help
create
jobs
and
find
employment.
A
third
of
the
visits
to
our
libraries
see
each
year
our
Philadelphian
seeking
assistance
in
the
job
application
process.
Additionally,
fixing
these
facilities
and
parks
will
create
hundreds
of
construction
jobs
for
working
families
and
the
approved
infrastructure
may
also
support
additional
program
program.
Programming
jobs
for
people
in
the
community.
B
Investing
in
community
infrastructure
also
builds
on
the
council
president's
proposal
to
build
100
to
spend
150
million
dollars
on
increasing
energy
efficient
efficiency
in
city-owned
buildings.
As
the
council
president
has
rightly
pointed
out,
investments
in
energy
efficiency
create
middle-class
jobs
and
help
the
city
save
money
that
can
be
reinvested
in
other
critical
initiatives
like
education
and
public
safety.
B
The
fifth
and
final
policy
I'm
proposing
is
an
additional
twenty
six
million
dollar
investment
in
our
pension
fund
over
the
next
five
years.
Currently,
our
pension
fund,
as
you
all
know,
is
less
than
fifty
percent
funded
over
the
next
five
years.
We
will
spend
three
point:
four
billion
dollars
trying
to
address
that
deficit.
That's
nearly
the
cost
of
our
current
annual
budget
as
a
result
and
as
a
result
we'll
have
significantly
less
to
spend
on
other
programs.
Philadelphians
need
in
one
now.
B
I
won't
pretend
that
this
twenty
six
million
dollar
investment
will
solve
all
our
pension
funds
underlying
problems.
Councilman
Derrick,
green
and
I
have
had
talked
about
this
at
length
and
I
know
that
we
still
must
commit
ourselves
to
working
with
all
of
our
unions.
The
first
test
of
that
will
come
this
June
and
we
are
committed
to
negotiating
a
fair
and
equitable
contract
with
District
Council
33.
B
But
making
this
26
million
dollar
investment
is
still
an
important
indication
to
the
credit
agencies,
our
lenders
and,
most
importantly,
to
the
city
workforce
that
the
mayor
and
city
council
are
committed
to
addressing
the
serious
problem.
I
am
proposing
to
pay
for
this
pension
investment,
as
well
as
for
quality,
pre-k,
community
schools
and
investments
in
community
infrastructure
and
energy
efficiency
by
levering
of
levert.
Levying
a
three
cent
tax
on
sugary,
drink
distributors.
B
B
They
even
got
me
to
believe
them
five
years
ago
and
I'll
tell
you
the
line
that
really
got
me
four
years
ago
four
years
ago
was
the
claim
that
this
tax
would
hurt
low-income
and
already
communities,
and
that's
really
concerning
claim
for
me.
But
the
truth
is
that
soda
companies
are
the
ones
actually
targeting
their
advertising
at
low-income
minority
communities
in
the
first
place.
B
A
2009
study
found
that
lower-income,
african-americans
and
Latino
neighborhoods
have
far
more
outdoor
ads
for
sugary
drinks
than
higher
income,
neighborhoods
or
white.
Low-Income
neighborhoods
researchers
at
Yale
also
found
that
african-american
youth
see
eighty
to
ninety
percent
more
ads
for
sugary
drinks
than
their
white
counterparts.
B
The
other
concerning
claim
about
this
tax
is
that
will
cause
unemployment
crisis,
but
we
know
that's
false
because
we
just
went
through
that
a
number
of
years
ago
when
we
passed
the
liquor
tax
employment
did
not
slow
down.
After
the
liquor,
tax
was
instated.
In
fact,
Philadelphia's
restaurant
and
bar
scene
has
grown
by
leaps
and
bounds.
Now
the
two
largest
unionized
beverage
truck
driver
employers
in
Philadelphia
are
Pepsi
and
Coke.
B
So
it's
easy
to
think
that
when
the
demand
decreases
for
Pepsi
and
Coke,
those
drivers
may
be
out
of
a
job,
but
Pepsi
and
Coke
drivers
deliver
all
the
products
under
the
Pepsi
and
Coke
label,
which
includes
not
only
sugary
drinks
but
also
bottled
water
and
the
dozens
of
other
products
they
have
created
that
would
be
exempt
from
these
taxes.
This
tax
also
won't
hurt
the
restaurant
industry
because
restaurants
were
already
trending
away
from
the
reliance
on
soda
profits.
B
Applebee's
was
the
first
family
dining
restaurant
chain
to
remove
soda
from
its
children's
menus,
joining
fast
food
chains,
Burger
King,
McDonald's,
Wendy's
and
Dairy
Queen,
and
furthermore,
this
tax
won't
wipe
out
small
business,
small
grocers,
bodegas
convenience
stores,
already
stocking
and
selling
non
sugary
beverages,
and
they
are
doing
that
because
customers,
preference
are
already
changing
even
without
attacks.
During
the
last
few
decades,
us
full
calorie
soda
sales
have
dropped
by
over
25
percent,
while
sales
of
bottled
water,
which
both
Pepsi
and
Coke
also
sell,
have
shot
through
the
roof.
B
Justin
Philadelphia
between
2007
and
2013,
daily
soda
intake
dropped
by
16%.
Additionally,
the
programs
this
tax
will
fund
like
pre-k
and
investments
in
parks.
Libraries
of
rec
centers
will
actually
help
small
business.
Child
care
and
early
learning
professionals
generally
spend
most
of
their
earnings
locally,
as
I
mentioned
earlier,
for
every
one
dollar
invest
in
pre-k
Pennsylvania.
A
total
of
$1
79
is
generated
in
total
for
spending
within
the
state.
Furthermore,
most
child
care
centers
are
small
minority
women-owned
businesses
and
this
investment
will
go
a
long
way
towards
helping
them
grow
and
expand.
B
The
budget
I'm
posing
today
also
contains
other
policies
to
help
small
business,
in
addition
to
the
storefront
Improvement
Program
I
spoke
about
earlier
I'm,
also
proposing
the
reduction
of
the
business
income
and
receipts
tax
to
six
point,
one
five
percent
and
including
an
exemption
of
one
hundred
thousand
dollars.
During
that
same
time,
we
also
plan
to
reduce
the
wage
tax.
The
three
point:
three
three
percent
for
non-residents
and
three
point:
seven:
three
set
percent
for
residents
bringing
that
tax
to
its
lowest
rate
since
1975.
B
B
B
The
money
just
isn't
there,
pilots,
while
still
worth
exploring,
are
also
not
going
to
get
us
the
recurring
revenue
we
need
to
fund
such
large-scale
programs,
even
in
Boston,
where
pilots
are
very
very
successful,
the
city
receives
just
half
of
what
we
need
to
operate
pre-k
on
an
annual
basis,
but
the
most
persuasive
argument
of
all
for
the
tax
is
that
philadelphians
elected
us
to
implement
the
very
programs
this
revenue
will
fund.
Let.
B
B
Dramatically,
outport
outperforming
any
other
ballot
measure
and
at
forum
after
forum
after
forum
after
forum,
we
listened
to
philadelphians
beg
for
safe
community
spaces,
family,
sustaining
jobs
and
quality
neighborhood
schools.
We
can
give
us
the
distance
all
those
things
with
just
one
tax
and
I
know
that
one
tax
can
make
some
very
wealthy
and
very
powerful
people
very,
very
upset.
But
I've
seen
this
council
take
on
special
interests
before
and
I
know.
Together,
we
can
do
it
again
and
I
just
want
to
give
you
a
personal
story
of
something.
B
B
Unafraid
bright
smiles
engaged,
articulate
happy
and
we
chatted
a
little
bit
about
how
school
and
how
do
you
like
your
teachers
and
how
do
you
like
and
they
liked
everything
and
they
were
taken
in
all
the
press
and
they
were
sponge
and
everything
in
so
much.
They
were
taking
in
that
one
little
boy
reached
up
and
grabbed
my
nose
and
said
man.
You
got
a
big
nose.
B
I
still
didn't
understand
what
it
was,
but
I
knew
that
they
understood
what
it
was
and,
after
that,
before
I
before
I
left,
I
sat
in
a
group
a
circle
with
those
young
men
and
we
talked
about
their
life,
their
future
their
situation
and
we're
just
chatting
it's
hard
to
talk
when
you're
in
that
circumstance,
and
the
young
man
said
to
me
may
or
may
I
say
something.
I
said
absolutely.