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From YouTube: Reconciliation Task Force Announcement 6-19-2018
Description
Mayor Jim Kenney announces the members and goals of the newly formed Reconciliation Task Force.
City Council's representative on the Task Force is Chief Financial Officer Matt Stitt.
Other task force members include representatives from the Office of the Mayor, the Pennsylvania Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority (PICA), City Finance Department, and the Office of the Inspector General.
More info: https://beta.phila.gov/programs/reconciliation-task-force/
A
Well,
good
morning,
I,
thank
you
for
being
here.
I
have
a
very
important
announcement
to
share
about
a
complex
issue
that
our
administration
has
been
working
to
address
in
2016,
the
city
treasurer's
office
and
the
Accounting
Bureau
discovered
a
discrepancy
between
the
city's
finance
records
and
those
of
the
bank.
This
discrepancy
was
very
serious.
40
million
dollars
was
unaccounted
for.
Seven
of
the
city
77
bank
accounts
had
not
been
reconciled
for
years
preceding
this
administration.
I
know
this
is
unacceptable.
Taxpayers
deserve
to
know
what
we
manage.
A
Our
finance
manager,
our
finances
with
fidelity,
while
their
former
administration
kicked
the
can
down
the
road
to
address
it.
I
assure
that
we
are
not.
The
city's
treasurer's
office
has
been
working
diligently
to
account
for
the
unreconciled
funds
and
has
already
reduced
the
discrepancy
significantly
over
the
past
nine
months
of
consecutive
reconciliations,
90%
of
our
accounts
are
fully
reconciled
and
we
are
continuing
a
surgeon
C
to
complete
the
remaining
accounts
by
the
end
of
this
year.
We've
hired
new
staff
and
retained
a
nationally
recognized
auditing
firm
to
assist
us.
A
The
office
of
the
Inspector
General
has
also
been
involved
with
our
review
of
this
issue,
to
ensure
that
no
fraudulent
activity
has
occurred.
We
are
reviewing
all
protocols
and
procedures
and
are
developing
new
strategies
to
prevent
a
recurrence
of
this
issue
moving
forward.
We
want
to
avoid
duplicating
efforts
and
to
be
as
efficient
as
possible.
That's
why
we're
here
today,
I'm
forming
a
reconciliation
task
force
to
cooperate
and
coordinate
the
simultaneous
efforts
of
various
agencies
and
outside
consultants
this
this
tab,
this
this
task
force
is
meant
to
reach.
A
It's
meant
to
create
a
plan
is
not
meant
to
create
a
plan,
but
rather
to
oversee
the
successful
implementation
of
a
plan.
The
city's
treasurer's
office
has
put
forth
a
robust
and
aggressive
plan
to
complete
the
reconciliation
and
will
provide
regular
updates
to
the
task
force
and
the
public
until
full
reconciliation
is
complete.
Unlike
past
mayors,
I
am
absolutely
not
treating
this
with
nonchalance
or
apathy.
Our
administration,
particularly
the
staff
of
the
finance
department
and
the
treasurer's
office,
take
this
seriously
and
approach
it
with
urgency.
A
A
The
task
force
members
include
our
chief
of
staff,
Jane
Slusser
Matt
snitch,
chief
financial
officer
of
Philadelphia
City
Council,
Erich,
Segal
senior
investigator
of
the
office
of
the
inspector
general
Harvey
rice
executive
director
Pennsylvania,
inter
governor
governmental
cooperation,
Authority
robbed
above
the
city's
finance
the
treasurer
director
where
she
at
Johnson,
the
city
treasurer
and
my
friend,
Jonathan
Seidel,
former
city
controller,
was
city
controller
for
16
years
in
our
city,
the
group
will
be
co-chaired
by
both
Jonathan
Seidel
and
Rashid.
Johnson
Russia
has
been
exceedingly
proactive
and
addressing
the
issue
during
her
tenure.
B
Thank
You
mayor
Kinney,
even
as
the
outside
accounting
firm,
continues
to
work
with
the
treasurer's
office.
It
became
clear
that
we
needed
more
coordination
on
this
issue.
Full
cooperation
across
agencies
represented
within
the
task
force,
will
ensure
that
the
efforts
are
not
duplicated.
Taxpayer
funds
aren't
used
efficiently
and
the
matters
resolved
accurately
and
quickly.
This
task
force
will
meet
every
two
weeks
beginning
the
week
of
July
9th
members
will
report
out
of
members
will
report
on
their
progress
out
to
their
representative
agencies.
B
In
addition,
the
task
force
will
receive
periodic
updates
directly
from
the
outside
accounting
firm
that
the
treasurer's
office
is
engaged
with
them.
Meeting
summaries
will
be
shared
publicly
on
the
city's
website
so
that
the
public
can
monitor
the
progress
and
are
fully
aware
of
the
issue
as
we
resolve
it.
At
this
time,
I'd
like
to
introduce
my
taskforce,
co-chair
former
city
controller
Jonathan,
Saito.
C
First,
let
me
say
how
honored
I
am
to
have
been
asked
by
our
mayor
to
be
involved
in
this
in
this
task
force.
Let
me
also
say
that
in
my
40
years
of
being
in
politics
and
elected
office,
it's
the
first
time
I've
ever
seen
a
mayor
that
doesn't
just
so
willy-nilly,
say,
but
something
is
on
an
issue
but
is
actually
made
sure
that
he
has
a
task
force
of
those
that
are
stakeholders
within
our
community
and
the
government
and
for
the
people
of
this
city.
So
I
just
want
to
say.
Thank
you,
your
honor.
C
What
the
recommendations
that
will
be
made
will
have
a
direct
effect
upon
bond
ratings
and
the
and
how
the
city
is
viewed.
I,
think
it's
important
that
the
people
who
fill
it
out.
They
have
to
understand
that
if
you
say
that
there's
thirty
three
million
dollars
that
is
missing,
it
doesn't
mean
that
that
money's
in
someone's
basement
99
percent
of
the
time
that's
an
accounting,
Mis
function.
I
haven't
had
an
opportunity
to
read
the
controllers
report.
I
was
out
of
the
city
at
that
time.
C
I
look
forward
to
reading
that
report
in
the
and
finding
out
exactly
what
she
thinks
is
going
on
I'm
very
proud
of
the
years
I've
had
in
service,
and
it
is
my
pleasure
to
volunteer
my
services
in
any
way
to
make
sure
that
this
effort
reaches
a
successful
conclusion.
I
do
want
to
emphasize
again
how
unique
this
task
force
is
that
you
have
representative
council
and
the
variety
of
stakeholders
within
the
community
of
the
of
our
city,
government
and
I
do
again
want
to
thank
Mary
Kenny
for
asking
me
to
be
involved.
C
I'm
a
citizen
of
this
city.
My
grandchildren
are
citizens
of
this
city
and
I'm
proud
to
be
involved,
and
the
great
thing
is
that
there'll
be
transparency,
one
of
the
few
times
they've
ever
seen
in
government,
where
there
will
be
transparency
and
every
few
weeks
we'll
have
a
meeting,
and
the
results
of
that
meeting
will
be
on
the
city's
website.
So
with
that,
if
anyone
has
any
question
I'm
one
happy
to
answer
questions,
certainly
the
treasurer
the
mayor
of
our
great
city
are
here
to
answer
questions.
Thank
you
again.
C
C
What's
important
to
me
is
that
the
the
situation
is
reconciled
and
that
their
internal
procedures
place
so
that
this
never
happens
again
and
the
kicking
down
kicking
the
can
down
the
road,
as
the
mayor
said,
doesn't
occur
because
American
he
doesn't
want
to
see
that
happen
during
his
tenure
as
mayor
of
Philadelphia.
So
I
am
here
to
help
in
any
way
possible.
I
think,
based
on
my
background,
that
I
can
add
some
value
with
the
talented
people
that
are
on
this
task
force
and
certainly
have
an
interplay
with
the
with
the
accounting
firm.
A
No,
the
fact
of
the
matter
is
that
these
accounts
have
not
been
reconciled.
Since
2010,
we
discovered
the
fact
that
they
weren't
recognized
and
we
started
out
the
solve
that
fix
the
problem
so
for
20,
10
11,
12,
13,
14
15.
It
also
was
a
reconcile.
No
one
brought
it
to
anyone's
attention
when
we
discovered
it,
we
reported
it
in
the
kafir'
report.
We
were
transparent
about
it
and
we
set
out
to
fix
the
problem.
A
I,
you
know
it's
certain
you'd
you'd
have
to
ask
you'd
have
to
ask
the
city
controller
because
she
worked
in
the
last
administration
and
and
in
this
administration.
So
I
don't
know
what
what
their
conversation
was
regarding
this
mud,
it
has
not
been
I,
mean,
look
I,
don't
mind
bearing
the
weight
of
what
we
didn't
do,
but
what
another
administration
also
didn't
do
and
we're
fixing
it
see.
A
D
A
A
When
T,
8:28
and
again
I
mean
look
the
money's
not
missing,
it
is
in
its
inappropriately
count
somewhere,
it
just
needs
to
be
reconciled.
It's
like
not.
You
know,
balancing
your
checkbook
for
5
7
10
years,
and
it's
it's
unfortunate
because
the
the
the
effort
to
kind
of
raise
revenue
for
schools
and
for
other
things
as
impacted,
because
people
believe
that
something
nefarious
went
on.
It's
nothing
to
fairies
about
it
again.
I
will
say
it
one
more
time
we
discovered
it.
A
A
B
Just
want
to
quickly
stress
that
this
task
force
is
not
putting
out
a
report,
we're
actually
overseeing
the
plan
and
implementation
of
the
overseen
implementation
of
the
plan.
That's
already
been
in
place
between
finance
in
the
treasurer's
office.
There
is
a
plan,
and
our
goal
is
just
the
task
force
will
just
oversee
that
process.
D
Yeah,
those
are
two
different
things.
The
reconciliation
task
force
was
working
about
today
is
focused
on
what
had
been
thirty
three
million
dollars.
As
she
has
said,
when
we
reconciled,
we
saw
a
difference
between
numbers
that
were
in
our
accounting
system.
In
a
bank,
it
was
about
40
million.
At
that
point,
at
the
time
that
we
published
a
number,
it
was
33
million.
D
Now
it's
about
twenty
eight
point
six,
so
that's
one
issue
second
issue
is
that
when
we
do
our
financial
reports,
we
share
drafts
with
the
controller
going
back
and
forth
to
those
drafts
controller
pointed
out,
they
said,
were
nine
hundred
twenty
four
million
dollars
of
mistakes,
none
of
those
wind
up
in
our
final
report.
The
final
report
in
the
controller
report
says
it's
free
of
mistakes
and
can
be
used
for
making
financial
decisions.
Two
different
things.
A
D
The
other
thing
is:
if
we
had,
you
know
an
issue
where
we
said
that
something
should
have
increased
in
the
controller,
so
it's
a
decrease.
They
counted
that
twice
the
actual
net
impact
of
the
things
that
the
controller
found
we're
about.
Four
hundred
million
of
that
four
hundred
million
about
forty
five
million
would
have
had
an
impact
on
fund
balances,
and
none
of
it
would
have
had
an
impact
on
our
general
fund
fund
balance.
D
A
She
mean
she
will
do
her
job
as
she
sees
fit
and
we
will
respond
as
we
see
fit.
I
wouldn't
exactly
call
it.
A
personal
friendship.
I
mean
I'm
personally
friendly
with
people
work
here,
but
we
don't
rob
and
I.
Don't
hang
out
with
she
and
I.
Don't
hang
out,
I
mean
the
the
issue.
Is
she
she
approached
this
particular
situation?
The
way
she
did
we
responded.
I
think
the
frustration
is
is
that
we
discovered
it
identified
it
made
it
public
and
fixed
it
and
in
the
final
Khafre
report
there
are
no
miss
statements.
A
There
are
no
inaccuracies
and
and
again
as
you're
working
through
with
the
controller
and
Jonathan
knows
this
from
past
administrations.
You
know,
there's
a
give-and-take,
you
usually
don't
jump
out
of
the
box
to
have
a
press
conference
on
the
give
and
take
you
usually
do
it
when
the
final
report
is
issued.
The
final
report
has
no
miss
statements
or
no
mistakes,
and
she
is
that
actually,
in
her
own
report
has
said
that
it's
a
reliable
document
that
can
be
dependent
on
so
where
all
this
came
from
is
like
really
difficult
to
understand.
A
D
D
A
A
She
has
much
acknowledged
that
in
her
final
report
about
our
Cafer
statement,
so
this
is
kind
of
like
before
we
fixed
everything
and
we're
in
the
process
of
reconciling
what
we
need
to
reconcile
and
we're
moving
forward,
but
that
should
not
impact
our
ability
to
potentially
raise
revenue
for
our
schools
or
for
anything
else
and
and
and
that's
what's
I
guess.
What's
frustrating
and
sad
about
this
situation
is.
Is
that
somehow
there's
this
belief
now
that
somehow
you
know
we
did
something
that
we
should
have
done?