City Council Hearing on Charter Change for Proposed Dept of Prisons

8/10/2019 City Council Hearing on Charter Change for Proposed Dept of Prisons

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( 215) 504- 4622St r ehl ow & Associ at es, I nc.

1

COUNCI L OF THE CI TY OF PHI LADELPHI A

COMMI TTEE ON LAW AND GOVERNMENT

Room 400, Ci t y Hal l Phi l adel phi a, Pennsyl vani a Monday, Apr i l 28, 2014 10: 10 a. m.

PRESENT: COUNCI LMAN WI LLI AM K. GREENLEE, CHAI R COUNCI LMAN BOBBY HENON COUNCI LMAN CURTI S J ONES, J R. COUNCI LMAN DENNI S O' BRI EN COUNCI LWOMAN BLONDELL REYNOLDS BROWN

BI LLS 130878, 140014, 140015, and 140131RESOLUTI ONS 130884 and 140035

- - -


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2

1

2 COUNCI LMAN GREENLEE: Good

3 mor ni ng, ever yone. Thi s i s t he Commi t t ee

4 on Law and Gover nment .

5 We have est abl i shed a quor um

6 wi t h Counci l man Henon, Counci l man

7 O' Br i en, and Counci l woman Reynol ds Br own,

8 who has been appoi nt ed t o t he Commi t t ee

9 t oday.

10 Ms. Marconi , i f you coul d

11 pl ease r ead t he t i t l e of t he f i r st bi l l

12 bef ore us t oday.

13 THE CLERK: Bi l l No. 140131, an

14 or di nance amendi ng Chapt er 21- 1700 of The

15 Phi l adel phi a Code, ent i t l ed "Publ i cat i on

16 of Not i ces by Ci t y, " by revi si ng

17 pr ovi si ons concer ni ng how not i ces of

18 r egul at i ons pr oposed by depar t ment s,

19 boar ds and commi ssi ons shal l be publ i shed

20 and adver t i sed; al l under cer t ai n t er ms

21 and condi t i ons.

22 COUNCI LMAN GREENLEE: Thank

23 you. Our f i r s t wi t ness?

24 THE CLERK: J oan Decker .

25 ( Wi t nesses appr oached wi t ness


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5

1 4/ 28/ 14 - LAW & GOV. - BI LL 130878, et c.

2 cor r ect .

3 COUNCI LMAN GREENLEE: - - t o

4 make t echni cal changes?

5 COMMI SSI ONER DECKER: That ' s

6 cor r ect .

7 COUNCI LMAN GREENLEE: And I

8 shoul d have ment i oned i n t he begi nni ng,

9 Counci l woman Sanchez - - and her st at ement

10 wi l l be made par t of t he r ecor d - - has

11 gi ven a st at ement obvi ousl y i n suppor t of

12 t he bi l l , sayi ng i t woul d, as t he

13 Commi ssi oner sai d, br i ng our met hod of

14 get t i ng adver t i si ng out onl i ne and i t ' s,

15 as she says, a commonsense updat e t o our

16 pr ocedur es t hat wi l l cr eat e mi ni mal

17 admi ni st r at i ve burden whi l e s i gni f i cant l y

18 benef i t i ng t he publ i c, and her st at ement

19 wi l l be made par t of t he r ecor d al so.

20 Any quest i ons f or Commi ssi oner

21 Decker on t hi s bi l l ?

22 ( No r esponse. )

23 COUNCI LMAN GREENLEE: Seei ng

24 none, can' t get any qui cker t han t hat ,

25 Commi ssi oner .


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6

1 4/ 28/ 14 - LAW & GOV. - BI LL 130878, et c.

2 COMMI SSI ONER DECKER: That ' s

3 r i ght . Thank you ver y much.

4 COUNCI LMAN GREENLEE:

5 Ms. Mar coni , why don' t you cal l t he ot her

6 t wo at l east t hat we have.

7 THE CLERK: Rober t Bal l enger

8 and Amy Laur a Cahn.

9 COUNCI LMAN GREENLEE: I f you

10 coul d bot h come up.


12 t abl e. )

13 COUNCI LMAN GREENLEE: Mr .

14 Bal l enger , we have your wr i t t en

15 t est i mony, so i f you coul d j ust

16 summar i ze, I ' d appreci at e i t .

17 MR. BALLENGER: Yes. Thank

18 you. Thank you, Counci l man Gr eenl ee.

19 Good mor ni ng, Counci l man and

20 members of t he Commi t t ee on Law and

21 Gover nment . My name i s Rober t

22 Bal l enger - -

23 COUNCI LMAN GREENLEE: A l i t t l e

24 cl oser t o t he mi c, pl ease.

25 MR. BALLENGER: Sur e. My name


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7

1 4/ 28/ 14 - LAW & GOV. - BI LL 130878, et c.

2 i s Rober t Bal l enger . I ' m an at t orney at

3 Communi t y Legal Ser vi ces i n t he Ener gy

4 Uni t . I do have occasi on t o r evi ew t he

5 pr i nt publ i cat i on of regul at i ons every

6 day, of proposed regul at i ons, so t hi s i s

7 an ar ea I have some exper i ence i n.

8 I f ul l y suppor t t hi s bi l l .

9 Thi s bi l l woul d provi de si gni f i cant

10 addi t i onal assur ance t hat t he publ i c has

11 an oppor t uni t y t o be i nf or med about and

12 part i ci pat e i n t he regul at ory process f or

13 Ci t y depar t ment s. Commi ssi oner Decker

14 has expl ai ned i n her t est i mony t he

15 cur r ent process. I won' t r evi si t that .

16 Thi s woul d suppl ement t he

17 cur r ent pr i nt publ i cat i on wi t h onl i ne

18 publ i cat i on. Thi s i s the f orm i n whi ch

19 many member s of t he publ i c now expect t o

20 r ecei ve not i ce. So I t hi nk i t ' s an

21 i mpor t ant t hi ng t o do.

22 I j ust want ed t o cl ose wi t h I

23 t hi nk an i mpor t ant st at ement f r om t he

24 annot at i ons of Sect i on 8- 407 of t he

25 Phi l adel phi a Home Rul e Char t er wher e t hi s


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8

1 4/ 28/ 14 - LAW & GOV. - BI LL 130878, et c.

2 r equi r ement or i gi nat es. The annot at i on

3 t hat I ' d l i ke t o r ead i s I t hi nk apt i n

4 t hi s ci r cumst ance.

5 I t s tat es, Si nce members of t he

6 publ i c wi l l be t he ones who wi l l be

7 af f ect ed by regul at i ons, f ai rness t o t hem

8 pr ompt s t he r equi r ement t hat t hey be

9 af f orded, as a rul e, an opport uni t y t o be

10 hear d on pr oposed r egul at i ons. Such

11 hear i ngs ar e i nt ended t o pr ot ect per sons

12 who wi l l be af f ect ed f rom arbi t rary

13 admi ni str at i ve act i on. They shoul d al so

14 serve t o br i ng t o t he at t ent i on of

15 admi ni s t rat i ve of f i ci al s f act s necessary

16 f or t he exer ci se of i nf or med j udgment i n

17 t he pr omul gat i on of r egul at i ons.

18 So pr ovi di ng not i ce i s a

19 t wo- way st r eet . I t ' s an i mport ant t hi ng

20 bot h f or t he publ i c and f or t hose who set

21 regul at i ons , and I thi nk t hi s i s a great

22 bi l l t o advance openness and t r anspar ency

23 i n Ci t y government .

24 Thank you. I ' m happy t o answer

25 any quest i ons you may have.


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9

1 4/ 28/ 14 - LAW & GOV. - BI LL 130878, et c.


3 you, Mr . Bal l enger .

4 Ms. Cahn, and t hen i f t here' s

5 any quest i ons.

6 MS. CAHN: Thank you ver y much.

7 You have my wr i t t en t est i mony. I ' m j ust

8 goi ng t o sum up ver y qui ckl y, and t hank

9 you f or t he oppor t uni t y t o t est i f y.

10 My name i s Amy Laur a Cahn. I ' m

11 her e as a staf f at t or ney on behal f of t he

12 Publ i c I nt erest Law Cent er of

13 Phi l adel phi a. I work on our

14 envi ronment al j ust i ce work, but I ' m here

15 on behal f of al l of our at t or neys who

16 wor k on a r ange of i ssues, i ncl udi ng

17 hous i ng, educat i on, di sabi l i t y r i ght s ,

18 vot i ng, empl oyment di scri mi nat i on, and we

19 al l agr ee t hat we are i n suppor t of t hi s

20 bi l l . We wor k wi t h r esi dent s t hr oughout

21 Phi l adel phi a who st r uggl e t o part i ci pat e

22 i n gover nment , who st r uggl e t o under st and

23 how gover nment wor ks, and we t hi nk t hi s

24 i s an excel l ent step i n enhanci ng

25 t r anspar ency.


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1 4/ 28/ 14 - LAW & GOV. - BI LL 130878, et c.


3 you, Ms. Cahn.

4 Any quest i ons f r om t he

5 Commi t t ee f or Mr . Bal l enger or Ms. Cahn?

6 ( No r esponse. )


8 none, t hank you bot h ver y much.

9 I s t here anyone el se here t o

10 t est i f y on Bi l l No. 140131?



13 none, Ms. Mar coni , wi l l you pl ease r ead

14 t he t i t l e of t he next t wo bi l l s and t he

15 resol ut i on bef ore us, pl ease.


17 or di nance amendi ng Ti t l e 2 of The

18 Phi l adel phi a Code t o pr ovi de f or t he

19 power s and dut i es of t he Depar t ment of

20 Pr i sons creat ed under Secti on 3- 100 of

21 t he Home Rul e Char t er ; and f ur t her

22 amendi ng Ti t l e 20 of The Phi l adel phi a

23 Code t o pr ovi de f or t he sal ar y of t he

24 Commi ssi oner of Pr i sons, al l under

25 cer t ai n t er ms and condi t i ons.


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11

1 4/ 28/ 14 - LAW & GOV. - BI LL 130878, et c.

2 Bi l l No. 140015, an ordi nance

3 provi di ng f or t he submi ssi on t o t he

4 qual i f i ed el ect or s of t he Ci t y of

5 Phi l adel phi a of t he proposal set f or t h i n

6 a Resol ut i on appr oved by Counci l

7 pr oposi ng an amendment t o The

8 Phi l adel phi a Home Rul e Char t er t o

9 t ransf er the f unct i ons of cer t ai n Ci t y

10 agenci es wi t h r espect t o penal ,

11 r ef ormat ory and corr ect i onal i nst i t ut i ons

12 t o a newl y- creat ed Depar t ment of Pr i sons

13 and Boar d of Tr ust ees of Phi l adel phi a

14 Pr i sons and add cer t ai n dut i es t o such

15 depar t ment ; and aut hor i zi ng t he

16 appropr i at e of f i cers t o publ i sh not i ce

17 and t o make ar r angement s f or t he speci al

18 el ect i on; al l under cert ai n t er ms and

19 condi t i ons.

20 And Resol ut i on 140035,

21 r esol ut i on pr oposi ng an amendment t o The

22 Phi l adel phi a Home Rul e Char t er t o creat e

23 t he Depar t ment of Pr i sons, t o t r ansf er

24 t he f unct i ons of cer t ai n Ci t y agenci es

25 wi t h r espect t o penal , r ef or mat or y and


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1 4/ 28/ 14 - LAW & GOV. - BI LL 130878, et c.

2 cor r ect i onal i nst i t ut i ons t o a

3 newl y- creat ed Depar t ment of Pr i sons and

4 Boar d of Tr ustees of Phi l adel phi a

5 Pr i sons, and t o provi de f or addi t i onal

6 dut i es of t he Depar t ment , and pr ovi di ng

7 f or t he submi ssi on of t he amendment t o

8 t he el ect or s of Phi l adel phi a.


10 you. Our f i r s t wi t nesses on - -

11 Counci l man J ones, di d you want t o say

12 anyt hi ng?

13 COUNCI LMAN J ONES: Thank you,

14 Mr . Chai r man. I ' l l hol d my comment s

15 unt i l af t er pr esent at i ons.

16 COUNCI LMAN GREENLEE: Sur e.

17 Our f i r s t wi tnesses, Ms.

18 Mar coni ?

19 THE CLERK: Mi chael Resni ck and

20 Loui s Gi or l a.


22 t abl e. )


24 morni ng to al l of you.

25 MR. RESNI CK: Good mor ni ng,


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13

1 4/ 28/ 14 - LAW & GOV. - BI LL 130878, et c.

2 Counci l man.

3 COUNCI LMAN GREENLEE: Whoever

4 woul d l i ke t o st ar t , pl ease i dent i f y

5 yoursel f and proceed.

6 MR. RESNI CK: Sur e. My name i s

7 Mi chael Resni ck. I ' m Di rector of Publ i c

8 Saf ety f or the Ci t y of Phi l adel phi a.

9 Bei ng mi ndf ul of t he cal endar and t he

10 number of wi t nesses you have, I ' l l t r y t o

11 be br i ef . I know you have our pr epar ed

12 t est i mony.

13 COUNCI LMAN GREENLEE: Yes.

14 MR. RESNI CK: The bi l l s and

15 r esol ut i ons bef or e you ar e pr oposed by

16 t he Admi ni st r at i on and wer e sponsor ed by

17 Counci l man J ones. We' d l i ke t o t hank hi m

18 f or t hat . Ther e ar e t wo par agr aphs f r om

19 t he pr epar ed t est i mony t hat I j ust woul d

20 l i ke t o r ead.

21 We' r e al l f ami l i ar wi t h t he

22 bi l l s and t he resol ut i on and t hat t hey

23 wi l l , i n a sense, have t he Char t er

24 ref l ect what ' s goi ng on pract i cal l y i n

25 pr act i ce t oday. The Depar t ment of


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1 4/ 28/ 14 - LAW & GOV. - BI LL 130878, et c.

2 Pr i sons wi l l be cr eat ed. I t wi l l no

3 l onger be under t he Depar t ment of Human

4 Servi ces. So as a pr act i cal mat t er , t he

5 Pr i sons has been oper at i ng as i f t hey

6 wer e an i ndependent depar t ment f or 26

7 years . Thi s pract i ce was f ormal l y

8 i ni t i at ed by Mayor Goode by Execut i ve

9 Or der i n Apr i l 6t h, 1988. The f avor abl e

10 passage of t hi s l egi s l at i on package wi l l

11 f or mal l y est abl i sh t he Depar t ment of

12 Pr i sons t hr ough The Phi l adel phi a Code and

13 Char t er and wi l l ensur e t he cont i nuat i on

14 of cr i t i cal rei nt egrat i on servi ces beyond

15 t hi s Admi ni st r at i on and Counci l .

16 I t i s i mpor t ant t o note that by

17 maki ng t hi s change, we wi l l not i ncur any

18 addi t i onal costs and t he shi f t wi l l not

19 i mpact pr i son operat i ons. I t wi l l ,

20 however , el evat e t he Pr i sons Commi ssi oner

21 t o t he same l evel as Pol i ce and Fi r e and

22 ot her Commi ssi oners . I t wi l l af f ord t he

23 Commi ssi oner t he needed l eeway i n

24 managi ng t he pr i son oper at i ons and,

25 i mpor t ant l y, i t wi l l pl ace the Of f i ce of


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1 4/ 28/ 14 - LAW & GOV. - BI LL 130878, et c.

2 Ri se, Rei nt egrat i on Servi ces f or

3 Ex- Of f ender s, wi t hi n t he Pr i son System

4 and ensur e t hat t hat i mpor t ant wor k l ast s

5 beyond t hi s Admi ni str at i on and t hi s

6 Counci l .

7 That concl udes t he t est i mony.

8 We' l l be avai l abl e f or quest i ons.


10 you.

11 Commi ssi oner , di d you want t o

12 add somet hi ng?

13 COMMI SSI ONER GI ORLA:

14 Counci l man, good mor ni ng. Lou Gi or l a,

15 Pr i son Commi ssi oner . As Mr . Resni ck

16 sai d, t hi s ref l ect s t he real i t y of t oday.

17 The Pr i sons cont r act s f or t hei r own

18 ser vi ces. We handl e our own i nt er nal

19 di sci pl i ne. We handl e our own hi r i ng.

20 Ever y ot her aspect t hat ref l ect s an

21 oper at i ng depar t ment i s conduct ed by t he

22 Pr i sons. Our r el at i onshi p wi t h DHS,

23 whi ch Char t er - wi se we' r e under , i s mer el y

24 a r el at i onshi p on paper . Ther e ar e no

25 budget ar y t i es or anyt hi ng t hat causes us


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1 4/ 28/ 14 - LAW & GOV. - BI LL 130878, et c.

2 t o be subj ect to thei r di rect i on.

3 Thank you.


5 you.

6 Di d you want t o add somet hi ng?

7 MR. HART: Counci l man, t hank

8 you. I don' t have pr epar ed t est i mony,

9 but to suppor t what - -

10 COUNCI LMAN GREENLEE: J ust

11 i dent i f y yoursel f f or the record.

12 MR. HART: Bi l l Har t , the

13 Execut i ve Di r ect or - -

14 COUNCI LMAN GREENLEE: We know

15 you, but . . .

16 MR. HART: - - f or reent ry

17 i ni t i at i ves.

18 Essent i al l y, I ' l l say some of

19 t he benef i t s of movi ng t hi s l egi sl at i on

20 f or war d and havi ng RI SE par t i cul ar l y

21 under neat h t he pur vi ew of t he Pr i sons,

22 cl ear l y t here' s an oppor t uni t y t o star t

23 maxi mi zi ng some of t he ef f i ci enci es of

24 combi ni ng r esour ces wi t h bot h our st af f

25 and what t he Pr i sons does. Ear l y


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17

1 4/ 28/ 14 - LAW & GOV. - BI LL 130878, et c.

2 i nt ervent i on as best pract i ces woul d

3 suggest i s i dent i f yi ng chal l enges and

4 needs ear l y, addr essi ng t hem whi l e our

5 guys ar e i n det ent i on and havi ng t he,

6 I ' l l say, t he benef i t s of combi ned

7 assessment , combi ned pr ogr ammi ng and what

8 we' r e doi ng wi t h f at her hood, wi t h f ami l y

9 r euni f i cat i on behi nd t he wal l s , and t he

10 cont i nui t y of t hat car e wi t h bot h pr e and

11 post det ent i on, t hat , al ong wi t h t he

12 seaml ess del i very of ser vi ces.

13 The pr oj ect t hat we' r e wor ki ng

14 on now, i t ' s st i l l i n i t s i nf ancy st age,

15 but t o be abl e t o i dent i f y cl i ent s t hat

16 ar e on t he ment al heal t h, t he act i ve

17 ment al heal t h r oster , assess t hem ear l y,

18 ensure there' s a cont i nui ty of , I ' l l say,

19 i nsur ance car e, so upon r el ease, t hey' r e

20 mai nl y moved i nt o car e t o f aci l i t at e t hat

21 pr ocess so we can, I ' l l say, mi ni mi ze t he

22 f requent f l yer s t hat are i ncarcerat ed,

23 not necessar i l y because of cr i mi nal i t y

24 but because of behavi or and ment al heal t h

25 chal l enges.


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19

1 4/ 28/ 14 - LAW & GOV. - BI LL 130878, et c.

2 Mr . Chai r man.

3 Good morni ng.

4 ( Good morni ng. )

5 COUNCI LMAN HENON: And t hank

6 you f or comi ng i n. J ust a coupl e qui ck

7 quest i ons. You t ouched on most of i t .

8 Char t er changes ar e ver y

9 ser i ous - -

10 MR. RESNI CK: Yes, t hey ar e.

11 COUNCI LMAN HENON: - - her e i n

12 t he Ci t y of Phi l adel phi a, and t here' s al l

13 di f f er ent ki nds of opi ni ons whet her we

14 shoul d have Char t er changes or not or

15 make execut i ve di scr et i ons wi t h cer t ai n

16 i ni t i at i ves t hat we' re t ryi ng t o do. How

17 does - - and, agai n, a l i t t l e more

18 speci f i cal l y, how does, f or no pun

19 i nt ended, how does t hi s handcuf f you

20 bei ng wher e you ar e now as opposed t o

21 separ at i ng and havi ng your own

22 depar t ment?

23 MR. RESNI CK: I ' l l l et t he

24 Commi ssi oner t al k a l i t t l e bi t mor e

25 ext ensi ve about t hat , but bot t om l i ne i s ,


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20

1 4/ 28/ 14 - LAW & GOV. - BI LL 130878, et c.

2 because t he Pr i son i s not i t s own

3 depar t ment wi t h a - - a Char t er depar t ment

4 wi t h a char t er ed Commi ssi oner , he does

5 not have t he abi l i t y under Ci vi l Servi ce

6 t o appoi nt hi s exempt t op deput i es, hi s

7 management t eam.

8 COMMI SSI ONER GI ORLA: Yeah.

9 Good mor ni ng, Counci l man. Commi ssi oner

10 Gi or l a f r om t he Pr i sons.

11 The Char t er change and

12 subsequent creat i on of t he Depar t ment of

13 Pr i sons wi l l gi ve, at t he mi ni mum, mysel f

14 or my successor s t he abi l i t y t o appoi nt

15 exempt deput i es . I bel i eve i t af f ords

16 t en deput i es t o each oper at i ng

17 depar t ment , al t hough I don' t t hi nk t he

18 Pr i sons woul d need t en. I t woul d gi ve

19 t he Commi ssi oner t he l egal di scr et i on t o

20 ei t her r each wi t hi n t he depar t ment f or

21 qual i f i ed i ndi vi dual s or sel ect f r om

22 out si de t he depar t ment . I t woul d al so, I

23 bel i eve, accel erat e t he process f or

24 appoi nt i ng hi gh- r anki ng deput i es . I t

25 woul dn' t requi re t he t i mel i ne t hat Ci vi l


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21

1 4/ 28/ 14 - LAW & GOV. - BI LL 130878, et c.

2 Servi ce may requi re.

3 Whenever one of t hese posi t i ons

4 sust ai ns a vacancy, as we' r e goi ng t o see

5 i n t he next coupl e year s wi t h t he DROP

6 program, i t ' s a cr i t i cal vacancy. I t has

7 an ext r emel y, ext r emel y wi de i mpact on

8 oper at i ons, and f ul f i l l i ng - - or f i l l i ng

9 t hose i s somet hi ng t hat ' s r eal l y wher e

10 t i me i s of t he essence and wher e you want

11 t he most qual i f i ed i ndi vi dual s t o step i n

12 as qui ckl y as possi bl e.

13 COUNCI LMAN HENON: So i t gi ves

14 you t he abi l i t y t o r eact i n an emer gency

15 basi s i n a mor e t i mel y f ashi on t hat ' s

16 appr opr i at e f or you t o manage t he syst em;

17 i s t hat cor r ect ?

18 COMMI SSI ONER GI ORLA: Yes, si r .

19 COUNCI LMAN HENON: Your

20 empl oyees, woul d i t change whi ch

21 empl oyees ar e r epr esent ed asi de f r om some

22 of t he st af f t hat you have ar ound you?

23 They woul d st i l l al l be represent ed

24 empl oyees?

25 COMMI SSI ONER GI ORLA: Yes.


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22

1 4/ 28/ 14 - LAW & GOV. - BI LL 130878, et c.

2 Ther e' l l be no change i n t he empl oyee

3 r epr esent at i on. The cor rect i onal

4 of f i cers , sergeant s, and l i eut enant s are

5 r epr esent ed by Di str i ct Counci l 33, Local

6 159. Our t r eat ment pr of essi onal s -

7 psychol ogi s ts , soci al workers , soci al

8 wor k super vi sor s - ar e r epr esent ed by

9 Di st r i ct Counci l 47. Capt ai ns and

10 above - capt ai ns, deput y war dens,

11 war dens, and deput y commi ssi oner s - ar e

12 non- r epr esent ed empl oyees, and our soci al

13 wor k admi ni st r at or s ar e non- r epr esent ed

14 empl oyees.

15 COUNCI LMAN HENON: And

16 t echni cal l y your budget i s your budget

17 anyway as pr oposed by t he Ci t y of

18 Phi l adel phi a. So t hat woul d not change,

19 cor r ect ?

20 COMMI SSI ONER GI ORLA: No, si r .

21 Budget pr epar at i on, budget t est i mony,

22 budget appr oval , and budget moni t or i ng

23 al l t ake pl ace wi t hi n t he depar t ment .

24 COUNCI LMAN HENON: How about

25 now under t he Depar t ment of Wel f ar e, i s


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23

1 4/ 28/ 14 - LAW & GOV. - BI LL 130878, et c.

2 your cont r act s and vendor s t hat you deal

3 wi t h, woul d t hey be under Ci t y

4 pr ocur ement or st at e pr ocur ement ?

5 COMMI SSI ONER GI ORLA: No. Al l

6 of our cont r acts ar e moni t or ed by Ci t y

7 pr ocur ement , and we don' t have any

8 cont r acts t o st r addl e bot h depar t ment s.

9 Al l of our cont ract s are uni que t o t he

10 Pr i sons.

11 COUNCI LMAN HENON: And your

12 budget , i s t hat a par t of t he Depar t ment

13 of Heal t h' s budget or i s i t separat e?

14 COMMI SSI ONER GI ORLA: We get a

15 par t i al subsi dy f r om t he Depar t ment of

16 Publ i c Heal t h, not DHS, t o hel p i n ment al

17 heal t h t r eat ment . Appr oxi mat el y 30

18 per cent of our ment al heal t h t r eat ment

19 cont r act i s subsi di zed by t he Depar t ment

20 of Publ i c Heal t h.

21 COUNCI LMAN HENON: And t hat

22 woul d cont i nue, I woul d i magi ne so?

23 COMMI SSI ONER GI ORLA: Yes, si r .

24 COUNCI LMAN HENON: Okay.

25 Gr eat .


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24

1 4/ 28/ 14 - LAW & GOV. - BI LL 130878, et c.

2 Thank you. I have no f ur t her

3 quest i ons.


5 you, Counci l man.

6 Any ot her quest i ons?

7 Counci l man O' Br i en.

8 COUNCI LMAN O' BRI EN: I ' m

9 f ami l i ar wi t h RI SE. Coul d you pl ease

10 expl ai n t o me, Mr . Resni ck, t he f or mal i t y

11 t hat you want t o accompl i sh i n t hi s

12 l egi sl at i on and wher e I can r ead t hat

13 l anguage? I ' m havi ng t r oubl e i dent i f yi ng

14 t hat .

15 MR. RESNI CK: I t hi nk t he

16 f ormal i t y, Counci l man, RI SE exi sts

17 cur r ent l y under a Mayor ' s Execut i ve

18 Or der . So t hat may not and does not

19 necessar i l y have t o per pet uat e beyond

20 t hi s Admi ni st r at i on, because as mayor s

21 come, mayor s can change execut i ve or der s.

22 But what t hi s l egi s l at i on pr oposes t o do

23 i s move t he r eent r y ser vi ces t hat RI SE

24 provi des i nt o t he Pr i son, f ormal i ze t hat ,

25 and make t hat par t of Pr i son oper at i ons,


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25

1 4/ 28/ 14 - LAW & GOV. - BI LL 130878, et c.

2 so t hat f ut ure mayors , f ut ure

3 admi ni st r at i ons may do away wi t h t he

4 Execut i ve Order , but t he work st i l l

5 mai nt ai ns and i t ' s done out of t he Pr i son

6 Depar t ment .

7 COUNCI LMAN O' BRI EN: Can you

8 di r ect me wher e t hat l anguage i s

9 i ncor por at ed i n t oday' s consi der at i on and

10 del i ber at i ons?

11 MR. RESNI CK: I know i t ' s i n

12 her e, Counci l man. I don' t want t o t ake

13 up your t i me. I can f i nd i t and show i t

14 t o you af t er t he hear i ng.

15 COUNCI LMAN O' BRI EN: Thank you.

16 MR. RESNI CK: Okay.


18 you.

19 Counci l man J ones.

20 COUNCI LMAN J ONES: Thank you,

21 Mr . Chai r man, and t hank you, member s of

22 t he Commi t t ee. These ar e t he exact

23 quest i ons t hat I asked when asked t o

24 i nt r oduce t he l egi s l at i on. I know your

25 concer n, Counci l man Henon. Those


26/114


27/114


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28

1 4/ 28/ 14 - LAW & GOV. - BI LL 130878, et c.

2 i ndependent depar t ment under t he Ci t y

3 Char t er , same pr ocur ement , same wor k

4 r ul es t hat appl y t o ot her muni ci pal

5 depar t ment s .

6 Thank you, Mr . Chai r man.



9 Any ot her quest i ons or

10 comment s?


12 COUNCI LMAN GREENLEE: Thank al l

13 t hr ee of you ver y much.

14 COMMI SSI ONER GI ORLA: Thank

15 you, Mr . Chai r man.

16 COUNCI LMAN GREENLEE: Ms.

17 Mar coni , how about our next t wo

18 wi t nesses.

19 THE CLERK: Wayne J acobs and

20 Pat r i ck Chr i st mas.

21 ( Wi t ness appr oached wi t ness

22 t abl e. )

23 COUNCI LMAN GREENLEE: I s

24 Mr . Chr i st mas or anyone - - t her e he i s.

25 Okay.


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29

1 4/ 28/ 14 - LAW & GOV. - BI LL 130878, et c.


3 t abl e. )


5 mor ni ng t o you bot h.

6 Mr . J acobs, why don' t you

7 st ar t . Pl ease i dent i f y your sel f f or t he

8 r ecord and proceed.

9 MR. J ACOBS: Yes. Good

10 mor ni ng. Wayne J acobs, co- f ounder and

11 Execut i ve Di r ect or of X- Of f ender s f or

12 Communi t y Empowerment .

13 COUNCI LMAN GREENLEE: Go ahead.

14 MR. J ACOBS: Wel l , I suppor t

15 t hi s move f or one r eason, and my concer n

16 i s t he f ol ks t hat ' s bei ng r el eased and

17 gi vi ng RI SE t he abi l i t y t o be abl e t o

18 best servi ce t hose f ol ks t hat ' s bei ng

19 r el eased f r om pr i son.

20 The l ast t wo budget s t hat t he

21 Mayor passed, t hey had cut RI SE' s budget ,

22 and t hat means - - cut t i ng RI SE' s budget

23 means cut t i ng ser vi ces t o f ol ks t hat

24 needs t hem. And so by movi ng t he pr i son

25 out of the DHS and pl aci ng t hem as an


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30

1 4/ 28/ 14 - LAW & GOV. - BI LL 130878, et c.

2 i ndependent body and i ncl udi ng RI SE, t hat

3 wi l l gi ve RI SE the abi l i t y to be abl e to

4 go out and r ai se pr i vat e f undi ng whenever

5 t he Ci t y deci des t o cut t hei r budget . So

6 t hat ' s my reason f or suppor t i ng i t , i s

7 because t hey gi ve RI SE t he abi l i t y t o

8 r ai se money t o ser vi ce t he popul at i on

9 t hat I ' m i nt er est ed i n.


11 you.

12 Mr . Chr i st mas.

13 MR. CHRI STMAS: Good mor ni ng.

14 I ' m Pat r i ck Chr i s tmas, t he Seni or Pol i cy

15 Anal yst at t he Commi t t ee of Sevent y. We

16 al so suppor t t hi s pr oposal . We appl aud

17 Counci l man J ones and Ci t y Counci l f or

18 t aki ng up t hi s i ssue.

19 I di d submi t wr i t t en t est i mony,

20 but I ' l l st r i p i t down t o t he bare bones

21 her e.

22 We suppor t t hi s pr oposal f or

23 t hree r easons. Fi rst , t he Pr i son System

24 i s t he l argest Ci t y agency t hat i s not

25 i t s own depar t ment . I t ' s l arge. I t ' s


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31

1 4/ 28/ 14 - LAW & GOV. - BI LL 130878, et c.

2 compl ex. The gravi t y of i t s work i s

3 ser i ous, and i t ' s not i t s own depar t ment .

4 Secondl y, ki nd of t ouch on a

5 poi nt t hat was al r eady made. The f act

6 t hat t he Pr i sons Commi ssi oner does not

7 have t he abi l i t y t o appoi nt hi s own

8 deput i es exempt f rom Ci vi l Servi ce

9 r egul at i ons i s a ser i ous manager i al

10 constr ai nt . Thi s pr oposal woul d gr ant

11 hi m t hat abi l i t y. The Pol i ce Depart ment

12 has seven of t hese exempt i ons, Fi r e has

13 f i ve, and DHS has ni ne. So even i f t he

14 DHS Commi ssi oner want ed t o appoi nt some

15 deput i es f or t he Pr i son Syst em, t hey' ve

16 al ready eat en out of t hei r t en.

17 Last l y, al so as was al ready

18 sai d, t he Pr i son Syst em i s al ready

19 f unct i oni ng i ndependent l y as a moder n

20 pr i son syst em, and t hi s Char t er amendment

21 woul d r ef l ect r eal i t y.

22 Thank you.

23 COUNCI LMAN GREENLEE: Thank you

24 bot h.

25 Any quest i ons?


32/114


32

1 4/ 28/ 14 - LAW & GOV. - BI LL 130878, et c.

2 ( No r esponse. )

3 COUNCI LMAN GREENLEE: Thank you

4 bot h very much.

5 Ms. Mar coni , I t hi nk we have

6 t wo mor e peopl e at l east l i s ted.

7 THE CLERK: Li sa Shel t on and

8 Margaret Rober t son.


10 t abl e. )

11 COUNCI LMAN GREENLEE: Ma' am,

12 were you l i sted t oo?

13 MS. ROBERTSON: Yes, but I can

14 wai t .

15 COUNCI LMAN GREENLEE: Whoever

16 woul d l i ke to star t , pl ease i dent i f y

17 your sel f f or t he r ecor d and pr oceed.

18 MS. SHELTON: Good morni ng. My

19 name i s Li sa Shel t on and I wi l l be

20 r eadi ng t he st at ement on behal f of

21 Lor enzo Nor t h, Local 159 Pr esi dent .

22 Good mor ni ng. I ' ve been t he

23 Pr esi dent of Local 159 of AFSCME Di st r i ct

24 Counci l 33 and I am char ged wi t h

25 r epr esent i ng t he t housands of Ci t y


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33

1 4/ 28/ 14 - LAW & GOV. - BI LL 130878, et c.

2 empl oyees who exer ci se car e, cust ody, and

3 cont rol over i nmat es i n t he Ci t y' s Pr i son

4 Syst em.

5 I woul d l i ke t o t hank t he

6 Chai r , Wi l l i am Greenl ee; Vi ce Chai r ,

7 J ames Kenney; and member s of t he Law and

8 Gover nment Commi t t ee f or t he oppor t uni t y

9 t o pr ovi de t he vi ews of Local 159 i n

10 connect i on wi t h Bi l l No. 140015 and

11 Resol ut i on 140035.

12 As you know, Ci t y cor r ecti onal

13 of f i cer s wor k i n danger ous condi t i ons t o

14 deal wi t h some of t he most vi ol ent

15 i nmat es i n t he St at e of Pennsyl vani a.

16 Not wi t hstandi ng t he r i sks we wi l l i ngl y

17 accept i n per f or mi ng t hese dut i es, yet

18 danger ous, yet essent i al dut i es, we have

19 consi stent l y r ecei ved no respect f rom t he

20 management i n t he Ci t y of Phi l adel phi a.

21 I n t he l ast year , we have had of f i cer s

22 r ecei ve maj or i nj ur i es by at t acks f rom

23 i nmat es. A f emal e cor r ect i onal of f i cer

24 r ecei ved i nj ur i es t o her eye socket af t er

25 bei ng at t acked by an i nmat e, and t wo


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34

1 4/ 28/ 14 - LAW & GOV. - BI LL 130878, et c.

2 ot her of f i cers recei ved maj or f aci al

3 i nj ur i es af t er bei ng at t acked by i nmat es.

4 These ar e j ust a f ew exampl es

5 and, sadl y, ar e t he norm i nstead of bei ng

6 i sol at ed i nci dent s. These i nci dent s do

7 not make headl i nes nor even get r epor t ed

8 i n t he news. Cer t ai nl y t hey ar e not

9 gi ven t he same amount of at t ent i on t hat

10 t ragedi es bef al l i ng our brot hers i n

11 publ i c saf et y, t he Pol i ce and Fi re,

12 r ecei ve. But we ar e not l ooki ng f or

13 publ i ci t y or publ i c sympat hy. However ,

14 we do demand t hat our Commi ssi oner and

15 management of f i ci al s wi t hi n t he Pr i son

16 r ecogni ze t he danger ous wor k we per f or m

17 and t r eat us wi t h t he r espect we deser ve.

18 Thi s i s an i ssue t hat t he uni on

19 and management ar e pr esent l y wor ki ng on,

20 and al t hough t her e i s a l ot of wor k t o be

21 done, I see progress.

22 Concer ni ng Bi l l No. 140015 and

23 Resol ut i on 140035, Local 159 and I ask

24 t hi s Commi t t ee t o gi ve appr oval t o bot h

25 i t ems wi t h t he suppor t of Local 159.


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35

1 4/ 28/ 14 - LAW & GOV. - BI LL 130878, et c.

2 Agai n, my name i s Li sa Shel t on.

3 I al so am a cor r ect i onal of f i cer of 27

4 year s.


6 you. Thank you f or al l t he har d wor k you

7 do, and gi ve our r egar ds t o Mr . Nor t h.

8 Whoever woul d l i ke t o go next .

9 MS. LEAKE: J enni f er Leake,

10 Vi ce Pr es i dent of Local 159.

11 COUNCI LMAN GREENLEE: You don' t

12 have anyt hi ng el se?

13 MS. LEAKE: No.

14 COUNCI LMAN GREENLEE: Al l

15 r i ght . Appr eci at e i t .

16 Si r , do you have anyt hi ng?

17 MR. NEWLI N: Cl ai bor ne S.

18 Newl i n - -

19 COUNCI LMAN GREENLEE: You' ve

20 got t o speak i n t he mi crophone.

21 MR. NEWLI N: Cl ai bor ne S.

22 Newl i n. I ' m t he at t orney f or Local 159.

23 I ' m her e i n support t o ai d i n answer i ng

24 any quest i ons you mi ght have.



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36

1 4/ 28/ 14 - LAW & GOV. - BI LL 130878, et c.

2 you.

3 Any quest i ons?

4 ( No r esponse. )


6 none, agai n, thank you al l f or t he wor k

7 you do. Thank you.

8 Ma' am, i f you' d l i ke t o come

9 up, pl ease.


11 t abl e. )


13 morni ng. Pl ease i dent i f y yoursel f f or

14 t he r ecor d and pr oceed.

15 Let me ask, i s t her e anyone

16 el se here t o t est i f y on these bi l l s or

17 r esol ut i ons?


19 COUNCI LMAN GREENLEE: Pl ease.

20 MS. ROBERTSON: My name i s

21 Mar gar et Rober t son and I ' m her e as an

22 i ndi vi dual who has a f ami l y member i n t he

23 corr ect i on system, and I ' m here t o

24 t est i f y r egar di ng my exper i ences.

25 I suppor t t hi s l egi sl at i on, but


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37

1 4/ 28/ 14 - LAW & GOV. - BI LL 130878, et c.

2 I ' m al so her e t o r equest t hat when you

3 est abl i sh t he new Boar d of Tr ust ees,

4 t her e shoul d be pl aces on t hat Boar d f or

5 ret urni ng ci t i zens and f ami l y and

6 communi t y, because we ar e ver y much

7 af f ect ed by al l t he pol i ci es of t he

8 Depart ment of Pr i sons, speci f i cal l y t he

9 vi si t i ng pol i ci es and t he educat i onal

10 t r ai ni ng and heal t hcar e, because when

11 f ami l y member s come back, i f t hey have

12 pr obl ems t hat have not been addr essed,

13 t hey' re br i ngi ng t hem back i n our

14 communi t i es and t hey' r e br i ngi ng t hem

15 back wi t hout sol ut i ons.

16 I n addi t i on, I am r equest i ng

17 t hat Phi l adel phi a ser i ous l y consi der t he

18 posi t i on of an ombudsman f or f ami l y

19 member s, and t he r eason i s - - because I ' m

20 her e t oday because I real l y don' t know

21 any ot her way t o addr ess you. I don' t

22 know who t o go t o wi t h my pr obl ems or my

23 concer ns, and we have appr oxi mat el y

24 20, 000 peopl e i n cor r ect i on syst ems,

25 8, 000 her e i n t he Ci t y, and we r eal l y


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38

1 4/ 28/ 14 - LAW & GOV. - BI LL 130878, et c.

2 don' t have any way t o make our concer ns

3 hear d. And we ar e concer ned - - at l east

4 I am - - t hat at t he end of a per i od of

5 i ncarcerat i on, peopl e ret ur n t o our

6 communi t i es unabl e t o suppor t t hemsel ves.

7 I know RI SE i s a new pr ogr am, and I hope

8 i t becomes even mor e est abl i shed t han i t

9 i s . But at pr esent , peopl e who ar e

10 l eavi ng pr i sons are real l y suf f er i ng.

11 They' r e unabl e t o suppor t t hemsel ves and

12 even t o f i nd hous i ng.

13 I n addi t i on, I woul d ask you t o

14 real l y ser i ous l y cons i der t he f act t hat

15 Phi l adel phi ans i n pr i sons ar e count ed f or

16 congr essi onal pur poses i n t he count i es

17 wher e t he pr i sons ar e l ocat ed, not as

18 Phi l adel phi ans f or our congr essi onal

19 represent at i on. I t hi nk t hat ' s a probl em

20 t hat real l y needs t o be rect i f i ed. Why

21 shoul d we be gi vi ng vot es t o ot her

22 count i es? Ther e ar e about ei ght count i es

23 now t hat have congr essi onal

24 r epr esent at i on based on t he number s i n

25 pr i sons l ocat ed i n t hose count i es . I


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39

1 4/ 28/ 14 - LAW & GOV. - BI LL 130878, et c.

2 don' t have any pr i nt ed i nf or mat i on f or

3 you. I ' d be happy t o send i t t o you.

4 COUNCI LMAN GREENLEE: Okay.

5 MS. ROBERTSON: Thank you ver y

6 much.

7 COUNCI LMAN GREENLEE: I

8 appreci at e t hat . I f I coul d j ust suggest

9 t hat maybe you t al k t o Mr . Har t f r om

10 RI SE, because he i s ext r emel y aggr essi ve

11 and wor ks ver y har d on t hi s i ssue.

12 Al l r i ght . Thank you. Thank

13 you ver y much.

14 Anyone el se here t o t est i f y on

15 Bi l l 140014, 140015 or Resol ut i on 140035?



18 none, Ms. Marconi , our l ast bi l l and

19 resol ut i on bef ore us, pl ease.


21 or di nance pr ovi di ng f or t he submi ssi on t o

22 t he qual i f i ed el ect ors of t he Ci t y of

23 Phi l adel phi a of an amendment t o The

24 Phi l adel phi a Home Rul e Char t er

25 est abl i shi ng and def i ni ng t he


40/114


40

1 4/ 28/ 14 - LAW & GOV. - BI LL 130878, et c.

2 r esponsi bi l i t i es of t he Of f i ce of

3 Sust ai nabi l i t y; f i xi ng t he dat e of a

4 speci al el ect i on f or such purpose;

5 prescr i bi ng t he f orm of bal l ot quest i ons

6 t o be vot ed on; and aut hor i z i ng t he

7 appropr i at e of f i cers t o publ i sh not i ce

8 and t o make ar r angement s f or t he speci al

9 el ect i on.

10 And Resol ut i on 130884,

11 r esol ut i on pr oposi ng an amendment t o The

12 Phi l adel phi a Home Rul e Char t er t o pr ovi de

13 f or t he creat i on of an Of f i ce of

14 Sustai nabi l i t y, t o pr ovi de f or t he power s

15 and dut i es of such Of f i ce, and t o

16 ot her wi se pr ovi de f or i ncor por at i on of

17 t he Of f i ce i nt o t he Ci t y gover nment ; and

18 pr ovi di ng f or t he submi ssi on of t he

19 amendment t o t he el ect or s of

20 Phi l adel phi a.

21 COUNCI LMAN GREENLEE: Why don' t

22 you cal l our f i r s t wi t ness, and I ' l l be

23 r ecogni zi ng Counci l woman Reynol ds Br own.

24 THE CLERK: Kat her i ne Gaj ewski .



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41

1 4/ 28/ 14 - LAW & GOV. - BI LL 130878, et c.

2 you.

3 The Chai r recogni zes t he

4 sponsor of t he bi l l and resol ut i on,

5 Counci l woman Reynol ds Br own.

6 COUNCI LWOMAN BROWN: Thank you,

7 Mr . Chai r man.

8 On November 21st , 2013, I

9 i nt r oduced Bi l l No. 130878 and Resol ut i on

10 No. 130884, whi ch was co- sponsor ed by

11 Counci l member J ames Kenney. Bi l l No.

12 130878 and Resol ut i on No. 130884 seek t o

13 make t he Of f i ce of Sustai nabi l i t y a

14 per manent par t of Ci t y gover nment .

15 Si nce t he Of f i ce' s i ncept i on i n

16 2008, t he Ci t y has become a l eader i n

17 envi ronment al responsi bi l i t y and

18 sust ai nabi l i t y ef f or t s i n t he regi on.

19 The Of f i ce of Sustai nabi l i t y has t aken a

20 l ead i n i mpl ement i ng Gr eenwor ks, a l i vi ng

21 document whi ch ai ms t o make Phi l adel phi a

22 t he gr eenest ci t y i n Amer i ca.

23 Over 120 ci t i es and count i es

24 acr oss t he count r y have est abl i shed

25 sust ai nabi l i t y of f i ces and posi t i ons.


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42

1 4/ 28/ 14 - LAW & GOV. - BI LL 130878, et c.

2 Phi l adel phi a woul d j oi n other ci t i es l i ke

3 New Yor k, Bost on, Seat t l e, San Fr anci sco

4 and more who have moved t o make t hese

5 of f i ces a per manent f unct i on of l ocal

6 government .

7 Our Of f i ce of Sust ai nabi l i t y

8 has been i nstr ument al i n secur i ng

9 addi t i onal grant s revenue f or t he Ci t y,

10 coordi nat i ng sust ai nabi l i t y ef f or t s

11 amongst Ci t y depar t ment s, and wor ki ng

12 ver y cl osel y wi t h our envi r onment al

13 sust ai nabi l i t y communi t i es t o achi eve a

14 mor e t han 80 per cent compl i ance r at e f or

15 t he i mpl ement at i on of ener gy benchmar ki ng

16 l egi sl at i on, whi ch r equi r es commer ci al

17 bui l di ng owner s t o r epor t t hei r ener gy

18 usage t o t he Ci t y. And I ' d al so l i ke t o

19 sal ut e BOMA f or bei ng r eal par t ner s

20 t owards t hat end.

21 Dur i ng thi s hear i ng, I pl an to

22 of f er sever al t echni cal amendment s t hat

23 wer e ci r cul at ed i n advance. They i ncl ude

24 t he f ol l owi ng:

25 Cur r ent l y, the date of el ect i on


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43

1 4/ 28/ 14 - LAW & GOV. - BI LL 130878, et c.

2 set f or t he pr oposal i s t he May 2014

3 el ecti on. We ar e past t hat poi nt when

4 Char t er changes can be put on t he May

5 bal l ot . Ther ef or e, t he dat e has been set

6 f or November 2014.

7 Cur r ent l y, t he r esol ut i on

8 st at es t he change woul d become ef f ect i ve

9 J ul y 1, 2014. That wi l l have t o be

10 changed t o J ul y 1, 2015.

11 Last l y, t he adver t i si ng

12 pr ocedur es i n t he or di nance have been

13 changed t o compl y wi t h cur r ent

14 adver t i si ng procedures. Thi s l egi sl at i on

15 i s anot her st ep i n t he r i ght di rect i on t o

16 ensure that our ci t y' s l ong- term

17 commi t ment t o pr ot ect i ng t he pl anet f or

18 our young peopl e i s i ndeed r eal .

19 For t hat reason and more, I ' m

20 aski ng f or t he suppor t of member s t oday.

21 Agai n, I want t o t hank my staf f , t he

22 Admi ni st r at i on, and t he co- sponsor of

23 t hi s bi l l , Counci l man Kenney, f or t he

24 needed work on t hi s bi l l .

25 Thank you, Mr . Chai r man.


44/114


44

1 4/ 28/ 14 - LAW & GOV. - BI LL 130878, et c.


3 you, Counci l woman.

4 Ms. Gaj ewski , bef ore you

5 pr oceed, I j ust want t o r epeat what I

6 sai d ear l i er . I f you have wr i t t en

7 t est i mony, I ' d appr eci at e you summar i zi ng

8 t hat t est i mony, as ot her wi t nesses have

9 done, because we do have a l ong l i st of

10 peopl e who had asked t o t est i f y.

11 So wi th that , pl ease.

12 MS. GAJ EWSKI : Good mor ni ng,

13 and t hank you, Counci l man Gr eenl ee and

14 member s of t he Commi t t ee. I ' m Kat her i ne

15 Gaj ewski . I serve as t he Di rect or of

16 Sust ai nabi l i t y f or t he Ci t y of

17 Phi l adel phi a and I ' m her e t o support Bi l l

18 No. 130878 and Resol ut i on No. 130884,

19 i nt r oduced by Counci l woman Bl ondel l

20 Reynol ds Br own. Thi s l egi sl at i on woul d

21 make t he Of f i ce of Sustai nabi l i t y

22 per manent wi t hi n Ci t y gover nment .

23 I want t o br i ef l y recogni ze and

24 t hank Counci l woman Reynol ds Br own and

25 Counci l man Kenney f or t hei r ongoi ng


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45

1 4/ 28/ 14 - LAW & GOV. - BI LL 130878, et c.

2 l eader shi p. Bot h of t hem have been gr eat

3 part ner s t o our of f i ce over t he years .

4 We' ve al so been f or t unat e t o wor k wi t h

5 ot her Counci l member s who have t aken an

6 i nt er est i n sust ai nabi l i t y- r el at ed i ssues

7 and have i nt roduced l egi s l at i on of t hei r

8 own.

9 I wi l l keep my t est i mony br i ef ,

10 but i f anyone want s t o t al k about t hi s at

11 gr eat er l engt h, I coul d spend ei ght ,

12 ni ne, t en hour s t al ki ng about t hi s , but

13 I ' l l keep i t t o a mi nut e or t wo t oday.

14 I was appoi nt ed t o t he Di r ect or

15 of Sustai nabi l i t y pos i t i on i n 2009 and

16 have hel d t hat posi t i on f or t he l ast f i ve

17 year s, dur i ng whi ch t i me we' ve seen

18 t r emendous suppor t bot h wi t hi n Ci t y

19 gover nment and beyond Ci t y gover nment f or

20 sust ai nabi l i t y pr i nci pl es and i ni t i at i ves

21 i n Phi l adel phi a.

22 The of f i ce was establ i shed i n

23 r esponse t o a publ i c ef f or t back i n 2008.

24 We saw a ver y or gani zed const i t uency i n

25 Phi l adel phi a t hat want ed t o see Ci t y


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47

1 4/ 28/ 14 - LAW & GOV. - BI LL 130878, et c.

2 i nf or mat i on ver y t r anspar ent on a r egul ar

3 basi s, what we' r e doi ng, wher e we' r e

4 seei ng oppor t uni t i es, wher e we' r e

5 encount er i ng pr obl ems, and we make sur e

6 t hat we' r e movi ng f or war d.

7 Gr eenwor ks was est abl i shed i n

8 2009, as t he Counci l woman ment i oned, and

9 set f or t h 15 t ar get ed goal s and over 166

10 i ndi vi dual i ni t i at i ves whi ch we' ve been

11 wor ki ng t o i mpl ement . I n our 2013

12 pr ogr ess r epor t , we' r e happy t o r epor t

13 t hat over 90 percent of t hose i ni t i at i ves

14 ar e ei t her under way or compl et e. And

15 we' ve r eal l y seen depar t ment s embr ace

16 sust ai nabi l i t y. We' ve seen t hem star t t o

17 br i ng i t i nt o t he wor k t hat t hey do, and

18 we t hi nk t her e' s a l ot mor e t hat we can

19 be doi ng i n t he comi ng year s, and f or

20 t hat reason, we t hi nk t hat t hi s

21 l egi s l at i on i s i mport ant i n memor i al i z i ng

22 sust ai nabi l i t y as a core f unct i on wi t hi n

23 Ci t y government .

24 I n t he comi ng years , I t hi nk

25 t her e' s a number of chal l enges and


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48

1 4/ 28/ 14 - LAW & GOV. - BI LL 130878, et c.

2 s t rat egi c oppor t uni t i es t hat t he Ci t y can

3 t ake hol d of , and havi ng an Of f i ce of

4 Sust ai nabi l i t y i n pl ace and provi di ng

5 l eadershi p on t hese i ssues wi l l hel p t o

6 ensur e t hat we' r e movi ng f or war d as a

7 ci t y i n t he r i ght di r ect i on and st ar t i ng

8 t o t hi nk about how we can do mor e i n t he

9 f ace of cl i mat e change and ot her ser i ous

10 i ssues.

11 So wi t h t hat , I wi l l concl ude

12 my t est i mony and be happy t o r espond t o

13 any quest i ons t hat you may have.


15 you.

16 Any quest i ons, comment s?

17 Counci l woman Reynol ds Br own and

18 t hen Counci l man Henon.

19 COUNCI LWOMAN BROWN: Gi ven t he

20 wor k t hat ' s been done si nce 2008, coul d

21 you speak br i ef l y t o why ot her

22 muni ci pal i t i es have moved i n t hi s

23 di r ect i on as wel l .

24 MS. GAJ EWSKI : Sur e. So i n t he

25 f i ve years that I ' ve been i n thi s


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49

1 4/ 28/ 14 - LAW & GOV. - BI LL 130878, et c.

2 posi t i on, we' ve seen r eal gr owt h wi t hi n

3 t he f i el d of ur ban sust ai nabi l i t y. So

4 now I thi nk over 250 ci t i es acr oss t he

5 Uni t ed St at es now have Of f i ces of

6 Sust ai nabi l i t y and/ or Di rector of

7 Sust ai nabi l i t y posi t i ons. I t hi nk i t ' s

8 spoken - - especi al l y comi ng out of t he

9 r ecessi on wher e we' ve needed t o do mor e

10 wi t h l ess, I t hi nk t hat sust ai nabi l i t y

11 has r eal l y spoken t o Ci t y gover nment

12 l ooki ng at ar eas wher e we can be mor e

13 ef f i ci ent i n our oper at i ons and wher e we

14 can begi n t o i nt egr at e i ssues t hat have

15 of t en f al l en al ong si l oed depar t ment s.

16 So I t hi nk t hat sust ai nabi l i t y

17 has not onl y moved t o i ncrease ef f i ci ency

18 wi t hi n Ci t y gover nment , but i t ' s al so

19 begun t o addr ess some of t he

20 qual i t y- of - l i f e i ssues i n a way that I

21 t hi nk i s rel evant t o t he i ssue of our

22 t i me.

23 So we' ve seen r eal gr owt h i n

24 t he f i el d, and I thi nk t hat wi l l cont i nue

25 as we l ook mor e at t he ext r eme weat her


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50

1 4/ 28/ 14 - LAW & GOV. - BI LL 130878, et c.

2 t hat ' s happeni ng, changes i n ener gy

3 market s , so on and so f or t h. I t hi nk

4 t hat t hi s i s somet hi ng t hat ' s not j us t a

5 passi ng f ad, but i s r eal l y becomi ng

6 r el evant t o t he cor e of gover nment .

7 COUNCI LWOMAN BROWN: Of t en i t ' s

8 sai d t hat sust ai nabi l i t y i s t he f ut ur e

9 and i t wi l l br i ng green j obs. Can you

10 speak t o how t he Ci t y has moved i n t hat

11 di rect i on as wel l as a resul t of

12 l egi sl at i on i n t hi s ar ea.

13 MS. GAJ EWSKI : Sur e. As some

14 of t he ot her f ol ks who ar e her e t o

15 t est i f y can speak t o wi t h mor e exper t i se,

16 we have seen t hat t he commi t ment s t hat

17 t he gover nment has made i n t er ms of bot h

18 pol i cy and pr ogr ams have i ncreased

19 conf i dence i n busi nesses t hat have come

20 t o l ocat e i n Phi l adel phi a wi t h busi nesses

21 i n t he sustai nabi l i t y and ener gy sect or s,

22 and al so we' ve been abl e t o at t r act t ens

23 of mi l l i ons of dol l ar s of state and

24 f eder al compet i t i ve f unds t o advance

25 pr oj ect s. SEPTA wi l l speak t o t hat as an


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51

1 4/ 28/ 14 - LAW & GOV. - BI LL 130878, et c.

2 exampl e. So we' ve been abl e t o br i ng

3 mor e dol l ar s t o t he l ocal economy t hat

4 have r esul t ed i n busi ness and j ob

5 oppor t uni t i es.

6 COUNCI LWOMAN BROWN: I see.

7 Okay, t hen. Thank you ver y much.



10 Counci l man Henon.

11 COUNCI LMAN HENON: Thank you,

12 Mr . Chai rman.

13 Good mor ni ng.

14 MS. GAJ EWSKI : Good mor ni ng.

15 COUNCI LMAN HENON: Kat her i ne,

16 t hank you f or comi ng i n. I ' m goi ng t o

17 say j ust as I opened up wi t h t he Pr i son,

18 a Char t er change i s ver y ser i ous her e i n

19 t he Ci t y of Phi l adel phi a, and I t hi nk

20 ever y member r eal l y t akes al l of t he

21 pr oper st akehol der i nput and gover nment

22 coor di nat i on ext r emel y ser i ous.

23 You wer e aski ng - - not you wer e

24 aski ng. You are, of course, i n f avor of ,

25 but we' r e asked t o put a r ef er endum on


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52

1 4/ 28/ 14 - LAW & GOV. - BI LL 130878, et c.

2 t he bal l ot est abl i shi ng an Of f i ce of

3 Sust ai nabi l i t y, l i ke ot her ci t i es, whi ch

4 i s commendabl e, and I thi nk t he ef f or t s

5 are great f rom your perspect i ve.

6 What i s your cur r ent budget f or

7 t he Of f i ce of Sust ai nabi l i t y?

8 MS. GAJ EWSKI : We have a modest

9 Gener al Fund budget of appr oxi mat el y

10 $750, 000. The maj or i t y of our f undi ng

11 has come f r om f eder al gr ant s over t he

12 year s and pr i vat e f oundat i ons.

13 COUNCI LMAN HENON: What i s your

14 over al l budget ? What i s your over al l

15 budget wi t h some of t he out si de sour ces

16 i n addi t i on t o t he Gener al Fund?

17 MS. GAJ EWSKI : So we' ve br ought

18 i n, i n addi t i on t o t hat , about $41

19 mi l l i on i n out s i de f unds over t he l ast

20 f i ve years , 41 to 42 mi l l i on.

21 COUNCI LMAN HENON: And how has

22 i t been - - because your t est i mony i s ver y

23 i nf ormat i ve. I mean, i t seems l i ke - -

24 how many st af f do you have? Thr ee?

25 MS. GAJ EWSKI : Ther e' s f i ve.


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53

1 4/ 28/ 14 - LAW & GOV. - BI LL 130878, et c.

2 COUNCI LMAN HENON: So i t seems

3 l i ke you' ve done a l ot wi t h a l i mi t ed

4 st af f .

5 How has i t been coor di nat i ng?

6 Because I know i t ' s been an i ssue t hat

7 I ' ve seen wi t h ot her depar t ment s and

8 ot her i ssues, I ' m goi ng t o say

9 manuf act ur i ng, because I t hi nk t her e' s a

10 nat ur al t i e wi t h manuf actur i ng and

11 possi bl y the Of f i ce of Sust ai nabi l i t y

12 wi t h new mar ket emer gi ngs i n t he

13 t echnol ogy i ndustr y. I t hi nk t hey shoul d

14 be wor ki ng hand i n hand, especi al l y si nce

15 t her e' s been a new of f i ce creat ed f or

16 manuf act ur i ng and i ndustr y. So I ' d l i ke

17 t o see a l i t t l e more coordi nat i on wi t h

18 t hat i n t he f ut ur e once t hey get up and

19 r unni ng.

20 How have you been abl e t o

21 manage a l ot of t he good t hat some of t he

22 non- pr of i t and busi ness wor l ds and t he

23 pr i vat e sect or has been f r om your of f i ce,

24 how have you been coor di nat i ng and

25 managi ng t hat ? Because t her e i s a l ot


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54

1 4/ 28/ 14 - LAW & GOV. - BI LL 130878, et c.

2 goi ng on t her e. Have you not i ced a l ot

3 of dupl i ci t y? Ar e you abl e t o manage

4 some of t hat f or some of t he Ci t y' s

5 pr i or i t i es?

6 MS. GAJ EWSKI : Yeah. I woul d

7 say t hat t he r eason we' ve been abl e t o be

8 successf ul as a ver y smal l staf f wor ki ng

9 across a l arge por t f ol i o and a l arge

10 ar r ay of par t ners i s that at the

11 begi nni ng of our t enur e, we put out

12 Gr eenwor ks as a pl an, and we ver y l oyal l y

13 f ol l owed t he pl an over t he cour se of t he

14 l ast f i ve year s. We' ve made changes and

15 we' ve document ed al l of t hose f or our

16 annual r epor t i ng pr ocess, but we

17 devel oped t he pl an r eal l y i n par t ner shi p

18 bot h wi t h Ci t y agenci es. We di dn' t go

19 and say, You need t o do t hi s. We r eal l y

20 opened up and t r i ed t o have t hem br i ng

21 t hei r i deas t o t he t abl e, di d best

22 pr act i ce scans t o see what ot her ci t i es

23 wer e doi ng t hat made sense f or

24 Phi l adel phi a, and we di d t he same wi t h a

25 number of ext er nal st akehol der s. So I


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55

1 4/ 28/ 14 - LAW & GOV. - BI LL 130878, et c.

2 l i ke t o bel i eve t hat we had str ong buy- i n

3 f r om t he begi nni ng, and we wer e abl e t o

4 make t hese goal s r el evant t o goal s t hat

5 t he Ci t y hel d i n ot her ar eas. That made

6 sense not j ust f r om a sust ai nabi l i t y

7 per spect i ve but f or ot her r easons as

8 wel l .

9 And I t hi nk anot her t hi ng t hat

10 we' ve seen i n t he l ast f i ve year s, when I

11 f i r s t t ook t hi s posi t i on, i t was when t he

12 economy was cr ashi ng and we wer e al l

13 t al ki ng about budget cut s, and I t hought

14 t he l ast t hi ng anyone was goi ng t o want

15 t o t al k about or wor k on was

16 sustai nabi l i t y, and we' ve act ual l y seen

17 j ust the opposi te, that thi s i s real l y an

18 ar ea of wor k t hat ' s becomi ng i ncr easi ngl y

19 r el evant i n a number of f i el ds. So my

20 col l eagues when t hey go t o t r anspor t at i on

21 conf er ences or ener gy conf er ences or

22 manuf act ur i ng conf er ences, t hese ar e t he

23 i ssues of our t i me t hat t hey ar e car i ng

24 about , t hat t hei r cal l i ngs across t he

25 count r y and wor l d ar e al so wr angl i ng wi t h


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56

1 4/ 28/ 14 - LAW & GOV. - BI LL 130878, et c.

2 and t r yi ng t o move f or war d on. So we' ve

3 seen i ncreasi ngl y over t he l ast f i ve

4 year s t hat t hi s i s becomi ng mor e cent r al

5 t o a number of f i el ds , i ncl udi ng t he

6 manuf act ur i ng f i el d as a good exampl e.

7 So when we t al k t o busi nesses, when we

8 t al k t o stakehol ders , t hey' re want i ng t o

9 t i e t hi s mor e and mor e t o a number of

10 sect or s and a number of ar eas.

11 And j ust one exampl e t o your

12 poi nt about t he Char t er change, because I

13 do r ecogni ze t he ser i ousness of t he

14 Char t er change. Part of our port f ol i o i s

15 managi ng t he Ci t y' s ener gy use and

16 l ooki ng at oppor t uni t i es t o conser ve and

17 r educe ener gy exposur e. We' ve been

18 payi ng ut i l i t y bi l l s f or as l ong as

19 t here' s been el ect r i ci t y. We' re t he

20 l argest el ect r i ci t y user i n the Ci t y of

21 Phi l adel phi a. That ' s j ust one exampl e of

22 wher e t her e hasn' t been consi st ent

23 l eader shi p or per sonnel str uct ur e wi t hi n

24 Ci t y gover nment over t he decades on t hat

25 part i cul ar i ssue, and wi t hout t hat


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57

1 4/ 28/ 14 - LAW & GOV. - BI LL 130878, et c.

2 l eadershi p, t here' s been real

3 schi zophr eni a i n how we' ve managed t he

4 Ci t y' s energy budget .

5 COUNCI LMAN J ONES: Poi nt of

6 i nf or mat i on.

7 COUNCI LMAN GREENLEE:

8 Counci l man J ones.

9 COUNCI LMAN J ONES: Fi f t een

10 hundr ed el ect r i c bi l l account s we' ve had,

11 $60 mi l l i on i n el ect r i c. One of t he

12 r easons why t hi s depar t ment was so

13 i mpor t ant was t hat when our budget t anked

14 i n t he l ast f our year s, we needed t o

15 syst emat i cal l y r educe as an expense our

16 ener gy, and i t woul d be good i f she woul d

17 speak on t hat ef f or t t o over al l r educe

18 t hat ener gy. That ' s why t hat depar t ment

19 was cr i t i cal .

20 MS. GAJ EWSKI : Thank you,

21 Counci l man. Yes. So t o t hat poi nt , a

22 ver y compl ex, ver y l ar ge par t of t he

23 Ci t y' s budget and we have not had

24 consi stent l eader shi p l ooki ng at t hat

25 por t f ol i o, and so I t hi nk havi ng an


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58

1 4/ 28/ 14 - LAW & GOV. - BI LL 130878, et c.

2 Of f i ce of Sust ai nabi l i t y pr ovi des

3 consi stency on par t s of our oper at i on

4 t hat may not have been necessar i l y t hi ngs

5 t hat wer e consi der ed at t he onset of Ci t y

6 gover nment , but have now become

7 i ncreas i ngl y rel evant . So j ust one

8 exampl e of wher e consi st ency i n

9 l eader shi p hasn' t al ways been pl aced by

10 t he Admi ni st r at i on on t o gover nment

11 oper at i ons and wher e I t hi nk we have

12 suf f er ed as a r esul t of i t i s t he

13 government .

14 COUNCI LMAN HENON: Where do you

15 see t he di vi si on? So you woul d be an

16 i ndependent Ci t y agency doi ng t he wor k,

17 ongoi ng cont i nui ng wor k, r educi ng our

18 ener gy cost s t o t he Ci t y. I mean $60

19 mi l l i on i n el ect r i c bi l l s, I ' m sur e t hat

20 t he r at e of ret ur n on some of t he savi ngs

21 t hat you have been abl e t o of f er t he Ci t y

22 i s - - I don' t t hi nk you can - - you may be

23 abl e t o quant i f y t he amount of savi ngs

24 t hat we had so f ar over t he l ast f i ve

25 year s and l ooki ng i n t he f ut ur e. Wher e


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59

1 4/ 28/ 14 - LAW & GOV. - BI LL 130878, et c.

2 do you see - - i ndependent l y wher e do you

3 see t he of f i ce goi ng? What i s t he vi s i on

4 of t he of f i ce asi de f rom some of t he

5 t hi ngs t hat you' r e wor ki ng on? Because

6 i t sounds l i ke you got a l ot done i n a

7 shor t per i od of t i me. What ar e some of

8 t he pi e- i n- t he- sky vi si ons of t he of f i ce

9 and how you see i t commi ngl i ng wi t h some

10 of t he ot her agenci es?

11 MS. GAJ EWSKI : Sur e. I t hi nk

12 t wo t hi ngs. And I r eal l y acknowl edge

13 t hat we' r e at t he ver y begi nni ng of

14 sust ai nabi l i t y pl anni ng wi t hi n Ci t y

15 gover nment . Ther e' s r eal l y a l ot mor e

16 t hat can be done and hopef ul l y wi l l be

17 done.

18 I f eel st r ongl y t he t hi ng t hat

19 we' r e wor ki ng on r i ght now and we' r e

20 r eal l y t hi nki ng about how we make sur e

21 t hat we sust ai n t hi s wor k and do

22 i nf ormat i on t rans fer t o Counci l , t o

23 advocat es, t o f ut ur e Admi ni str at i ons, but

24 I r eal l y see cl i mat e change as t he

25 chal l enge of our t i me. Wi t h t he ext r eme


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61

1 4/ 28/ 14 - LAW & GOV. - BI LL 130878, et c.

2 f oot pr i nt here i n t he Ci t y and regi on - -

3 wel l , we' l l speak f or t he Ci t y. I mean,

4 obvi ous l y i n t he wor l d, i n our count r y,

5 but i n t he Ci t y i s i mpor t ant . I t hi nk

6 i t ' s - - are you as an of f i ce engaged i n

7 some of t he ot her l ong- t erm str at egi c

8 pl anni ng t hat we have wi t h t he Pl anni ng

9 Commi ssi on; mor e i mpor t ant l y, I thi nk t he

10 Wat er Depar t ment and our school s?

11 Because I thi nk i f we' r e headed i n t hi s

12 di r ecti on, I t hi nk what you have done and

13 t he vi si on of an Of f i ce of Sust ai nabi l i t y

14 shoul d cert ai nl y be i ncorporat ed i n

15 l onger t er m pl ans and vi s i ons of what

16 we' r e - - I mean, some of t he

17 i mpl ement at i on t akes a l ong t i me, and I

18 woul d l i ke t o see t he of f i ce be a par t of

19 some of t hose st r at egi c pl anni ng.

20 MS. GAJ EWSKI : Yeah. I agr ee

21 wi t h you ent i r el y. We' ve been abl e t o

22 wr ap t he Gr eenwor ks goal s i nt o t he

23 Phi l adel phi a 2035 l ong- t er m pl an. We

24 i ncor por at ed t he goal s i nt o t he Zoni ng

25 Code. We' ve wor ked wi t h bot h SEPTA and


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62

1 4/ 28/ 14 - LAW & GOV. - BI LL 130878, et c.

2 PHA t o suppor t t hem i n devel opi ng

3 sust ai nabi l i t y pl ans t hat were l argel y

4 model ed of f of Gr eenwor ks. Al so, Cent er

5 Ci t y Di st r i ct , Uni ver si t y Ci t y Di st r i ct ,

6 and ot her or gani zat i ons out si de of

7 gover nment had been al so wor ki ng t o br i ng

8 t he Gr eenwor ks concept s i nt o t hei r pl ans.

9 And I t hi nk t her e' s mor e oppor t uni t y t o

10 do t hat .

11 I t hi nk anot her chal l enge f or

12 al l of us and somet hi ng t hat I hope t o

13 t ake a l ead on i n t he next year i s real l y

14 l ooki ng at , t o your poi nt , gr eenhouse gas

15 emi ssi ons, wher e we ar e as a ci t y and

16 what we woul d need t o do over t he comi ng

17 year s t o r eal l y r each deep r educt i on

18 l evel s, and cer t ai nl y t hat has t o happen

19 i n par t nershi p wi t h not onl y Ci t y

20 depar t ment s but ent i t i es out si de of Ci t y

21 gover nment t o r eal l y have t r ue i mpact

22 t hat we need t o have.

23 COUNCI LMAN HENON: Maybe we

24 shoul d open a sat el l i t e of f i ce i n our

25 Fl eet Depar t ment .


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63

1 4/ 28/ 14 - LAW & GOV. - BI LL 130878, et c.

2 MS. GAJ EWSKI : They' r e maki ng

3 some good pr ogr ess.

4 COUNCI LMAN HENON: You bet .

5 Yes, t hey ar e. Thank you.

6 I have no f ur t her quest i ons .



9 Counci l man O' Br i en.

10 COUNCI LMAN O' BRI EN: Thank you,

11 Mr . Chai rman.

12 I woul d j ust l i ke to echo t he

13 ot her Counci l per sons' sent i ment s. I t

14 seems l i ke you' r e movi ng mount ai ns wi t h

15 shovel s. Dr awi ng down $42 mi l l i on i n

16 gr ant s i s an ext r aor di nar y achi evement .

17 I woul d l i ke t o gi ve - - and I apol ogi ze

18 t hat Commi ssi oner Gi or l a i s not her e, but

19 I ' d l i ke t o gi ve hi m a shout - out f or what

20 t hey' r e doi ng up at t he Depar t ment of

21 Cor r ect i ons. My st af f has i nt r oduced me

22 t o t he compost i ng t hat t hey' r e doi ng.

23 They' re t aki ng al l t he organi c mat er i al s

24 i n an ext r aor di nar y way. I met wi t h t he

25 cook, and t he i nf r astr uct ur e t hat t hey


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1 4/ 28/ 14 - LAW & GOV. - BI LL 130878, et c.

2 bui l t up t here t hat t hey' re l ooki ng t o

3 expand and t he mat er i al i s j ust

4 wonderf ul . I wi sh I coul d use i t at my

5 own r esi dence. But i t pr ovi des not onl y

6 sust enance t o your conver sat i on, but

7 t hey' r e devel opi ng or char ds up t her e.

8 They ar e cooper at i ng wi t h communi t y

9 gar dens and maki ng t hose mat er i al s

10 avai l abl e. They' re connect i ng wi t h

11 ot her s t hat ar e havi ng t r oubl e r ecycl i ng

12 some of t hei r t r ees. I t ' s j ust an

13 ext r aor di nar y ext ensi on and val i dat i on of

14 how i mpor t ant t hi s conver sat i on i s.

15 Thi s i s of f t he wal l . I t ' s

16 t angent i al . I n your resear ch and

17 devel opi ng of gr eenhouse st r at egi es goi ng

18 f or war d, do you have any t hought s on

19 i ssues i nvol vi ng St yr of oam, t he

20 chal l enges t hat i t woul d br i ng or any

21 st r at egi es on how t o deal wi t h t hat

22 mat er i al ?

23 MS. GAJ EWSKI : Yes. So we - -

24 and, act ual l y, we' ve been t al ki ng wi t h a

25 number of Counci l of f i ces about wher e t he


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1 4/ 28/ 14 - LAW & GOV. - BI LL 130878, et c.

2 next wave of wast e r educti on ef f or t s

3 mi ght be i n Phi l adel phi a. I ' m cer t ai nl y

4 l ooki ng at St yr of oam and pl ast i c bags as

5 somet hi ng t hat we' r e i nt er ested i n, bot h

6 t hi nki ng about how we change behavi or t o

7 l i mi t use and ul t i mat el y l i t t er of those

8 mat er i al s, but al so we' ve been wor ki ng

9 wi t h our par t ner s i n t he waste i ndustr y

10 as t echnol ogy evol ves. We cur r ent l y can

11 onl y of f er l i mi ted St yrof oam col l ect i on

12 and r ecycl i ng pr ogr ams, but we' r e

13 encour agi ng ki nd of t he l at est t echnol ogy

14 t o see how we mi ght be abl e t o br i ng t hat

15 t o Phi l adel phi a.

16 So I t hi nk t her e ar e

17 pot ent i al l y oppor t uni t i es on t he waste

18 r educt i on s i de of t hi ngs i n t er ms of t he

19 r ecycl i ng of St yr of oam. We' r e wai t i ng

20 and seei ng what mi ght t he next gener at i on

21 be.

22 COUNCI LMAN O' BRI EN: I f you

23 have any t hought s on t hat , coul d you

24 pl ease communi cat e wi t h Mat t Br aden f r om

25 my of f i ce?


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2 MS. GAJ EWSKI : Sur e. Yeah.

3 I ' d be happy t o f ol l ow up.



6 Any ot her quest i ons f or

7 Ms. Gaj ewski ?

8 ( No r esponse. )


10 none, t hank you ver y much.

11 MS. GAJ EWSKI : Thank you ver y

12 much.

13 COUNCI LMAN GREENLEE: Ms.

14 Marconi , cal l t he t hree. I f we coul d

15 cal l t he next t hr ee wi t nesses, pl ease.

16 THE CLERK: Andr ew Shar p, J ef f

17 Bar t os, and Byr on Comat i .


19 t abl e. )


21 mor ni ng.

22 Mr . Shar p, I t hi nk your name

23 got cal l ed f i r st . Pl ease i dent i f y

24 your sel f f or t he r ecor d and pr oceed.

25 MR. SHARP: Sur e. My name i s


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1 4/ 28/ 14 - LAW & GOV. - BI LL 130878, et c.

2 Andr ew Shar p and I am t he Di r ect or of

3 Out r each at PennFut ur e. PennFut ur e i s a

4 st at ewi de envi r onment al advocacy

5 or gani zat i on. We ar e al so t he l ead

6 or gani zat i on behi nd t he Next Gr eat Ci t y

7 Coal i t i on. So we' ve been wor ki ng si nce

8 2005 on t hi s, on br i ngi ng f ol ks t oget her

9 ar ound t hi s i ssue.

10 I ' m here t oday t o urge you t o

11 suppor t t he Char t er change l egi s l at i on

12 obvi ous l y. I n t he past si x years , t he

13 Ci t y has made enor mous pr ogr ess. We have

14 130 new acr es of par k space, 100, 000 new

15 t rees, mi l es of bi ke l anes, a ci t y

16 r econnect i ng wi t h i t s wat er ways, an

17 i ncr ease i n al t er nat i ve energy use f r om 2

18 t o 14 per cent . So we r eal l y made a t on

19 of progress, and real l y most of t hi s

20 woul d have been uni magi nabl e wi t hout t he

21 t i rel ess work of t he Mayor ' s Of f i ce of

22 Sust ai nabi l i t y.

23 We' ve obvi ousl y wor ked cl osel y

24 wi t h t he of f i ce and we' ve seen f i r sthand

25 t he val ue i n havi ng a t r usted par t ner , an


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1 4/ 28/ 14 - LAW & GOV. - BI LL 130878, et c.

2 you, Mr . Shar p.

3 Whoever woul d l i ke t o go next ,

4 pl ease i dent i f y your sel f and pr oceed.

5 MR. BARTOS: Good mor ni ng,

6 Counci l man and member s of t he Commi t t ee.


8 mor ni ng.

9 MR. BARTOS: My name i s J ef f

10 Bar t os. I ' m t he CEO of Mar k Gr oup. We

11 ar e an ener gy ef f i ci ency anal ysi s and

12 upgr ade company pr oudl y based at t he Navy

13 Yar d i n Phi l adel phi a. We star t ed her e i n

14 2010 wi t h me and we now empl oy 180 peopl e

15 spread out over s i x of f i ces i n t he

16 r egi on. We coul d have - - not t o

17 par aphr ase Bi l l Cosby - - we coul d have

18 chosen anywher e and we chose

19 Phi l adel phi a. Havi ng an Of f i ce of

20 Sust ai nabi l i t y made an i mpor t ant

21 di f f er ence as we eval uat ed var i ous

22 ci t i es, and havi ng t hat pol i cy push and

23 i ni t i at i ve made i t easi er f or us t o use,

24 and t he Navy Yar d was a per f ect pl ace f or

25 us t o l ocat e. I t made i t easy f or us t o


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1 4/ 28/ 14 - LAW & GOV. - BI LL 130878, et c.

2 pi ck Phi l adel phi a. We ar e ver y happy we

3 di d, and we st r ongl y ur ge you t o move

4 t hi s l egi s l at i on f orward, because we

5 t hi nk f or compani es l i ke our s and ot her s

6 i n t he ef f i ci ency and sust ai nabi l i t y

7 space, havi ng t hi s of f i ce and l egi sl at i on

8 support i ng t hi s of f i ce i s i mpor t ant as we

9 grow our bus i nesses.


11 you, Mr . Bar t os. I appreci ate i t .

12 Si r , pl ease i dent i f y your sel f

13 and proceed.

14 MR. COMATI : Yes. My name i s

15 Byr on Comat i . I ' m wi t h SEPTA. Good

16 mor ni ng, Counci l man Gr eenl ee and member s

17 of t he Commi t t ee on Law and Government .

18 Thanks f or t he oppor t uni t y t o appear

19 t oday on behal f of SEPTA and gi ve you

20 some t est i mony. I t i s obvi ousl y wr i t t en,

21 but I ' d l i ke t o j ust hi ghl i ght a f ew

22 poi nt s.

23 I have a r esponsi bi l i t y f or

24 l ong- r ange pl anni ng, str at egi c pl anni ng,

25 and sust ai nabi l i t y pl anni ng wi t hi n my own


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1 4/ 28/ 14 - LAW & GOV. - BI LL 130878, et c.

2 organi zat i on, and t hat ' s very r el evant

3 f or t oday' s di scussi ons and pr esent at i ons

4 f or you t o consi der .

5 We see our sel ves, SEPTA, as a

6 very i nt egr al key par t ner wi t h t he Ci t y

7 of Phi l adel phi a, wi t h Gr eenwor ks

8 Phi l adel phi a vi s i on, and we see our sel ves

9 ver y much par t of t he di al ogue and t he

10 st r at egi c pl anni ng t hat goes i nt o what

11 makes Gr eenwor ks ef f ect i ve. And t hat

12 goes t o t he met r i cs t hat ar e devel oped,

13 t he t ransport at i on, obvi ous l y t he t rans i t

14 el ement s i n part i cul ar l ooki ng at vehi cl e

15 mi l es t r avel ed, how we can r educe t hat

16 ki nd of f oot pr i nt , t he emi ssi ons

17 r educt i ons t hat we obvi ousl y as havi ng

18 aut omobi l es and vehi cl es of t he SEPTA

19 f l eet i n pl ay, how do we i nt er act , how do

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