Modernize City Services

The PGW and PWD need to be merged under a Employee and Customer Stock Ownerhip Plan (ESOP/CSOP) in order for the milions of cubic feet of methane gas that the PWD burns up everyday to be converted to syn-gas by hydrogen enrichment to make gas affordable to all of Philadelphia's Citizens. The PGW/PWD ESOP /CSOP reorganization will allow the almost billion dollars that we are paying to Big Oil for natural gas to stay in Philadelphia's Economy. The almost billion dollar savings by producing syn-gas will be a source of finance for the rebuilding of our public school system and public water infrastructure. At the same time that it provides hi-technology jobs for Philadelphians and empowers Philadelphia Citizens to have a bigger voice in the management of the Public Estate as the PA Constitution Mandates.

The City of tomorrow must plan today. William Penn, the founder of Philadelphia adopted the Grid configuration of the Philadelphia Street system. That system was a plan that has lasted 300 years and has contributed to making Philadelphia an Urban success. Philadelphia therefore should establish an Urban Transportation Office (UTO) and further re-invigorate the Capital Program Office (CPO). The Transportation mission of the new UTO would include seeking solutions to the meet the present and future needs of the Citizens of Philadelphia, visitors, and for supporting industry and commerce with innovative and up-to-date technology and to plan for more efficient and effective transportation systems. Establishing the Office should be accomplished by a re-organization of the Streets Department (under the Managing Director) and the Capital Program Office (under the Mayor). How it should be done is that the Architecture and Engineering for Street and Bridges would be the base component of the UTO by transferring this function of the Streets Department to the Capital Program Office. The Capital Program Office (CPO) would then be composed of two distinct divisions (1) Public Facilities and Public Land (2) Urban Transportation. In conjunction with the new expanded Capital Program Office, the Mayor would create a new Commission to oversee the Capital Program Office, charged with a responsibility to annually establish a five (5) year plan for Facilities, Land Use and Urban Transportation systems and programs. This new commission would be titled the “URBAN CAPITAL TECH COMMISSION” The Commission would include for example have as a core composition of representatives from DVRPC, SEPTA, PIDC, DPRA, the Institute for Civic Values, Drexel, Penn, Temple University. The commissions five-year plan would be used provide leadership and guide the new CPO toward innovative approaches, solutions, and projects instead of being systematically forced into routine capital maintenance projects. To further insure that financial resources and project planning are realized the City’s 6 year capital “program” needs to become a 6 year “budget” process to add legislative oversight, fiscal responsibility and added public disclosure.

The City will establish an active enforcement department that will preserve and protect homeowners from negligent and absentee homeowners who allow their properties to deteriate by not sweeping the front of their homes weekly, not painting their properties every ten years, establishing ordanances that makes it illegal to paint your businesses crazy neon colors over brick and then allowing it to chip and never preserving the quality of paint, allowing homeowners of row houses to neglect their roofs and pavements and cement without fines and enforcement.

Look at how North Philly and parts of West Philly and now SW Philly is allowed to deteriate and the good neighbors suffer when blight is allowed and then abandonment. It's not fair to the homeowners absent or occupied to have to live next door or up the street from homeowners who neglect their properties. Hefty fines can fund the Enforcement unit and it can also establish work for handymen to perform the work at a discount and collect via tax returns. Philadephia allows for nuisance properties for years and then have to pay for blight in millions by the way of NTI and now we have a bunch of vacant properties. Make Philadelphia responsible and protect the good neighbors.

Adopt the public health approach called "Harm Reduction" to effectively address subtance use and abuse, gambling and violence issues, along with other public health concerns, here in the city of Philadelphia. Appoint a bureau of harm reduction to establish appropriate harm reduction centers et al throughout the city.

The City will be focused on families and maximize social services funding by providing programs that teach life-skills to parents, their children, and teens in a group setting with other parents, children, and teens. Currently, the City has 68-70 parenting education collaboratives. It is commendable that the City has so many sites serving parents; however, parenting education, alone, is losing ground to family education in this millenium. Social service agencies all over the United States and in some foreign countries are using family focused, skills building models to effect change in the immediate family. This means that not only are parents learning new skills, but their children and teens are, as well. Providing services in this way is cost effective and highly effective in reducing violence, drug and alcohol use/abuse, delinquency, school failure and drop-out, truancy, and premature sexual behavior.

Many current bus routes are the same (trolley) routes that my parents took around the city in the 1930's, while our population patterns and workplace patterns have greatly changed. The City should work with SEPTA and the Planning Commission to undertake a comprehensive review of all the bus, trolley, subway and train lines to devise a more efficient and coordinated transit route system, identify locations for light rail lines (Roosevelt Blvd, or abandoned and seldom used freight rail lines), and move towards spacing bus stops farther apart to increase travel efficiency to increase ridership. This would also work to reduce the carbon footprint of the city and would be used in conjuction with zoning reform to promote transit oriented new development.

Transit modernization is absolutely crucial. Rapid light rail transit and other types of cutting-edge technology on dedicated rights-of-way are the best way to improve what is already a pretty decent, if neglected, transit infrastructure.

Dedicated funding from the state and strong accountability measures for SEPTA management would help citizens demand specific improvements in the system - increased frequency of service, better maintenance of stations, introduction of farecards.

Philadelphia has the highest business taxes in the country. We cannot solve many of the problems facing us--poor schools, crime, quality of life issues-- unless we have a robust economy. Until we have fair and reasonable taxation, businesses and jobs will continue to move to the suburbs and across the river to New Jersey. As a small business owner, I feel it is stupid economics to tax business on both gross receipts and net profits, then add a wage tax in for good measure. Even in years when I lose money, I still owe tax and lots of it to the city. My solution would be to make our business taxes and fees the lowest in the country, and widey promote Philadelphia as the most business-friendly in the nation. There are ways to cut city expenses and do without the business privilege tax revenue, which would soon be replaced with receipts from increased real estate taxes on refurbished factories in North Philadelphia, increased sales tax revenue, corporate giving and so on.

Residents should all pay some fee to receive City Services such as health care. This can exclude services for public health, (such as STD's and immunizations, which are supported by State and Federal funds). People asking for free and discounted health care and pharmacy benefits should be required to prove both their City residency and their lack of income. Everyone should pay something - even if its $1.00 or $5.00.

The City should consolidate the operations the Department of Revenue and Licenses and Inspections with respect to business licensing. The City should designate one agency to be responsible for issuing and enforcing requirements for opening and operating businesses.

Okay. It is 2007. Can we get a tow truck to fit up the little streets in Philly? If you can get a trash truck to fit, I am sure you can attach a plow to a pick-up truck. The people on the side streets pay taxes, too, right? So why are our streets NEVER plowed?

We should SERIOUSLY consider adopting a city-wide Trap, Neuter & Return (TNR) initiative regarding stray/feral cats roaming our streets. This will not only save the city money in the long run while simultaneously supporting its goal of becoming "no-kill" by 2015, but also it will improve the city's neighborhoods. (Once cats are neutered/spayed, all of those bothersome behaviors like spraying and yowling all night will be reduced, if not eliminated altogether. Also, if the cats are a part of a properly "managed colony," they will be less likely to tear open the garbage bags looking for food...)

Can a section be added that the City should modernize and staff its tax collection dept? There is a huge cash economy in Philadelphia. Many businesses and stores do not provide receipts for cash purchases and some employees are probably paid in cash, or partially in cash. So all taxes due are not in fact paid, including sales tax which businesses collect from customers at point of sale. If the City is more vigorous about tax collection, there might be a higher rate of compliance.

Recycling should be put on a weekly, rather than bi-weekly, schedule so that residents can recycle easily and frequently. This will save the city a great deal of money, as well as helping to save the planet.

Whenever any snowfall occurs, there are never any snowplows clearing even major roadways or areas in front of important city landmarks, much less smaller neighborhood streets. This is an embarrassment for a major metropolitan city, particularly one where snowfall every year is to be expected. It costs those who live, work, or run businesses in the city a great deal of money and time in lost productivity when roads are slow or deadlocked due to slippery or snowy conditions, sidewalks are similarly wet and dangerous, and businesses are forced to close early or open late in order to allow employees the time to try to travel safely. Purchasing or leasing snowplows and training personnel in their proactive use (out plowing by the first hour of snowfall so that roads are clear by the time citizens need to travel to work) is a very simple step that would bring the Philadelphia infrastructure back to the twentieth (if not twenty-first) century. It would make it less of a city-wide emergency whenever there is wintertime precipitation, and is a common sense step that would make an enormous difference.