Group Number 10
Moderators: Louise Guigliano and Adrian Sagan
Total points: 74

Group Description:
Group 10 originally consisted of 22 people. After the completion of the moderators’ introduction, two males and one female left the room. A total of 19 people, five males and 14 women, remained in the room to complete the process.
The initial mood of the group during the first 15 minutes can be described as frustrated. Participants had process concerns, the group perceived the exercise as being too heavily focused on budget cuts rather than tax increases and/or revenue options. After the process was more fully described, participant and group mood shifted to a more positive state. Participants followed the ground rules fully, were capable of listening to people’s views, and were willing to work together. The group completed the following buckets: “Low Hang Fruit,” “Shared Pain” and “No Ways, No Hows.” The primary group focus during the majority of the process was on revenue options that could be placed in the “Low Hanging Fruit” category.
There were no dissenting worksheets filed with the moderators by participants.

Low-Hanging Fruit
Total points: 61
• #12 Prisons - Reduce Budget by 10%: 10 points
o Supported by 79% of the group.
o One group member attended the most recent Philly Stat session and reported that 50% of incarcerated people are nonviolent offenders.
o There was a belief that jails are overcrowded and necessary job training can’t take place with the number of inmates.
• #15 Streets - Revenue Option 1 - Commercial Collection: 2 points
• #17 Amusement: 2 points
o Supported by 89% of the group.
• #20 Eagles: 4 points
o Supported by 89% of the group.
o Value: Eagles bring in a large amount of revenue and have a responsibility to pay the city back.
• #21 Parking: 2 points
o Supported by 84% of the group.
o The group supported an increase of 2% by a vote of 57% majority, but there was not support to place it in the “Shared Pains” category.
• #22a Real Estate: 5 points
o Supported by 89% of the group.
o Concern was raised that people might be forced to lose their homes.
• #23a Real Estate Transfer: 2 points
• #25b Wage/Resident- Increase by .2%: 24 points
o Supported by 89% of the group to increase by .2% rather than .1%.
o Value: The group is in favor of paying increased taxes rather than losing “valuable services.”
• #26b Wage/Commuter- Increase by .2%: 10 points
o Supported by 94% of the group to increase by .2%.
o Concern that PICA would not support the initiative.

Not Supported
• #2 Courts - Reduce budget by 10%
o Supported by 37% of the group
o Values: Concern that cuts in service would slow the system. The group was unsure what types of positions would lose funding.
• #3 DROP Program
o Supported by 37% of the group.
o There is a strong belief that the benefits program must be “restructured” and that the city must provide a meaningful explanation concerning how the Drop Program works.
o City Council and other elected officials must be removed from this program.
• #10 Licenses and Inspection
o Supported by 15% of the group.
o There was a larger general support that there needs to be a full reform of L&I.
o Houses where children reside needs to be inspected. A child’s safety can be compromised.
o There are too many employees in the department. The department can be “streamlined” by increasing the use of technology.
o The belief is that the production and practices are the fault of the department’s poor management skills. The group did not want to cut services because “once they are gone, they are gone.”
• #15 Streets Revenue Option 2, “Pay as you Throw”
o Supported by 15% of the group.
o Value: The program would be too hard to enforce and would “encourage dumping.”
o “There would be a negative impact on large families.”
o “Recycling should be exempt from this program.”
o Large trash collection such as construction in residential areas should be charged extra fees.
o “Trash collection is a service that everyone gets, and we shouldn’t have to pay more for it.”
• #16 Vehicle Fleet
o Supported by 63% of the group.
o The group revisited the topic but chose not to place it in “Shared Pains” because they wanted more information on the topic before making a decision.

No Ways, No Hows
Total points taken off the table: 63
• #4 Fairmount Park: 2 points
• #5 Fire: 20 points
• #6 Free Library: 3 points
• #7 Housing: 7 points
• #8 Human Services: 19 points
• #13 Public Health: 7 points
o Supported by 100% of participants.
• #14 Recreation: 5 points

Group 10 gave full support to the above options and believed the services should not be cut because they are “vital to Philadelphia.” As a shared value, it is more important to explore revenue and increase tax bases than to cut services.

Shared Pain
Total points: 13
• #1 Administrative Revenue Option: 1 point
• #24 Sales- Increase by .2%: 12 points
o Supported by 63% of the group.
o Increase from 7% to 7.2%.
o Concerns were that it would be “psychologically” hard for the public and low-income populations would be impacted the most.

Notes
• One member of the group felt that we do not have a “representative sample” of the city. Reaching only 2,000 people “at most” will not provide the program with realistic input that represents the entire population of Philadelphia. She felt more people would attend if they knew the program was not paid for by the city.
• One member feels strongly that President Obama and the federal stimulus package will help Philadelphia greatly.

New Options
• The city should make hospitals provide true charitable care or pay their share in taxes. Many hospitals are tax exempt. There is a “dire need for health care.”
• The city should collect 50% of the $400 million in uncollected taxes.
• Remove the 10-year tax abatement
• Increase reporting and make public how much corporations pay in taxes.
• Recoup the $1 billion in bail forfeitures owed to the city.