Group 7
Moderators: Franne McNeal and Carol Lydon
Total points: 49 points toward a goal of 100

Group Description:
The group began with 15 members, who represented eight neighborhoods in North and Northwest Philadelphia. The group was mainly women with about 25 percent men. The racial make-up was six African American and nine Caucasian. The ages ranged from early-20s through seniors. Two young men left the group shortly after it began; however, they made no comment as to why they were leaving.
From the beginning, members seemed to ready to trust the process and the moderators, which allowed almost the entire time to focus on the options. After five minutes reviewing the work sheet, they were ready to work. They respected one another’s views, and disagreements resulted in rich conversations rather than arguments. People expressed their individual opinions, but there was sense of community among the members in getting the work done. Generally, the conversation was fairly distributed among the group. Two people who did not speak during the process, even when invited to, but everyone voted on every option that was raised.
The initial introduction of the “Low Hanging Fruit” and the “No Way No Hows” produced rich discussion, so that time spent discussing them and the “Shared Pain” options was about equal. Overall, it was a good group that worked hard.
No dissenting work sheets were filed.

Low-Hanging Fruit
Total Points: 18
• #3 - DROP Program: 4 points (85% in favor)
o There was little discussion concerning this, though someone did ask the city representative for clarification of the program, which was given.
• #16 - Vehicle Fleet: 6 points (80%)
o Not much discussion. Several people commented on the amount of city cars, which can be seen at City Hall on any given day.
• #15a - Streets, Revenue option: 2 points
o Initially, both of the revenue generating options were put in this bucket. However, further intensive discussion resulted in keeping the Commercial Collection fee only. (”Pay as you throw” was moved to the “Shared Pain” bucket.)
• #20 - Eagles: 4 points (100%)
o No discussion needed.
• #21 - Parking: 2 points

No Way, No How
Total points taken off the table: 61
• #5 - Fire: 10 points (100%)
o There was no support for ANY cuts for the Fire Department.
• #6 - Free Library - 20% cut: 3 point (100%)
o There was absolutely no discussion regarding making a 20% cut to the Library budget. (A 10% cut was moved to the “Shared Pain” bucket.)
• #7 - Housing: 7 points (100%)
• #8b - Human Services: 9 points
o Neither the 10% nor the 20% option was acceptable to the group.
• #11 - Police: 26 points (100%)
o There was no support for ANY cuts for the Police Department.
• #13 - Public Health: 6 points
o A couple people were not opposed to charging for co-pays and fees for physicals, but when it was brought up for a vote, they were outnumbered.
o “People can’t afford health care, what makes you think they can afford OTC meds?”
o “If they could afford to pay, they wouldn’t need public clinics.”
o One person stated that there were too many people who were able to work and pay yet were using Public Health. Further discussion determined that they were talking about Medicaid, which is a state issue, and not the Public Health clinics run by the city.

Shared Pain
Total Points: 31
• #1 - Administrative: 5 points
o It was noted that in this administration, the number of Administrative jobs has risen 20% from the Street administration.
o It may be necessary to separate the Mayor’s Office from the bundle in this option.
• #2 - Courts: 0 points awarded
o This issue was raised briefly, though when a woman who worked for a rape crisis center stated that it takes most cases two years to get to court now, people decided against the cut.
• #6 - Library: 10% reduction - 0 points awarded
o Libraries are needed because they provide access to computers, after-school programs and schools do not have libraries as they used to.
o However, the city is smaller. Do we need the same number of libraries we had when the population was larger?
o Despite the smaller population of the city, many felt the need for libraries had increased.
o The group generally agreed on cutting back the hours without closing branches, but ultimately could not reach a decision.
• #9 - Law: 2 points
o General discussion. It passed with about 55% of the vote.
• #15c - Streets, Pay as you Throw: 0 points awarded
o The group kept returning to this option, but in the end could not come to a decision as to whether to adopt it or not.
o This could encourage people to recycle and take more responsibility for what they throw out.
o It was noted that we already pay for trash pick-up through our taxes.
o There were fears that this would lead to more illegal dumping. One man noted that his street was filled with abandoned lots, which were already filled with trash and feared that forcing people to pay for trash pick-up would result in more trash in areas that were already burdened.
o If this were implemented, the city should enforce fines for illegal dumping and for not recycling.
o The program that rewarded people for recycling, The Recycling Bank, was considered a good program, which could be beneficial throughout the city.
• #17 - Amusement tax: 2 points
o A little discussion, but it was generally felt that it was a small price to pay.
• #18/19 - BPT - 0 points awarded
o Even though people felt that big companies like Comcast should pay more, raising this tax was hard on the small businesses and in the long run, would do more harm than good.
• #22 - Real Estate: 5 points
o One person, a resident of Germantown, where property taxes are low, said he “wouldn’t mind paying more in taxes if it meant he got to keep the police.”
o However, it was noted that not all parts of the city have low property taxes. People who already pay a lot shouldn’t be forced to pay more.
o After discussion, it was agreed that they should be raised, but only on the provision that all properties were reassessed fairly.
• #23 - Real Estate Transfer Tax: NO, 0 points awarded.
o It was noted that this tax was already one of the highest in the country.
o “If anything, they should make it lower.”
• #25 - Wage/Resident, 12 points
o “I’m willing to pay more taxes to keep the fire and the police.”
o Most felt that this was a Quality of Life issue. The raise in taxes was not so much to keep what they have (library, rec centers, etc.)
o Many were willing to pay more in taxes, but wanted the city to be more transparent about where the money was going.
o One member stated that the managing director’s quarterly reports were available on phila.gov and that they laid out where the money went.
o It was suggested that rather than raise the tax on everyone, that those making less e.g. $35,000/year would be exempt.
• #26 - Wage/Commuter: 5 points
o If the residents were being taxed at a higher rate, commuters should be, too.

Gut Wrenchers
• Did not reach.

Big, Hairy, Ambitious Goals
• One woman brought up collecting the money for the county court expenses from the state. However, because we did not reach 100 points, this was not raised as a vote and the points weren’t tallied.

Memorable Quotes
• “I’m willing to take home less money - and I don’t make a lot - to keep those things that are important to me.” There was a general feeling from the group that they wouldn’t mind paying more in various taxes (wage, real estate, amusement) in order to keep services that benefitted them and everyone else.

Other
• The PILOT Program was raised as a way to generate revenue.
• One woman asked what the stimulus money was going to be used for. The city representative advised that it was earmarked for infrastructure. The woman, a representative of the Grey Panthers, urged the city to make a plea that some of this money goes towards Public Health and Human Services.