Group 9
Moderators: Josh Warner and Karen Scott
Total points: 77

Group Description:
Group 9 had 13 members, but sometimes increased to 14 or 15. The group was very diverse age-wise and members hailed from many parts of the city, with the majority from West Philly. The group was about two-thirds African American with the remaining third Caucasian. No group members had participated in any of the previous three workshops.

Every group member was very passionate when it came to the subject matter, but most people were fairly reserved when it came to discussing the topics on hand. We had two members that were very vocal, but even though they spoke often, they never dominated the conversation. Because each group member was passionate and involved, the deliberation on many choices had strong points on both the pro and the con side. Many votes failed to reach the threshold required to pass in the Low Hanging Fruit discussions (6 out of 14 mentioned). While the process itself was never directly criticized, the information, timing, time frame to do the work, and choices offered in the worksheet were seriously questioned. Group energy was medium at first and dipped lower as several Low Hanging Fruit votes failed to pass and deliberations dragged on. As the No Way, No Hows began, energy picked back up, the group shared a lot of common ground, and the votes came more quickly. The group did not get to discuss everything category it wanted, and had only begun to discuss the Shared Pain section right as the evening ended.

Some comments we wrote down before the Process work began:
• The worksheet is complex, and some advanced time to look it over (by posting online or something) would have been better
• The 1.5 hour time frame to do the work is unrealistic, as the city has had a whole year to work on these problems
• Most of the cuts and large point values impact lower income individuals disproportionately

Low-Hanging Fruit
Total points: 51
• #20 Eagles, 4 points
o Not much discussion, as this was a quick vote
o People were outraged that this money due has been outstanding for so long
o One member expressed how it might be unrealistic to collect, given the long outstanding nature and the court’s involvement
o 11/13 voted in favor
• #3 Drop Program, (not passed) 0 points
o Much time was spent on examples and outrage of the elected officials’ abuse of DROP
o One group member gave a good overview of how the program works for the average worker, and common ground about it’s potential benefit was reached with most in the group
o After clarification by Maia, our City Representative, on what the program is and its cost/benefit, the group stalled a bit, since accurate data on its effect is not known
o Agreement was reached that DROP should be modified and eliminated for elected officials
o Vote failed: 1/13 voting in favor
• #16 Vehicle Fleet, 6 points
o Group discussion again centered on abuse of a privilege for sedan type vehicles, but with help from the City representative, it was understood that police vehicles would not be affected by the cut.
o Many were outraged that given the great public transportation system, workers weren’t using it
o The topic came up of Dept. Human Services (DHS) workers needing cars to get to places quickly, in cases of child emergencies, and it was generally agreed that DHS should have the vehicles it needs
o Good deliberation and agreement on the use of hybrid vehicles and Philly Car Share/Zip Car
o Car pooling and/or sharing hired drivers was discussed
o Utilizing Trans-passes for city workers was brought up by one member, and agreed to by the group
o It was mentioned that city vehicles are often left idling, which increases pollution and wastes gas/money
o 11/13 voted in favor (with the provision to exclude DHS from cuts)
• #12b Prisons (20% cut, but altered), for an altered 10 points
o This was a very interesting and complex deliberation
o Starting by discussing 12a, the 10% cut, the first reason offered was the amount of non-violent offenders being jailed at cost to the taxpayers
o Some inmates are locked up for not paying child support, and if they were free they could be working and paying that child support, and taxes
o The group was very much against cutting job training and reentry services, and some members thought that grouping these services in with the other cuts was ‘bogus’
o It was then agreed by the group that inmate population should be cut without impacting job training and re-entry services
o Here the subject of the 20% cut (12b) was brought up, and several group members spoke favorably about the one prison closing
o A side discussion developed about why we pay for our prison system, which Mr. Rob Dubow answered (that Philadelphia has county responsibilities as well as municipal ones)
o A vote on 12b, as written, failed (7/13 voting in favor)
o An amendment was offered on 12b that kept all job training and re-entry services, but kept the other cuts of 12a and b, for an agreed upon 10 points total
o 11/13 voted in favor
• #15b Streets (Commercial Levy) 2 points
o It was stated that homeowners are subsidizing businesses for trash collection
o One member was surprised that businesses weren’t already being charged
o 13/13 voted in favor
• #15c Streets (Sanitation Service Fee), 13 points
o One member had lived in San Francisco, where a trash levy is in place, and said that the city can be much cleaner with better funded and trained garbage collectors
o Fines for dumping should be greatly increased
o The group had questions on how the fee would be assessed, and was very concerned that people might try to dodge the fee by dumping bags in neighboring properties or piles
o One member mentioned using some of the money for environmental education, e.g., recycling and waste reduction
o Several group members said that such a fee would put an undue burden on low-income residents
o 9/13 voted in favor
• #1b Administrative (Recording Fees), (not passed), 0 points
o Many group members were sensitive to a fee increase for vital records
o Taxes should be enough to guarantee a fair price for this service
o 5/13 voted in favor
• #4 Fairmount Park, (not passed) 0 points
o Some folks thought the fountains could be closed fairly easily for savings
o There was sensitivity to the job cuts
o The effect on children was mentioned, given pool cuts, etc.
o 7/13 voted in favor
• #25b Wage Tax/Resident (altered), 6 points
o At first, the group seemed to be very against this option
o 25a was discussed first, and many said that low-income people would be affected most
o Some in the group expressed a desire to protect poorer people from wage tax increases, through a graduated scale or a rebate/exemption program
o The group was not excited about voting on this, given the low point nature (of 12a), so the prospect of 12b was offered by someone
o Again, the impact on poorer people was discussed, and the vote did not pass (7/13)
o An amendment for 12b, of halving the effect, was offered
o 10/13 voted in favor
• #1a Administrative, 5 points
o Overall, this was well received
o One member mentioned that the white collar types should lead by example and take cuts
o 11/13 voted in favor
• #26b Wage Tax/Commuter, 5 points
o It was mentioned by one member that if you’re going to do this “do it BIG”
o One person was outraged that the poor were taxed at a higher rate than non-resident commuters
o And again, the possibility of a progressive income tax (scaled) was talked about some
o 11/13 voted in favor
• #18 BPT Gross Receipts Tax, (not voted on), 0 points
o Was mentioned here, but group was overwhelmingly against it and it did not come to a vote
• #19 BPT Net Income Tax, (not voted on), 0 points
o Was mentioned here, but group was overwhelmingly against it and it did not come to a vote
• #11b Police (20% cut), (not passed) 0 points
o For the 20% cut, the argument was made that crime rates are lower, and we don’t need so many police officers
o One member countered that “now is not the time to do this,” given the economic downturn and the likelihood of crime increasing
o 5/13 voted in favor
o 11a was then considered, the 10% cut in Police
o It was mentioned that so many arrests made are for low level crimes and petty offenders, and that the oversupply of police leads to increased instances of brutality, profiling, and harassment
o Another member said that unemployment is rising, and things are getting tougher in an already bad city, and that things are bad enough given the prominence of violence. Violent crimes have increased, despite what statistics say
o 7/13 voted in favor

No Ways, No Hows
Total points: 59 points taken off the table
• #6 Free Library, 3 points
o Many group members thought the branch libraries were important, and necessary for the neighborhoods
o Schools without their own libraries or minimal libraries often used branches for school children
o 12/13 voted in favor
• #13 Public Health, 7 points
o A point was brought up that these health centers are used by employed and insured low-income residents, not just by the unemployed and uninsured
o This was followed up with the fact that these centers generate revenue, and that function should not be overlooked
o 13/13 voted in favor
• #7 Housing, 7 points
o The group felt that putting more families on the street was a terrible thing to do in this economic climate
o Some felt that the system should be better or expanded
o After no dissenting opinions were offered, 12/13 voted in favor
• #14 Recreation, 3 points
o The person who mentioned this topic said that option 14a might be considered, so technically it was still on the table
o The group members felt that children should be supported, especially in this current environment
o Rec Center programs should not be cut
o 12/13 voted in favor
• #8 Human Services, 19 points
o One well informed member offered that the number of children in the DHS system has increased by 200%, and that the department is overwhelmed and has had no increase in resources
o A counterpoint was offered that the department has redundancy and much administrative overhead, and they should be able to do more with less
o A reorganization of the department was agreed to by the group
o 9/13 voted in favor
• #5 Fire Dept, 20 points
o One group member stated that Fire departments were working well because of the loss in population coupled with keeping the same amount of fire stations
o General fear that if this were to be cut, the cuts would come from poorer neighborhoods
o One well informed member mentioned that the department generates revenue through its EMS service, and that as it stands now, the only quick way to get EMS service was through calling the Fire dept
o 12/13 voted in favor
• All No Way No Hows mentioned by the group passed the vote
Shared Pain
Total points: 26
• #11a Police (10% cut), 26 points
o As their one choice for a Shared Pain option (because of time constraints), the group chose to revisit #11b, 20% cut for Police
o The discussion began again and picked up from the prior discussion in Low Hanging Fruit
o That the city is not as bad as it is portrayed
o One member mentioned that if patrols are cut, then perhaps increase activity in town watches can supplement
o Another member countered that town watch can’t help you when someone uninvited is in your home
o The discussion then turned to how much time police spend being involved in actual crime prevention or arrests, etc., and it was mentioned that police aren’t spending enough time on committed crimes and those that matter
o Another member mentioned Chief Ramsey’s attempts at reorganization and how it is showing benefits, and that a cut would harm those gains
o Yet another offered that there are so many guns on the street, that even for smaller crimes, police are often needed because of the threat/possibility of weapons
o Lastly, one mentioned that until the recession ends, we should not touch police service
o 4/13 voted in favor of 11b
o After this, the group decided to vote on 11a, the 10% cut in Police
o 8/13 voted in favor, and it passed