Philly program to help hire vets a bust so far

Philadelphia is trying to entice businesses to hire veterans, but so far it doesn’t have many takers.

Councilman David Oh, who served in the military, called for the hearings to find out more about how veterans living in Philadelphia are dealing with day-to-day life.

Among those testifying was John Titus of Comcast who served in the Navy for 30 years and retired as a captain. He says preparing before discharge for your future career is important.

“Networking is critical and we do not offer enough opportunities while an active duty person is still in during his last tour,” Titus said. “How do we create those opportunities? They usually wait until they get out it’s too late then.”

Since 2012, Philadelphia has offered tax credits of up to $2,000 for hiring returning veterans to full-time jobs.

But city Revenue Commissioner Clarena Tolson of says hardly any city businesses have taken advantage of the credit. 

“To date the city has received one application for this credit,” Tolson said. “The application unfortunately was not approvable because the veteran did not meet the program guidelines.”

Councilman Oh says he plans to review the program to find why businesses are not taking part.