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Inquirer Editorial Board’s to-do list for City Council | Editorial

Here are our top five priorities for City Council in the fall 2019 session.

Students and supporters of Global Leadership Academy Charter School protest inside City Council Chambers to deliver a message to the Board of Education on Thursday, May 23, 2019. Some Philadelphia charter school leaders are accusing the Philadelphia School District of targeting black-led charter schools for closure.
Students and supporters of Global Leadership Academy Charter School protest inside City Council Chambers to deliver a message to the Board of Education on Thursday, May 23, 2019. Some Philadelphia charter school leaders are accusing the Philadelphia School District of targeting black-led charter schools for closure.Read moreHEATHER KHALIFA / Staff Photographer

City Council reopens for business on Thursday after a 12-week summer recess.

We know some members actually work during the summer on constituent services, but the fact is Council does not meet as a body or conduct meaningful business for three months.

That’s the first thing we’d list as our priority for Council to fix this session. There are too many pressing needs in this city for its legislative body to be unable to make laws or approve items like land sales of public property. At the least, a modified summer session should be a first step.

Here are other priorities we’d argue for Council to address:

City Council’s operating budget. A 2016 Pew report identified Philadelphia City Council as one of the most expensive in the country. Council’s budget, now $18 million, is $1 million more than it was two years ago, and more than $2.5 million more than five years ago. Why is it growing, and who should be held accountable? Council won’t hold hearings on its own budget, but an entity like Pennsylvania Intergovernmental Cooperative Authority could, and give the public as much insight into that budget as any other city department.

Sexual harassment: Last year, the city controller issued a report suggesting that the city should create a centralized office to handle sexual-harassment complaints instead of on a department-by-department basis. City Council can’t mandate that this happen, but it can make a powerful statement by pushing for this change.

Taxes: Modifying or eliminating the 10-year tax abatement is on many Council members’ priority list, but Council should also focus on fixing the flaws in the assessment process for everyone else – and fixes should happen before the next set of property tax bills go out. Fairness and uniformity is still an issue. And someone should take seriously the idea of revenue neutrality. Council has the ability to adjust the millage rate to keep taxes from going up each year.

Opioids: Last September, Councilwoman Cindy Bass planned to hold a hearing about recovery houses in Philadelphia – which are unregulated (since they are technically not treatment facilities) and often take advantage of those in addiction. As far as we can tell, that hearing never happened. Why not?

In February, nine City Council members voted against a bill that would have required all pharmaceutical representatives to register with the city and banned them from giving away gifts and free meals to prescribing physicians. City health officials supported the bill, as did this editorial board. Bill Greenlee and Cindy Bass should consider bringing this bill back.

Schools: The creation of a local school board and increased financial contributions from the city have helped improve the outlook for public education, but the problems facing the district are more complex than ever. The schools are expected to address problems like nutrition, public safety, behavioral health, and environmental hazards caused by lead and asbestos in schools. Council can push for a wider view of how budgets of individual departments intersect with the needs of the city’s children – and demand more accountability from departments to help with the district’s challenges.