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Authorizing transfers in appropriations for Fiscal Year 2020 from the Grants Revenue Fund, the Director of Finance - Provision for Other Grants to the General Fund, the Director of Commerce.
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WHEREAS, Business corridors (also known as commercial corridors) are the lifeblood of communities and neighborhoods throughout the City. They serve as economic engines, places where small businesses and entrepreneurs exist side-by-side with franchises and chain stores. Many business corridors are also residential blocks, with residents living directly above the stores. According to OpenDataPhilly, there are 278 “commercial corridors, centers, districts, and projects that provide consumer-oriented goods and services, including retail, food and beverage, and personal, professional, and business services”; and
WHEREAS, While some business corridors in our City benefit from organized, sustained support from CDCs, BIDs, special services districts, and/or neighborhood-based organizations, many business corridors do not have such support. According to the Philadelphia Association of Community Development Corporations (PACDC), there are 37 “Supported Commercial Corridors,” which “are those whose managing group is either in the CDC Tax Credit Program, receives grants from the Philadelphia Commerce Department for corridor management and/or cleaning, or is an active PACDC member with other forms of meaningful corridor support and staff.” Unfortunately, the support business corridors may or may not receive has created a system of “haves” and “have nots,” with some business corridors remaining relatively clean and well-maintained, while others struggle with litter, blight, storefront maintenance, and branding challenges; and
WHEREAS, While the City has recently done more to assist its business corridors, from a street sweeping pilot program to an increased financial commitment for FY20, the City could still do more to ensure that its business corridors are thriving; and
WHEREAS, PHL Taking Care of Business (PHL~TCB) will be a new Citywide business corridor cleaning program, in which every Council District will receive thirty (30) on-the-job trainees (hereafter “trainees”), each paid a living wage, who will be responsible for litter and blight removal, as well as some additional maintenance work. The trainees will clean on and around neighborhood business corridors on a regularly occurring basis, coordinating with City agencies and existing community development corporations (CDCs), business improvement districts (BIDs), special services districts, and/or neighborhood-based organizations so as not to duplicate existing services; and
WHEREAS, This transfer ordinance shall allocate funding to oversee and administer this new program Citywide, to hire 30 trainees for each Council District, and to cover daily operational costs of the program. While the initial funding source will be City dollars, this will not be a City program, and the trainees will not be City employees; and
WHEREAS, Instead, the funding will flow from the Commerce Department to a third-party entity - Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation (PIDC) - who will issue RFPs and/or contract with CDCs and other neighborhood-based organizations who will each manage the program on several business corridors. It is envisioned that each Council District will have on average two CDCs and/or neighborhood-based organizations managing the program for that Council District. The CDCs and/or neighborhood-based organizations may then choose to contract with a professional cleaning firm who will hire the trainees, or depending on capacity, keep the work in-house. The intent is for the trainees to be local, so that residents will literally be cleaning where they live; and
WHEREAS, The Commerce Department and PIDC will work with each District Council member to provide guidance on how best to implement this program in each Council District. Understanding that every Council District has unique strengths, weaknesses, and needs, this program will be tweaked for each and every Council District. For example, some Council Districts have a strong CDC structure and/or BIDs; they may not need supports and services on their primary business corridors, but they may need them on secondary and tertiary business corridors. However, to ensure uniformity to a certain degree across the City, the Commerce Department shall develop a curriculum and baseline standards for all trainees to follow. Furthermore, the Commerce Department will oversee the program to ensure equity and quality control; and
WHEREAS, For the roughly 300 trainees hired, the only qualifications are that they show up to work on time and be ready to work. The trainees will each work about 25 hours per week and be paid a living wage, which is $15 per hour. The trainees will be trained as they are getting paid, and they will also receive additional wraparound supports. These wraparound supports will come from partnering nonprofits, and they will include, but are not limited to: professional development and resume building, guidance on returning to school or pursuing higher education/vocational training, financial counseling, etc. The intent is that PHL~TCB will become a pipeline for employers from both the public and private sectors that are seeking new workers. The hope is that the trainees will be given some degree of civil service preference if they apply for certain City jobs; and
WHEREAS, In order to track results and ensure maximum success, PHL~TCB will include thorough data collection, analysis, and assessment. Some funding has been earmarked to hire a third-party independent research firm to do both quantitative and qualitative analysis during the rollout of the program and after its full implementation. The quantitative analysis will use existing performance measures - such as the Litter Index - as well as other relevant measures. Some of these measures will be gathered via a survey of business owners, residents, and consumers. Finally, the qualitative analysis will consist of one-on-one interviews with individuals at all levels of the program - those at PIDC and the Commerce Department, as well as employees at the CDCs, the trainees, business owners, etc.; and
WHEREAS, The funding for PHL~TCB can be supplemented by state government funding and private sector funding. Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation (PIDC) operates a 501(c)(3) and has the capacity to receive private sector donations. By working with groups like The Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia, the African American Chamber of Commerce, the Philadelphia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the Asian American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Philadelphia, and labor unions (including public sector unions, the building trades unions, and private sector unions), PHL~TCB is intended to be an intergovernmental public-private partnership, utilizing local and state funding as well as private sector funding; and
WHEREAS, PHL~TCB will most importantly reduce litter and blight, but its impact will be much larger. PHL~TCB will support small businesses and entrepreneurs, stimulate job creation/training, retain and attract residents and businesses, and decrease poverty and crime, all while creating a pipeline for employers from both the public and private sectors and expanding the City’s tax base; now, therefore,
THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA HEREBY ORDAINS:
SECTION 1. The Director of Finance is hereby authorized to make the following transfers in
appropriations for Fiscal Year 2020 from the Grants Revenue Fund to the General Fund:
FROM: GRANTS REVENUE FUND
9.15 THE DIRECTOR OF FINANCE - PROVISION FOR OTHER GRANTS
Advances and Other Miscellaneous Payment .....................................................$ 10,000,000
Total ......................................................................................................$ 10,000,000
Total “FROM” Grants Revenue Fund ..............................................................$ 10,000,000
Total “FROM” Section .......................................................................................$ 10,000,000
TO: GENERAL FUND
2.50 THE DIRECTOR OF COMMERCE
Purchase of Services ..........................................................................................$ 10,000,000
Total .........................................................................................................$ 10,000,000
Total “TO” General Fund.....................................................................................$ 10,000,000
Total “TO” Section ............................................................................................$ 10,000,000
SECTION 2. It is the intent of Council through this Ordinance to increase the appropriation to the Department of Commerce to implement a new Citywide business corridor (also known as commercial corridor) cleaning program.
SECTION 3. This Ordinance shall take effect immediately.
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