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MAYOR'S BUDGET ADDRESS
Thursday, March 5, 2015
Prepared remarks follow, check against delivery:
Good morning Council President Clarke, City Council leadership, members of the City Council and leaders of my Administration, City officials, my fellow elected officials, members of the School Reform Commission, Superintendent Dr. William Hite and my fellow Philadelphians.
I am honored to be here in the People's Chamber, to fulfill the duties of my office and transmit a budget and Five Year Plan that serves the interests of our great City and its residents.
Before we begin, I'd like to have a moment of silence to recognize three tremendous public servants who we lost over the last year: Gloria Casarez, the first Director of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Affairs, Joan Markman, our first Chief Integrity Officer, and Lieutenant Joyce Craig, the first female firefighter to die in the line of duty.
These three extraordinary women were exemplary public servants, consummate professionals and dedicated leaders. Let their lives and their service act as a continual reminder to all of us to do our own jobs better and let us keep them and their families in our thoughts and prayers.
For seven plus years, I have had the honor of serving my hometown, the City I love, as Mayor and the privilege of working with some of the most passionate and dedicated public servants I have ever known, both on City Council and in the departments and agencies that provide services to our citizens.
We started our journey together in 2008 with a new vision for Philadelphia: a city that is safer, smarter, greener, healthier and growing; a city that strives for excellent customer service and strong financial stewardship; and a city with an ethical government, committed to integrity - a government that Philadelphians could trust in and be proud of.
And we weren't going to be timid about it. We took on challenges that hadn't been addressed in decades, if ever: toget...
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