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Honoring and congratulating Department of Licenses and Inspections Commissioner David Perri on his retirement from the City of Philadelphia and recognizing his exceptional leadership and accomplishments over a distinguished career in public service.
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WHEREAS, Commissioner Perri is retiring in October 2020 after thirty-nine years of service to the City of Philadelphia. David Perri is an engineer who studied at Drexel University. Commissioner Perri began his career at the Department of Licenses and Inspections (“L&I”) over three decades ago and has held a variety of roles and provided the Department with an unmatched depth of experience; and
WHEREAS, Commissioner Perri first worked for the City as an engineer in the Water Department. He joined L&I as a building plans examiner and later held roles as a permit services manager, chief code engineer, head of license issuance, and head of the real estate certification unit. Commissioner Perri also served as Commissioner of the Streets Department; and
WHEREAS, As L&I Commissioner, David Perri created impactful change, modernizing the Department and improving safety for all Philadelphians; and
WHEREAS, In 2020 Commissioner Perri implemented a new electronic records and permitting management system, eCLIPSE, that advanced the Department’s mission to become more customer friendly while also making new efficiencies within the system possible; and
WHEREAS, Commissioner Perri built L&I’s capacity to generate and analyze data and incorporate data into decision-making. L&I has used data to prioritize demolition of dangerous buildings, draw equitable boundaries for its field offices, develop performance measures, identify geographic and other trends, and identify “pain points” in its processes. To promote transparency, L&I updates 15 open sets of its data daily and exposes its records on Atlas, L&I Permit Tracker, and other City applications; and
WHEREAS, Perhaps most significantly, Commissioner Perri is credited with stabilizing L&I and reestablishing building safety as its core mission. He oversaw a dramatic increase in inspector staffing and reorganized the Department to create a Building Safety Division. Commissioner Perri worked with City Council and the Mayor’s Office to enact legislation requiring regular inspection of fire escapes, heightened demolition protections, and other safety measures. Commissioner Perri also improved safety in some of our most vulnerable communities by advocating for meaningful increases in funding for demolition of hazardous properties; and
WHEREAS, In addition to his major accomplishments in safety and technology, Commissioner Perri also fought to effectively modernize building codes, meet international quality standards for accreditation, and enforce of violations; and
WHEREAS, Beyond his professional accomplishments, David Perri has always been known for his good nature and drive to get the job done well. His unfailing availability to explain complicated issues and his dedication to finding solutions to challenging problems is unrivaled. Commissioner Perri’s kind, thoughtful, and down to earth approach to leadership ensures that he will be remembered fondly by all of his colleagues in City Council and the Mayor’s Administration who wish him a happy retirement; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, by the City Council of Philadelphia, That the Commissioner of the Department of Licenses and Inspections, David Perri, is hereby honored and congratulated upon his retirement and recognized his exceptional leadership and accomplishments over a distinguished career in public service.
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