City Council picks up the pace this week with five hearings on everything from plugging cell phone camera users into the 911 system to defining domestic partners as family for real estate programs, to offering businesses financial incentives for hiring ex-offenders.
Councilman Dan Savage kicks it off Tuesday at 1 p.m. with a hearing looking at improvements made, and those still needed, at the city's Department of Licenses and Inspections. Some have grumbled that the hearings will cover familiar ground, but Savage feels otherwise.
On Wednesday the Committee on Public Safety looks at Councilwoman's Donna Reed Miller's proposal to see if the city can afford to receive digital photos and video to its 911 system. New York is planning something similar, according to the bill. At the same hearing, Councilman Jack Kelly will push his bill to equip firefighters with hearing protection.
The Committee on Finance on Thursday will look at Michael Nutter's initiative, proposed by Councilman W. Wilson Goode Jr., to encourage businesses to hire ex-offenders by offering tax breaks and other incentives. The committee will also look at whether domestic partners (this is not limited to gay couples), should be considered for the same exemption from real estate transfer taxes that traditional family members are.
Find the full council calendar here.
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