Great Expectations

Citizen blogger Susan Zalenski took part in the May 5 "A City That Works" Forum in Councilmanic District 7. She writes:

On Monday, May 5, about 45 people gathered at Holy Innocents Church, 1337 E. Hunting Park Avenue. I’ve been attending GE forums in neighborhoods other than my own – it really gives me a chance to see what goes on in other communities and oftentimes have a chance to check out an unfamiliar area of Philadelphia. It is amazing how you can live somewhere for so long and still see new things (and still get lost).

After the overview of the Fiscal Year 2009 City Proposed Operating Budget (presentation here) and strategic goals (see the 5-year plan), participants gathered into break-out groups to discuss one of the following: Public Safety, Education, Ethics, Jobs and Economic Development or Healthy and Sustainable Neighborhoods.

My initial choice would have been Healthy and Sustainable Neighborhoods, but I then decided to go with Jobs and Economic Development. Three years ago, I was fortunate enough to find employment in my ZIP Code, and I have been singing the praises ever since. (For nine years, I commuted 50 miles/day.) Also, the company I work for has a significant location in Philadelphia, but we will be relocating in a couple of years…fortunately, to another Philadelphia location! It pleases me to see that (at some level) my company realizes the importance of being in Philadelphia.

Continue reading "A City That Works - May 5" »

Citizen blogger Albert Yee took part in the May 7 "A City That Works" Forum in Northeast Philadelphia. He writes:

It's time for another set of Great Expectations forums! This time around, it's a set of forums called "A City That Works" held, once again, in each of the 10 City Council districts. At each stop, a set of city officials from the Mayor's Office, Performance Office and Budget Office will be present. A post from the first forum in South Philly is already here on the G.E. blog. About 50 people were on hand for last night's forum (including about 10 staffers). The Inquirer's Chris Satullo told the crowd that this was approximately the 100th forum and the fourth one at the John M. Perzel Community Center in the Northeast. Satullo polled the sizable crowd to see how many had been to previous forums, and you can see above that most of the crowd knew the drill pretty well; I saw a lot of familiar faces from previous forums.

Continue reading "A City That Works - May 7" »

Citizen blogger Margit Olsen returns to the Great Expectations blogging team. She's in her mid-20s and preparing to go back to school in order to become a special-education teacher. She moved to Philly three years ago from Delaware and currently lives in West Philly with her girlfriend, dog and three cats.

Margit writes:

I had the pleasure of attending the first of 10 forums to be held in the coming weeks on April 29, 2008. It took place at 7 p.m. at St. Gabriel’s School, 2917 Dickinson St. I was one of about 50 citizens that showed up for the event. Although this forum did not take place in my particular neighborhood, I felt a sense of community among those there. We were all there to talk about making our city a better place under our new mayor.

The night started out looking at some budget numbers. The proposed budget for FY 2008-09 is $3.897 billion, which was presented by the mayor’s budget director Steve Agostini and assistant budget director Julie Wertheimer. This part of the presentation was a little bit dry. I can’t say that I honestly understand where this money comes from, where it goes, and since I still need help filing my 1040 EZ, I would be the last person to turn to for help understanding these numbers. However, I was struck by the revelation that two-thirds of the city’s budget goes to payroll, pension, and other employee benefits for city workers.

Continue reading "A City That Works - April 29 Forum" »

The new round of neighborhood forums, on a City That Works, got off to a rousing start in South Philly last night. Mayor Nutter put in a surprise appearance at St. Gabriel's Church Hall, to thank the 40-plus attendees for their efforts to help the city craft new standards for customer service and to praise Great Expectations for its continued efforts to connect citizens with government.

City Budget Director Steve Agostini and two other city officials gave citizens a quick tour of the city budget and a rundown on the city's two big initiatives to improve services, the PhillyStat accountability system and the 311 city services hotline. Agostini will be at most of these forums, and city Managing Director Camille Barnett, the driving force behind PhillyStat, will attend some. Council members have been invited and many will attend some events.

Then the citizens got down the work of identifying what their service expectations are in five areas: public safety, education, neighborhoods, economic development and ethics. Agostini and the others, including Council communication director Anthony Radwanski, wrapped up the evening by answering citizen questions.

Nine more of these forums will be held around the city in May. If you haven't signed up to attend one, there's still plenty of time and room. We do ask that you register in advance, because a hot dinner is served and we have to know how much food to order. Check the attached flyer for forum dates, sites and times. You can register on the Web site or by calling 215-854-5956.

If you live in Council District 2 (Anna Verna's) but didn't get word on last night's session, you can still attend one of the others; District 1, in particular, also covers part of South Philly. But the program is essentially the same no matter where the forum is being held.

If you belong to or know about civic group that you think could help get the word out about the forums, please let us know.

-- The Great Expectations Team

Philadelphia City Hall and good customer service? In the same sentence?
That’s the bold goal of the Nutter administration.

You can help make it happen. How? Attend one of 10 neighborhood forums cosponsored by the Great Expectations project and the Economy League of Greater Philadelphia.

Michael Nutter and his top aides promise to use your input at these forums to help shape the performance standards and customer service expectations that they are setting up for city departments. Top officials will attend; they will explain the city’s goals for six core areas: public safety, education, jobs, healthy communities, ethics, and customer service. City Council members will be invited.

Each event will begin with a free, hot dinner at 6:30 p.m. The forum will run from 7 to 9:30 p.m., unless otherwise noted. Free parking is available at most sites.

To see the full list of dates, visit http://www.greatexpectations07.com/node/400.

Registration is required. You can register online or call the phone line, 215-854-5956, and tell us your name, the date of the event you'd like to attend, and how many people are in your group.

Citizen blogger Susan Zalenski returns to the Great Expectations blog to filed her report from the final neighborhood forum. The District 9 session focused on the final version of the Citizens Agenda for Philadelphia's Future. She writes:

The original City Council District 9 meeting was rescheduled due to “weather.” (It had snowed the day before the meeting.) A group of 50 or so citizens, civic leaders and City Year volunteers showed up at Albert Einstein Memorial Hospital to review the finalized Citizens Agenda for Philadelphia’s Future on Tuesday evening, March 25th.

Some background: District 9 covers Chestnut Hill, East Germantown, East Mount Airy , Glenwood , Hunting Park, Logan, Morton, Nicetown, Ogontz, Penn Knox, Rising Sun - Tioga, Southwest Germantown, West Central, West Mount Airy, Westside and Wister neighborhoods. District 9’s City Council Person is Marian Tasco, who joined the meeting later for the Q&A.

Continue reading "Wrapping up the "Presenting the Agenda" forums" »

Citizen blogger Albert Yee brings us the final report from our "Presenting the Agenda" neighborhood forums. He writes:

My final Great Expectations agenda forum was in District 7 - the home turf of freshman Councilwoman Maria Quiñones-Sánchez. The forum was held in Holy Innocents Church in Junianta. Along with about six staffers were about 40 participants. Councilwoman Sánchez and Councilman Bill Green made it out to hear their constituents discuss the agenda.

I sat down with the breakout group that discussed Budget & Taxes, Leadership & Reform, Transportation and City Services more in depth. This group was definitely the most subdued out of the four I've sat down with in the past month or so, but still had some lively conversation on some points. The discussion started with transportation. Duane wanted to see incentives for not taking cars into Center City like in some other large cities. Adan, a church leader from Norris Square, wanted to see how the city could become greener and address the issue of clogged streets in one fell swoop. James, a PhillyCarShare advocate, wanted to try new ideas and see if the worked out. He wanted smaller vehicles to run late at night instead of the large double-length buses, which run up and down Broad Street with single-digit passengers. John was worried about privatizing I-80. He definitely wanted more money to fund mass transit, but thought that this option would bust the unions and lead to crony appointments.

Continue reading "District 7: Many issues raised; many ideas offered" »

Citizen blogger Jennifer Yuan attended the "Presenting the Agenda" community forum in the 8th District. Jennifer's personal blog, A Thousand Times No, can be found at http://1000timesno.net).

She writes:

Snow fell over Mount Airy on Feb. 20, the evening of the Great Expectations District 8 agenda forum. Despite the weather, nearly 60 people from neighborhoods throughout the district, including Germantown, Mount Airy and Chestnut Hill, filled a large conference room at the Lutheran Theological Seminary on Germantown Avenue. In this setting, project director Chris Satullo kicked off the evening with an apt description of the Great Expectations Citizens Agenda as an act of faith: “It’s an act of faith in our city; it’s an act of faith in the citizens of the city and the power of civic dialogue. It is also an act of faith in our leaders: a belief that if we are better citizens — that if we are ready to step up with our hearts, our minds, and our muscles to make this a better city — they will also be better leaders."

After the opening remarks, people broke into three smaller discussion groups, focusing on separate clusters of issues addressed in the Citizens Agenda.

Continue reading "District 8: Feelings of frustration, optimism" »

Citizen blogger Bill Rowland takes a look at the District 3 community forum, which drew a record number of participants for a Great Expectations neighborhood meeting. (Bill's own blog can be read at http://phillyfoodguys.com/).

He writes:

The March 5th presentation of Great Expectations’ Citizens Agenda to residents of City Council District 3 was energizing, if not informative. With attendance more than 100% greater than expected, West Philly’s participation blew away that of other sections of the city. Meeting in the heart of West Philly at 39th & Market Streets was a diverse group of 140 including residents, activists and students, as well as a squad of City Year volunteers.

Discussion of the Citizens Agenda started over dinner, as individuals and small groups arrived to share a buffet meal before the event began. The feeling was perceptibly optimistic as neighbors became reacquainted; Great Expectations “veterans” chatted with “newbies”; and everyone shared their hopes, concerns and dreams for the city’s future.

Continue reading "Bill Rowland: West Philly residents show they care" »

Citizen blogger Albert Yee rounds out his District 1 entry with a report on the second half of the evening. The event was held March 2 at The Inquirer building. (Check out Albert's personal blog at http://www.dragonballyee.com/blog)

He writes:

The Q&A session for the Great Expectations Agenda meeting for the 1st Council District started off with a bang, with a question for the councilmen about whether they supported spot zoning. The questioner wanted the councilmen to deny all spot zoning requests until a full plan was in place. The 1st District's Councilman Frank DiCicco took to the mic first. He said that he views all zoning requests on a case-by-case basis and to deny all spot zoning requests between now and the finalization of a zoning plan would be too broad a move to make. At-Large Councilman Bill Green said that it would be great to be able to hold everything until a plan was in place, but it that it is just not feasible. He pointed out to Miami's recent new zoning plan; it took them three years to finalize and their city is one-fifth the size of Philadelphia. Green gave a drop-dead date of 2011 (the same year as his re-election bid) for a plan to be in place. If a new zoning plan that pleased the majority of Philadelphians were in place before the elections, I foresee a slew of re-elections. Zoning is at the top of people's minds all across the city.

Continue reading "Albert Yee: Q&A with Councilmen in District 1" »