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
Philly.com discussions are intended to be civil, friendly conversations. Please treat other participants with respect and in a way that you would want to be treated. You are responsible for what you say. And please, stay on topic.
These boards are monitored by Philly.com staff. We reserve the right at all times to remove any information or materials that are unlawful, threatening, abusive, libelous, defamatory, obscene, vulgar, pornographic, profane, indecent or otherwise objectionable to us in our sole discretion and to disclose any information necessary to satisfy the law, regulation, or government request. Personal attacks, especially on other board participants, are not permitted. We reserve the right to permanently block any user who violates these terms and conditions.