tag:blogs.phillynews.com,2011:/philly/greatexpectations//4 2008-06-20T18:56:20Z Citizen Voices on Philadelphia's Future Movable Type 3.35 tag:blogs.phillynews.com,2008:/philly/greatexpectations//4.873 2008-06-20T18:46:41Z 2008-06-20T18:56:20Z

The Great Expectations blog has changed locations. You can now read our entries at the Philly.com/Inquirer Web site: http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/greatexpectations Please update your online bookmarks. All entries up to this point will continue to be located here, our MovableType location....

Jodie Chester http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/greatexpectations Please update your online bookmarks. All entries up to this point will continue to be located here, our MovableType location.]]> tag:blogs.phillynews.com,2008:/philly/greatexpectations//4.861 2008-06-03T18:42:29Z 2008-06-05T19:15:45Z

Citizen blogger Bill Rowland returns for a second "A City That Works" forum, this time with members of Young Involved Philadelphia. He writes: The May 29th Great Expectations forum was a bit different than many of the others recently held....

Jodie Chester Citizen blogger Bill Rowland returns for a second "A City That Works" forum, this time with members of Young Involved Philadelphia. He writes: The May 29th Great Expectations forum was a bit different than many of the others recently held. Located in the bowels of the Philadelphia Inquirer building on North Broad Street, the event was held in conjunction with Young Involved Philadelphia, a grassroots nonprofit organization that aims to increase civic engagement among young Philadelphians. Like peanut butter and jelly, they go well together… Winding my way through a Get Smart-like maze (the original, Don Adams version) I found the basement venue filled with a mix of project organizers, event attendees and city officials chatting over light finger food. A few brief conversations revealed that this was an introduction to the Great Expectations project for most attendees. In addition, a quick poll found that most people were in an information gathering mode and assessing volunteer opportunities.]]> As the crowd settled down, introductory comments and an explanation of the event were offered by Claire, Chris and Harris from YIP, The Inquirer and Penn respectively. The evening’s “A City that Works Forum” is designed build on previous Great Expectations events by eliciting citizen input on the Nutter administration’s five strategic goals: Public Safety, Education, Jobs and Economic Development, Healthy and Sustainable Neighborhoods, Ethics and how the emphasis on Customer Service will be integrated into the pursuit of progress toward each goal. Following the prologue, Philadelphia Budget Director Steve Agostini laid out some background information (Check out slides from the presentation here and stressed that participation by members of groups like Young Involved Philadelphia is critical to the city’s success. Afterward, attendees broke into groups to discuss one of each of the five strategic goals. I joined the Jobs and Economic Development group and frankly we didn’t get much done. With the limited time available, we were only able to fully explore the first two of our three assigned questions and never really developed quantifiable customer service metrics. Regardless, I walked away from my experience at the forum with the feeling that it may be more difficult to enlist members of groups like YIP to help move Philadelphia forward. Granted I didn’t speak with everyone, but here are a few observations and suggestions: Many are busy starting careers, families and lives – Everyone leads busy lives and younger, well educated Philadelphians are no exception. How can we make it easier for these people to volunteer? Potential volunteers want to know what they’re getting themselves into. Community groups need to write job descriptions explaining the duties and time commitment required. Volunteers, on the other hand, must set limits for themselves and communicate those limits to the organization if they are to be productive and enjoy their experience. Few actively participate in community groups – Why? My guess is a combination of things. First, recent graduates generally haven’t lived in their neighborhood or city long enough to “set down roots” or develop relationships with other residents; this normally comes with age & kids. Second, many civic associations haven’t done a good job of promoting themselves and their purpose. Third, volunteering is work. Community groups must make a better effort to reach out to younger residents and workers by interacting with groups like YIP on an ongoing basis. Furthermore, organizations and their potential volunteers must acknowledge that volunteerism is work and do their best to make it fun. Organizations should be flexible in creating positions while potential volunteers should search for opportunities to perform functions in which they have an interest. For those willing, few know where to start. Facing a sea of potential volunteer opportunities, some feel overwhelmed at the prospect of picking one. The phrase “Paralysis by analysis” comes to mind. The City of Philadelphia can help by promoting existing vehicles to match volunteers with opportunities and improving them if needed. Reluctant to wait for the city, I think potential volunteers need to make the effort to do some research: groups like Philadelphia Cares, Volunteer Match, Greater Philly Environmental Network,Habitat for Humanity or The United Way would be great places to start. Take a page from Nike and “Just Do It.” Culture of immediate gratification may reduce patience – With the evolution of our increasingly connected society, everyone has grown accustomed to instant gratification and immediate results. Google – instant information, cell phones – instant conversation, Blackberry – instant email, the list goes on and on. By itself this wouldn’t normally be a problem, but most organizations and their missions rarely provide immediate results. In addition, many spoke of “Big Hairy Audacious Goals” with seemingly little thought devoted to the daily grind of execution. Therefore, Community Groups and volunteers must focus on short and intermediate goals with an eye on the BHAG to stay motivated and be successful. In conclusion, a successful Philadelphia renaissance depends on the participation of many groups throughout the city, especially younger, well educated residents and workers. Involvement of this of group holds both incredible promise and unique challenges. If we want to be successful as a city, community groups and potential volunteers, we must attempt to understand, anticipate and avoid challenges that stand in our way. A good place to start might be the use of empathy, clarity and communication. “We have a real opportunity to do something great” exhorted Budget Director Agostini and I think he’s right. However, only by understanding the needs of organizations and volunteers alike can we hope to construct a long-term, “win-win” situation to make Philadelphia the next great city. ]]> tag:blogs.phillynews.com,2008:/philly/greatexpectations//4.858 2008-05-30T23:10:07Z 2008-05-30T23:26:26Z

Marianne Malloy is a citizen blogger from West Philadelphia. She attended the May 20 Great Expectations neighborhood forum. She writes: I attended the 9th Great Expectations forum at the University Square Apartments at 39th and Market Streets. I wasn’t sure...

Jodie Chester Marianne Malloy is a citizen blogger from West Philadelphia. She attended the May 20 Great Expectations neighborhood forum. She writes: I attended the 9th Great Expectations forum at the University Square Apartments at 39th and Market Streets. I wasn’t sure quite what to expect, as it was the first Great Expectations event that I have attended. As soon as I walked in the room, I was immediately struck by the atmosphere. The tables were filled with a diverse group of people eating dinner together and getting to know each other. I was surprised by the diversity of the ages of the participants in attendance. There were college students, young professionals, concerned parents, and retirees. It was immediately refreshing, welcoming, and encouraging to see this wide range of citizen participation. The evening got started with some opening remarks and a presentation about the city's budget and strategic plan. Afterward, the participants had the opportunity to talk about measurable goals and outcomes in order to make these lofty plans a reality. One of the facilitators said that this forum was to act as a megaphone. They want to take our voices and amplify them. In other words, our ideas and concerns will be broadcast to the Mayor’s Office and the community at large. It seemed like a great opportunity and I was ready to get started. We had the opportunity to break into groups to discuss the strategic goals in more depth. I decided to join the Jobs and Economic Development group. I thought that this would have been a very popular group, but we were one of the smaller ones. However, it was a lively, passionate group. ]]> Some of the main goals that came out of our discussion included keeping graduates from the local colleges in Philadelphia, getting young people jobs to keep them off the streets, better connecting existing residents to jobs, jobs for ex-offenders, connecting youth with skill-based trainings, and opportunities for seniors/retirees. A theme that ran through the conversation was bridging the generational gap and providing opportunities for people of all ages. Perhaps, this theme was due in part to the diversity of age at the forum and was a reflection of this. Overall, great ideas and discussions were flowing. I was able to visit some of the other groups and found more lively discussions. It struck me that it is an amazing opportunity to be able to share your hopes and goals for the city with the people who can make it happen. In the closing remarks, someone said that we are “customers of the government.” That phrase stuck out in my head. I have typically taken a laissez faire approach to government, but this idea of being a “customer of the government” makes it seem more accessible and approachable. It was nice to feel like the Mayor’s Office wants feedback and to know citizens’ opinions. Beyond that, though, they also wanted to know how we want to be treated. What a great first step in figuring out customer service and relations than by directly asking the citizens their expectations. As I rejoined my Jobs and Economic Development group, I witnessed a beautiful little exchange. One of the women in our group was having trouble opening a bottle of water. Without having to ask for help, and without asking if she needed help, the man sitting next to her simply put his hand out. She handed the bottle to him; he opened it, and then handed it back to her. This small interaction between two strangers was a great symbol of community- strangers watching out for and helping each other. I think that city dwellers, including Philadelphians, can get a bad reputation for being rude or unfriendly. At the beginning of the forum, the facilitator asked the group what Philadelphians are good at. The answer? Arguing and complaining. The forum was intended to turn those complaints into something productive by eventually creating change. Wouldn’t it be great if part of that change included building community through these discussions, sharing meals, telling life stories, and really listening and learning from your fellow neighbors? Having my voice being heard and thinking about the strategic plans for the city were important aspects of the evening. However, the biggest thing I that took from the forum was feeling a connection to other citizens and feeling an appreciation for this great city. ]]> tag:blogs.phillynews.com,2008:/philly/greatexpectations//4.857 2008-05-30T18:09:55Z 2008-06-26T03:37:21Z

Citizen blogger Albert Yee visits the High School of the Future, where "A City That Works" forum was held on May 19. He writes: I arrived at the much ballyhooed High School of the Future, which was created in conjunction...

Jodie Chester Citizen blogger Albert Yee visits the High School of the Future, where "A City That Works" forum was held on May 19. He writes: I arrived at the much ballyhooed High School of the Future, which was created in conjunction with Microsoft [greeted by much press and skepticism], eager to see what the gleaming white building looked like inside. I was hoping that the evening's forum would be held in some high-tech auditorium, but it was in the cafeteria [which was gorgeous]. A smallish crowd of about 40 came out for the forum and they worked hard to discuss the issues for this Great Expectations event. Aside from the regular slideshow [.pdf] and intro, I learned a couple of new things. First off was that the 311 system has been around since 1990, and Baltimore was the first city to use it. Baltimore's CitiStat was modeled after a NYC police data mapping program, which was adapted to apply to all of the city's functions. Being where we were, when it came time to break into smaller groups, I went to the library (also a very cool space) to listen in. Pictured above are Budget Director Steve Agostini [front] and Deputy Director of Performance Jeff Friedman. ]]> With smaller groups, there was more time to talk about each person's concerns, and we got right into it. Given that Philadelphia doesn't have control over the funding of its school system, the group concentrated on what the city could do to further education citywide. Margaret, a CCP staffer from Fairmount, started off by suggesting that everyone have access to good quality education whether it be a person's first time around or returning to school later on in life. Marguritte was concerned about the literacy rate in schools and the people working jobs once out of school. She blamed the notion of social promotion, which ushers children through the system without addressing problems. Piggybacking on Marguritte's comment, Helen wanted to see more literacy programs opened up throughout the city. She also wanted to see the after-school programs (which are not run by the School District) to be revamped to be more than rudimentary baby-sitting. Ivy, from West Philly, had watched programs on CNN addressing foods causing ADHD in children and wanted more nutritional awareness in and out of schools. Zeroing in on how to guarantee good quality education in the city, Margaret started off by suggesting that if a person who graduated from high school can't perform basic functions at work, s/he should be able to go back to school without feeling bad about it. The group suggested a "Mayor's Guarantee" that a diploma is worth the paper its printed on and that a person with a diploma can read at at least a sixth-grade level (the level of many daily newspapers like USA Today and The Daily News) - certainly a low bar, but progress has to start somewhere. To build on that guarantee, nonprofit literacy programs that currently exist should be coordinated through a reinvigorated Mayor's Literacy Program. Marguritte remembered under the Goode administration that education was a top priority, but she no longer feels the same way. The Goode administration was pre-takeover of the School District by the state, but since the takeover, in 2001, the state has increased funding approximately 7 percent per year, totaling $400M+; in the five years pre-takeover, state funding was stagnant [link]. But how to get the word out? Margaret suggested that educational issues also be included on the list of things 311 operators have training on. She suggested a database (once coordinated) to be ready for the operators so that when a person who wants to improve their grasp on reading calls in, an operator can easily direct them to a local resource. Jean, the group's moderator, noted that technology is likely the fourth "skill" kids will have to learn nowadays adding to the old Reading, Writing and Arithmetic. With access to computers and the Internet being an issue to learn that new skill, Margaret suggested partnerships with businesses who replace their computers on a regular cycle. Recycling of computers could lead to new jobs in the communities around the schools, where people can be trained on how to wipe hard drives and install new software and placing the hardware within the classrooms and tech centers. Another group member pointed out the success of Project H.O.M.E.'s Honickman Learning Center and Comcast Technology Labs. Moving onto Ivy's [pictured above] concern for improved nutritional awareness, Margaret started off the discussion by suggesting a city ordinance for labeling of all fast foods - more than the pamphlets that are available upon request at the chains around town. Marguritte suggested public service announcements with local big-name athletes talking about nutrition creatively. Edna, a retired senior, noted how the Philadelphia Corporation for Aging mails out pamphlets containing information and $20 coupons once a year for seniors to use at local markets for fresh produce. Why shouldn't a similar thing be done for every child entering the school system? I brought up The Food Trust, which has a Nutritional Education program in place in Philadelphia already. Margaret suggested the city provide permits for empty lots to be gardened. For that, there's actually a group [disclaimer, I work with this group often] called the Philly Orchard Project, which has been planting orchards around town, with the cooperation of communities, to bring access to fresh, locally grown produce to parts of the city where it can be hard to find. Back to the big group for the final Q&A session; the panel gathered up front for questions. The Inquirer's Chris Satullo asked the group what they noticed while talking and looking over the notes. Councilman Curtis Jones noted how all these issues are so interconnected. Poverty leads to crime which is a sign of lack of education and a lack of good jobs. Dealing with all the problems all at once is a daunting task, and he told the group to look at the budget [Fiscal Year 2009 .pdf] and see what the city is truly concerned about. And taking a look at the pie chart on page 13, one can see that the city plans to spend $230M on prisons while Parks & Recreation will get $58M and Streets $33M. Approximately $2.4B is committed to city personnel costs, which equals 60 percent of the $4B budget and is, according to Budget Director Agostini, typical of major cities. One attendee asked about the customer-service training for the new 311 operators. Councilman Jones said that since January (when he took office), there had been approximately 600 customer service calls with a 60 percent to 70 percent closure rate. Many if not most of the calls are easy answers to questions or simple fixes. It's those remaining 35 percent or so that really takes the work, and there will be ample training. He shared a funny statistic that the number-one call into his office was in regards to raccoons. He laughed and said that he never would've guessed that raccoons would be the number-one issue that his constituents call for help. The gentleman above asked about the deplorable operation of health centers. How there are so few, the lines are too long, how doctors leave before all patients are dealt with, and the wait for a prescription is too long. Councilman Jones agreed that the conditions are deplorable. He pointed out that there was a single ER in the 4th District, and it was in Roxborough. There are no health centers in the district at all. He said that thankfully, there is money in the budget and the situation, at least in the 4th, will get better and soon. Another gentleman up front asked about manufacturing jobs coming back to the city. Councilman Jones talked of a company from Inchon, Korea, which is set to open up shop in the 4th. That company will build trolley cars that will be used in Philadelphia. Yes, Philly is getting a local source for the trolley cars people ride every day. The factory will create 300 blue collar, family supporting jobs in the city. Looking further down the line, Jones said that green jobs are the future of Philadelphia - like the technology that went into the LEED Gold certified school building the group was in that night.]]> tag:blogs.phillynews.com,2008:/philly/greatexpectations//4.855 2008-05-28T21:07:00Z 2008-05-29T05:19:34Z

Citizen blogger Albert Yee focuses on the Ethics Group discussion that was part of the May 15 "A City That Works" neighborhood forum held at Einstein Medical Center. He writes: The Great Expectations crew headed up to Einstein Medical Center...

Jodie Chester Citizen blogger Albert Yee focuses on the Ethics Group discussion that was part of the May 15 "A City That Works" neighborhood forum held at Einstein Medical Center. He writes: The Great Expectations crew headed up to Einstein Medical Center for a forum on making the city a better place with city staffers listening attentively to 75+ citizens who came out for the discussion. This was my first time seeing new Budget Director Steve Agostini in person (Inquirer appointment story) as he was unable to make it to the two previous forums I attended in this series. He struck me as a person who genuinely cared. He was at ease in front of the room with a mic; he was glad to chat with anyone and everyone in the room no matter the topic. Along with Agostini, there were 9 other city staffers from various offices including a large contingent from Councilwoman Marian Tasco's office, but the councilwoman was not in attendance. Once the pleasantries were out of the way and the staffers got through with their quick presentation [.pdf], the attendees broke themselves up onto five groups to tackle an issue important to them. I listened in on the largest group of the night: Ethics. ]]> With ethics being one of the big points of the new mayor's campaign, I thought that this would be an interesting group to listen to and perhaps their views on the new mayor and what his promises meant to them would come up. The group quickly got to work defining what it thought ethics was. Keisha, from East Oak Lane, [speaking above] defined ethics as honesty and transparency within the government. Barbara thought ethics went hand in hand with accountability. Ken, a pastor from the area, said that ethics is resolution. He also wanted people in government to be honest enough to admit that they don't know the answer at times. The group wanted people in government to be willing to take risks to do the right thing. I thought Nutter's signing into law of five gun bills (Inquirer article) in defiance of the state was a step in the right direction. Philadelphia, being a city of first class, should be able to enact more stringent laws than the state feels necessary. So with the group's definition/expectations in place, how to quantify results? While one person wanted 100% satisfaction, Keisha would settle for 75%, or simply, an improvement from the current situation - a decidedly low bar for many. Moderator Harris Sokoloff of UPenn asked the group how that improvement could be measured. The group wanted to be able to see fewer repeated mistakes like trash not being fully picked up from each block. They wanted to be able to track all of the complaints. Barbara wanted a follow up call to her more serious complaints. One woman wanted physical letters generated with pertinent information from each call automatically mailed out within 30 days of each call. Joyce, a former PGW employee on the customer service side, said that was something PGW enacted after their customers demanded it. If PGW could do it, the city should she added. Cheryl wanted simple expectations met: if she's told she'll receive a call in 5 days and gets a call back 14 days later, that's not good enough. She also wanted to see the city employees treated wll by their bosses. After all, if they're not treated well, how can they be expected to treat people over the phone well. The group added that incentives may be the way to go. Joyce suggested bonuses in cash, vacation days or free meals as possible incentives for good customer service. My favorite part of each night has become watching people go around and reading over the notes of the other 4 groups. Seeing citizens interact with city staffers about points brought up in the breakout groups; people scribbling down notes; people taking cell phone photos of the notes like above. The interest in each others' thoughts makes it that much clearer that everyone in the room really cares and wants to make things better in their city - they're not simply showing up for some free grub. The panel of city staffers took their seats at the front of the room after everyone had some time to look at the notes around the room. From left to right: Derek Green (Councilwoman Tasco's office and 2006 At-Large City Council candidate), Anuj Gupta (Budget office), Julie Wertheimer (Budget office), Agostini, Dana Wilson (Budget office), Steve Kennebeck (Chief of Staff, Managing Director). Sokoloff asked what struck them while listening in on the groups and looking at all the notes. Green said he was made even more aware as to how hard it is to get things done for the average citizen. He said he receives calls in Councilwoman Tasco's office every day from people who need help after exhausting calls to various city agencies. He can end up helping the people with their problems, but he agrees that it shouldn't take a call from a council office. The Inquirer's Chris Satullo asked the panel to tell the group a little more about the city's soon to be 311 system. Agostini said that the call takers would be housed on the 1st floor of City Hall and that initially, the room would hold about 60 people and have the capacity for 100. The system will be 24/7/365. Gupta added that Philadelphia is the 50th or so city to institute a 311 system and that there is a tried and tested rollout schedule of functionality. Walter wanted to know how the citizens could be assured that things would actually get done - no empty promises. Agostini said that the PhillyStat program has already yielded results. In a recent meeting, it was revealed that the homicide rate was down in the first quarter as compared to last year. The funniest part of the night was when one participant asked who they should call if they had a complaint in regards to a 311 operator. Wilson laughed and said she had no idea (neither did anyone else on the panel). Gupta came to the rescue with a suggestion: Baltimore's CitiStat system has their operators call back, randomly, 10% of the incoming calls at the end of the day for citizen feedback. That functionality is built into the PhillyStat software and could be activated down the line. Sharon, from East Oak Lane and a Tasco staffer, asked what the police force was doing in terms of diversity training. Agostini asked the room to look at the front panel. Before them were people of a mix of backgrounds: Indian, gay, Puerto Rican, Jewish, white, black, male, female. "We are diversity" he said, and they were committed to it. This guy is a leader. After the Q&A session was over, people milled about the room. Not one, not two, but three city officials took time to speak with the woman above who wanted some additional clarification on one of the questions she asked. The rest of the panel was roaming around the room talking to various groups as well. The Great Expectations staff was busy organizing all the notes for transcription and tidying up the conference room graciously provided by Einstein. I made my way out of the maze that is Einstein and hopped on the Broad Street Line back to Center City thoroughly impressed with the city's new Budget Director. If he's this passionate about things partially related to the city's budget, I can't imagine what he's like when jumping into the numbers.]]> tag:blogs.phillynews.com,2008:/philly/greatexpectations//4.852 2008-05-23T20:51:32Z 2008-06-04T18:55:13Z

Citizen blogger Peak Johnson joined Great Expectations at the May 14 neighborhood forum to talk about city services. He writes: After arriving at the Inquirer/Daily News building, I sat down quietly waiting for the forum to get under way. (Though...

Jodie Chester Citizen blogger Peak Johnson joined Great Expectations at the May 14 neighborhood forum to talk about city services. He writes: After arriving at the Inquirer/Daily News building, I sat down quietly waiting for the forum to get under way. (Though before sitting, I had to grab some of the food that was available. My favorite at every Great Expectations event: lasagna and meatballs.) After the schedule was broken down of how things were going to go, we were able to disperse into our small discussion groups. The group that seemed appropriate for me was Public Safety. When picking this, it had dawned on me that it really is time for Philadelphians to stop being afraid and to start feeling safe again. We have to stop being negative all the time and start believing in the positive to help change the city that we are living in. However, when listening to the discussions within the group, it became clear to me that I was out of touch with what was going on in Philly. (Give me a break; I just finished high school not too long ago.) It seemed that one of the biggest concerns of this group was trying to find a way to build better connections with Philadelphia Police and to actually being able to talk to them. I had offered the success with my community as an example. Because there are so many great programs and opportunities being put back into my community, we have a good relationship with some of the officers of the 23rd District, who sometime drive around to make sure things are ok. In addition, there is an annual dinner out together at the Honickman Learning Center and Comcast Technology where we invite most of the officers to thank them for all that they do. ]]> Great Expectations is that you meet a lot of great people who don’t mind speeding you up on things. One person in particular who was just great and knew his facts about Philly was a guy named Jack. He reminded me of my English/American history teacher in high school. Very informative and very polite. The moderator, Ms. Erika, also did an excellent job. She gave us the freedom to move freely around a bit with our discussions, which I felt allowed us to learn more about what is going on around our great city. ]]> tag:blogs.phillynews.com,2008:/philly/greatexpectations//4.851 2008-05-23T20:23:34Z 2008-06-26T03:38:27Z

Citizen blogger Peak Johnson's last post touched on the "stop and frisk" issue. Here, he responds to several of the comments readers made to the post. He writes: It hasn’t been long since my last post, and already I’m writing...

Jodie Chester Citizen blogger Peak Johnson's last post touched on the "stop and frisk" issue. Here, he responds to several of the comments readers made to the post. He writes: It hasn’t been long since my last post, and already I’m writing another. Blogging is so much fun I wish I had discovered it sooner. I though I would attempt to answer some questions left for me in the comments area of my last post. My last entry revolved a little around "stop and frisk." I wrote about the opinions of the two wonderful ladies who allowed me to take their photo. The post, I don’t think, really delivered my opinion of "stop and frisk." So here it is: A lot of African-Americans see "stop and frisk" as a way for the police to abuse their power; I’m sure many are aware of this. Furthermore, it is viewed as racial profiling. However, my outlook is that if it helps limit crime in communities like mine in North Philadelphia, then it can’t be all bad. Also, if some people would not portray themselves negatively just for the heck of it, then officers probably would not have a reason to search them at all. ]]> There was also a comment along the lines of "if teens have nothing to do, they don't have enough homework." This one actually made me and a friend laugh a little. A person, yes even teenagers, can get burnt out. Homework is good and all, and it will benefit in the future. But it’s like staying in the same workplace for years; pretty soon, you are going to get bored. Some teens are just angry people. Mix being bored with teenage anger, and you have a dangerous combination. Therefore, teens need a place where there are individuals who understand what they are going through. They need to know that there are opportunities in this crazy world that we live in available to them. They need to be engaged in activities to keep them busy and motivated. They need to have their voices and opinions heard. Most important, they need to know that they do matter. tag:blogs.phillynews.com,2008:/philly/greatexpectations//4.846 2008-05-20T17:57:38Z 2008-05-21T22:09:27Z

Albert Yee took a trip up to the Northeast to sit in on the neighborhood forum held May 9 at the Klein JCC. He writes: Last Friday morning, approximately 70 citizens trudged through the driving rain to the Klein Jewish...

Jodie Chester Albert Yee took a trip up to the Northeast to sit in on the neighborhood forum held May 9 at the Klein JCC. He writes: Last Friday morning, approximately 70 citizens trudged through the driving rain to the Klein Jewish Community Center in the Northeast on the morning of Sgt. Stephen Liczbinski's funeral. Public safety was on the minds of many of those in attendance of the fourth installment of the "A City That Works" Great Expectations forum. The crowd of citizens were all seniors (except for one twenty-something lady named Trina) and only a few had been to a previous Great Expectations forum. As a result of the funeral, the city's top brass who are normally present at the forums were not in attendance. Moderators Chris Satullo of the Inquirer and Harris Sokoloff of UPenn took on the responsibilities of answering questions regarding city services as best they could and collected note cards with yet more questions at the end of the meeting. District 10 Councilman Brian O'Neill dropped by for about 20 minutes before heading downtown for the funeral. While he couldn't stick around, one of his staffers, Bill Rapone, stayed behind to answer questions from the councilman's constituents.]]> The turnout was great and the interest in public safety was so great that two groups had to be formed. Sokoloff [above] picked up a marker and jumbo note pad and led the group. But since I recently sat in on a Public Safety Group, I listened in on the conversation with the Healthy and Sustainable Neighborhoods group. But before things got started, I was seated across the table from Harold, who asked me: "How will Philadelphia become the safest large city in America?" He was reading one of the goals set by the Nutter administration. I told him that it would be a long process with a quarter of the city in poverty. He countered by saying that if people had jobs, there would be less crime as there would be less of a need to resort to crime as a means for survival. But where will those jobs come from? The Neighborhoods discussion got off to a great start brainstorming as to what a healthy neighborhood looked like. One citizen called for a local spot to pay bills. She said that her family used to pay bills at a local Shop Rite; why couldn't a mini City Hall like the ones in the far NE and North Philly be opened in the area? There was also a call for the local papers to act more as advocates for the citizens. But the conversation took a tangential stroll discussing litter - more trash cans, prettier trash cans, an argument over just cans or cans with plastic bags… I took the time to take a scan of the room to see what else people were talking about. I saw Councilman O'Neill [above] talking with several constituents about things I was out of earshot to eavesdrop on. He had left by time I looked for him again later that morning, but Rapone [below] remained and fielded questions. Back to Neighborhoods ... I heard Ruth wanting to see business owners intermingle with each other as well as getting more involved in the community. Another group member said that language barriers may prohibit such interaction. Ruth countered by saying everyone should learn English as immigrants in the past had done here in Philly. One group member said that her parents, who were immigrants, didn't want her to learn the language of her parents at all so that she wouldn't be at a disadvantage in school with the other kids; it's the opposite now, she said. Arthur said that the Russians are the ones in the NE who are least likely to assimilate - why? Bernie hypothesized that the Irish and Italians were the same way when they first arrived, but now after being more comfortable in the area, are more open to intermingling. Just give the Russians more time he pleaded. Satullo took to the mic after the brief lunch break to recap the morning and get the Q&A part of the meeting started. He asked each group what they accomplished and what they noticed when reading each other's notes. Maurice noticed people were all concerned with crime and traffic in the area. Beth, one of the Public Safety moderators, said that traffic was a large concern. With so many seniors in the area, crossing the large main roads was hazardous. The group complained that the traffic signals changed over too quickly and wanted the city to look into the issue. Satullo said that out of all the forums, this was the first time traffic came up as an issue on its own (I'm gonna guess a lot of people brought up traffic along with the casino issue too). Satullo's drive to the NE through the driving rain had him being a supporter of looking into the traffic situation in the area. Rapone, who at this point was not speaking on behalf of the Councilman, but as a fellow citizen (but slightly more in the know than the average Jane) said that traffic studies could be commissioned, but that they take a long time and could yield an unfavorable answer. The Ethics group called for standards of service to be implemented across all departments. Satullo took the time between the groups reporting in and the full Q&A session to report on a trend in Philly in relation to the national economy. He said that Philadelphia tends to operate on a more even keel than the rest of the nation; when there are booms across the nation, Philadelphia's isn't as high and when a recession hits, Philadelphia doesn't get hit as hard. This, he said, was due to Philadelphia's very diverse local economy. To drive the point home even further, he reported that there weren't too many foreclosures in the city compared with the rest of the nation, but according to this Daily News article from the 12th, it may get much worse very soon. Sticking on the subject of people's homes, Nate asked a rather touchy question, especially in front of an audience of fixed-income seniors: Why wasn't the city performing a full valuation reassessment of homes for proper property tax collection? There was an audible near hiss from the crowd. Satullo answered the touchy question as best he could based on the response from previous forums. He said that the people in favor of these full valuations are usually those who would fare well and those against it are those who know they'll come out paying much much more each year. There were calls for protection for seniors if a full valuation taxation were to go into effect. Nate slunked down in his chair a bit. Myles noticed lots of people concerned with the city needing more money and asked if the city would agree to an independent, outside of PA agency, audit of the city's books. Rapone said that universities, newspapers and agencies perform such audits on their own dime from time to time, but it would be up to the mayor to ask for such an audit. I believe the City Council would then have to approve such an expense. Warren noted that there were some $400M in uncollected real estate taxes owed to the city. He clarified that by saying the $400M was the deadbeats sitting on parcels of land and not the people living paycheck to paycheck falling behind on payments who need real assistance, not penalties. He wanted to see the city aggressively go after the deadbeats for a hunk of change, which could possibly pay the salaries and pensions of hundreds of new cops. Rapone suggested that prior administrations had not gone after the monies because the city had enough money to not go after it. But now as the budget is tighter than in the past, the city needs the money more and Mayor Nutter may be the one to go after it in a more aggressive manner. I had to leave a few minutes early due to my reading of the schedule incorrectly a few days prior to the event. Unfortunately, I had made a reservation for my PhillyCarShare to end before all was said and done. Off I went, back into the rain, but I'll be at another forum in North Philly to hear what's on the minds of another group of Philadelphians looking to make the city a better place. ]]> tag:blogs.phillynews.com,2008:/philly/greatexpectations//4.844 2008-05-17T22:32:33Z 2008-06-26T03:39:29Z

Citizen blogger Bill Rowland takes a look at the May 13, 2008, neighborhood forum focusing on city services. (Bill's own blog can be read at http://phillyfoodguys.com/). He writes: Arriving at the Lutheran Seminary on Germantown Avenue in Philadelphia’s Mount Airy...

Jodie Chester Citizen blogger Bill Rowland takes a look at the May 13, 2008, neighborhood forum focusing on city services. (Bill's own blog can be read at http://phillyfoodguys.com/). He writes: Arriving at the Lutheran Seminary on Germantown Avenue in Philadelphia’s Mount Airy neighborhood, I was really looking forward to the evening’s proceedings. I’ve been to several Great Expectations events, and I’ve always walked away energized by the collaboration and teamwork by seemingly diverse people. Tuesday night in Mount Airy was no exception… The evening began with dinner followed by a few obligatory remarks by Tom Ferrick Jr., who summarized the evening’s agenda and quickly made it clear that establishing Customer Service Standards for Philadelphia was our “theme of the evening.” Attendees would participate in one of five breakout sessions to provide input on how to measure customer service. Using several budgetary reports as background, the floor was quickly turned over to Budget Director Steve Agostini and his staff who clarified the somewhat cryptic data using a variety of reports, including: A PowerPoint Presentation; the 2009 Budget-in-Brief; the 2009 Operating Budget; and the City’s Five Year Plan. I think that attendees were impressed at how clearly this seemingly complex information was conveyed. Furthermore, I appreciated the pragmatic manner in which the mayor’s staff seems to be approaching the challenges that face the city – without blaming prior administrations, in a business-like fashion. Full of the basics and a few sandwiches, attendees were then dispatched to breakout sessions covering each of the administration’s strategic goals: Public Safety, Education, Jobs and Economic Development, Healthy and Sustainable Neighborhoods, and Ethics. I chose Ethics because I feel that they are the cornerstone of an effective government. ]]> Without a blow-by-blow description, here are a few key ideas with an accompanying brief explanation on each: What does “ethics” mean to you? - A Level Playing Field for Everyone - Honesty, Fairness, Courtesy and Equal Access for All - Transparency Unfortunately, many residents have experienced inconsistencies in service for a variety of reasons – geographic location, political favors, etc… City departments should apply the Golden Rule when dealing with the public; residents from every part of the city should receive the same quality of service, regardless of economic condition or location. Lastly, transparency in the form of free and open access to laws, regulations and legislative processes will improve the understanding of how decisions are made and gives the ordinary citizen the power to more easily identify unethical behavior. Our “definition” might not be complete, but everyone was encouraged that we seem to be on the same page… How would you measure success? - Increased Number of Ethics Complaints - A Timely Response to Complaints - Decreasing the Number of No Bid Contracts Obviously, it’s easier to measure unethical behavior, so the number of Ethics complaints is a natural metric. To start, increasing complaints would indicate a level of comfort on the part of citizens and city employees to report lapses; later, a decrease (ideally) would indicate improvement. A timely response to a complaint would confirm receipt of the complaint and tailor expectations. Decreasing the number of No Bid contracts would also reduce the potential for abuse. Metrics for measuring ethical behavior were difficult to pin down, and we could have spent all night on this one. What levels of customer service do you expect from the city? - No Bribes - Knowledgeable Staff - Solicitation and Use of Feedback It’s sad to say that bribery occurs in Philadelphia – it’s not common, but it does happen and shouldn’t. City employees that are less knowledgeable about the operation of their department should interact with the public in a limited capacity (if at all). City departments should use the experiences of the public to improve their level of service. Everyone here agreed that beyond basic customer service, more communication would also help manage resident expectations. As the evening concluded, attendees reassembled in the main meeting room for closing comments and remarks from the mayor’s staff. I was hoping for a bit more substance, such as a brief summary of what each group found, but as I looked at the wall covered in long lists of suggestions, I realized that wasn’t going to happen. By all measure, the evening’s community forum appeared to be a resounding success. The approximate 120 attendees were engaged and relatively focused on defining the customer-service metrics for each of the five strategic goals. If success can be measured based on attendee input, then the event was very successful. Most people seem optimistic about the future and the new administration - the phrase “Nutter Love-Fest” came to mind a few times. I’m optimistic, too, but I can’t help but be realistic. First, we’re still in the “honeymoon” phase with the Nutter administration and the true test will be overcoming adversity over time, for both residents and the mayor. Will currently optimistic residents still be supportive when a difficult decision is made that negatively impacts them? Can Mayor Nutter weather the inevitable storm of criticism resulting from making tough decisions? I hope so. Secondly, as one attendee put it, the City of Philadelphia is like a large ocean liner, it takes time to change course. It’s taken many years to get where we are, and we need to be patient as we reverse negative trends. With the city’s history, can we do it? I think we can, and I hope that by measuring progress toward the mayor’s five strategic goals, we are taking the first of many steps toward turning our “Love Boat” around and making Philadelphia The Next Great City. ]]> tag:blogs.phillynews.com,2008:/philly/greatexpectations//4.842 2008-05-14T19:14:42Z 2008-05-14T19:45:38Z

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...

Jodie Chester 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. ]]> The goals around this initiative are about creating a tax structure that encourages jobs and growth, attracting residents (and tourists), providing assistance to businesses in Philadelphia, and establishing smart city planning and sustainable development. We were encouraged to share our views on why jobs and economic growth was important to us. More important, how would we measure the city’s success? And finally, how could the city improve its customer service? I started off with my own personal living-and-working in the city success story and mentioned how it would be great if more large corporations had incentives to have locations (not necessarily their entire organization, but a branch) in Philadelphia. One of the group members challenged that idea, saying we have plenty of big corporations (the new Comcast building is a prime example) and that the city needs to help small- and mid-size companies stay local. For example, the city could change the tax structure so smaller companies would stay and grow. Much of our discussion revolved around how to help the transition from education (both high school and university) to jobs in the city. First, there is the matter of the access to those jobs (everything keeps moving in a circle) that help people stay. Someone thought of a formal partnership between universities and the city (formal being the operative word) and real tax benefits for employers who hire “re-entry” folks (people making the transition from jail to job). Another concern was language barriers – speaking another language should be a skill that is sought out and rewarded. Local business should have first dibs at city contracts. Perhaps other neighborhoods need a special services district like the one University City has. Someone suggested a city-wide job registry (Craigslist for Philly? How about Benslist?) Of course, our topic was connected to other topics. City Wage Tax (that ever popular topic) isn’t really an issue IF people are getting value for their tax dollars – which feeds into the customer-service improvements on the city’s agenda. So by virtue of improving quality-of-life and city services, there will be incentive for people to live and work here. Crime and safety obviously play a significant role in retaining residents and bringing in business as well. So no initiative lives in a vacuum. Everyone had wonderful ideas. But we struggled with defining measurable outcomes that would show the city’s success. A couple of times a year, I have to go through my own performance evaluation at work and come up with measurable goals for the year - it’s far from a simple task. Regardless, we forged ahead. Our moderator tried to rein us in (quite a challenge). We were full of ideas, but a bit stumped on measures of success. Perhaps it was difficult in that we did not have any statistics to benchmark. Afterwards, everyone was invited to browse the room and review the notes from the other break out groups. We looked for similarities, differences and for novel ideas. To close, a panel Q&A session for the city officials and Councilwoman Sanchez. A few questions were district-specific, discussing defunct security cameras (in light of the recent student killing by a number of truant students). Someone asked how Philadelphia ranks in terms of federal funding. The sad fact is that we are comparable to other cities of our size, as our federal government lacks urban policy. Much of the questioning focused on the proposed 311 system. The officials felt that it could be empowering in terms of data collection (helping the city to measure its performance) and would like it to work well (though we must allow for the system to hit a few bumps before its running smoothly). It was pointed out that although other cities like New York have implemented 311, Philadelphia is not NYC, and we cannot use them as a direct comparison. (I could not agree more!). Overall, an evening well spent as ideas were shared, considered and will be taken back to the table for review. One of the best things about these forums is that the community is truly being heard. I look forward to the next round of GE forums!]]> tag:blogs.phillynews.com,2008:/philly/greatexpectations//4.836 2008-05-09T19:53:21Z 2008-05-09T20:47:38Z

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...

Jodie Chester 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.]]> Assistant Budget Director Julie Wertheimer went straight into a slideshow presentation on the 2009 budget. Not the most engaging stuff (numbers, numbers, numbers), but learning where our tax money goes and where the rest of the money comes from and where it's all spent is very important. For the number crunchers out there, a .pdf of the FY09 Operating Budget, the FY09 Budget in Brief and the Five Year Plan. The second half of the slideshow was condensed to a business-card handout: the plan for Philadelphia to be all that it can be and improve the customer-service aspect of governance in Public Safety, Education, Jobs, Healthy & Sustainable Neighborhoods, and Ethics. The larger group was split off into groups with those categories serving as topics. I tagged along with the Public Safety group; being a Center City resident, I was very interested to see what residents of the NE were concerned with. The Public Safety group was lead by Beth, who kept the group moving very well (an incredibly hard task from what I've experienced in the past). The first step was for the group to identify certain things that are problematic and what success would look like for the problem. The group had some of the typical crime-related requests - overcrowded prison/jail system, assault weapons ban, better/updated police equipment, more police on streets, police around schools. But the group also had some requests that weren't at the top of my list - bring back horse-mounted police for parks, a citywide sound ordinance for car radios like there is on South Street, rehabbing dilapidated rec centers. (The Perzel Center is top notch.) Bob, from the Upper Holmesburg Civic Association (which was well represented with three members in the group of eight, simply wanted to be able to go outside of his house at 3 a.m. and not expect to be mugged. It was great to have the three city staffers going around to listen in to each of the groups. They offered first-hand insight to certain issues. Above is Deputy Director of Performance Management Patrick Morgan discussing the 311/PhillyStat program, which is to launch by 12/31/08. One concern people had was the cost of 311 calls. A group member noted how 911 used to be free; now, it costs $1/call. Would 311 be free or how much would it cost? Morgan later said that the system would be free for the foreseeable future. (I'm assuming it'll be taxed.) The group also wanted increased transparency within the workings of the city's public-safety program: progress reports from the police on crime issues and a published historical graph of crime from the last three years to witness progress toward the mayor's goal of 25% fewer homicides. Morgan said that the police department is currently working on an online system of crime statistics, which should be online in the next few months. Susan from NE Philly was concerned about those without internet access; Morgan said that with so much information going into databases, this was an immense first step and that publishing data in the papers would hopefully follow down the line. Morgan dropping into the Neighborhoods discussion, held down the hall from the rest of the groups, in what seemed to be a computer lab. Before reconvening as a large group again, UPenn's Harris Sokoloff asked that everyone go around the room to see what the other groups had come up with. Above are Sokoloff, Beth and Satullo looking at the extensive notes from the Public Safety group. An attendee basking in the glory of some notes from the Ethics group. The panel of three city reps were seated up front with Chief of Staff Steven Kennebeck at the first seat. New to the city (he's been here for all of three weeks after moving from D.C. for the gig under Nutter), this was his first Great Expectations forum. The group was asked what they noticed from looking at one another's notes. 311/PhillyStat was on every single sheet in the room. Why? The personal contact, the convenience (there are currently 300+ numbers to call for issues), the accountability via ticket system. An attendee wanted to see a public face to go along with the 311 number; a person who would be in the neighborhoods and would be held responsible for the success of the program. Satullo asked the panel what struck them about what they saw in this forum and the others they'd been to. Wertheimer said she was particularly struck to see how each neighborhood behaved like a family (in a good way!): caring for each other, organizing and taking care of problems. Morgan took this time to explain the PhillyStat program a bit more. The PhillyStat meetings, held every Monday and Wednesday at 1 p.m. at 1515 Arch St., 18th floor, are completely open to the public, which is different from other cities with a PhillyStat-like program where meetings are closed. Morgan was hopeful that down the line, there would be more interaction with the public, which is unheard of in previous incarnations of the system. The meetings are broadcast the night of each meeting at 8 p.m. on channel 64; the city hopes to be able to stream it live off of the Web site at some point. As for the call center itself, it will be housed in Room 153 in City Hall. There are even plans for a walk-in desk. (I can't imagine what the waiting room will look like.) Alan asked about the transparency of the 311 statistics. Morgan said that some of the software automatically spits out good raw data that can be worked into publicly available databases, but that's down the line. Not all service requests will be available at the 12/31/08 launch, but by Spring of 2009, more software will be purchased and put into place. Every single other PhillyStat-like program has strategically rolled out services, and Philadelphia will do the same. Skip asked if 311 would have an online presence as well - currently, no. But down the line, people will be able to go online and submit requests like over the phone. Finally, Morgan added that when PhillyStat goes live, there will be a citywide education program and hopes that the Great Expectations project will be integral in getting out the message. Kathleen, from right around the Perzel Center neighborhood, wanted to know if other areas of the city felt left behind as people do in the NE, even with their mini City Hall. Wertheimer said that's common for every party of the city to feel that way, but they're all treated the same. One attendee enthusiastically reeled off several neighborhoods and said they were all treated equally poorly in the past. Kennebeck's pet project will be the mini City Halls. He recently visited the NE Philly MCH as well as the one in North Philly. (The only two in existence.) He said the North Philly site had a lot to improve upon and that NE was performing it's duties well. Morgan added that what the MCHs are being asked to do haven't changed since they were created, and it may be time for an overhaul of the services provided. Kennebeck added that one idea being kicked around was a mobile City Hall, which would stop at congregation areas to perform basic duties on the go. Bob asked the question that got the crowd clapping in support: What is this administration going to do about collecting monies due to the city from PGW and the water department? Wertheimer said that she knows there are plans in place, but didn't know the specifics and unfortunately couldn't comment futher. Another great forum came to and end, and the group quickly broke into pairs to brainstorm ideas which came up during the course of the evening. I can't wait until the next two events I'll be covering in this leg of the Great Expectations project. A flickr set of 44 shots from the forum. As a slideshow. ]]> tag:blogs.phillynews.com,2008:/philly/greatexpectations//4.834 2008-05-02T16:55:40Z 2008-05-02T20:41:21Z

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...

Jodie Chester 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. ]]> Mr. Agostini assured us that he had worked on many budgets, and this is how it is in every city. It just seems like two-thirds is a pretty big chunk. Ms. Wertheimer presented about the five subjects we would be breaking up to discuss later in the evening. They were as follows: Public Safety, Education, Jobs and Economic Development, Healthy and Sustainable Neighborhoods, and Ethics. All of these discussions centered on customer service and what the city could do to provide its citizens with the best customer service possible in regards to these subject areas. The final presenter was Patrick Morgan, who talked about the new 311 system and PhillyStat. 311 is a non-emergency number used to access government and service information. It seems that at this time there are more than 500 hotline numbers to call for problems in Philadelphia. The main goal of the new 311 system is to condense all these numbers into a one-stop shop available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year. The goal is to have the 311 system rolled out by the end of the year. I now wonder if it is the calendar year or the fiscal year. This, according to Mr. Morgan, is a very big goal. So perhaps we should wait and see how it all pans out. As for PhillyStat, it is a discussion and collaboration between city departments. It is open to the public, and members meet every Monday and Wednesday at 1 p.m. at 1515 Arch St. on the 18th Floor. They also broadcast these meetings on Monday and Wednesday nights at 8 p.m. on Channel 64. After Mr. Morgan’s presentation, we were greeted by a special guest, Mayor Nutter. Mayor Nutter had stopped by to thank everyone for coming and to encourage us to give feedback about the way we feel the city is and what could be done to improve everything. After the presentations, we each selected one of the topics discussed earlier that we would like to discuss in greater detail. We would be answering the following questions: Why was this topic important to us? How would we measure success or improvement in this area? And how could the city improve customer service? I chose Healthy and Sustainable Neighborhoods. The forum was held in South Philly and I live in West Philly. But Philly is a city known for its neighborhoods, and I was eager to hear ways that we could all come together. The main concern for my group was the overwhelming amount of litter in Philadelphia; every person at the table wants to see cleaner streets. We also talked about the success of the citywide clean-up and suggested that such events be made a more regular occurrence. However, we also talked about how if such events were held too often, engagement would taper off. We also talked about enforcing curfews for young adults, creating community gardens, increasing recycling pick-up, reviving community/rec centers, and cleaning out alley ways. One older person in my group wanted to see the neighborhood return to what it was 20 years ago and suggested that with this increased sense of community we would see a decline in violence and also litter. To me, it seemed like this is exactly what people want. There were 12 of us in this particular group, and we all were engaged in the idea of building up our community. You would think it wouldn’t be that hard, especially since most of the people at this meeting live in this district. Why can’t we make it work? For the older people in my group there was a lot of discussion of enforcing curfews. Once curfews are enforced, there would be a reduction in “noise pollution.” I’m not sure that the kids are necessarily to blame for all or even most of the noise pollution. So, I’m not sure that for me this is something that I would be begging the Mayor’s Office to start doing. I do think that one thing that was missing from this discussion was the need for more affordable housing. The fact that there are hundreds of people living on our streets and thousands between streets and shelters is something that needs to be re-evaluated. I know that recently the city decided to keep the café/overnight drop-in centers open in order to keep more people off the street. However, that is not a long-term solution. Our communities aren’t only about the people who live on our blocks or in our neighborhoods; it extends to all the people who live in our city. Overall, I would say that the session was enlightening. I felt like what we put down on paper will be evaluated and that having a relatively open dialogue with the Mayor’s Office is a great responsibility and a privilege. I hope that all of these meetings go as well as this one did. tag:blogs.phillynews.com,2008:/philly/greatexpectations//4.833 2008-04-30T18:07:03Z 2008-04-30T18:12:52Z

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...

Jodie Chester 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 ]]> tag:blogs.phillynews.com,2008:/philly/greatexpectations//4.832 2008-04-24T21:58:12Z 2008-04-24T22:03:09Z

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...

Jodie Chester 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. ]]> tag:blogs.phillynews.com,2008:/philly/greatexpectations//4.829 2008-04-03T18:19:05Z 2008-04-03T19:14:59Z

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...

Jodie Chester 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.]]> Agenda to be his guide – I think knowing that is a critical motivator for all citizens. Some ground rules were laid…like, “It’s OK to disagree.” Important rule worth mentioning as oftentimes discussions can become heated. Since Marian Tasco was at another event, Councilman At-Large Frank Rizzo spoke briefly about his commitment to the program and his constituency. Apparently, no one came only for the free food! After the intro, everyone seemed a bit roused and ready to get to work. We divided ourselves into four groups – I chose to sit with the group that wished to discuss Budget & Taxes, City Services, and Reform and Leadership. We were asked to peruse the agenda and speak to what resonated with us. Apparently, there is A LOT that resonates! Many are concerned with the bureaucracy and duplication of effort in City Hall. Some people who actually work for the city were able to provide very specific and detailed accounts of what goes on behind the scenes, confirming experiences that many face when trying to get a zoning variance or deal with an abandoned property. There’s logic in the expectation that streamlining efforts will help the city be more “customer focused” (see the #1 priority for City Services) and save money as well. One citizen pointed out that the standard thought is that lower business taxes should bring business to the city, thus more employment. However, has there ever been a concrete example of that actually happening? (I could not think of one myself.) The group discussed this for a while, and it was decided that perhaps business leave the city regardless of taxes. One person who works for the city felt that the “Tough-At-The-Table” agenda item was very important but that the measure needs to be applied to city employees at all levels, not just the rank-and-file. Much of the time, upper management gets their pay as others get cut out. Weaving back and forth among many topics (our moderator tried to keep things focused and moving along), we moved onto more local-level issues – the appearance of Stop-N-Go take out beer joints, deadbeat landlords. All the while, our moderator encouraged people to write these questions on 3X5 cards for the Q&A with Tasco at the end. As far as Reform and Leadership go, we discussed lack of accountability – agency responsibilities are unclear; this perpetuates passing issues back-and-forth. Also, our group was vocal about our city hiring outside consultants when a great deal of knowledge and expertise exists within its own walls. I think that this is a problem that many corporations have as well. After the break-out sessions, a panel was assembled to address some of the district-specific issues raised during the discussion. The panel consisted of Chris Satullo, City Councilwoman Marian Tasco and State Rep. Cherelle Parker. Here, the group discussed questions about SEPTA running along Cheltenham Avenue, what Tasco thought about Nutter’s “Stop-And-Frisk” policy (she politely avoided taking sides on that one), proliferation about Section 8 Housing, and how to address “PO Box Landlords” who buy up old homes and illegally put multiple families into single-family dwellings. This led to a discussion about zoning hearings – how is the typical citizen supposed to keep track in order to be able to attend? From what I gather, there is no simple way. Apparently civic groups can pay to subscribe to a hearing list (which may not even be able to provide enough lead time). Other than that, citizens need to be on the look out for the orange zoning sign in a business or residence window. Now that is something that I would like to see change – let’s make public information more easily available to the public! Throughout this process, I am continuously struck by people’s level of knowledge and commitment to the city of Philadelphia. I look forward to the next Great Expectations' Citizens Convention in 2008!]]>