Remarks on Fiscal Year 2021 Budget — June 25, 2020

Thank you, Council President — and thank you for your leadership during this unique and challenging budget cycle.

This year’s negotiations have been some of the most difficult and high-stakes in our city’s history. I know that many people will be disappointed by the outcome here, especially as it relates to Police funding. So I want to say to everyone who has been protesting, and emailing, and calling, and making their voices heard, that even though it may not be fully reflected in this year’s budget, your efforts are not in vain.

For the first time since the Great Recession, the City’s budget does not include an increase for the police department. The 19-million-dollar reduction to PPD is not insignificant; it’s an important step in the right direction.

In this precarious moment for our city — as we contend with a public health crisis that has left us with a nearly 750 million dollar budget gap, and a homicide rate that’s up about 25 percent from this time last year — any drastic change to public safety spending presents an unquantifiable risk to the health and well-being of our communities. In particular our Black communities, which have been ravaged by COVID and bear the brunt of gun violence.

I want to be clear that I strongly support the concept of divesting from police, to invest in other resources to keep people safe. But I want to work over the next year to come up with a thoughtful roadmap, and to develop alternatives that will keep local communities safe and help them thrive.

So this is where we begin. Passing the budget today allows us to begin planning for more meaningful changes: to re-imagine public safety, and what that looks like in practice.

My office has already started this work in the 3rd District, and it’s going to continue. In the wake of the unrest on 52nd Street, we convened a meeting between activists and PPD leadership. This is the start of an open dialogue in West and Southwest Philly about how policing affects Black youth, and to coordinate collective action towards a safe, free, and healthy city.

While I know the budget may not satisfy everyone, I want to highlight some of the important matters it does address. First and foremost: we secured an additional twenty million dollars for the Housing Trust Fund.

We fought hard for this, and it is a huge win for City Council, the advocates who fought side-by-side with us, and for Philadelphia. By creating affordable rental units, and funding programs that keep some of Philadelphia’s most vulnerable residents in their homes, the Trust Fund allows us to create and maintain stability in our communities. Since I decided to run for office, my main priority has been to keep people safe in their homes — whether they rent or own. And this 20 million dollars will go a long way towards that end.

This budget also restores City support of the Pennsylvania Immigrant Family Unity Project, which provides legal representation for immigrants in detention, helps keep families together, and protects communities of color. We’ve set aside twenty-five million dollars for the New Normal Budget Act, which includes programs to address healthcare needs, healthy food options, affordable housing and anti-poverty efforts. And we’re investing in adult education and re-entry services, to support residents in under-served communities as they develop their skills and acquire new ones.

I’ll end by saying this: institutional racism doesn’t get eradicated by one city budget. To right the wrongs that Black people have been enduring for centuries, here in Philly and throughout the country, we need to take a holistic look at all of our public services and operations — and address the myriad ways in which they hold up white supremacy over Black lives. Achieving true racial justice in our city is going to require difficult conversations, and intensive policy change — and more time will allow us to do this right. This is a moment where real change feels not only possible but within our grasp, and I know my colleagues and I have every intention of running with this momentum.

I look forward to the work ahead. Thank you.