From the City budget to a committee to study reparations, the final Council session of 2022-2023 had something for everyone.
By Denise Clay-Murray
It’s not uncommon for Philadelphia City Council’s final meeting of the year to have a plethora of bills and resolutions in addition to the City Budget.
And last Thursday’s session was no exception. In addition to passing a $6.2 billion package that included increased funding for police recruitment efforts, street cleaning efforts, and improved recreation centers, Council passed resolutions for a summit designed to come up with an anti-violence plan for the next mayor and for a task force to look at reparations.
This marks the last budget for Council President Darrell Clarke, and while the budget itself was passed unanimously, the wage tax and business, income and receipts taxes connected to it weren’t.
Councilmember Kendra Brooks (At-Large) joined her colleague Councilmember Jamie Gauthier (D-3rd Dist.) in denouncing the tax cuts, and in saying that they represent potential cuts to city services.
While she was happy to see the city make strides on funding such things as cleaning commercial corridors, funding mobile crisis units and adding to the Department of Labor’s budget, Brooks believes that in the long run the tax cuts will help the haves, while making things worse for the have-nots, she said.
“These cuts are permanent and reoccurring and will lead to $107 million in lost revenue over the next five years along with no plan to reserve replace that revenue. by reinstating pilots or by the Philly wealth tax,” Brooks said. “These cuts will inevitably lead to service cuts, maybe not immediately, but certainly down the line. I would much rather see the money invested in city services that help small businesses and working families thrive. Tax cuts hamper our ability to provide services that are essential to families and businesses alike.”
“The incredibly low amount that we are investing is like putting a BandAid on a broken bone,” said Gauthier, who had asked for $72 million for quality-of-life issues in this budget. “And it is a slap in the face to the working-class Black and Brown residents who have been begging this body to fully fund the services they need to live on green clean and safe blocks.”
Councilmember Isaiah Thomas (At-Large), who had proposed part of the tax cuts, denounced these assertions, saying that tax cuts vs. increased spending was an apples to oranges comparison.
“I think is really disingenuous, and not fair to the members of city council to give the public the perception that we had to choose between tax cuts, and other city services,” he said. “That was not the case with this year’s budget. Last year, we had a $700 million surplus. And for those who don’t understand economics, when you’re operating in the midst of the surplus, and you decide to offer any type of tax cuts, we’re not cutting any services or not hiring any people. We anticipate there being more revenue than what we planned for.”
But while they didn’t win more money for pet projects, Gauthier and Brooks did win the right to put together a task force to look at the issue of reparations for the descendants of the enslaved. While no details were given on how members of this task force would be selected, or how much power they would actually have to implement policy, the prospect of the city having the discussion that the federal government refuses to have was a good idea to many who came to council to speak.
Among them was Peter Burns, a member of White Men for Racial Justice. The group, which says it was created in response to specific requests to “go get our people” has as its mission to explain to White people what Black people are tired of having to explain about racism and its impact. Having this discussion will help not only Philadelphia, but the rest of the country, Burns said.
“This study of reparations is welcome, and it’s formal and concrete implementation is overdue,” he said. “We can say that Philadelphia is a place of love and opportunity in so many ways. And yet, at the very same time, we have to work to do. We have to acknowledge the negative past. In fact, by addressing the harmful past of slavery, and it’s a long legacy, our city becomes more whole and comes together as something new and better. All of us are diminished by false narratives and the myths we tell ourselves regarding slavery. And [those who believe these narratives] continue to gaslight and hold back those whose ancestors were enslaved, and all who still today suffer the many effects of systemic injustice. I’m enthusiastic that the reparations task force can lead to a city of which I can be even more proud.”
Catherine Hicks, president of the Philadelphia branch of the NAACP and publisher of the SUN, was encouraged by the prospect of gaining new information and having a thorough discussion of what form reparations might take through the tax force.
“The creation of this task force will supply the necessary data and information to call on our government to acknowledge the atrocities committed against African Americans and to take tangible steps towards repairing the damage that has been done,” she said. “Reparations could take many forms, including financial compensation, land grants, and investment in education and job training programs.”
And contrary to the beliefs of some who might oppose looking into the issue, it’s not about payback.
“We understand that reparations may be a controversial topic, but it is important to recognize that this is not about assigning blame or seeking revenge,” Hicks continued. “It’s about acknowledging the past and working towards a more just and equitable future for all Americans.”
There is no word on when the task force will be assembled or meet.
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