PHILADELPHIA — Mayor Kenney delivered his eighth budget address to City Council on March 2, 2023. The Mayor’s Budget Address, Operating and Capital Budgets, and Proposed FY24-28 Five Year Plan are available online.
This is the text of his speech as prepared; check against delivery.
Good morning. Let me begin by thanking Council President Darrell Clarke and members of City Council for the invitation to speak today.
I am happy to be back in this chamber as we kick off the annual process of creating our City’s budget.
The last time I gave this speech in person was March 5, 2020.
Only 17 days later, COVID-19 shut down our city and changed our lives dramatically.
Looking around me this morning and thinking about the uncertainty and the seismic, sudden changes we have navigated together since 2020, I am overwhelmed with admiration for our city, its residents and public servants, and my fellow city leaders.
We have lived and led through history.
Together we have navigated and continue to lead our City through a global pandemic, a nationwide reckoning on racial injustice, and a national crisis of gun violence that is causing heartbreak and pain for too many families and communities across Philadelphia.
I look forward to working with this esteemed body of elected leaders to adopt a budget that reflects our commitments to equity and progress, and also prioritizes sustainability and financial stability… so that our city is ready for any challenges and all the opportunities that the future holds.
I also want to take this moment to recognize and thank Council President Clarke, who has served in this role for the entirety of our Administration and has been a valued colleague for much longer than that.
Darrell and I spent a lot of time after I was elected envisioning what we could accomplish during my time in office.
Things like community schools and better funding for public education, affordable housing, and new jobs.
I’m so proud of what we’ve achieved. Thank you.
Together with all of City Council we will build on our success, and finish with energy, momentum, and a strong foundation for our city’s next chapter.
As we begin the budget process, I want to acknowledge the months of work already completed before today.
Our vision for the final budget of this Administration is to make investments that provide quality services and infrastructure for residents, maintain the City’s fiscal health, reduce racial disparities, and achieve equitable outcomes.
We have asked City departments to ensure that their budget proposals are designed with racial equity as a guiding principle, and we have continued to improve our budget process to include more voices and more input from a diverse group of employees and residents.
This budget cycle we held 15 community focus groups with residents, six sessions with local organizations across many sectors, and five employee focus groups.
This process revealed that we all agree on what’s important to our shared future:
- Education,
- Public safety,
- Racial equity and alleviation of poverty,
- Housing,
- And quality and accessible services and infrastructure.
These priorities reflect our concern for each other. They are our city’s values. And I couldn’t be more honored to be this city’s mayor.
I am confident that together we can pass a budget we can all be proud of.
As we entered 2023, I reaffirmed my commitment to the priorities that have guided me since the beginning of our first term.
These priorities include:
- Quality education for all;
- A safer and more just Philadelphia;
- Thriving neighborhoods;
- And inclusive growth and economic opportunity.
We have made progress in each of these areas, but there is still urgent work left to do.
And this budget features new and immediate investments that will bring more opportunities, supports, and services to all Philadelphians.
Seven years ago I told City Council that together we could expand quality pre-K, create community schools, invest in our public spaces, and help small businesses.
We took on corporate interests to pass the beverage tax, and as a result today there are more than 13,000 children who have attended free, quality pre-K funded by the City.
And now 10,000 students and their families are benefiting from expanded activities at Community Schools.
We didn’t stop there. From the Catto Scholarship to PHLConnectEd, we’ve prioritized education during our second term as well.
Providing our children with high-quality services and opportunities, from infancy to adulthood, is still the absolute best thing that we can do for them, and for our city.
We have made historic commitments to public education over the last two terms, totaling over $1.68 billion.
Our partnership has helped the School District establish new fiscal stability.
They’ve achieved an investment-grade bond rating, and their projected fund balance at the end of this fiscal year is an impressive $591 million.
This year we will follow through on our commitments to fund public schools and invest $1.4 billion in the School District over the life of the Five Year Plan, in addition to the local tax revenues that support the District.
Our proposed budget for FY24 includes a $282 million contribution to the District – 171 percent higher than it was the year before my first term.
In my 2020 budget address, I announced our plans to create a City scholarship for the Community College of Philadelphia. And despite the financial uncertainty brought on by the pandemic, we followed through and established the Octavius Catto Scholarship that year.
To date, over 1,400 Catto Scholars have received tuition-free enrollment, funds for basic needs, and wrap-around support services. I am proud that we held firm on this commitment because this program has been vital for many students’ recovery from the pandemic and their plans for the future.
Here are a few stories from our scholars.
Tabatha Bywater works full-time in the Jefferson Health radiology department while raising twins.
She is also a Catto Scholar studying health care so she can advance in her field.
Tabatha says “this scholarship has given me the opportunity to finally be able to reach the goals I have not only set for myself, but for my growing family…Thank you for granting me this wonderful opportunity and thank you for being just as invested in my future as I am.”
Norma Nicholas is a forty-year-old Catto Scholar and an immigrant to the U.S.
She says the scholarship has given her the opportunity to show her children that anything is possible.
She earned her GED last year, and is studying health care in hopes of becoming a nurse.
She says, “I am going to take advantage of this chance to be a good role model for my family, to work hard, and to fulfill my potential.”
Another scholar, Christina Tsan, is her parents’ oldest child, and says she felt like “a million bucks” when she told them she could go to college for free.
The scholarship turned her dream of getting a debt-free college education into a tangible reality.
Christina is here today. Christina, thank you for sharing your story. We are all incredibly proud of you and your classmates.
Hearing these stories makes me feel like a million bucks also.
The Catto Scholarship makes dreams possible – not just for individual students, but for their families as well.
To meet the increasing demand for this anti-poverty initiative and prepare more Philadelphians for the academic and professional success they dream of, the proposed budget will dedicate $11.6 million to Catto Scholarships in FY24.
We will also invest a total of more than $270 million in our city’s community college through FY28 to ensure this vital institution remains accessible and affordable, while offering the quality educational opportunities that Philadelphians need for postsecondary success.
And for our youngest learners, this year’s budget will create 950 new PHLpreK seats in FY24, bringing the program’s size to 5,250 seats total.
That’s over 5,000 children – more than the number of freshman students at Temple – attending City-funded pre-K each year.
I am extremely proud of what this program has accomplished in just six years – serving more than 13,000 children, funding diverse neighborhood businesses, expanding the number of quality pre-K seats citywide, and creating opportunities for caregivers to find employment, work additional hours to save for their families’ futures, or even go to school themselves.
Most importantly, it’s giving children the quality early education that they deserve, which prepares them for early literacy and academic success.
When we make investments in education, especially in the youngest learners, we’re investing in a process that takes longer than an election cycle to prove its full potential.
But the wait is worth it.
We recently heard from one of our first PHLpreK families.
Diana’s son Mason attended pre-K at Prodigy Learning Center, which was one of the first pre-K centers we partnered with when PHLpreK started in 2017.
The PHLpreK program allowed Diana to send her youngest son to a pre-K center she trusted without worrying about the financial burden of his tuition.
Because Mason was enrolled in a safe and enriching environment during the day, Diana was able to earn her bachelor’s degree in 2017 and her MBA in 2018.
She also earned a Master of Education in 2020, and now works for the Defender Association of Philadelphia.
Today, Mason is in 4th grade and earning outstanding grades, which his mom credits to his excellent pre-K experience.
Diana also thanks the PHLpreK program for supporting Mason to grow emotionally and facilitating a strong partnership between her and her son’s teachers.
This is the incredible story of just one pre-K family.
With the expansion proposed in this budget, more than 18,000 children will have attended PHLpreK by the end of our term.
This is an extraordinary accomplishment for our city.
Establishing and expanding this program is a highlight of my career and I look forward to its continued success in the years to come.
While we continue to invest in places of learning, it is just as important that we invest in the places where our residents live.
Rebuild is an historic investment in public spaces – transforming rec centers, libraries, and playgrounds that have languished for too long.
With the program now in high gear, we’re committing $47.5 million of combined new borrowing and operational support for Rebuild in FY24.
This will help us reach our goal of 80 percent of low-income households living within a mile of a recently renovated public space by the end of this calendar year. We have over 20 groundbreakings and at least 15 ribbon-cuttings planned in 2023.
And let me be clear because I think there’s been some confusion in the press: we have doubled down on our commitment to Rebuild even in the face of sector-wide cost increases.
We are dedicating all the dollars needed to bring the 72 sites to the world-class standards that we and City Council have promised to communities.
And we remain dedicated to working with community members to ensure that their vision is reflected in every project.
Rebuild is a win-win program that transforms lives as well as facilities, by offering support and opportunities for under-represented businesses and workers.
The construction projects have a minority and women-owned business participation rate of more than 65 percent.
And we will make sure those spaces are consistently available to the public by committing $14 million over five years to make sure every library branch has the staff it needs to provide residents with dependable five-day service, with an additional $37 million committed to expanding service at all branches back to six days per week.
Just last weekend, we hit an important milestone as ten neighborhood branches reopened for Saturday service.
With new funds from the budget we passed together last year, I am so proud that our Parks & Rec team has been able to open 66 recreation centers on the weekends, with all rec centers being open on the weekends by the end of 2023.
And in this budget we have added another $1.7 million in the Parks & Rec inclusion plan, which ensures that facilities are more accessible and welcoming to everyone, including individuals with disabilities.
We will also sustain our investments in arts and culture, which over seven years have funded 700 free, family-friendly cultural events in Philadelphia neighborhoods, prioritizing low-income zip codes.
We are proud of the number of public art projects in neighborhoods and the increased diversity in the stories being told through public art.
We also look forward to working with City Council to support the African American Museum in Philadelphia as they prepare to move to 18th and Vine. I am very excited for their incredible collection and programs to join our other iconic institutions along the Parkway.
I’m pleased that our continued focus on reliable city services is working. Our on-time trash pick-up is at the highest consistent rates in almost a decade.
And in 2022 the new street sweeping program cleaned more than 16,000 miles of street – a distance equivalent to traveling two-thirds of the way around the globe.
The program also removed almost 800 tons of debris in high need neighborhoods across the city.
In this budget we are making new investments in sanitation services, including a $2.5 million investment to expand street sweeping and $4 million for the creation of another crew to address the challenges presented by illegal dumping in neighborhoods across the city.
And I want to introduce some of the newest members of the Streets Department who are here with us today.
Our first cohort of Public Safety Enforcement Officers started with the City on Monday.
They are the first civilian City employees to provide official support for pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers.
You will see them working during peak traffic times to address congestion, promote safety, and help our residents and visitors travel the city more easily.
It takes dedicated, skilled people to deliver the services I’ve mentioned, and reach the goals that we set through the budget process.
And just like many other employers, one of the greatest challenges we’ve faced after the pandemic is hiring and retaining workers.
To make sure we are doing all we can to help departments hire the workers they need, the FY24 budget will provide an additional $1.9 million to the Office of Human Resources to support improvements to the way we recruit and hire.
I want to thank City Council for their support with this urgent issue facing the city, which includes creating a Special Committee on Retention and Recruitment of Municipal Workers.
As this group convenes and as we work together to pass a budget, we will make sure we are prioritizing the needs of City workers–current and future. My first goal with this work will be to ensure that the lowest paid City workers are paid enough to sustain their family needs.
We’ve also made commitments in this budget to fund our labor agreements.
Public service does not need to be a sacrifice.
All workers should be able to live here comfortably, with benefits that support them and their families.
While poverty in Philadelphia is at a 15-year low, we know that economic hardships and the overall cost of living are urgent challenges for far too many residents citywide.
One way we are addressing this, and advancing our commitment to racial equity, is by establishing a $5 million fund in FY24 to clear criminal justice-related debts that create barriers to employment and opportunity.
We want to support, not penalize, people who are taking the right steps to keep their life on track.
The Five-Year Plan will also expand on our collective commitment to affordable housing, housing stability, and housing opportunities for people experiencing homelessness.
We are investing $29 million over five years into eviction prevention, including expanding the Right to Counsel program which guarantees free legal assistance with eviction proceedings for low-income residents in the zip codes most affected by evictions.
We all agree that any homelessness is too much homelessness, and I’m glad to report our housing-first approach in Philadelphia is making significant strides.
The City’s homelessness prevention and rapid rehousing efforts have reduced homelessness by 22 percent in the last five years, and family homelessness has been reduced by an incredible 42 percent.
Our efforts don’t end there.
We’re investing $6.7 million over five years to create 100 new supportive housing units for people who are chronically homeless.
This model is 90 percent successful in preventing a return to homelessness.
We are also committing $3.2 million over five years to operate Sanctuary Village, which will be Philadelphia’s first tiny home community.
And we are committed to sustaining the Kensington-focused Encampment Resolution Team, which makes daily contact with people experiencing homelessness, offers connections to treatment, housing and services, and responds to neighborhood concerns.
Thanks to funding from the national opioid settlements, we are investing in community-driven planning and solutions in Kensington.
We are also using the funds to address the overdose crisis with expanded outreach and engagement, and reduced barriers to treatment through mobile supports.
Ensuring thriving neighborhoods across the city also requires us to plan ahead and invest now to prepare for a warmer and wetter climate.
To that end, the FY24 budget includes $20 million of new borrowing and operating support for the planned transformation at FDR Park, which is the first park plan in Philadelphia’s history to incorporate climate change projections.
FDR Park is a welcoming space for diverse and underserved communities, and a sanctuary for local wildlife.
The plan will address frequent and future flooding so that this historic park is accessible and preserved for generations to come.
We know that climate change presents an elevated threat to communities of color in Philadelphia – and this is in part due to the centuries of systemic racism that have shaped our city’s neighborhoods and infrastructure.
To confront this, last year we established the Philadelphia Environmental Justice Advisory Commission to engage residents in the process of fixing historic injustices and building resiliency for the future.
The Five Year Plan will provide $1 million over five years to fund the commission and provide direct funding to communities working to address this goal.
The FY24 Budget also includes $22 million across 12 departments to maximize the historic opportunity presented by the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which is already yielding results and bringing transformative opportunities to Philadelphia communities.
To date, the City has won more than $136 million in five major competitive B-I-L grants, in addition to $450 million expected in surface transportation formula funds.
While we make plans for our city’s future, we are ever-mindful of the urgent crises facing us today.
The challenges of the pandemic have precipitated an alarming rise in gun violence across the nation and here in Philadelphia as well.
I know that ending this crisis is an urgent and personal priority for every elected leader in this room.
And there is no higher priority for my administration. Public safety is a precondition for every single one of our goals.
Last year we announced a record investment in gun violence prevention, and this year’s $233 million budget will keep up the momentum as we roll out this year’s public safety and criminal justice investments.
This includes $50 million for a new forensics lab and another $14.7 million over five years for new forensic specialists.
We are also committing $9.2 million over five years to Operation Pinpoint, which deploys additional police resources to the places where violent crimes occur the most.
Operation Pinpoint carried out a significant redeployment in four areas across the city at the end of 2022.
We know hiring is crucial to our success here, and the five-year plan invests $1 million in recruitment for the police department with a focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion.
In FY24 we will work to further reduce shootings by continuing to partner with the Civic Coalition to Save Lives.
I am pleased to announce the latest development in this partnership, which is that we will soon welcome Estelle Richman as the Managing Director’s Senior Advisor for Gun Violence Intervention Initiatives.
Drawing on her years of public leadership in service to the city and the state, Estelle will work closely with the dedicated teams of City staff and community leaders who are working at this every day.
Together we will continue to expand ongoing efforts to intervene with individuals at the very highest risk of being involved in gun violence, and strengthen coordination to keep these individuals alive.
One of the key programs in this effort is Group Violence Intervention, or GVI. Earlier this week we shared a promising evaluation of this nationally recognized model, which lowered the average rate of weekly shootings by up to 50 percent among participating groups here in Philadelphia.
We are making new investments in the program with this budget by allocating an additional $1.4 million in stipends to encourage participation.
And we are investing in a Youth Leader Program run by the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations, which will bring conflict resolution training to high school students.
We will continue to partner with the School District to prioritize student safety so children feel safe and welcome in places of learning, show up every day, and access all the services and academic opportunities that their schools offer.
Our collective attention to this crisis is making a difference.
I am grateful for the support of City Council, our police officers and partners in public safety, and the many departments and agencies working around the clock to prevent violent crime through proven interventions and community investment.
Their work is literally saving lives.
They know, and I know, that we can’t move fast enough on this issue. So we will continue to invest in the strategies that are working, to accelerate their impact.
And…we will continue to call on some state legislators to help us address the reckless availability of firearms in our city.
It is unacceptable for lawmakers in Harrisburg to keep us from saving the lives of our residents.
The common denominator in every fatal shooting is the weapon, and we need to be able to adopt gun policies that are saving lives in other states and cities.
With every challenge that we face together, I remain confident that this City will prevail.
Looking back on our recovery from the pandemic, I am more optimistic than ever about Philadelphia’s growth, and the opportunities we can create for our residents and future generations.
Three years ago, our city came to a standstill and this government pivoted to addressing an unprecedented crisis that affected every single person in Philadelphia.
We knew our city’s resilience would see us through, but we didn’t know when.
Today, children are back in schools, Center City’s comeback is national news, airport travel is up more than 25 percent compared to last year, and new businesses are opening, arriving, and expanding here with the same pluck and innovation that our city has been known for since its founding.
Last year we announced that Chubb, one of the world’s largest insurance companies, will build and open a new Philadelphia office in 2026, creating the company’s largest office in North America as well as 1,250 new jobs.
And Philadelphia will have yet another chance to shine on the world’s stage as a 2026 World Cup host city.
These opportunities are a testament to the work that we have done to support businesses, startups, and commercial corridors while fostering equity and inclusion.
Philadelphia is a world-class city and everyone is welcome to live, work, and play here.
This budget will sustain our commitments to inclusive growth by further lowering Business and Wage Taxes, which are already the lowest they’ve been in decades.
We are also continuing support for the Quality Jobs Incentive Program, which will provide grants to businesses that create new, quality jobs accessible to all Philadelphians.
I think we can all agree that an accessible, safe, and reliable transit system is essential to growth and equity in any major city.
Our budget includes two major investments that will reduce the burden of transit costs on Philadelphia families and promote SEPTA ridership.
By bringing more riders into the system we can build an even stronger, faster, and safer system for all, and reduce emissions in our region.
Over the next two years, we will commit $62 million to pilot a zero-fare transit program that will serve at least 25,000 Philadelphia residents who are near or below the poverty level.
This means much more than a free trip. In a recent community needs assessment 39 percent of residents in poverty cited transportation as their biggest obstacle to finding and sustaining employment.
The zero-fare transit program will make it easier for low-income residents to get to work and access all of the opportunities that our city has to offer.
In addition, the City will invest $9 million per year to join other large employers in the region participating in the SEPTA Key Advantage Program.
Working with our labor partners, we will provide free transit to all City employees.
This two-year pilot is an opportunity to boost the City’s hiring and retention efforts, and aligns with our goals of sustainability, traffic safety, and equity as well.
SEPTA’s system is rebuilding ridership back to pre-pandemic levels, and we are optimistic that these investments will help the agency sustain and improve the critical services that so many Philadelphians rely on.
While Philadelphia’s economy is on a good path, we know that global factors are driving fluctuations beyond our immediate control.
The five-year plan takes into account the impact of inflation – not just on households, but also on our operating departments.
And we remain committed to the City’s financial health as a whole. I am very proud that the City now holds its highest bond rating in forty years, thanks to our success in strengthening the pension fund and rebuilding our reserves.
This matters because we want to be prepared for every challenge and opportunity – whether it’s an economic downturn, or a moment where we can step up to do what’s right in a crisis.
On that note, I want to recognize all the partners and departments that welcomed buses of asylum seekers over the course of several months last year. We worked with nonprofit partners to stand up a welcoming center to receive 838 tired travelers, including children, looking for a better life and a safe home.
Last month, Welcoming America made it official: we are a Certified Welcoming city.
I am proud of the efforts led by our Office of Immigrant Affairs, and the departments and agencies we work with, to make sure that everyone feels a sense of belonging here in Philadelphia.
I know that our welcoming values will only further our city’s success, and we will always step up when our leadership as a city is needed.
I will end with this.
The first day of the PHLpreK program was a very cold day in January of 2017.
I remember it was cold because I remember the tiny coats the students wore on their way into school.
That was more than six years ago. A three-year-old student who started the program that day is nine years old today.
Like Diana’s son Mason, they gained skills in pre-K that have benefited them throughout elementary school.
They will be in middle school when the 2026 World Cup arrives in Philadelphia, and they will likely start college nine years from now in 2032.
It is my hope that they will choose a rewarding career, and a home for their family, here in their hometown.
I hope that decades from now, their family can go for walks in FDR Park, where the bold investments we make in FY24 will have protected this one-of-a-kind natural refuge from flooding – and improved access for everyone.
And they will meet their friends at the local rec center, where Rebuild’s renovations this year have transformed the facility for future generations to enjoy.
I hope that they will feel safe and healthy regardless of where they live, thanks to our investments in violence prevention and environmental justice.
And I know they will enjoy even more commercial, cultural, educational and professional opportunities because of our investments in equitable growth – and because we’ve worked with SEPTA to make all areas of the city more connected and more accessible than ever.
And when their mayor stands in front of City Council…
…or if they are the Mayor, don’t think it doesn’t cross my mind every time I visit a pre-K!…
I hope that our investments in growth and opportunity, paired with sound financial practices, have positioned the City’s finances, stability, and prosperity to the point where the services and infrastructure we provide reflect our City’s highest ambitions.
I have always approached this role with the years beyond this Administration in mind.
With faith in the power of education, faith in the incredible potential of our residents, and faith in the innovative, resilient, caring, and optimistic character of our city.
And I am dedicating each day of the remainder of my term to a brighter, safer, more sustainable future for this city. Just as I have each day since 2016.
It is an incredible honor to serve this city and to be a part of its progress. And it is also an honor to work alongside a City Council as dedicated to service as each of you.
So thank you. And let’s get to work.