 Look, I've got the same butterflies right now that I had when I was 17 years old. Then to come back in this chamber to work here as an intern for my boss lady, my mentor, Marion Tasker. All struck by sheroes. I saw them live and in living color. Gussie Clark, Ann Verna, Joan Krajewski, Janie Blackwell, humbled by the responsibility of public service. Then, 10 years in Harrisburg after being bullied by the White Evans serving in the state house. I eventually was elected to city council and spent seven years in this chamber. Every day mattered then and now. I am proud and honored to be with you all today. Having submitted my fiscal year 2025 budget, five year plan and capital budget and program to the city council of Philadelphia for consideration. This is my first budget proposal as your mayor and it's big and it's bold. I'm calling it the one Philly budget and it funds the promise that I made to the people of our city that if we all work together, we could make Philadelphia a safer, cleaner, greener city with access to economic opportunity for all. Before we dive into the budget details, I'd like to talk for a minute about the state of the city's fiscal health. I am proud to report that the state of the city's fiscal health is good. No, really, it's good. We're making contributions to the budget stabilization reserve fund. Thank you, council member Gilmore Richardson for your exceptional leadership on this issue. We're continuing the excellent trajectory of the city's pension fund which just reached a 62 funding level, the highest level in decades. Even better is due to hit 80% in FY29 and 100% by FY33. And in FY30, our debt service should go down by $200 million. So what does that mean? That means that our actions over the coming years will free up over a half a billion dollars annually for future budgets, for future budgets. Now, just imagine what a half a billion dollars could do. Additionally, there are some positive, but lean, projected fund balances in the out years of my plan. And I won't shy away from that. It's true. Lower growth than projected for wage and real estate transfer taxes, a drop of about $300 million, spending the remaining American rescue plan at stimulus funds this year. And we can't forget that in the 1990s, the city had to make a tough decision. This is what it did. It borrowed $1.3 billion to shore up our pension fund. We're still paying for it today. From now through FY29, we'll pay $1 billion in debt service, including an $80 million payment that's due in 29. Now, in facing those challenges, I need everyone, our rating agencies, our intergovernmental partners, PICA, the controller to know how seriously I take our city's fiscal stability. I'll make sure my administration is a responsible steward of the city's finances. Now that we were able to get through that state of affairs, let's get to the exciting stuff in this budget. I'm going to say this next part. I want to say it out loud. And I want you to know I'm extremely proud. My budget has no new taxes, no new taxes on the people of Philadelphia. What this one Philly budget does is invest $2 billion over five years in new operating and capital dollars focusing on five pillars, public safety, cleaning green, economic opportunity, housing and education. As you can see, Mr. President, I've been listening. It's not just about the new money, though, that excites me. It's about the new approaches to how we are going to deliver city services. That's what I'm really excited about. For those of you who know me, you know that James Baldwin, one of my favorite public thinkers and writers during the civil rights movement, he was often quoted as stating, I can't believe what you say because I see what you do. I can't believe what you say because I see what you do. The people of Philadelphia are tired of politicians getting elected and making good speeches. They want to see their tax dollars at work in their neighborhoods. They want to see us do things differently. So let me tell you what we're doing in this budget. We're laser focused and unapologetic about improving public safety. For the people of Kensington, the Parker administration hears you. I say help is on the way. Yes, we've created a new office of clean and green initiatives to tackle quality of life issues in an effort for us to banish the phrase, Philadelphia once and for all. Let's get rid of it. No more Philadelphia. We're taking the PHL, taking care of business program, the neighborhood cleaning program. We're taking it to the next level, making it bigger and better. We're investing in workforce development and upskilling city workers for more opportunities. We'll work hand in glove with our unions and employers on job creation and building a pipeline to municipal jobs. Through our business round table, we'll lock arms with the private sector to make Philadelphia more economically competitive. And for those of you who know me, you know this is important, we'll make home ownership a priority and home preservation too. Working with the school district will invest in full day and year round schooling, modernize our school buildings and fund career and technical education to prepare students for the workforce now. It's important for me to let everyone know that this budget comes from the ground up. It reflects the voices of the people. So let me share more details about my one filly budget. On my first day as mayor, you all know I signed an executive order declaring a public safety emergency to get every available resource into neighborhood struggling with gun violence, drug dealing and addiction. Our police commissioner Kevin Bethel, the best police commissioner in the country, is developing a comprehensive plan to reduce and prevent gun violence and make our neighborhoods safe again. I feel a sense of urgency right now and I know all of you feel it too. The shootings last week, over four days, all on or near scepter buses left our city shaken. A student and two adults killed, 12 people injured, including 11 high school students and the 71 year old woman. Enough is enough is enough. Last Wednesday, I stood on Rising Sun Avenue at Five Points surrounded by spent shell casings and yellow police evidence markers trying to make sense of the senseless shooting of eight young people standing at a bus stop. This came two days after another shooting near bus stop in Northwest Philadelphia that left three students from Emhotep shot and two other women wounded. One student died from his wounds. He was 17. He was packed with potential and pregnant with possibility and now he's gone all too soon. Met with his parents, his village, his family. I want y'all to know I hear y'all. The events of last week, they underscore that urgency that I feel to restore a sense of order and public safety to our city. I want to thank and I want to do this publicly because I want to know I want them to know that I'm not ashamed to thank them publicly. Every law enforcement partner working with us to make Philadelphia safer. The FBI, the US Marshals, the ATF, the DEA, the Secret Service, the District Attorney's Office, SEPTA, the Sheriff, everyone working collaboratively with our police department to make our city safe again. We can't do it alone. We need everybody. Here's what's in my one-filly budget to address gun violence in Philadelphia. We'll make a 33 million dollar appropriation and new investments in public safety, including capital spending. I want you to measure this. Our overall new public safety investments, top 600 million dollars during the plan. Listen, don't simply listen to what I say. Watch what we do. This budget includes hiring at least 400 new officers every year. We'll increase the number and the frequency of recruiting classes and leverage a cadet program as a pipeline. Now, listen, I want you to take a moment with me to welcome two new recruits from the current class at the police academy. They are Maria Doe and Tyree Cooper recruit officers. Doe and Cooper, please stand up. Give them a huge round of applause. It supports deploying more officers in the field. Walking the beat, riding a bike, getting to know the people that they are sworn to protect and serve. The core of our community policing model. Now, when I served in the Pennsylvania house with State Rep Harris, our appropriations chair, we in my district had a pair of officers who walked the beat in my district. Those officers were officers moody and merchant. This is what they did. They signed a log book in stores up and down Widesworth Avenue. They knew every store owner, every rec leader, every librarian, every youth sports leader. They were a part of our community. When they weren't around, we called them M&M. I can say this to you, and I want to be honest, I was a little jealous because when they were on the ground doing all of that community-based work, I was the State Rep. They were only the community policing officers, but they got invited to more block parties, baby showers, and graduations than I did. I was the State Rep. I needed the votes. They didn't need the votes. I did. But I hope they're here, the community trusted officers moody and merchant. They were woven into the fabric of our neighborhoods. They were there as guardians and not warriors. Officer moody, if you're here today, please stand. You. Listen people, community policing works, and it's in this budget, which funds over 100 officers doing community policing. Our approach to crime is also centered on people. And my budget makes sure that the brave men and women in uniform working to protect and serve us, that they have the resources they need to do their work. My budget funds 150 new radio patrol cars, 75 new unmarked cars, cell phone and video software, drones, and upgrades to investigative equipment. We're also working to ensure that the 13 parks and rec sites without cameras get them and to improve the monitoring of the more than 1600 cameras that are already in place. If you have the cameras there and no one's monitoring them, it really doesn't help the city. In addition to that, I want you to note this. While we all know that we live in a highly technical 21st century society, our police detectives have been trying to solve crimes using dinosaur equipment. No more. No more. No more. No more. No more. We're making a 45 million dollar capital investment in a new modern 21st century forensics lab right here in our city of Philadelphia. I'll also ensure that we enforce the law regarding property crimes and quality of life issues. How illegal use of ATVs, car meetups, nuisance crimes, and retail theft, they may not matter to some people, but I can tell you they matter to all of the residents and the people I've communicated to and with and they matter to me going in a store and stealing $499 worth of merchandise and not expecting that there will be any consequences, it's not okay anymore. We will enforce the law right here in the city of Philadelphia. Now as I talk about public safety, I want to thank Council President Kenyatta Johnson for the work he does every day to reduce gun violence. Long before he was elected to public office, he founded the community-based organization Peace Not Guns. The reason why I respect, highly respect his role and space in the anti-violence effort is because when he founded that organization, it was born out of his lived life experience and his personal loss. Well Mr. President, I'm proud that my budget funds new services and resources for victims of violent crime, including additional victims, advocates, and anti-violence investments with a $24 million for grants to community-based organizations. With this in mind, I want to acknowledge the tremendous work being done day in and day out by community groups like, and if you are here when I call your name, I want you to stand and I want you to remain standing until I finish calling these names. Unity in the community, anti-more. Every murder is, every murder is real, shantay love. Mothers in charge, Dorothy Johnson's fight. The Black Brain Campaign for Rita Boyer. The Father's Day Rally Committee, Belal Cuyum. Nomo Ricky Duncan. The Black Male Community Council, Stanley Crawford. Man-up PHL, Solomon Jones. And every organization working each day to lessen the pain and the trauma caused by gun violence. Give them another round of applause. They deserve it. Support our police department. I've been unapologetic about making it plain, but I want to be clear that we will also have zero tolerance for any misuse or abuse of authority by law enforcement. Period. Not complex. That's why we're supporting the Citizens Police Oversight Commission with a $3 million investment this year. Given his leadership on public safety, including his blueprint for a safer Philadelphia 2.0, I know that Councilmember Curtis Jones Jr. will be proud of this investment. Councilmember Jones, thank you so very much for your work in this space. Thank you. We also know that we cannot police our way out of some of these problems we face, so we need same-day pay and restorative justice programs that provide options and opportunities. We also need a one-stop shop for returning citizens to connect to the services and supports from the federal, state, and local government. For young people, we need trauma-informed care and therapy. Listen, I recently learned the School District of Philadelphia offers virtual therapy free of charge right now through an app called COOTH. I want to thank the dynamic students at Northeast High School for sharing that with me. It's innovative. It's an innovative way of thinking, and I think that we should build on that. Now I want you to just take it a step further. If the School District is offering those kind of supports for free virtually for any student who is interested, imagine if our children could talk to a therapist in our rec centers and in our libraries. Reflect resolution and evening resource centers for our young people now, but we also need something that many of you already know is extremely important to me and near and dear to my heart. We need youth sports and athletic associations. I am a proud blue and white wearing Oak Lane Wildcat. I am. Y'all can hold it. Blue and white, Oak Lane Wildcat. And so I know firsthand that youth sports, they aren't just about wins and losses. They're about giving children hope. And if you want to see me go from zero to a thousand in a minute, see how frustrating it is for me when I see our children standing in the middle of the street with their helmets in their hands out trying to raise funding to do exactly what it is that we should be creating opportunities for them to do. And that is to be engaged in our little leagues. They shouldn't have to stand on the streets with their helmets, their health, they'll be supporting sports and athletic organizations with 3.2 million dollars for the first time. Normans, public safety and public health challenges in different areas across our city, but especially right now in Kensington. The current status quo where addiction and despair are normal is unacceptable. What we need right now, Philadelphia, and this is my opinion, we need the will to make the tough decisions necessary to change the status quo efforts to do so. I have the voices and the hopes of the people who live and work in Kensington on my mind as we fund and implement what I'm referring to as our Kensington community restoration plan. With this in mind, I want to commend the Kensington caucus. Council members Kessie Lozada, Mark Squilla, Mike Driscoll and Jim Harrity as they fight to renew quality of life in public safety for the community. I personally want to say to each of you, I've been running, but don't y'all think I'm not paying attention to what's happening. I know this hasn't been easy for you. It's tough, but I want you to know that I've got your back. I'm here. I also, yes, we're partners in this effort. You are not alone. I also want to recognize with the Kensington caucus in mind, I want to recognize and thank the advocates on the ground who have been working to make Kensington better. People like Casey O'Donnell from Impact Services, Dr. Bill McKinney from New Kensington CDC and Craig Cerrito of Rock Ministries. If you're out there listening somewhere, I hear you. So let me be clear for the long-term residents and everyone who has weathered this humanitarian crisis know that I want to make Kensington a neighborhood of choice and a beacon of pride again. Why? Because of people like Dionisio Chimenez and Maria Saez who own Cantina La Martina. It's a James Beard nominated Mexican restaurant on Kensington Avenue. It's their resilience that we're fighting for in Kensington. Dionisio and Maria, are you here? Are you in the chambers anywhere? Please stand. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Heard me say it before prevention, intervention and enforcement, the pie. It is critical to everything we're doing in Kensington and across Philadelphia to enhance public safety and community. Our managing director, and I'm so super proud he said yes and joined us, Adam Teal. He's examining every option for providing long-term care, treatment and housing for those suffering from addiction, homelessness and mental health challenges. And managing director Teal is backed up by over a hundred million dollars in new investment as he seeks to bring these groups together. Last week, last week, he convened a meeting of major health systems and insurance companies. Listen, who got together, council member Jones, not as expert articulators of problems, but to come up with solutions addressing the needs of our most vulnerable communities. I was shocked to hear many of those mainstream providers say they had never been convened by the mayor before and asked the help to come up with solutions. So we're trying to figure out what acts we send to our Pennsylvania General Assembly with tweets and adjustments to what we need as it relates to insurance to cover these people. We know what to ask for, not because legislators have tried to become insurance experts, but because the people who are in the industry doing the work, they've told us this is what we need from local state and federal government and that's how government is supposed to work. Now Kensington Caucus, you all know I've been doing my best to try to be a diplomat when people have been talking about what my perspective is and even what your perspective is as it relates to Kensington. I want to make it clear and plain so that anybody that you hear after this day say that this administration lacks compassion for those who are suffering from substance use disorder and addiction. I want you to be able to tell them they're not speaking the truth. This administration, the Parker administration, it supports an array of public health strategies from dispensing naloxalone and Narcan in fentanyl testing strips to administering care, providing access to treatment and counseling and other services because you have heard me say out loud and I don't apologize or run from it. While I'm the mayor, I will fight truth and nail to ensure that not one city dollar is invested in the distribution of clean needles. Now listen, Cheryl, are you saying that harm reduction doesn't matter? It hasn't helped us? It was trailblazing when we first did it. I still think it's an important part of the harm reduction strategies, but we can't afford here in the city of Philadelphia to appropriate our very scarce resources to do it. So if we're working in the collective manner, using local state and federal government, not going to allow this administration or people who I work with, who are my allies, when we're working on different issues, I'm not going to allow anyone to put us in a box trying to suggest that we do not care. We care deeply about every person in addiction and for those who think that they care more, once you've loved and lost someone close to you, I'm not talking about the second or the third or the fourth or the fifth cousin removed. When it touches your immediate family, like it did with me, that people, places and things are what impact people in addiction. Focusing on their long-term care, housing, and access to economic opportunity to put them on the path to self-sufficiency, that is what helps people out of addiction. So whenever you think you're going to change the narrative, be prepared for me to stand publicly on business, and I'm ready to debate anybody who wants to have the conversation. Okay, safer, cleaner, greener, and as council member Nina Amad will remind us, healthier. That's what one Philly budget supports. If public safety is priority number one for Philadelphians, guess what? Quality of life issues is number one A. When residents see overflowing trash cans, short dumping sites that pile back up only days after being cleared, cars forgotten and abandoned, then it's easy for you to understand why some folks don't believe that their neighborhoods will ever be clean and green again. When not getting the basics right, Philadelphia, the Parker administration in this one Philly budget right now says no more excuses. And believe me when I say it, then I want you to watch us do it. We are going to make Philadelphia the cleanest and the greenest big city in America. Congressman Evans, I hear you sometimes late at night saying if you change the environment, you'll change the behavior. That's what we're trying to do. The single largest new operating investment in my budget is for clean and green with more than $36 million in new funds in FY25. And listen, over $246 million during the plan. How? We're using an all-hands-on-deck approach led by an empowered and experienced captain, Carlton Williams, the director of our new office of clean and green initiatives. Councilmember Jeff Young and neighborhood leader Bonita Cummings, they saw this in action last month along Strawberry Mansion's 29th Street Quarter. Listen to what we had. We had team members from streets, from sanitation, from Illinois, from commerce, Tom Conway's clip team, and a laser in the Philadelphia Park and Authority. Everybody together. Guess what we did? We were responding to litter, illegal dumping, the vacant lots and builders that needed to be cleaned and sealed, and we viewed the amount of abandoned cars there. Right now, through this one Philly budget and with the Park and Authority on our side, we're going to tow more than 10,000 abandoned cars in the coming year. Going to clean and seal more than 900 this coming year. Bridget and Basil, you got your work cut out for you. Now, district council members, and I really do mean this, so you know how you get excited and like you can't wait to say something or can't wait to open up your gifts on Christmas Eve, you can't wait to wake up in the morning. This is what I couldn't wait to tell you all about. I want you to be as excited as I am to hear that we're investing roughly $18 million in a new residential cleaning program dedicating cleaning crews for each councilmatic district. He's talking to the jury and he says close your eyes for a minute. So when I'm preparing for this I said district council members close your eyes for a minute and imagine with me a constituent calls about trash on the street, something dumped near school, an abandoned car that's under the bridge, and you immediately kick back into old gear. You call sanitation, you call clip, you call neighborhood services unit, not an approach is over. My budget funds a team, listen, with equipment, trash trucks, and a team leader for each council district. They said to the Shirley Ketchum saying yes, Cheryl. PHL taking care of business, the neighborhood commercial quarter to additional commercial quarters and invested nearly $8 million to extend to nearby residential streets. It won't just be the cleaning up commercial quarters, it'll be on residential streets. So this means we'll reach near Lordy total quarters across the city and hire about 150 more cleaning ambassadors. I want full disclosure, I can't tell you that it was the greatest innovation in the world coming from me. I actually stole the program. It's modeled after what the center city district does downtown every day. And so my thinking when I was sitting on the fifth floor in my city hall office looking out the window, watching those cleaning ambassadors right here downtown in center city, I thought in my mind, our neighborhoods deserve the same level of care and cleanliness. Don't you all agree? My senator, my senator Hughes, don't you agree? Second Street, don't you agree? Listen, and to help get the comes to this group of people, Asian workers and buy more than 60 trans compactors going to collaborate with our faith based partners, our community development corporations, the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, which will continue its terrific work cleaning green spaces and providing pathways to opportunity through same day pay. Give that a round of applause, same day pay. It's important as we do this work that we also use new evaluation tools. I think people think the city of Philadelphia is afraid of measuring whether or not what it's doing is good or bad. I want people to see it and feel it. Yes, but measure and use data to keep improving it too. For years, for years, council member Cindy Bass has been calling out disparities in service delivery long before it was a popular thing to do. We're addressing that head on. My five year plan includes over $11 million to pilot a twice a week trash collection in our neighborhoods that are most challenged by trash and litter. Over the course of the plan, we're adding hundreds and hundreds of new position to make our city the cleanest in the greenest. You're also going to see new illegal dumping collection crew. They're going to help to shorten the response time to deal with illegal dumping. You're going to see a new special collection crew for bulk trash pickup, more surveillance cameras and illegal dumping hotspots. And finally and most importantly, the staff to monitor them and coordinate with law enforcement. We're also going to see 1500 new big belly trash and recycling cans with the staff he needed to make sure they are emptied regularly, Mr. President. I'm listening, Mr. President. Don't simply listen to what we're saying. Watch what we are doing. Cleaning green is also about working towards a more sustainable future. We'll focus on environmental justice for underserved and under-resourced communities. Cleaner streets, more green spaces and listen, the planting of 15,000 more trees will mean fewer urban heat islands and a healthier, more resilient community. But you can't have our parks and our recreation facilities. So we're going to continue rebuild, which we know, Council Member Jamie Gaultier, we know you value this program and we're going to continue it through our capital programs office. Transit is also a linchpin to sustainable resilient communities. Let's talk about SEPTA for a minute. We know SEPTA is facing a fiscal cliff for this coming year. That's why my one Philly budget, it adds $117 million in operating funds for SEPTA. Now as Council considers this funding, I know we all want to see SEPTA come forward with an aggressive plan to make our buses and trains safer and cleaner and we're going to work in partnership with them to do it. SEPTA, Mass Transit. In the issue of transportation, I come bearing just a little bit more good news. My proposed capital program invests a half a billion dollars in new street pavement. Driving through the streets of Philadelphia should not feel like riding a bumpy roller coaster while damaging your car. Investment means that that's $250 million through the end of FY25 and it puts us on a path of repaving 130 miles per year. Actually double our current rate of street pavement. Don't listen to what I say. Check out what we're doing. The album Martinez. I think it took me, I don't know, months to get her to say yes but she's here now. Commerce Director Martinez, you can often hear her stating that economic growth is the antidote to poverty. That's what she says. Economic growth is the antidote to poverty. I believe it's also the best violence prevention tool as well. That's why I didn't just make a promise to the people of Philadelphia to make it the safest cleanest and greenest city in the nation. I also promise to provide access to economic opportunity for all. Councilmember Nicholas O'Rourke, I know that we agree that equitable opportunity is both an economic and a moral imperative. There are right now Philadelphians living in poverty and that is unacceptable to me. I stand with our Governor Josh Shapiro in his call to raise Pennsylvania's unconscionably low minimum wage to $15 per hour. I, Cheryl Parker, doing so will grow the economic pie, increase the city's tax base, and give Philadelphians the raise they long deserve. We know this is the right thing to do. We know it. I also want you to know that it is true that we lag behind many of our peer cities on other indicators as well. There was a 2020 center city district report that businesses was 65 percent below Washington DC, 62 percent below Atlanta, and 41 percent below the national average. That's why my one Philly budget includes nearly $20 million in new operating investments for economic opportunity and more than $130 million over the five-year plan. It does. It's called Details. With the voices of my friends, Della Clark of the Enterprise Center and Harold Epps in my ear, we're responding to the need for capital, not just training programs. My budget invests $1 million in the accelerator fund, which provides access to capital for developers from historically disadvantaged groups, and it invests another $1 million in the Innovate Capital Growth Fund, which provides diverse entrepreneurs access to equity investments. Della Clark, she has been the voice and the conscience of entrepreneurship in Philadelphia for years. If you're here, Della, please stand. Give Della Clark a round of applause. I hear you, Della. Now, on jobs and workforce development, I already described PHL's TCB role in cleaning and greening, but it's also a pathway to steady employment, providing training for higher wage jobs. We're investing tens of millions of dollars to expand the program, and we'll be connecting Nelphians to economic opportunity. I need to publicly right now thank Amazon for its recent $100,000 contribution to this work. Mustafa Rashid, wherever you are, tell Amazon, I said thank you. PHL-TCB also supports our small businesses, like TWB cleaning contractors, which serves corridors in West Oakland, Oghons, and Oxford Circle. In 2014, Trina Warrell Benjamin stepped out on faith to start TWB. She left her job at PHMC and put everything she had into the start of this business. In the decades since, she's grown it to provide a range of services. We couldn't be prouder to partner with Trina. We're honored to have her son, Khalif Warrell, here. He's TWB's manager. He's with us today. Khalif, wherever you are, if you are here, I don't know if you were able to make it. If he wasn't, give him a huge round of applause anyway. Workforce, starting with the city's own workforce. We should be training our people for careers in every industry that is thriving in our city. This is not new. This is what Apple does. They send their employees to what they call Apple School. Well, our citizens, they are going to go to the city of Philadelphia School, the municipal school. No more complaining about recruitment and retention of city workers. We need to be creating our own pipeline and training our own people for these jobs. And we'll put people on the path to self-sufficiency by giving men and women dignity. That's how you help to reduce violence. How are you going to do it? We're going to make a $10 million investment in the community college of Philadelphia. I thank Dr. Guy Generals is here. CCP working with our super superintendent, Dr. Tony Wildington, they're going to work in partnership and they're going to establish a first in the nation city college for municipal employment. Education and training is the only way. I told you about the partnership, CCP and the school district. That's how we're going to put people on the path to self-sufficiency. Sherrell, who's going to go to the college? In my mind, high school students, people looking to change careers, current municipal workers who want to upskill anyone who's interested in working in city government. And this is probably my favorite. They're going to earn a stipend while they learn and graduate into good city jobs. You know this is important because jobs have to wait to the middle class, especially for black and brown people for women and for immigrants. These are jobs with dignity. And guess what? We're not done yet. My budget also includes another $10 million to support workforce development and apprenticeship programs led by partners, including the building trades, the carpenters and other humans. Working-class Philadelphians for careers and industries that are already here and thriving and those that are projected to grow. Careers in labor, in logistics, in life sciences, in biotech, they are all growing and thriving right here in our city and we need to be training our people to do it. Now, you've heard me talk about this and it's because I learned it on the trail and I had been in this body for what? Seven, six, seven years and I had never known because it wasn't in the district that I represented how powerful and what the growth potential was like in the area of life sciences in biotech. Listen, we've got it now for those of you who know me, you don't have to tell me twice. Philadelphia is on the cusp of leading the nation in biotech and life sciences and we're going to help this industry grow and become number one in the country. What's best? What's best, Sherrell? What do you like the most about the $10 million for training and apprenticeship programs? We're going to do what I saw happen when I visited Wistar. Those folks who were in that cohort training to be lab techs, they weren't there getting training, hoping for a job after they finish training to access these funds. There must be guaranteed employment for program graduates. So if there's a guaranteed job, the dollars are there to ensure that the training can actually take place. What are you trying to demonstrate? We're putting our money where our mouth is for individuals and for businesses. Now speaking of businesses, Council Member Brian O'Neill, I know regulatory burdens impose what we've often referred to as a time tax and can deter investment and job growth. So my plan includes almost $14 million for the PHL Open for Business initiative. We'll make it easier to do business by getting rid of unnecessary regulations, streamlining steps to open or expand businesses and providing one-on-one navigator services to help entrepreneurs. We're going to pair this with new ways of collaborating with who? Through our business roundtable, through our faith basin and to government roundtables. We'll work with partners to solve shared challenges and to bring more resources to our city. Now, yes, we're going to work to do that. Important issue is me, especially my former colleagues here in Council, you know that I see middle neighborhoods as the backbone of the city. And it's not just because my family moved on up like the Jefferson's, the one when I was born. It's because of what they represent. The opportunity for low and moderate income and working-class families to realize the American dream, stable housing, home ownership, generational wealth in middle neighborhoods and across the city. My proposed budget, it begins fulfilling my promise to create 30,000 units of housing. And I want each and every one of you in this chamber to hold me to it. Now, some of those homes are going to require significant repairs that owners simply can't afford. Now, with a whole lot of credit going to the City Council of Philadelphia, along with passionate housing advocates, we are fortunate in our city and all other cities don't have what we have. We're fortunate to have multiple city-funded home repair programs such as basic systems home repair and restore repair renew. These programs are terrific. But navigating through them, that's a whole nother man. My one-filly budget supports a one-front door approach. People will be able to apply for multiple programs at once, typing in their information and submitting their paperwork one time and not a half dozen times. It's interesting when when some people talk about housing, and I love listening to Varian opinions, but when some people talk about housing, they don't think people living in low and moderate income communities deserve nice things. Don't kill me, Council President Johnson, but when you all hear me talk about my grandmother having plastic on her living room sets, you might not even understand what she was doing. And every time she got a new living room set, it was usually clear plastic. And before she passed away, she got fancy. We got blue plastic. 1900 block of Penfield Street, true story. And she was proud of that blue plastic. Summer is stuck to your legs when it was real hot outside. Guess why my grandmother put plastic on the living room furniture? We didn't have much. She was proud of what she had, and she was trying to preserve what she had. And so I don't get how when people are thinking about folks who come from low and moderate income communities and working class communities, why they don't think that they deserve nice things. The way I see it, affordable housing must be high quality housing. And it's what you will hear me refer to as affordable luxury. My administration will ensure all new cities supported housing has the kinds of high quality fixtures and finishes that we all want in our homes. Don't put me somewhere else and give me so far and less because I'm low income or moderate. If that was the case, I wouldn't be standing here on today. But you're going to get it done. We've seen it, and we know that it's possible. All you've got to do is look at turning the key homes. I can't describe how powerful it is to see a family move into one of those beautiful homes. And on today, we have a turn the key home owners with us. Let's recognize Marjorie Howe, who works in the city's health department. Marjorie, are you here? Are you here? Wherever you are, Marjorie. Oh, you are there. Thank you, Marjorie. Thank you for coming. Listen, she brought her home in Sharswood and turned the key provided a mortgage down payment, making Marjorie's home ownership dream a reality. I am so grateful that Marjorie got enrolled and participated in that program, and we want a thousand more homeowners like Marjorie, right here in the city of Philadelphia. Make that happen. Mr. President, we need the Neighborhood Preservation Initiative, MPI, and we need the building trades. Wherever you are, Ryan Boyer and Bill Sprawl, building trades and carpenters, we want you to know that we are looking forward to working with you on many, many, 30,000 many more housing units in the years to come. Cheryl, what else is it going to take? It's going to take moving the inventory stuck in the city's land bank. My administration will turn those parcels into vibrant homes and community spaces, including gardens. Councilmember Kendra Brooks, I know how much you support those precious green spaces maintained by our community members. The easiest parcels, and everyone should know this, for the land bank to convey our unoccupied and tax-delinquent properties. But that only works if our tax lien sales are up and running. We know that the lack of tax sales have cost the city and the school district an estimated $35 million in tax revenue, and those dollars could have been invested in classrooms and in rec centers or on building affordable homes. I want to note for the record, and this one I'm proud of, Council President Johnson, Sheriff Rochelle Balau, City Solicitor Renee Garcia and I, we have been meeting. Together, we all recognize the need to have tax sales up and running. On today, I am pleased to announce that the Sheriff's Office is now working with the law department to resolve this issue in the next four weeks with the goal of the first sale occurring before July 1st, 2024. Sheriff Rochelle Balau, are you here? Madam Sheriff, let me say what I said to you privately, and I'll say it publicly so folks know that we're being transparent. No one was expecting you, Council President Johnson, Renee Garcia and I, to be able to sit in the room and hammer out a compromise. I'm proud that we've done it. Now, I know it's just a compromise and you've got to get it done first. I don't want you all to think I'm celebrating before it actually happens, because anything can happen. But Sheriff, I want to say to you, and I want to say to you, Mr. President, because you were the chief mediator in the midst of this conversation, I want to say to you, Madam Sheriff, I want to thank you publicly for that, and I'm looking forward to working with you. Give our Sheriff a huge round of applause. These sales will generate millions of dollars in revenue for the city and the school district, and they can help transform neighborhood blight into homes and gardens. Now, Oren was near and dear to all of us, public education. Our goals are high, and they must be. We're going to innovate to provide what we refer to as a world-class education for students of all ages and backgrounds. For far too long, our students have struggled with far too little. The days of settling for crumbs, they're over. Our students deserve a full loaf, and they're going to get it. Commonwealth's Court Historic Ruling last year, the state recommended an infusion of $1.4 billion for Philadelphia schools over the next seven years. Governor Shapiro proposed $242 million more in education funds for Philadelphia this year, and we're going to continue to advocate vigorously for public education in Harrisburg, and I hate to shout them out, but I have to say to Senator Hughes, Chairman Hughes and Chairman Harris, we're looking forward to working with you, standing side by side as we advocate for that state funding. But in the meantime, my administration is moving full steam ahead on our vision for public education. I want you all to be proud to know that my one-filly budget includes over $24 million and new operating investments for education with nearly $140 million over the plan, and of that, $129 million is for the School District of Philadelphia. Now, I've already said out loud, and I just want to say it again, when we start talking about the School District, no one should ever try to talk with me about public education and pit traditional publics against charters. It's a non-starter for me. All of these, if you were with me at Northeast High, if you were with me at Mhotep, you realize these are all of our children, and we shouldn't be trying to pit one against the other. Now, some people here at School District and they think we're just talking about K through 12, not me. I know, and I want you to know, for those of you who know me, you know I don't say this lightly, because I like I stand back sometimes and I watch people and I don't say a thing. But I want y'all to know that we have a terrific superintendent and Dr. Tony Wadlington. He knows that the foundation for careers, it needs to be laid early. Superintendent Wadlington, please stand, please give him a round of applause. He has one of the toughest jobs in the city of Philadelphia. Superintendent Wadlington, you're my guy. You have my support and I'm looking forward to working with you. In partnership with the superintendent, I want you to know that this budget includes a plan for full day and year round schooling, offering students educational enrichment throughout the year with schedules that work for working families. Yes, give that a round of applause. Scheduled around the needs for working families. The mayor's office of education will coordinate the multi-year rollout of this initiative, which will launch in 20 pilot schools this fall. Councilmember Anthony Phillips, I know from youth action, I know you support this vision and I know that I am grateful for your leadership, sir, on city council's committee of children and youth and we can't wait to partner with you to make this out of school time year round education a reality for students in the school district of Philadelphia. Our students deserve to learn and save healthy facilities that 21st century learning. We need to modernize existing schools and build new ones. Now doing so is no small task. It's going to require an intergovernmental strategy, working with our allies on city council, like education committee chairperson Isaiah Thomas, again our Pennsylvania General Assembly and our federal delegation. But it also presents an opportunity for us. I'm looking forward to working with you, Isaiah Thomas, and I need to say this to you. When we get to the table to work on this issue, let's imagine our building trades giving students actual on the job training and restoring and rebuilding schools and building new schools and then welcoming them into a union workforce. That's what we can do today's generation building for the next and I'm looking forward to working with you sir in order to make that happen. We're going to do all of this work in collaboration with our teachers, with families and partners. All of us focus on what's best for our young scholars. Now know this city government is worth investing and believing in. I want to take a moment to recognize and appreciate our workforce and their labor leaders who are with us here today. District council 33 Omar Salam district is are you here Omar please stand. District council 47 April Jigets FOP Lodge five Roosevelt poplar and firefighters local 22 Mike Bresnan. Let's please stand they lead our city's workforce. In addition to negotiating fair contracts in the Parker administration, we hope and expect that today's administrative clerk is tomorrow's departmental commissioner. That's why my budget includes $14 million in new operating investments for FY 25 and close to $141 million over the five year plan for the resources that help our world class municipal workers do their best. Now the funding supports our current workforce and it invest and recruiting new employees. We're going to have to do a better job marketing and recruiting for the good jobs that are available with the city. Jobs for nurses, search social workers, paramedics will tell people about our total compensation package, the health benefits, the retirement security, the professional development programs like turn the key and we can try to compete for talent as an employer of choice in our region. How are we going to get there? We're going to work with our law department and our unions to let retired city workers come back to work for several years while still collecting their pensions. So what does this mean for all of my retired city workers out there? If you feel a call to come back to service, if your heart still stirs at our vision, please consider coming back. When I first introduced this concept when I was in the city council of Philadelphia, like a whole lot of other things I've done in life, I had a whole lot of people laughing at me. You think of retiree is ever going to want to come back and work with the city if people love our city and if you believe that people can love our city as much as we all do, they will come back if we give them the opportunity. Current city employees, I know we'll have more to say about our return to office. We'll be talking about that in more detail. But what's important for me that you know right now is that in developing our policy, we're taking into consideration your needs. That includes childcare and elder care. And you heard me said that I was a state rep working in Harrisburg while caring for my grandfather and he lived at home. So I'm ultra sensitive to the childcare and the elder care challenges that some of our municipal workers are facing right now. City workers are people, not assets, and my administration will treat you with respect. My one Philly budget also supports the data and analytics behind those new approaches to doing the work. Let's start with Philly stat 360. It's performance management, it's results based accountability. It's our future. Here's what it means. Every department will communicate with each other backed up by data on what they're doing to advance our vision. That's how we're going to ensure accountable government that you can see, touch and feel. We're breaking down the silos between departments. We're using a data driven and research based approach to make decisions. And I know that's music to the ears of one of my fellow data lovers, council member Rue Landau. Yes, performance management is here. We're taking new approaches to our work together. Don't simply listen to what I say, watch what it is that we're doing. I want you to know that my name is Sherrell L Parker, and I am the 100th mayor of Philadelphia, the first woman to lead this city in 341 years. I propose this one Philly budget to the city council of Philadelphia with $2 billion of new investments in the people of our wonderful city. And I want you to know that I approved this message. Today is just the beginning. I'm coming to a neighborhood near you for a budget briefing in a town hall meeting. Let's work together with diplomacy, diligence and purpose toward its passage and implementation for the people. It's one share goal in mind to make our city safer, cleaner and greener with access to economic opportunity for all. If we do this city council, Mr. President, if we do this together, that is the only way that we are going to ensure that we truly are. And you all already know what to do. Put them in the air. Put your ones everybody. Put your ones in the air. And I want them to hear us outside. Let me hear you say one Philly, a united city. Thank you.