PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — On a day in Philadelphia City Council with a large amount of proposed legislation including new police oversight and COVID-19 vaccine incentives, Councilmember Cherelle Parker introduced a bill that would ask voter approval to change a long-standing civil service hiring practice known as the “rule of two.”
In an effort to avoid patronage hires, the city charter requires that only the two highest-scoring candidates on the civil service exam be referred for hiring when a department has a vacancy to fill.
Parker said it has had the unintended consequence of cementing systemic racial inequities in employment.
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“Eliminating the rule of two will have two major impacts on the city’s recruitment and selection process,” Parker said.
“First, it will increase the diversity of candidate pools. Second, it will allow the city to use alternate selection tools like training and experience.”
Councilmember Derek Green also proposed a charter change to guarantee city funding for the Housing Trust Fund, the city’s primary vehicle for affordable housing.
His measure recommends an earmark of .5% of the total budget for the fund. This year, that would be about $26 million.
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Councilmember Kathy Gilmore Richardson introduced a bill to reform curfew laws for minors by simplifying curfew times to make them easier to understand, removing fines for violations and changing the requirements that young people must be taken to a police district.
“My colleagues and I are looking at how young people get caught up in dangerous situations and working to reform the systems that lead to juvenile justice involvement or criminal activity,” she said.
“This bill and the new evening resource centers will help us connect more children and families to resources early and keep them off the street.”