PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — City Council has voted unanimously to override Mayor Jim Kenney’s veto of a bill to create a public safety director for the city.
The legislation puts a Home Rule Charter change referendum on the May 17 primary ballot, asking voters whether the new office should be created. Voters won’t see the detailed job description, which includes a $265,000 annual salary, making the job one of the highest-paid in city government, nor will they see the provision that City Council must approve the mayor’s appointment to the office, giving them new power over the executive branch.
The mayor sent Council his veto Thursday morning, arguing the new position would duplicate the job duties that the city charter assigns to the managing director, creating another layer of bureaucracy and blurring the lines of authority on public safety, thus doing the opposite of what was intended. In his veto, Kenney questioned the need to rush this to the ballot. The bill was introduced just last month.
The bill’s author, Council President Darrell Clarke, rejected Kenney’s reasoning.
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“Given the urgency of us doing something on public safety, you must focus on that first, because it is impacting everything we do here in the city of Philadelphia.”
There is also a question about the legality of how the bill was passed — in the same session in which it was amended — before it went to Kenney’s desk. Council is supposed to wait a week after amending a resolution to give citizens a chance to weigh in on the changes.
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Voters will get the final say, but Pat Christmas of the watchdog group Committee of 70, says he’s not sure why it has to be in the primary.
“We’re trying to select a new mayor right now, who will be saddled with this, so rushing this through right now is concerning to us,” he said.
Kenney has used his veto pen sparingly during his seven years in office. This is just his third veto. Council overrode both of the first two vetos.