PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philadelphia City Council voted unanimously to hold hearings on the beleaguered Sheriff’s Office, after years of complaints about courtroom security and real estate transactions.
The resolution for hearings came Thursday last week, promising to examine the office’s operations and policies under Sheriff Rochelle Bilal and restore confidence by recommending improvements to transparency, accountability, efficiency and safety.
City Council President Kenyatta Johnson, who sponsored the resolution, said he anticipates a cordial exchange in the hearings.
“The Sheriff and I are still good friends, and so at the end of the day it’s about me still doing my job, making sure we’re being responsible for the taxpayer dollars,” Johnson said. “It’s an opportunity for her to go on the record to talk about the things that she is doing, for us to ask questions about what’s happening and what’s not happening.”
Sheriff Bilal is currently defending against a lawsuit filed against her by developers who waited months to receive paperwork for property bought at the Sheriff’s Office real estate sales. The Inquirer reported that $20 million in funds from those sales remained undispersed.
The Sheriff’s Office has been plagued with problems for years: shortly after Bilal was elected, the city controller found that the office could not account for more than 200 guns — both service weapons and firearms seized during protection from abuse orders.
Bilal was later sued by her former chief financial officer, who claimed she was fired for asking questions about an office slush fund.
Courts have also complained that the sheriff failed to provide a safe environment, and that unreliable prisoner transportation contributed to delays in the justice system.
Some watchdog groups, such as the Committee of Seventy and the Pennsylvania Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority, have said that the Sheriff’s office, with its long history of issues that predate Bilal, should be abolished.
Johnson, however, said that is not his intention.
“My goal,” he said, “is to reform the Sheriff’s Office in partnership with the actual sheriff.”
Bilal’s spokesperson said the sheriff welcomes a constructive, fact-based discussion with City Council.
Council President Kenyatta Johnson hopes to examine the office’s policies and restore confidence
Council President Kenyatta Johnson hopes to examine the office’s policies and restore confidence
