PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The primary elections will be held Tuesday, May 20, and voters will decide on three key ballot questions. The proposed amendments to the city's Home Rule Charter address oversight of homeless services, funding for affordable housing, and prison system reform.
The first question seeks to create an ombudsperson role, or watchdog, specifically for the Office of Homeless Services. Councilmember Katherine Gilmore Richardson, who sponsored the measure, said the office’s clients are the most vulnerable in the city and need an advocate.
“To really do the research, receive client grievances, conduct investigations, but also have subpoena power to ensure that the system is giving good quality service to our unhoused residents to ensure they can get permanent, stable, supportive housing,” Gilmore Richardson said.
The second question calls for an increase in the minimum amount the city puts into the Housing Trust Fund. Currently, the city contributes the minimum of 0.5% of the overall city budget, roughly $3.5 million, but Councilmember Jaime Gauthier, the sponsor of the measure, said the Fund should receive all of the money paid by developers for projects that exceed by-right zoning limits.
“Philadelphia is in the middle of an affordable housing crisis,” Gauthier said. “Half of the renters across the city can’t afford their rent, and a third of the homeowners can’t afford their mortgages. This is something the city has to commit to, and I think it’s a good idea to have a dedicated funding stream.”
The third referendum proposes creating a Prison Oversight Board, introduced by Councilman Isaiah Thomas, to address issues within the city’s prison system.
“We’ve seen incidents where people have escaped; we’ve seen people severely hurt, whether you’re talking about staff or actual inmates; we’ve seen complaints from loved ones about conditions, whether it’s food or solitary confinement,” he said.
The board would be responsible for addressing these issues, and the city would also create an Office of Prison Oversight, with duties determined by the City Council. This office would have a budget equal to 0.45% of the prison system’s budget, roughly $7 million over the next five years.
Thomas said that's only a small part of the budget.
“People don’t want to see more boards and bureaucracy that doesn’t have any teeth, and our goal here is to put together an oversight board that can stand independent and investigate when complaints present themselves,” he said.
The Committee of Seventy has endorsed the creation of the board.