Municipal corruption and residency requirement = reform?
Yesterday, the Philly Inquirer reported on corruption within L&I regarding plumbing inspectors taking "tips" to look the other way and not inspect jobs done by contractors throughout this city. Supposedly the investitgation is ongoing, and this illegal practice is deeply ingrained and widespread. I hope we have more and more of these Federal investigations.
The article describes a man who refused to go along with the practice, actually having the ethical conviction and moral fortitude to stand up against it when he became a supervisor, who was shunned by even his own plumber father for not going along with this practice.
http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/11000667.htm
The mayor needs to take a definite stand on ethics reform, and I think the city needs to start hiring people from outside the system, to start fresh in a lot of areas.
On the same front, Johnathan Saidel sponsored a study on reforming residency requirements for new municipal employees, which incidentally are widely skirted by many municipal employees who use fake addresses. Apparently the city can not hire someone who has not lived here for at least a year - this practice hurts the city in that qualified outsiders are kept out, and we are stuck with a smaller pool of potential applicants who are likely not as qualified as needed or don't have the necessary experience to do the job well. The city is more vulnerable to corruption without adequate competition for jobs running various municipal services.
An article in the City Paper describes the study and the reasoning for promoting amending the residency requirements:
Quote:
February 24-March 2, 2005
city beat
Residence Evil
A wannabe mayor wants to ease rules about living, before working, in the city.
by Dan Keashen
No coat-hanger residences, ever. That's the message coming from city controller and likely 2007 mayoral candidate Jonathan Saidel, who is going public with his desire to revamp residency restrictions for those who work for the city.
Ironically, Saidel's plan comes as his former deputy, Anthony McNeil, who monitored whether workers actually lived within the city limits as required by law, awaits a March 24 sentencing on federal mail-fraud charges stemming from multiple car accidents that occurred while he was driving a city-owned car home — to Sicklerville, N.J.
"He was a trusted member of the staff and had contributed a lot to the office, but at the same time he was going out and investigating city employees for the same infraction he was committing on a daily basis," says Deputy City Controller Tony Radwanski, noting it was a crushing blow for Saidel to hear about his deputy's blatant disregard of the charter.
Despite the McNeil issue, Saidel says he wants to ease the restrictions as a means to both attract better employees and lure new residents. Currently, city workers have to live in Philadelphia for a year before getting a job; instead, potential employees often establish a "coat-hanger" residence here while actually living elsewhere. Saidel would like to make it so they have to establish a residence here within six months after being hired.
The change, Radwanski says, would enable the city to recruit qualified outsiders. It would also end the practice of giving residency waivers to high-ranking officials who often aren't governed by the same rules as rank-and-file employees.
"Under [the] current system, the streets commissioner is not held to the same standard as the guy sweeping the streets," says Radwanski. "We'd like to see that changed."
First District City Councilman Frank DiCicco supports the idea, which isn't all that surprising considering that he's twice introduced legislation to change the restrictions. (In 2001, he tried to amend the city charter to give police officers a pass; two years later, he tried a similar initiative to help stave off a recruiting shortfall.)
"I wanted to open up the talent pool and attract people to Philadelphia as an employment destination," says DiCicco, noting that other big cities have long poached Philadelphia employees. "New York City has been grabbing our guys for years, but because of the residency laws we were unable to market to other big municipalities."
His idea, DiCicco says, was defeated because the "administration wasn't with us on the issue."
Adds the councilman, "How can you ask somebody to move into the city, take a civil-service test, then have them wait for a year to cover the residency requirement until they find out if they got a job or not?"
Radwanski says the benefits are numerous. Not only would "coat-hanger" residencies disappear, but all city employees would pay the city-wage tax rather than taking their money to the burbs. In addition, Radwanski says applying for a civil-service position would be more user friendly to applicants across the country. The current rules, in place since 1954, have always made exceptions for deputies, commissioners and political appointees. Radwanski says that's an outdated notion.
"Philadelphia has not retained the 2.2 million residents that made up the pool of talent for jobs and recruiting in the 1950s. In this respect, the charter is antiquated," says DiCicco.
According to Radwanski, 23 residency cases have been investigated in the past year. Of those, three people were dismissed while many of the others are either in arbitration or appeal.
DiCicco says getting people back into the neighborhoods in Philadelphia should be a goal for the municipality.
"These guys that live outside the city don't understand the issues of the community. How can they?" he says. "When we get one new hire or appointment to take up residency in the city, it's one less vacancy and these people take a vested interest in the municipality."
Still, the controller's office is not expecting sudden changes to occur when Saidel officially announces his advocacy proposal. (It's not yet clear when Saidel will make a formal announcement.)
"This is going to take time, but this is something that Jonathan thinks can help the city recruit new talent and give a solid standard to all city employees," says Radwanski, noting that widespread support could lead to a ballot question in November.
He won't be finding much support from the second floor of City Hall, however.
"The mayor likes the way the current charter is written up," says Deborah Bolling, a spokeswoman for Mayor Street and former City Paper staff writer, "and does not expect to see it changed in any significant way."
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02-28-2005, 04:36 PM
