Yes, my administration will publish this information. I also agree with the Committee Seventy’s comprehensive agenda for an open, transparent and ethical mayoral administration; I was one of the first mayoral candidates to fully endorse their agenda and pledge to implement their recommendations as mayor.
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Yes, I would support such legislation.
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No, I would not favor awarding no-bid contracts for non-emergency services. I would define an “emergency” as any situation that would require immediate response from city government; I would still, however, make all information about such contracts available to the public.
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Yes, I would support such a policy.
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Yes, I would support such a charter change.
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Yes, I would support a lobbyist disclosure bill for the City of Philadelphia.
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I will follow all campaign finance disclosure timelines in the election code and will make my campaign finance statements available to the public.
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I do believe that the gross receipts portion of the Business Privilege Tax is onerous and needs to be phased out. I think we need to balance its elimination, however, with the more immediate need to reduce the level of violence in Philadelphia. As Mayor, my top priority will be to make Philadelphia the safest big city in America; subsequent to that, we will do what we can afford in terms of ongoing tax reduction.
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I do believe that in order to attract businesses and to achieve job growth, we must have a competitive tax structure. For this reason, I supported Governor Ed Rendell’s gaming legislation which would provide revenues to cut the wage tax in Philadelphia. I will also continue to support its reduction and to look at studies, including those from the Tax Reform Commission, to seek ways to make our tax structure fair and balanced for all.
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a. Yes, I believe the move to full assessment should be revenue neutral.
b. Yes, I would support such legislation.
c. I am concerned with how reassessment would impact homeowners whose property values have increased but who are income poor. For that reason, I have supported a series of state initiatives which would give such homeowners tools to minimize the impact of increased assessments. I would support additional deferment programs and would work with City Council to design the appropriate income levels and implementation for such programs.
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a. I would be willing to publish such details as soon as it is practical.
b. I would commit to an open process for all phases of crafting the city’s budgets, either the primary one or any supplemental appropriations.
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a. I believe that both revenues and expenditures must be on the table as we take on the challenges facing this city. That means all revenues and expenditures must be on the table, including the “political” expenditures.
b. My overwhelming preference is to use “pay-as-you go” provisions versus taking on more debt. We can no longer afford to increase our debt burden and practice avoidance behavior with the serious challenges facing this city.
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A strong economy consists of the creation of good-paying jobs as well as the assurance that people have the skills needed to receive and to excel at these jobs. I have assisted in the creation of a model workforce training program with the private sector as a state representative and would continue that leadership as mayor.
Employment statistics for 2005 cite that less than half of Philadelphians age 20 to 24 have a job. I will team up with community organizations that have programs that fit the needs of individuals to jobs. I will also create the Philadelphia Human Capital Initiative (PHCI), which will focus on an efficient workforce development system.
I will also expand business development and create jobs as Philadelphia’s Chief Economic Development Officer. I plan to create an Office of Economic Growth to create new jobs and sustain existing jobs. Past administrations have had a misguided focus with job growth and I intend to diversify the city’s economic base with new opportunities in addition to our existing industries such as healthcare, tourism and education. This office will also provide economic development functions and job retention efforts, which is now scattered throughout City Hall agencies.
I encourage you to view my full economic development plan at www.evansformayor.com.
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Small business growth rates are low in Philadelphia; as Mayor, I will not only focus on developing a workforce for industry but on creating entrepreneurs as well. Since climbing the ladder to the middle class can be tough, I will support individual development accounts (IDAs), which can be used to start a business among other things.
The true advancement and path to financial security as well as closing the gap between rich and poor is to accrue savings and to build wealth.
In order to facilitate the process and ensure residents possess the necessary tools to start their own business, I plan to expand business support services. I will locate one-stop shop services in our neighborhoods across the city. Also, I will create a Small Business Training Alliance which will allow small businesses to join forces and apply for grants for job training to lessen the burden on these businesses.
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Yes, I will support opening up access to city hall by publishing much more information on the City’s web site and providing for more city services via the web.
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What the city needs is a mayor who will continue to support the schools as they strive for excellence. After decades of mismanagement and poor student achievement, I helped to lead the formation of the unique city-state partnership that now runs the school district under the leadership of School Reform Commission Chairman Jim Nevels and CEO Paul Vallas.
Since I led this effort, we have seen five years of test score growth, increased graduation rates, decreases in the levels of violence, and significant new quality choices for parents such as the new Microsoft High School of the Future.
We still have more work to do, however. Our class sizes are too high, we do not invest enough in early childhood education, our classrooms are outdated, our dropout rates are too high, and some schools still remain unsafe. What we need now more than ever are more resources in our schools in order to continue the initiatives that have led to increased student achievement over the past five years: smaller class sizes, more time on task, and more quality options for parents and students. This should be our immediate focus, not the tired “adult food fight” over city versus state control of the schools.
I encourage you to view my full education plan at www.evansformayor.com.
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Philadelphia School District’s spending per child averages around $11,000 while its suburban counterparts spend $15,000 or more. While Philadelphia may have more obstacles to overcome, it has less money to deal with them.
In the early 1990s, I initiated an effort between the House Appropriations Committee, which I chair, and the Education Committee.
I led the committees in developing a school financing proposal to impose comparable access for quality education. As a result, the legislation provided that the district's poverty level, enrollment and tax base be used to guarantee a subsidy for each student. Unfortunately, other districts still outpaced Philadelphia in the amount of resources backing each child’s education.
I have since stood by Governor Ed Rendell’s efforts to increase state aid. Also, I have fought in the state legislature for the district’s $30 million in increased funding this year. As Mayor, I will continue to fight for more resources to our school district. I will also signify Philadelphia’s continued commitment to improving our schools by transferring $100 million in new property tax revenue to the School District.
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I support the bill that has been introduced by City Councilman Wilson Goode, which calls for a two percent shift in property tax revenue from the General Fund to schools. This would give the School Reform Commission about $20 million more each year alone.
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I am an ardent supporter of charter schools; in fact, I was able to help secure the passage of the Pennsylvania Charter School Law in 1997 which led to the development of 56 charter schools in the city. This includes my own creation in 1998 of the West Oak Lane Charter School.
I also opened the doors to the New Media Technology Charter School in 2004 with the Black Alliance for Educational Options and the Lotus Academy. Each and every parent in Philadelphia deserves quality education choices for their children, and charter schools help provide this choice.
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Yes, I would support Charter changes to allow the next Police Commissioner more flexibility in appointing senior officials. I would work with the Commissioner to determine the number of positions and depth of flexibility needed.
I encourage you to view my full public safety plan at www.evansformayor.com.
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