Philadelphia Daily Record

Vol. II No. 189 (349)

Keeping You Posted With The Politics Of Philadelphia

November 28, 2011

Philadelphia Daily Record

Never Again

DEPUTY POLICE COMMISSIONER Stephen Johnson stood with Sen. Bob Casey in 30th Street Station as Casey unveiled his legislation to cause Social Security Administration to tighten up requirements which would prevent victimization of disabled Social Security recipients. Casey’s action follows a shocking case of serial abuse in Tacony. Story page 3.

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Dec. 1Reception honoring US Sen. Bob Casey with Special Guest James Carville, at Racquet Club of Phila., 215 S. 16th St. 6 p.m. Friend $250/person. Committee Person, Young Professional $100/person. RSVP (267) 601-4450 or rsvp@bobcasey.com.

Dec. 2Local 98’s Turkeys and Toys Party, Finnigan’s Wake, 7 p.m.

Dec. 310th Ward’s Christmas Holiday Gospel Breakfast hosted by Edgar Howard at Imhotep Charter HS, 6201 N. 21st St., 10 a.m. (Welcome home from hospital, Edgar!)

Dec. 4Fundraiser for Tracey Gordon at 1033 Christian St., 5-5:30 p.m. For info (215) 501-2197.

Dec.4Ward Leader Bob DellaValla, Esq, hosts 55th Democrat Executive Committee Chistmas Party from 2 to 6 p.m. at Knights of Columbus, 3300 Knorr Street( at Rowland). For info call (215) 335-4004.

Dec. 7United Republican Club celebrates 131st birthday at Sheraton Society Hill, 1 Dock St., 5:30 to 7 p.m. For info (215) 545-2244.

Dec. 8State Rep. W. Curtis Thomas hosts Weatherization and Energy Forum at Temple’s Dentistry Student Faculty Ctr., 3340 N. Broad St. (Broad & Ontario), 6-8 p.m. For info Natalie Davis (215) 560-3261.

Dec. 15Christmas Celebration in 6300 block Germantown Avenue, 6-7 p.m. Corporate and community donations are welcome! For more info to make a donation A. Neal (215) 438-1768 or A. Alexander (215) 844-9345.

Dec. 17Black Professionals Christmas Party at African American Museum, 7th & Arch Sts., 8 p.m.-1 a.m. $50 includes live music, entertainment. For info Earl Harvey (267) 2443860.

Dec. 29Friends of Council-elect majority leader Curtis Jones host “Black Out Party” at 4130 Main Street, next to Manayunk Brewery. Dress in black. VIP Coctail 6 to 8 pm $1,000 host; $500 sponsor, $250 VIP. General admission, 8 p.m. to 1 p.m. $50 guest. Fort info call Dorian Stanley at 732-642-2163.

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THE PHILADELPHIA DAILY RECORD

Casey Unveils Legislation to Close SS Benefits Loopholes US Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) has unveiled legislation that would close the loopholes in the Social Security system that allowed the suspects in the Philadelphia basement case to bilk their captives of their Social Security benefits and avoid police for years.

Senator Casey’s bill would finally allow the Social Security Administration (SSA) to access existing government databases that identify violent criminals who would not be eligible to serve as representative payees - the status the suspects in the Philadelphia basement-case used to bilk their captives of their benefits.

This bill would also increase the number of SSA fraud investigators so that every person who applies to be a representative payee goes through a criminal background check. “The horrors that took place in the Tacony basement case are deeply troubling, and we must do everything we can to ensure this never, ever happens again,” Senator Casey said. “This legislation will ensure that the Social Security Administration has the resources and the tools it needs to stop another situation like this in its tracks.”

A 2004 law, The Social Security Protection Act, contained a provision barring individuals who have been imprisoned for more than a year from becoming representative

payees, who are eligible to cash someone else’s check. The 2004 law authorized the Social Security Administration to identify those ineligible felons, but a 2010 report by the agency’s Inspector General showed that SSA staff routinely failed to perform thorough criminal background checks and that the agency’s self-reporting program was unreliable.

the SSA access to government databases like the FBI’s National Crime Information Center (NCIC) system and increase the number of fraud investigators at the agency.

The legislation will finally give the SSA the tools and resources required to perform a criminal background check on every person who applies to serve as a representative payee.

According to the SSA, there are two factors that prevent the agency from checking the criminal background of every representative payee applicant. First, the agency is unable to access government databases that contain criminal background information; and second, the SSA also does not have enough staff to perform a background check on every applicant.

Senator Casey’s bill would give

For years, suspects in the Philadelphia basement case were allowed to collect Social Security checks on behalf of children, teens and the adults with disabilities, even though they would have failed a routine criminal background check. If enacted at the time the primary suspect applied to be a representative payee, Senator Casey’s bill would have ensured the denial of her application.

State Supreme Court Bolsters Pension And DROP Program Pennsylvania cities can no longer tinker with their employee pension benefits without first bargaining with their union representatives.

On Nov. 25, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania issued a unanimous decision protecting the pension rights of public employees in a case litigated by Philadelphia law firm Willig, Williams & Davidson and the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board on behalf of firefight-

ers in the City of Erie.

The implications of the City of Erie decision are potentially farreaching in an environment in which public-employee pension benefits are at heightened risk, and employers have become increasingly aggressive in their attempts to weaken or eliminate DROP and other pension benefits for their employees.

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THE PHILADELPHIA DAILY RECORD In a unanimous and stronglyworded opinion, the Supreme Court held the City of Erie violated the rights of its firefighters when it eliminated a deferred retirement pension benefit without first bargaining with its firefighters over the change. The City had contended before the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board that it had the unilateral right to amend its own employee pension ordinance, regardless of the objection of firefighters, in order to comply with findings of the state Auditor General.

The City had also contended the DROP elimination was proper be-

cause the benefit had been provided via the unilateral adoption of an ordinance, as opposed to collective bargaining. The Supreme Court flatly rejected those arguments, which had previously been accepted by the Commonwealth Court in a 2009 unpublished opinion.

“The plain and unambiguous terms of Act 111 obligate the parties to bargain over mandatory subjects of bargaining, including pension benefits,” stated the Court in its opinion. “Furthermore, an employer’s unilateral change to a mandatory subject of bargaining, such as pension benefits, even through the en-

actment or repeal of an ordinance, constitutes an unfair labor practice.”

Consequently, the Supreme Court held that the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board properly determined that the City’s DROP-elimination was illegal, and ordered the City to restore the benefit. According to Richard Poulson, the Philadelphia attorney who represented the firefighters involved in the DROP dispute, “The Erie decision should once and for all put this issue to rest – public pension benefits are an enforceable item.”

Legislature Rules If Philly Went Bankrupt While Philadelphia has its own rules that apply to its fiscal situation as a City of the First Class, a Pennsylvania Bankruptcy Court decision last Wednesday confirms the legislature’s authority to establish what procedures and remedies are available to a fiscally distressed municipality in Pennsylvania.

What brought this about was a majority on Harrisburg’s City Council filed for bankruptcy in October.

A number of parties filed objections to the petition, including two unions representing Harrisburg City employees: AFSCME District Council 90 and Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 12, both of which were represented by Willig, 4|

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Williams & Davidson of Philadelphia.

The objections were sustained on Nov. 23 and the petition was dismissed.

Judge Mary France, Chief Judge of the Bankruptcy Court of the Middle District of Pennsylvania, is expected to issue an opinion this week.

This decision specifically dealt with the procedures and remedies available to Cities of the Third Class that are fiscally distressed and will directly affect Harrisburg, Chester, Reading, Johnstown, Aliquippa, Duquesne and New Castle, among others.

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Rafferty To Announce Bid For AG State Sen. John Rafferty (R-Montgomery) will announce his decision to seek the Republican nomination for Attorney General

at 11 a.m. tomorrow.

The announcement will take place at the Pennsylvania State Lodge of

the Fraternal Order of Police, located at 2949 N. Front Street, Harrisburg.

Cawley Plugs Charter Schools In Philly

LT. GOV. JIM CAWLEY, center, has been busy promoting the Corbett Administration’s support for school choice. On Nov. 18, he discussed education-reform plan during a roundtable with students, parents and educators at Richard Allen Preparatory Charter School in S.W. Phila. and toured school afterwards.

Democratic Policy Committee Looks At Pa.’s Transportation Issues The House Democratic Policy Committee heard from several testifiers at a public hearing in Philadelphia yesterday regarding the challenges facing the Commonwealth when dealing with its aging transportation infrastructure.

The hearing looked specifically at the Philadelphia region’s infrastructure, including roadway and public transit. The committee also considered aspects of the Gover-

nor’s Transportation Funding Advisory Commission’s August 2011 report.

“The Governor established a commission to investigate transportation issues, received the commission’s report, and then decided not to act,” Sturla said.

“House Democrats take their commitment to the people of Pennsylvania seriously, and the Commonwealth’s roads and

bridges, which are among the worst in the nation, demand action.

“Today’s hearing allowed us to explore some of the transportation issues unique to metropolitan areas and consider solutions on how to fund the needed investments in our state’s transit systems.”

Those testifying at the hearing included Les Toaso, District 6 executive, Pennsylvania Dept. of

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THE PHILADELPHIA DAILY RECORD Transportation; Jeffrey Knueppel, chief engineer, Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority;

David Kilmer, chairman, Pennsylvania Public Transportation Association; and Brian Eury, regional

director of legislative services, Delaware Valley Healthcare Council of HAP.

Butkovitz Releases City Planning, Zoning Code Audits City Controller Alan Butkovitz today released the audit of the Philadelphia City Planning Commission and the Zoning Code

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Commission for fiscal years 2008 and 2009.

To view a copy of the City Con-

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troller’s audit, please visit the City Controller’s website at www.philadelphiacontroller.org.