The following departments testified before Philadelphia City Council’s Committee of the Whole regarding their FY 2026 budgets last week:
The Philadelphia Police Department
What they do:
The mission of the Philadelphia Police Department (PPD) is to make Philadelphia the safest big city in the nation. PPD works to achieve the Mayor’s goal of cultivating a community-centered model of public safety, where trust between law enforcement and residents is paramount. PPD partners with communities across the city to fight crime, the fear of crime, and terrorism; enforce laws while safeguarding people’s constitutional rights; provide quality service to all Philadelphia residents and visitors; and recruit, train, and develop an exceptional team of employees. Through prevention, intervention, and enforcement (PIE), PPD is working to help build a city that addresses immediate safety concerns and fosters longer-term community resilience.
FY 2025 Budget: $852,108,539
FY 2026 Budget: $872,024,369
Net Change: $19,195,830
Notes: The nearly $20 million increase in spending is due to contractually obligated pay increases, Mobility Project, recruitment initiatives, electric police bicycles, and upgrades at the Office of Forensic Science.
Office of Public Safety
What they do:
The Office of Public Safety (OPS) is dedicated to making communities safer, improving public perceptions of safety, providing safe havens from violence, and helping communities heal from the trauma of violence. In doing so, OPS is committed to partnering with the community and every branch and level of government.
2025 FY Budget: $0
2026 FY Budget: $66,673,246
Net Change: $66,673,246
Notes: FY 2026 is technically the first year of direct city funding for OPS. Previously they had been under the Managing Director’s Office.
The Managing Director’s Office
What they do:
The Managing Director’s Office (MDO) works in coordination with individual operating departments to implement the Mayor’s vision to make Philadelphia the safest, cleanest, and greenest big city in the nation with access to economic opportunity for all and to deliver efficient, effective, and responsive public services to every neighborhood in Philadelphia that residents can see, touch, and feel.
FY 2025 Budget: $334,700,342
FY 2026 Budget: $175,532,122
Net Change: -$159,168,220
Notes: The budget reduction for FY 2026 is due to the removal of the following offices from the MDO: Office of Public Safety, Citizens Police Oversight Commission, and the Office of Clean and Green.
Department of Prisons
What they do:
The Philadelphia Department of Prisons (PDP) provides a secure correctional environment to detain people accused or convicted of illegal acts and prepares them for reentry into society in a clean, lawful, humane, and safe environment. PDP offers job training, educational services, parenting classes, substance abuse services, medical services, behavioral health therapy, individual counseling, and group therapy. PDP helps advance the Mayor’s goal of building mutual trust and safety in city neighborhoods, by ensuring that returning citizens have access to resources to support their successful reentry to their communities.
FY 2025 Budget: $307,654,532
FY 2026 Budget: $309,245,944
Net Change: $1,591,412
Notes from Thursday’s Stated Meeting of Philadelphia City Council:
Philadelphia City Council Majority Leader Katherine Gilmore Richardson introduced a resolution recognizing April 11-17 as Black Maternal Health Week in Philadelphia.
According to the resolution, Black Maternal Health Week was established in 2018 by the Black Mamas Matter Alliance. It is an annual campaign “aimed at raising awareness of the disparities in maternal health outcomes for Black women and birthing people and advocating for polices and practices that improve their well-being.”
Black women and birthing people are 3.5 times more likely to die from pregnancy related causes than while women, which is an increase from 2.5 times in 2019, according to information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Landau Calls for Commonwealth to Pass Ready to Rent Act
Councilmember Rue Landau introduced a resolution “calling on the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to pass the Ready to Rent Act and increasehousing opportunities for Pennsylvanians by automatically sealing most eviction records.”
A public eviction record is created when a landlord files an eviction case against a tenant, and remains on the tenant’s record regardless of the outcome. Such a blemish on a renter’s record almost certainly precludes them from finding another rental property.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau found that 1 in 5 eviction records may be erroneous, or otherwise incomplete, and many who face an eviction hearing go through the process without legal representation.
O’Rourke Introduces Housing Bills
Councilmember Nicholas O’Rourke introduced legislation aimed at progtecting renters from retaliation and harassment, provides proactive inspections and clarified licensing requirements, and creates an anti-displacement fund.
The three bills would do the following:
The Right to Safety bill clarifies what actions are considered retalaiation against tenants, establishes strong protections against tenant harassment, establishes tenants rights to organize and form unions, and creates stronger remedies to hold bad actors accountable for non-compliance.
The Right to Repairs bill authorizes L&I to establish a Proactive Inspection Pilot Program, requires rental property owners to resolve outstanding safety violations, require rental property owners to notify tenants of expired or inactive rental licenses, require that notices be posted in properties without active rental licenses, and create stronger rememdies to hold bad actors accountable for non-compliance.
The Right to Relocation legislation authorizes L&I to establish a fund to provide relocation assistance to tenants displaced due to cease operations orders, authorizes L&I to create penalizes for landlords who fail to provide habitable housing, and requires L&I and landlords to provide tenants with notice that they may be eligbhle for the Anti-Displacement Fund.
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