Council Holds Hearings on Soda Tax, GPS Monitors, and Water Infrastructure; HOME Resolution Amended

The Philadelphia City Council Committee on Labor and Civil Service heard testimony on Resolution No. 250028, “authorizing the Committee on Labor to hold hearings exploring the Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Tax and its impact on Philadelphia businesses, trades, and Consumers.”

The tax, which was implemented in 2016, generated $67 million in revenue in Fiscal Year 2025 dedicated to PHLPreK (a pre-kindergarten program) and, indirectly, the Rebuild program. In 2025, the tax funded 5250 pre-k seats at an average cost of $10,000 per seat. 

Held at the behest of Councilmember Jim Harrity because of concerns raised to him by city residents and labor unions who attribute job loss to the tax, opinion amongst witnesses regarding the future of the tax were mixed. Harrity also questioned the tax’s suitability to continue financing these projects, as revenues have declined each year since inception.

Rob Dubow, the city Finance Director, acknowledged the diminishing returns in his testimony, but suggested they were expected and built into the city’s Five-Year Plan. 

“The tax is estimated to have generated $68.2 million in FY25 and is projected to generate $64.4 million in FY 26,” Dubow said. “This trend aligns with nation patterns of reduced consumption of sweetened beverages.”

Dubow said without the tax, the PHLPreK seats and Rebuild projects would not have been possible. 

However, the soda and grocery industries claimed the tax unfairly affected distributors and retailers, pointing to price increases and job-loss statistics. 

John O’Rourke, Vice President of Teamsters Local Union 380, said his union had felt the unintended effects of the tax more than anyone else in the beverage industry.

“When the brunt of the tax was first felt and beverage sales bottomed out, approximately 1000 Local 830 members were laid off reluctantly or quit the union altogether due to a lack of beverage sales,” O’Rourke said. “The average annual salary of those 1000 lost Local 830 members was $55,000, meaning Teamsters Local 830 lost a total of $55,000,000 in members’ salaries.”

Christina Roberto, the Mitchell J. Blutt and Margo Krody Blutt Presidential Professor of Health Policy and Director of the Center for Food and Nutritional Policy at the University of Pennsylvania, testimony praised the health benefits of the tax, citing 8 years of studies regarding the impact of the tax on health outcomes.

“This research shows that the tax has improved health, particularly for the lowest income Philadelphians,” Roberto said. 

She also addressed beverage industry claims the tax had caused job losses and forced grocery stores to close. 

“We studied unemployment claim filings in Philadelphia compared to those in other untaxed Pennsylvania counties on year before and after the tax,” Roberto said. “We saw no change in unemployment claims overall or in industries affected by the tax, such as supermarkets and soda companies.”

While no action was taken in relation to this hearing, it is likely this subject will be raised again in the near future. 

Water Infrastructure Hearing Exposes Issues in System

The Joint Committees on Streets & Services and Transportation & Public Utilities heard testimony on a resolution “examining water main breaks and sinkholes occurring in District 7 evaluating the underlying causes of these issues, and identifying solutions to prevent and mitigate their frequency.”

Councilmember Quetcy Lozada, the sponsor of the resolution, opened the hearing decrying the state of water infrastructure in her district, the response of the Water Department, and how non-city actors responsible for damaging public water lines are held to account. 

Councilmembers Anthony Phillips and Jay Young, both committee members, shared similar concerns, as both of their districts have seen water-related issues in the past few weeks. Phillips in particular has been extremely critical of the Water Department’s response to issues in the Ninth District. 

Benjamin Jewell, the newly installed Commissioner of the Philadelphia Water Department, explained the vastness and complexity of the water main and sewer system that runs throughout the city, which includes 3057 miles of water mains, of which 328 miles are in the 7th District, and 3729 miles of sewers, of which 270 miles are in Lozada’s district. 

Jewell said certain maintenance costs had increased by 75%, leading to reductions in the amount of water mains and sewer lines that can be repaired annually.

Community members shared harrowing tales of flooding in their homes, having to pay out-of-pocket for repairs they believed were covered by additional insurance they had purchased, and lackluster customer service from the department.

Maria Orona, a resident of the 7th District, detailed the numerous problems she’s had, ranging from flooding leading to mold and other serious issues to irresponsible contractors and developers.

“My life has been a living nightmare,” Orona said. “There is no reason why the city of Philadelphia has allowed this to go this far.”

Orona later said her bills related to the constant unresolved issues reached nearly $40,000. 

The hearing was more of an attempt to hear resident concerns and discuss Water Department procedures and operations than reach any immediate conclusions. An upcoming hearing on rising utility rates, which has yet to be scheduled, could provide more insight into this issue, in addition to shedding light on the shocking increases in utility bills over the last few years. 

Committees Hear Concerns Regarding GPS Monitors

The Joint Committees on Children & Youth and Technology & Information Services heard testimony on “the use of electronic monitoring or Global Positioning Systems (GPS) for youth involved with Philadelphia’s Juvenile Justice System.”

Who is placed on a GPS monitor is determined by a judge prior to trial. 

Philadelphia maintains a complement of 350 ankle-bracelet GPS monitors, which are used by nearly 1900 youth annually. The monitors are purchased by a third-party vendor who is also the custodian of information gathered by the devices. However, it can only be accessed by the Juvenile Branch of the city’s Family Court division.

Councilmember Rue Landau, chair of the Technology Committee, raised specific questions about the sharing of data related to federal government inquiries, most notably  Immigration and Customs Enforcement, known as ICE.

Faustino Castro-Jimenez, Chief of Probation for the Juvenile Branch of Family Court, was unsure about specific language regarding the sharing of sensitive data with other law enforcement entities. However, Castro-Jimenez did say Family Court did sometimes share data.

“We do share, sometimes, data based upon requests (from other offices), Castro-Jimenez said. “(We do so) for public safety reasons and when there is a crime…to protect the citizens of Philadelphia and the children we have under our supervision.”

While Castro-Jimenez later clarified his department had never shared information with ICE, Landau emphasized, based on the uncertainty of Castro-Jimenez’s answer, that it is possible requests from federal agencies could be accommodated. 

“Let me be clear,” Landau said. “Chrildren will not be safe in their own homes if the First Judicial District shares this information with ICE.”

Data from the GPS devices is held for seven years, long after cases are adjudicated. 

Joshua Levan, a 19 year-old from West Philadelphia, shared his experiences with GPS monitoring, explaining the negative effects the device had on his life.

“I was on GPS for two years (before trial),” Levan said. “It took a toll on my life because I was confined to the house and couldn’t go anywhere. I was very depressed and anxious.”

Levan said he was eventually placed in jail because of an unstable housing situation, which exacerbated an already bad situation. 

“Even my family was looking at me in a different way, because they had doubts about me (turning) my life around,” Levan said. 

Kate Weisburd, a Professor of Law at the University of California, testified that electronic monitoring is not a harmless alternative to incarceration, as the practice “restricts a young person’s liberty, limits privacy, harms youth with disabilities, disrupts family relationships, and jeopardizes positive educational and employment outcomes.”

Weisburd also said there was “no reliable empirical evidence that electronic monitoring furthers the rehabilitative goals of the juvenile court.”

“To the contrary,” Weisburd said. “Adolescent brain development research suggests that subjecting youth to long-term electronic surveillance is harmful to their development during the critical period of adolescence.”

Updated HOME Resolution Sees Revisions

The resolution detailing the the expenditures for the first disbursements of Mayor Cherelle Parker’s signature HOME initiative was formally introduced in City Council. The changes to the first nearly $200 million of the overall $800 million plan are as follows:

Program	Original Allocation	Updated Allocation
Adaptive Modifications Program	$8,500,000	$8,500,000
Affordable Housing Preservation Funds	$37,500,000	$29,627,500
Affordable Housing Production Funds	$19,420,833	$24,343,333
Basic Systems Repair Program	$34,775,000	$34,775,000
Built to Last	$8,250,000	$8,250,000
Comprehensive Land and Property Acquisition Program	$4,000,000	$4,000,000
Curbside Appeal Program	$1,000,000	$1,000,000
Employer-Assisted Housing	$500,000	$500,000
Facade Improvement Program	$1,000,000	$1,000,000
Homeless Prevention	$3,800,000	$3,800,000
Housing Counseling and Foreclosure/Eviction Program	$2,850,000	$
Housing Plus Rental Assistance (PHL Housing Plus)	$1,800,000	$1,800,000
Neighborhood Infrastructure Improvement Programs	$2,000,000	$2,000,000
One Philly Mortgage Program	$25,000,000	$25,000,000
Philadelphia Accelerator Fund (Multi-family)	$5,000,000	$1,500,000
Philadelphia Accelerator Fund (Turn the Key)	$1,500,000	$1,500,000
Philly First Home	$8,666,6667	$10,666,667
Purchase Bank Liens	$600,000	$600,000
Remove Vacant or Blighted Housing through Demolition	$3,000,000	$3,000,000
Rent and Moving Assistance Program (Fresh Start PHL)	$1,000,000	$1,000,000
Rental Improvement Fund (RIF)	$4,500,000	$4,500,000
Shallow Rent Assistance, Property Based	$434,783	$434,783
Shallow Rent Program, Tenant-Based	$2,000,000	$2,000,000
Tangled Title Prevention and Resolution Program	$1,250,000	$2,200,000
Wills Program	$1,250,000	$1,250,000
Eviction Diversion/Targeted Financial Assistance	$15,000,000	$15,000,000