Philadelphia ballot questions: Recommendations on two City Charter amendments | Endorsement

Voters in Philadelphia will be asked two questions on today’s primary ballot. Here are this board’s recommendations.

Shall the Philadelphia Home Rule Charter be amended to provide for the creation of the Philadelphia Retirement Savings Board to oversee a defined contribution retirement program for the benefit of eligible private-sector workers, and to authorize City Council to determine the composition, powers and duties of the board?

The first question relates to the establishment of a defined contribution retirement plan for all residents. A proposal supported by the AARP, the PhillySaves initiative would function similarly to a 401(k). The goal is to cover workers who do not have access to employer-sponsored retirement plans, and only the contributors themselves would be paying into the accounts. The accounts would follow workers from job to job, and the initiative has been successfully deployed elsewhere.

Given that roughly 200,000 Philadelphians work in industries in which retirement plans are not already in place, and the proposal’s support from experienced policy advocates, voters should vote YES to approve the creation of PhillySaves.

Shall the Philadelphia Home Rule Charter be amended to provide for the creation of the Office of the Youth Ombudsperson to improve the safety and quality of services for youth placed in juvenile justice, child welfare, and behavioral health residential care facilities, and to authorize City Council to determine additional powers and duties of the Youth Ombudsperson as needed to carry out this mission?

The second ballot initiative would make permanent the Office of the Youth Ombudsperson. The position was established via executive order by former Mayor Jim Kenney back in 2022. The ombudsperson’s job is to monitor residential placement centers, which exist to help children and families struggling with trauma, mental health, or behavioral issues. It was created after a series of abuses were uncovered in those facilities.

A 2019 Inquirer investigation detailed the way the operators of one reformatory, the Glen Mills Schools, routinely beat the children entrusted to their care. It is essential that the city has someone whose primary responsibility is looking out for the safety of these young people, many of whom have already experienced difficult situations before becoming involved with the public care system.

Making the office permanent would ensure that no mayor in the future would be able to eliminate it. It would also confer new investigatory powers on the ombudsperson.

Philadelphians should vote YES to protect some of the city’s most vulnerable young people.

Primary Day is today — Tuesday, May 19.

Prior to each election, The Inquirer Editorial Board, which operates independently from the newsroom, identifies races in which an endorsement can help readers determine where candidates stand on issues and why we think voters should support (or oppose) a particular candidate.

Chris Rabb

Questions 1 and 2: Yes