Council: Time for change

A FEW WEEKS ago, the leadership of City Council visited this editorial board to discuss the city budget. Council members wanted to talk about the budget process, especially keeping the public informed. We give them credit for recognizing that as a priority, especially as they grapple with challenges we doubt they've seen in their years in office.

Councilman Frank Rizzo talked about the need for a "cultural change" when it comes to thinking about the city and its budget in new ways. He said he's been talking about the need for change through three administrations.

We found that ironic, given that Council members came to the meeting accompanied by Charles McPherson, Council's former chief financial officer. McPherson retired last year and is now volunteering his budget expertise to Council.

When he retired, Council didn't hire a replacement. They talked about hiring a consultant, but didn't. That means Council navigated one of the toughest budget periods with a volunteer, but not a staff budget professional to guide them. Last week, Council President Anna Verna said she might soon ask McPherson to bid on a contract so he can get paid for his services. (The law prohibited him from bidding on a contract until a year after he left the city.)

When he retired with a DROP payment last year, he had put in 37 years. He clearly knows his stuff. Verna said he had institutional knowledge that no one else has. He's been called "irreplaceable."

So: how about a little culture change on Council? While no one has McPherson's exact experience on this Council, we find it hard to believe no muni-cipal finance professionals could be found. Are Council's ways so arcane that only one person can understand them? If that's the case, that's a problem, and Council should change those ways.

Mainly, though, fresh blood and new insights are exactly what Council and the city need right now, not the familiar and comfortable old ways of thinking and acting. The old ways obviously stopped working a while ago. *

Correction: Yesterday's editorial stated that the School District of Philadelphia Charter School office had three staff members; that was the number when Controller Alan Butkovitz reviewed charter school oversight. The office currently has seven staff members.