City Council authorizes hearings on troubled Philly sheriff’s office
A Council resolution says the hearings would "restore public confidence" in the sheriff's office, which under Rochelle Bilal has not performed several core functions.
Philadelphia City Council announced Thursday that it plans to hold hearings to examine recurring problems in the Philadelphia’s Sheriff Office, which under Rochelle Bilal has failed to properly auction off real estate, mismanaged millions of dollars in sales proceeds, and caused delays in criminal trials due to insufficient courthouse security.
The resolution to authorize the hearings was introduced by Councilwoman Katherine Gilmore Richardson, the council’s majority leader, on behalf of Council President Kenyatta Johnson.
It calls for hearings to “examine the operations and policies of the Philadelphia Sheriff’s Office and restore public confidence in the office by providing recommendations to improve transparency, accountability, efficiency, and public safety.”
Last month, Common Pleas Judge Paula Patrick threatened to hold the sheriff’s office in contempt following three court hearings on problems with how the office auctions off foreclosed and tax-delinquent properties. Her ruling is pending.
Under Bilal, who took office in 2020, some bidders at sheriff sales have waited a year or long to receive deeds following the auctions, and a Bilal aide told Patrick in September that an internal audit had recently found $20 million in undisbursed sales proceeds, including delinquent taxes and utility revenue that should have gone back to taxpayers.
Asked by reporters last month, Johnson declined to commit to holding public hearings on the sheriff’s office.
Thursday’s resolution does not mention the sheriff sales specifically, but calls for a “comprehensive analysis of current operations.”
It also notes that, according to Philadelphia judges, the sheriff’s office has “failed to provide for a safe environment in the courts and caused delays and postponements of criminal proceedings during critical moments in trials.”
Bilal was hit with two court orders in 2024 and 2025 following Inquirer reports on a threefold increase in courthouse security incidents on her watch. Judges at the time described it as an “emergency situation” and a “disaster waiting to happen.”
Like in many law enforcement agencies, deputy staffing dropped in the aftermath of the pandemic, dipping to a low of 264 in 2024 from 338 in 2019.
Bilal has consistently sought double-digit budget increases from City Council to plug these gaps, but has struggled to explain why more than one hundred budgeted positions have meanwhile sat unfilled. She has pointed to barriers posed by civil-service hiring rules, lengthy training timelines for sworn officers, and a distant sheriff’s academy.
Council has refused the requests for multimillion dollar funding increases. Despite this, hiring began to tick up starting in late 2024, and the office now employs nearly as many deputies as before Bilal took office, payroll records show.
Even so, Thursday’s resolution notes that the sheriff’s office “claims it lacks the personnel to properly staff courtrooms and common areas inside city court facilities, yet it has many positions budgeted for but unfulfilled each year, including 62 vacancies as of June 2026.”
Meanwhile, Bilal doubled the number of employees who are not bound by civil service hiring rules over the same period, hiring dozens of “Sheriff Sale Service Representatives” during a period when deed processing had slowed to a glacial pace.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Inquirer staff writers Jake Blumgart and Jillian Kramer contributed to this article.
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