Four things we’re watching for as Philly lawmakers return to City Council

Philadelphia City Council members will be back Thursday for their first meeting of the fall session, and it is no secret that they will be returning to months of controversy over the proposed 76ers arena.

The project that could transform the core of Center City is likely to be the most contentious political discussion this fall — well, at least in local government — but there are several other issues we’re following in City Hall as Mayor Cherelle L. Parker completes her first year in office.

Here’s what we’re watching for as Council returns:

The battle over the proposed 76ers arena on Market Street is poised to suck up most of the political oxygen in City Hall this fall, as Council could consider as many as a dozen pieces of legislation related to the project.

Right now, lawmakers are in a bit of a holding pattern. Parker hasn’t yet announced her position, and several departments in her administration are still working with lawyers from the Sixers to draft the legislation.

Once the bills are written, Councilmember Mark Squilla, whose district includes the proposed site of the arena and who would be responsible for introducing the enabling legislation, intends to allow the public to review it for 30 days before he introduces it.

» READ MORE: The Sixers’ arena battle is about to get underway in City Council

The outcome could determine the future of the $1.5 billion project proposal, and it could shape the future of Center City. The process is likely to be contentious, with groups on both sides of the issue staging protests and public displays of support, and lobbyists bombarding Council members.

It will likely be the biggest controversy in Council since Kenyatta Johnson took over as Council president in January, and he’s in a unique position. Johnson represents the Second District, the location of the Comcast Spectacor-owned Wells Fargo Center, where the Sixers are currently tenants.

We’ll be watching to see how Johnson plays it. Does he take a position on the arena before votes take place? Will he try to sway members one way or another? And how does he handle what’s likely to be a fall of heated discussion and, likely, some disruption?

The summer break offered a chance for Parker and City Council to cool off after a somewhat contentious spring.

There was a dramatic power struggle over the school board, criticism from lawmakers about the vagueness of Parker’s proposals for Kensington and a drug treatment facility, a hearing dragging her return-to-office plan, and a threat from one lawmaker to subpoena the mayor.

Still, the relationship between Parker and the city’s legislative branch is far from broken. Council members passed her budget proposal in June and funded all the mayor’s priorities, including the controversial $100 million drug treatment facility plan.

We’ll see how the fall unfolds.

A controversial bill that would overhaul how the city contracts with nonprofit organizations passed Council in the spring and is still awaiting action from Parker. Her administration strongly opposed the bill, which was championed by Majority Leader Katherine Gilmore Richardson and passed, 15-2.

The bill, which Gilmore Richardson authored as a response to financial mismanagement in the Office of Homeless Services, would end the city’s practice of allowing nonprofits to perform city work with certain health and emergency-related departments to skip the usual competitive bidding process.

Leaders with some of the city’s charitable organizations, large and small, publicly opposed the bill, saying it would negatively impact their bottom lines. Leaders from 11 city agencies said in testimony that the change would burden city operations.

We are likely to find out Thursday how Parker intends to proceed. If she rejects the legislation, it would be her first veto as mayor. Council can override a veto with a two-thirds vote.

Parker’s budget plan left tax rates flat, ending a yearslong tradition of incrementally decreasing taxes on wages and businesses. Council members who had in the past pushed for the cuts said they wanted to wait for recommendations from the new Tax Reform Commission.

Since then, the conversation in City Hall around cutting business taxes never really stopped. The commission, a business-friendly advisory panel, met for the first time in June and is expected to produce a report on how the city should overhaul its tax structure.

» READ MORE: Changes could be coming to Philly’s tax structure. Here’s what you need to know.

That report had been expected to be published this fall, but the timeline could stretch. Vincent Thompson, a spokesperson for Johnson, said recommendations will be made sometime before March, when the mayor is expected to unveil her fiscal year 2026 budget proposal.

Inquirer staff writer Sean Collins Walsh contributed to this article.