Action for 'Reform Team'

October 5, 2009

Marcia Gelbart, Philadelphia Inquirer

Many of Mayor Nutter's top staff and aides huddled in a conference room on the 16th floor of the Municipal Services Building all day Thursday and Friday, discussing a subject that seems to have gotten sidetracked for much of the year: government reform.

Breaking into 12 teams, the staffers, along with business leaders, pitched their ideas for saving money, generating money, and increasing efficiency throughout City Hall. It's a project that has been in the works since December.

Part of the point of the "Reform Team Summit," which was closed to reporters and the public, was to hear feedback from review panels that included City Council members, the Economy League, the Committee of Seventy, the William Penn Foundation, the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, and members of Nutter's campaign transition team.

So what "reforms" were put forth? That's under wraps, at least until the Mayor's Office presents them this month or next.

Although it's unclear how big or small these proposals will be, whatever their size they will give Nutter an opportunity to show voters he has not forgotten his promise to shake up City Hall. Some political observers have been wondering about that very thing.

Councilwoman Maria Quiñones Sánchez, who attended some of the summit and had staff sit in for the rest, said this about the sessions: "My freshman colleagues and I are pleased that so many of our Freshmen 15-plus reform initiatives have been incorporated into their reform government plans."

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/local/pa/20091005_GOP_names_get_early_at…