KITCHEN: PUBLIC HEARING OFFERED INSIGHT INTO PHILLY’S FISCAL SHAPE

            PHILADELPHIA, July 27 – This week’s Senate Urban Affairs and Housing Committee public hearing in Philadelphia provided state legislators with a wealth of knowledge on the city’s fiscal shape, according to state Sen. Shirley Kitchen.

            The public hearing, which was held last Wednesday, July 25, at Philadelphia’s City Hall, brought state and local lawmakers and organizations together to examine fiscal issues that impact the city and the tools needed to attain fiscal health and stability.

            “The hearing was an opportunity to learn what affects citizens in Philadelphia,” said Kitchen, who is the committee’s Democratic chairwoman. “It is important that the city and state work together to ensure that Philadelphia remains a thriving and productive city. Together with various city organizations, we examined what is working and exchanged ideas for improvements.”

            This hearing is one of several that the committee is hosting in cities throughout Pennsylvania.

            “Philadelphia is unique in that it is both a city and a county. It has both great possibilities and challenges,” Kitchen said. “We need to continue to examine complex issues that affect Philadelphia, like economic development, education, encouraging youth to enter the workforce and stemming the gun violence.” 

            Guest speakers provided informative testimony on the status of the city, including ways to improve the skill level and work readiness of Philadelphia youth.

            “Philadelphia and Pennsylvania must build a future workforce that is agile and capable of competing in this changing world,” said Joseph Mahoney Jr., the executive vice president of the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce. “Like some of our competitor states, we must embrace early childhood education, improve the work readiness of our high school graduates and make every effort to keep the young people educated in our colleges and universities here in Philadelphia and Pennsylvania.

            “We must also make it easier for businesses in the process to hire workers who have the education, comprehension and training necessary to hit the ground running,” Mahoney added.

            Sharmain Matlock-Turner, president of the Greater Philadelphia Urban Affairs Coalition, also stressed the importance of nurturing Pennsylvania’s children.

            “Often overlooked, youth are the region’s workforce pipeline,” Matlock-Turner said. “We know that work experience in the junior and senior high school years leads to increased wages and annual earnings through age 26, especially for those not attending four-year colleges. Therefore, we must take the steps to prepare youth for workforce participation and create meaningful opportunities through collaboration and public and private partnerships.”