100-DAY ACTION PLAN

100DAY ACTION PLAN

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Dear fellow Philadelphians,

Today, I swear an oath as Philadelphia’s 100th Mayor and the ﬁrst woman to

hold the ofﬁce in 341 years. I do so with humility, with respect for the 99 who

came before me, and with a solemn promise: we will make Philadelphia the

safest, cleanest, and greenest big city in the nation with economic opportunity

for everyone.

One Philly, a United City.

Philadelphia is an incredible city. We have world-class educational institutions and healthcare

facilities—our “Eds and Meds.” We have a thriving downtown, an amazing and diverse food and restaurant

scene, world-renowned museums, and great arts and culture. We have wonderfully vibrant neighborhoods

that are the lifeblood of our city. These are all strengths we will build on in the years ahead.

We face real challenges as well—in public safety, stubbornly high poverty, quality-of-life concerns,

housing availability, burdens on local businesses, and shortcomings in our educational system.

These challenges now fall on my administration, and I look forward to addressing them. Even as we

continue our unprecedented transition process, with hundreds of our neighbors producing fresh ideas

to make Philadelphia better, I want to give every citizen my own Action Plan and share my vision for a

Safer, Cleaner, Greener Philadelphia, with economic opportunity for all.

Public Safety. In our ﬁrst 100 days, my administration will announce speciﬁc plans to increase the number

of Philadelphia police ofﬁcers on our streets—with a focus on community policing citywide. We will

declare a Public Safety Emergency and expeditiously get every available resource into neighborhoods

struggling with the scourges of crime, gun violence, drugs, and addiction. Our Police Commissioner

will deliver plans for those crises and for crimes—like car theft, shoplifting, and illegal ATV use—that

diminish the quality of life in our city.

Clean and Green. We will launch a new approach to addressing quality-of-life issues, like illegal

short-dumping, cleaning up litter and grafﬁti, ﬁxing potholes, and removing abandoned cars—starting

by focusing on the hardest hit neighborhoods. We will expand a successful neighborhood commercial

corridor cleaning program, PHL Taking Care of Business (PHL TCB). And we will create a Clean and

Green Cabinet to organize government, community, and business collaboratively to reduce waste,

increase recycling, and continue to work towards a more sustainable future —all with an eye towards

environmental justice for underserved and under-resourced communities.

Housing. We will create a “One Front Door” opportunity for residents to access city-run home

improvement programs in one place. We will develop a vision of “affordable luxury”—affordable homes

with high-quality ﬁxtures and ﬁnishes for homeowners and renters; preserve and build more affordable

housing; and provide more support for small landlords. We will order a top-to-bottom review of the

city’s Land Bank to better understand the challenges of developing vacant, city-owned properties—and

work to signiﬁcantly improve that process.

Economic Opportunity. Within our ﬁrst 100 days, our “PHL Open for Business” initiative will reduce the

red tape that makes it hard to do business in our city by requiring every city department to submit to

my ofﬁce a suggested list of unnecessary permits and regulations we can eliminate. We will continue

to remove college degree requirements for many City of Philadelphia jobs where it is unnecessary

and spread the word about current job opportunities in city government—opening the door for more

Philadelphians to access good-paying jobs. We will appoint a team focused on Minority Business

Success to bring together local and national investors to generate investment support for diverse

businesses and convene a Business Roundtable focused on growing the economy of Philadelphia.

Education. We will develop a comprehensive strategy to provide meaningful out-of-school programs

and job opportunities for students outside regular school hours. We will prepare a strategy on school

building modernization and work closely with the School District on its own plan for school facilities.

Our outreach will allow me and my team to hear directly from teachers, counselors, and principals on

how best to attract, retain, and support them. We will seek out committed citizens to serve our students

as members of our School Board.

Roundtables. We will create and operationalize Roundtables with a focus on business, faith-based, and

intergovernmental efforts, whose missions will be to solicit and develop better ideas for how City Hall

can serve all the different constituencies and needs of our diverse city. We want everyone’s ideas for

how to improve Philadelphia, and we’re going to be a government that truly listens to people.

All this we promise Philadelphia, and more.

I believe in a city government that our citizens can see, touch, and feel—visible actions that help people

at the neighborhood level. We want a government that can scale impact—take a solid program, expand

what works, tweak what doesn’t—and serve more Philadelphians. And I want a revival at City Hall that

brings out the best of Philly—a more efﬁcient government, one that hears people, is an employer of

choice, and relies on intergovernmental collaboration to bring more resources to our city. There will no

longer be a Tale of Two Cities in Philadelphia.

I cannot do this alone. We’ve spent the last year traveling across Philadelphia, getting to know

Philadelphians in their neighborhoods, their places of worship, and their workplaces. They gave me their

support and brought me to this moment. Now I’m asking for their help — and yours—again. Your voice

will join those of the 500-plus people from all walks of life serving on our transition subcommittees.

We will share their insights about how to make Philadelphia a better place to live and work in the

New Year.

Will you join me and get involved to help make Philadelphia safer, cleaner, and greener, with economic

opportunity for all? Read my Action Plan, go to www.transition2023.org, give us your ideas, join our

team, and be part of our vision: One Philly, a United City. Let’s get to work!

In service,

Cherelle L. Parker

100th Mayor

City of Philadelphia

Letter from

Mayor Parker

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CURRENT STATE:

In recent years, Philadelphia experienced an unprecedented rise in violent crime, and of late, in property

and quality-of-life crimes. An underlying problem is a serious shortage of police ofﬁcers, made worse

by inefﬁciencies in recruiting and onboarding. The city grapples with a feeling of insecurity in too many

neighborhoods. Addressing these challenges requires a comprehensive approach to public safety.

LONGTERM VISION:

The Parker Administration will cultivate a community-centered model of public safety, where

trust between law enforcement and residents is paramount. Through prevention, intervention,

and enforcement, we will build a city that addresses immediate safety concerns and fosters

longer-term community resilience. We will restore a sense of lawfulness to the city—supporting those

in need while prosecuting those who commit violence. To deter violent crime, we will pursue systemic

changes, including community policing and greater investments in neighborhoods. We will seek

robust collaboration across the criminal justice system—including the Police Department, the District

Attorney’s Ofﬁce, other city departments, City Council, the judicial system, and community-based

organizations. We will closely review and consider the ﬁndings and recommendations in “The Blueprint

for a Safer Philadelphia” recently released by City Council. And we will push for further coordination

between the local, state, and federal levels of government.

Goal: Build mutual trust and safety in our neighborhoods

through a model of community policing.

Public Safety

100DAY INITIATIVES:

 Issue an Executive Order declaring a “Public Safety Emergency” and directing the Police

Commissioner, with support from the Public Safety Director and Managing Director, to

develop a comprehensive strategy, using every available resource, to combat and prevent

violent crime.

 Announce plans developed by the Police Commissioner and related city departments

to increase the number of police ofﬁcers deployed on the street overall and the number

dedicated to community policing citywide.

 Charge the Police Commissioner—in collaboration with intergovernmental partners and

relevant city departments—with developing a strategy to permanently shut down open-air

drug markets, including in Kensington.

 Direct the Managing Director to convene local, state, and federal partners to explore all

options and funding sources for providing long-term housing, care, and treatment for our

most vulnerable residents, including the unhoused and those suffering from addiction and

mental health challenges.

 Charge the Police Commissioner with developing a near-term plan to address both property

and quality-of-life crimes, such as car theft, shoplifting, and illegal ATV use.

 Enlist relevant city departments (Commerce,

OIT, Parks & Recreation, Streets) to

proactively audit all city-installed and

city-owned lights and cameras on commercial

corridors and around parks, recreation

centers, and libraries.

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CURRENT STATE:

Our city struggles with quality-of-life problems—blight, grafﬁti, illegal dumping, abandoned cars,

potholes, and tractor-trailers parked in neighborhoods. These problems negatively impact too many

communities. We need coordinated city government efforts to clean public spaces and support

community involvement, as well. We must focus on aging infrastructure and the need for environmental

resilience, especially in underserved neighborhoods. We must simultaneously address current issues

and focus on long-term sustainability and carbon reduction goals.

LONGTERM VISION:

The Parker Administration will work to make sure

Philadelphia is clean, green, and resilient while encouraging

residents to partner in improving their communities. We

will better organize and coordinate programs for improved

quality of life while encouraging resident engagement in

these efforts. We will prioritize environmental sustainability

by meeting the city’s carbon neutrality goal, increasing the

use of public transit, and expanding the tree canopy. We will

better coordinate to maximize the drawdown of federal and

state funding for infrastructure and environmental resilience

initiatives. All these efforts will contribute to a city that

is not only cleaner and greener, but also more equitable

and resilient.

Clean and Green

Goal: Improve the quality of life across the city by making all

Philadelphia neighborhoods clean, green, and vibrant.

100DAY INITIATIVES:

 Announce a new approach to addressing persistent quality-of-life issues (short-dumping,

litter, graffiti, potholes, and abandoned cars), responding first to the hardest-hit

neighborhoods, using a public ticker to show progress, and partnering with community-led

clean-up efforts.

 Announce continued expansion of PHL Taking Care of Business (PHL TCB), including

covering more commercial corridors, more frequent cleaning of existing corridors, and

increasing the number of participating organizations.

 Convene a Clean and Green Cabinet to organize government agencies, businesses, community

partners, and other stakeholders around a comprehensive and data-driven action plan

to reduce the generation of waste, increase rates of recycling, and tackle litter and

illegal dumping.

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CURRENT STATE:

Housing is essential for economic opportunity and wealth-building. Philadelphia historically was a

majority homeowner city. But the homeownership rate has declined for decades, and there is a persistent

racial gap in homeownership rates. Many homeowners, and even more renters, are cost-burdened, spending

too much of their income on housing. The city has made substantial investments to preserve existing

housing through home repair grants and low-interest loans, eviction prevention, ﬁnancial counseling,

and estate planning. The city has supported new homeownership through down-payment assistance and

programs like Philly First Home and Turn The Key. Despite these steps, rising home prices and rents

outpace incomes, putting families at risk of displacement and jeopardizing dreams of homeownership

that are attainable at every socioeconomic level.

LONGTERM VISION:

The Parker Administration pledges to enable increased housing production and preservation, supporting

homeowners and renters. Philadelphia’s working- and middle-class neighborhoods are the city’s backbone.

Communities thrive when renters and homeowners have access to affordable housing. We will redouble

the city’s efforts to keep existing homeowners in their homes, assist those who seek homeownership,

and protect renters—including by supporting our many small landlords providing affordable housing. In

addition to leveraging programs that support housing production and preservation, we will address long-

standing barriers that add cost and delay. Every ounce of efﬁciency we generate frees up resources for more

housing. We will work in partnership with the building trades to ensure the city’s housing expenditures

help support access to family-sustaining jobs, including for graduates of our construction-related career

and technical education programs.

Housing

Goal: Increase access to housing for both renters and homeowners

to ensure vibrant and equitable communities and help build

intergenerational wealth.

100DAY INITIATIVES:

 Charge the Department of Planning and Development with creating a “One Front Door” for

city-funded home improvement programs, including programs to support small landlords.

 Charge the Department of Planning and Development with developing a vision for

“Affordable Luxury”—housing for renters and homeowners with high-quality ﬁnishes for

low- or moderate-income families.

 Launch a formal review of the Land Bank to develop the policies and processes that

will expedite the return of vacant and tax-delinquent properties to productive use;

seek feedback from stakeholders, including Land Bank staff and board members,

developers, community development corporations, and neighborhood groups maintaining

community gardens.

 Formally house the work of the Philadelphia Home Appraisal Bias Task Force in the

Department of Planning and Development, charging the Department with stafﬁng and

resourcing the effort.

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CURRENT STATE:

Philadelphia has signiﬁcant and growing economic disparities. Upward economic mobility feels

impossible for many, particularly those in deep poverty. During the city’s pre-COVID decade, essentially

no net new middle-wage jobs were created; jobs that are accessible to many residents tend to

be low-wage. Some of our neighbors—including returning citizens and foreign-born residents—face

additional challenges to securing employment; they must have access to every available resource to

support their economic opportunities. For local businesses, regulatory burdens and a complex local tax

regime cost time and money and deter investment, expansion, and job growth. For diverse entrepreneurs,

lack of access to capital is a persistent challenge. While recent progress in addressing these issues

is a helpful foundation, the overall landscape demands strategic interventions to address economic

disparities, enhance business activity, and build an equitable economy that fully leverages the talents

and potential within the city.

LONGTERM VISION:

The Parker Administration envisions a future of economic opportunity for all characterized by a

streamlined, supportive business environment. We will bridge economic disparities by investing in

workforce development, creating alternative pathways to careers, and ensuring that “big bet” initiatives

(including federally-supported infrastructure projects and school building modernization) beneﬁt local

workers. In connecting more Philadelphians to employment, we will be laser-focused on quality jobs—

with family-sustaining wages, beneﬁts, and a path to economic mobility. Through our Intergovernmental

and Business Roundtables, we will explore regional economic growth strategies. We can continue

building on traditional “Eds and Meds” strengths while pursuing emerging sectors, including life sciences

and biotech, logistics, and advanced manufacturing. We will spark growth by tackling our burdensome

regulatory environment and paying close attention to addressing barriers faced by diverse business

owners, including access to capital. The city must foster an inclusive, thriving economy that helps put

people on a path to self-sufﬁciency.

Economic

Opportunity

Goal: Unlock economic opportunity for all and position

Philadelphia as an attractive and equitable place

to do business.

100DAY INITIATIVES:

 Announce a “PHL Open for Business” initiative to increase ease of doing business,

starting by requiring every city department to submit to the Mayor’s Ofﬁce within 90

days a list of all licenses, permits, and certiﬁcations within the department’s authority,

along with recommendations of unnecessary ones to be eliminated.

 Expand ongoing work to remove any unnecessary college-degree requirements for city

jobs and further publicize the wide range of good city jobs that are available to local

residents without a college degree.

 Charge the Business Roundtable with convening an Equitable Capital Table, bringing

together local and national investors who commit to speciﬁc investment targets

supporting local diverse businesses.

 Announce and continue to onboard the Minority Business Success leadership and team

to focus on small, medium, and large businesses’ growth and advancement, including

measurable goals.

 Commit to seeking renewal of Philadelphia’s designation as a Certiﬁed Welcoming City

and charge the Ofﬁce of Immigrant Affairs (OIA) with preparing a plan to do so.

 Support the opening of the “Neighborhood Resource Center”—a one-stop-shop

where returning citizens can access documents, services, and resources from federal,

state, and local government to help move forward with their lives and reintegrate into

the community.

 Review the detailed recommendations

from the Joint Task Force on Regulatory

Reform for the Department of Licenses

and Inspections, convened by City

Council; prepare to implement all

feasible near-term reforms; and develop

a plan for advancing needed medium-

and long-term reforms.

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CURRENT STATE:

Philadelphia’s education system, from pre-K to K-12 to traditional four-year college to career and

technical education (CTE), faces multiple challenges. Persistent issues in teacher recruitment, retention,

and diversity underscore a real need for initiatives to address workforce shortages. The state of K-12

school facilities requires urgent attention to improve the quality of our schools and the experiences

of our students. There is a disconnect between what students are learning in school and the potential

future careers that await them. Fortunately, a strong foundation already exists to tackle these issues.

PHLpreK has taken smart steps to provide equitable access to quality early childcare; it should be

expanded. Meanwhile, the Catto Scholarship and dual enrollment programs provide a pathway for older

students to accelerate their post-secondary education. The opportunity to invest in organizational

capacity and improve the educational experience for students of all backgrounds are critical steps to

overcome current challenges and enhance the overall educational landscape in Philadelphia.

LONGTERM VISION:

The Parker Administration will bring a uniﬁed vision and organizing strategy to the Philadelphia

education system. The city will focus on a dynamic and diverse teaching workforce and state-of-the-

art school facilities. Through close collaboration with the Board of Education, the School District

Superintendent, child care and pre-K providers, our regional colleges and universities (including

HBCUs), and CTE programs that include the Philadelphia building trades, we will establish an equitable

and thriving educational system that empowers students, attracts and supports talented educators,

fosters a commitment to continuous improvement, and establishes quality seats for kids in all of

Philadelphia’s school systems.

Education

Goal: Innovate to provide a world-class education for Philadelphia

students of all ages and socioeconomic backgrounds.

100DAY INITIATIVES:

 Convene two working groups to focus on two pressing, high-impact initiatives:

 Working Group on Full-Day and Year-Round Schooling: Develop a comprehensive strategy

to provide meaningful, instructive out-of-school programming and job opportunities for

students that extend beyond regular school hours, from 7:30 am to 6:00 pm, throughout

the year.

 Working Group on School Building Modernization: Prepare an intergovernmental and

cross-sector ﬁnancing and implementation strategy ahead of the School District of

Philadelphia’s updated School Facilities Master Plan.

 Begin outreach for a mayoral listening tour to hear directly from our educators—from

classroom teachers to counselors to principals—and discuss how to attract, retain, and

support them as professionals.

 Begin the process of searching for

and nominating potential members

of the Board of Education who

are committed to creating safe,

modern spaces for our children and

ensuring students are prepared for

post-secondary education, careers,

and lifelong learning.

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INTERGOVERNMENTAL ROUNDTABLE:

Composed of ofﬁce-holders at the city, state, and federal levels, focusing on the needs of the city,

enabling the city’s elected leaders to both speak with a uniﬁed voice and maximize resources coming

to the city from all levels of government.

BUSINESS ROUNDTABLE:

Business and Labor leaders working with the administration to craft policies to lift up workers, expand

job opportunities, create an environment for city-based businesses to grow and ﬂourish, and make

Philadelphia a national leader and city of choice for attracting businesses.

FAITHBASED ROUNDTABLE:

This coalition of faith-based leaders from across the city will be a direct line between the communities

they serve and the Mayor’s administration. This grassroots network will meet Philadelphians

where they are and provide a crucial touchpoint for many who would otherwise not interact with

City government.

Roundtables

The Parker Administration’s Roundtable members will serve as the chief liaison between the

Administration and the communities that they serve—providing a direct line for the Administration to

government leaders at all levels, business stakeholders focused on growing our city’s economy, and the

city’s rich and vibrant faith-based communities.

These roundtables will advise on policy, offer feedback, and regularly meet with the Mayor and top

members of her administration.

Closing Thoughts/

Next Steps

The pillars of the Parker administration will be a city government citizens can see,

touch, and feel—visible actions that help people see their tax dollars at work in

their neighborhoods. Mayor Parker seeks a government that can scale impact—

take a solid program, expand what works, change what doesn’t—and serve more

Philadelphians. The Mayor is calling for a revival at City Hall to bring out the

best of Philly—a more efﬁcient government that is an employer of choice and

uses intergovernmental collaboration to bring more resources to our city. Her

administration seeks to close the gap between the haves and have-nots.

Mayor Parker cannot do this alone. She knows that Philadelphia is ﬁlled with people who truly care

about our city, who want to see our city and its neighborhoods do more than just survive—they want

to see them thrive. Now is the time for everyone who believes our city’s greatest years are ahead of

us—that we can be better than we ever imagined, and that the time has come for meaningful and lasting

change—to come together and join the Mayor.

Now that you’ve read the Action Plan, go to www.transition2023.org. Tell Mayor Parker your ideas

for improving the city, apply to join her team, and become part of her vision: a safer, cleaner, greener

Philadelphia, with economic opportunity for all. Let’s get to work!

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www.transition2023.org

SPECIAL THANKS TO THE LEADERS, STAFF, AND

ADVISORS OF THE PARKER MAYORAL TRANSITION

Ryan Boyer, Chair

Della Clark, Vice Chair

Greg Segall, Vice Chair

Hon. Tonyelle Cook-Artis, Senior Advisor

William Dunbar, Senior Advisor

Obra Kernodle, Senior Advisor

Garrett Snider, Senior Advisor

Mungu Sanchez, Senior Advisor

Otis Bullock, Steering Committee

Rev. Dr. Luis Cortés, Steering Committee

Daisy Cruz, Steering Committee

Rickey Duncan, Steering Committee

Harold T. Epps, Steering Committee

Derek Green, Steering Committee

Mary Isenhour, Steering Committee

Loree Jones Brown, Steering Committee

Rich Lazer, Steering Committee

Chantay Love, Steering Committee

Markita Morris-Louis, Steering Committee

Anton Moore, Steering Committee

Joe Neubauer, Steering Committee

Franz Rabauer, Steering Committee

Jennifer Rodriguez, Steering Committee

Jeffrey Sheridan, Steering Committee

Bill Sproule, Steering Committee

Sam Staten, Jr., Steering Committee

Andy Toy, Steering Committee

Gerri Walker, Steering Committee

Rev. Dr. Alyn Waller, Steering Committee

Patricia Wellenbach, Steering Committee

Dennis Zatlin, Steering Committee

Sinceré Harris, Co-Director

Aren Platt, Co-Director

Tiffany W. Thurman, Senior Advisor

Chris Dailey, Deputy Director

Shania Bennett, Associate Director

Sophie Bryan, Policy Lead

Rachel Meadows, Policy Lead

Patrick Christmas, Policy Advisor

Ira Goldstein, Policy Advisor

Joe Grace, Communications Advisor

Boston Consulting Group

John Dolan,

Transition Manager

Neftali Ramos, Transition Manager

Cole Appelman, Transition Associate

Tyree Morton, Transition Associate

Nandi O’Connor, Digital Director

John Salveson,

Talent Recruiter

Beth Hare, Talent Recruiter

Tim Ford, General Counsel