Sixers arena, Mayor Parker’s agenda, progressive priorities: What’s on the agenda for Philly’s new City Council

Philadelphia City Council will begin a new era Thursday as it begins another four-year term — and the first that will be led by new Council President Kenyatta Johnson.

In the next six months, lawmakers are expected to take up the 76ers’ proposal to build a new arena in Center City and Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s first budget proposal, which will be unveiled in March.

The new Council is remarkably green, with 12 of the 17 members having previously served one term or less. They will reshape dynamics within the chamber and play a big part in deciding whether Parker achieves her agenda.

Here’s what you need to know about the upcoming Council session.

The 76ers’ development team last year twice delayed its self-imposed deadline for winning Council approvals needed to build an arena on East Market Street, such as zoning changes. But it’s more likely than ever that the controversial plan will go before lawmakers before their summer recess at the end of June.

Councilmember Mark Squilla, whose 1st District includes the proposed site, will be at the center of the debate. He has said he doesn’t expect to receive drafts of the legislation until after the city completes its much-anticipated impact studies, which have been delayed and are expected to come out soon. And he has promised to give community groups 30 days to review the legislation before introducing it.

Legislation won’t be introduced until late February or later, meaning it may coincide with budget negotiations.

When it comes to land-use decisions, Council members almost always default to the preferences of the member whose district includes the property — a tradition known as councilmanic prerogative.

But Squilla has encouraged other members to weigh in, given the project’s citywide significance.

”Councilman Squilla is the district councilperson, but he made a statement himself that everybody would have an opportunity to weigh in on this particular proposal,” Johnson said.

Already, divisions are emerging. Councilmember Nicolas O’Rourke, a newly elected member of the progressive Working Families Party, on Tuesday promoted an event where people can “learn & co-create strategy to defend Chinatown!”

Speaking of progressives, the upcoming session will present an opportunity for the expanding faction to flex its muscle. In the last term, there were three reliably progressive votes. This year, the body is expected to have at least four.

Democrat Jamie Gauthier and Working Families Party member Kendra Brooks, who both won reelection, will be joined by Democrat Rue Landau, a civil rights attorney who was backed by progressive groups in the primary, and O’Rourke, a pastor and longtime activist who secured a seat in November.

Brooks and O’Rourke both occupy at-large seats that are reserved for independents or minority party members and that had been held by Republicans from the 1950s.

Council just one remaining Republican: Brian O’Neill, who has represented Northeast Philadelphia’s 10th District since 1980.

“The general election proved that progressives are strong in the city,” said Gauthier, who represents parts of West Philadelphia. “We are organized, we are collaborative, we’re talking about the things that we want to do together and we want to accomplish.”

First on the agenda: All four progressives are planning to introduce legislation Thursday to reform the city’s for-profit landlord-tenant officer system, through which private contractors carry out evictions. The bill is named after Angel Davis, who survived being shot in the head by a private security officer during an eviction last year.

Gauthier said she and her allies don’t have an “us versus them” mindset.

“We share a lot of common values with the rest of Council and the mayor,” she said. “I am going in with the energy that we’re going to work together and get some great stuff done for the city.”

The two biggest dates on Council’s calendar each year are the start and end of budget season.

The first comes in early March when the mayor delivers his or her budget proposal in an address that serves as Philly’s version of the “State of the Union.”

The second is June 30, the deadline for lawmakers to approve tax and spending legislation for the coming year.

In the interceding months, Council holds a series of public hearings on departmental budgets, and members negotiate behind the scenes. It’s a delicate dance, and this year’s negotiations could set the tone for the Parker-Johnson era.

Mayors often swing for the fences in their first budget proposals, when their political capital is highest. Former Mayor Jim Kenney, for instance, pushed through his signature tax on sweetened beverages in his first budget season.

“We’re all trying to give the mayor enough leeway and a platform to do her agenda,” Councilmember Isaiah Thomas said.

Johnson said Council will work with Parker’s administration to shape a budget that’s both “equitable and responsible,” while facing an uncertain financial picture as federal pandemic relief dollars expire.

”I’m pretty confident as a body that we will work together in collaboration and make fiscally sound decisions that will still allow us to address the issues and concerns,” he said, “but make sure we’re taking consideration that a year from now we’re going to be approaching a fiscal cliff.”

At the beginning of each term, the Council president assigns members to committees, which hold public hearings where legislation is debated and amended. Members jockey for favorable assignments — and some of Johnson’s key supporters in the battle for the Council presidency made out well.

Councilmember Cindy Bass, for example, is chairing the Rules Committee, which handles zoning and development. She indicated early in the race for Council president that she’d back Johnson over his chief opponent, Councilmember Curtis Jones Jr.

Meanwhile Jones was sidelined from chairing the powerful Appropriations Committee, which considers city budget legislation.

That committee will now be led by Squilla, who also ran for Council president but stepped aside when it was clear Johnson was amassing support.

Jones remains the chair of the Public Safety committee.

Johnson has also recently announced several key staff hires. John D. Christmas, a top aide to former Council President Darrell L. Clarke, will serve as chief of staff. Helen Loughead, a deputy budget director in the Kenney administration, will be chief financial officer.

Additionally, Johnson has said he is returning some Council routines to their pre-pandemic norms.

He’s bringing back the pre-Council “caucus” meeting, in which lawmakers gather briefly across the hall from Council chambers to set the agenda for the upcoming meeting. And he’s also requiring committee hearings, which have been held virtually since 2020, to be held in person.