Philly City Council criticizes Parker administration for lack of details about Kensington plan

City Council members on Monday sharply criticized top members of Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s administration over a lack of details about the administration’s plan to end the open-air drug market in Kensington, with some lawmakers saying the discord was significant enough to disrupt negotiations over the city budget.

The episode comes just one week after a fight between Parker and Council over her school board nominations came into public view, the first major point of conflict between the city’s executive and legislative branches since Parker and Council President Kenyatta Johnson both took office in January.

At issue Monday was the Parker administration’s plan to clear a homeless encampment in Kensington on Wednesday, as well as its broader strategy to revitalize the neighborhood and the mayor’s proposal to borrow $100 million for “triage and wellness facilities” for people in addiction.

» READ MORE: Parker administration to open specialized site for people with addiction in Fairmount

City officials cast the Wednesday clearing as routine and separate from a longer-term plan to stabilize the neighborhood, and Managing Director Adam K. Thiel recommitted to sharing more information and the $100 million facilities plan by the time budget negotiations wrap up in June.

But several members said they were left unconvinced by the administration’s plans after pressing Thiel and Chief Public Safety Director Adam Geer about substance abuse treatment centers, preparations in the jail system, and communication with lawmakers.

“I’m not quite sure how the managing director, based on his testimony today, feels like we have moved closer to passing a budget,” Councilmember Isaiah Thomas said. “I’m more confused than I was when the day started.”

» READ MORE: All eyes are on Kensington as Parker administration plans to clear homeless from a main corridor

Councilmember Nicolas O’Rourke added: “It has been made abundantly clear that the very specific questions that have been asked by colleagues are receiving extremely general, vague answers.”

A key point of contention was efforts by Thiel’s office to expand treatment and shelter capacity, including by adding 90 beds to an existing shelter facility in Fairmount and working with addiction service providers to serve people with substance use disorder there. Council members said they didn’t learn about changes to the facility until The Inquirer reported on it last week.

Sources involved in the planning, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the strategy publicly, said the administration was working with third-party providers to open a “triage center” at the site at 2100 W. Girard Ave.

An administration spokesperson said the Girard Avenue facility is a “wellness center.” Thiel later rejected that characterization, saying it’s merely “expanding existing beds and existing services.”

Johnson said the lack of communication with Council members ahead of time — including with Jeffery Young Jr., whose district includes the site in Fairmount — “gives the appearance that it’s a backdoor way to do a triage center” before Council approved funding to do so.

Asked if any of the $100 million requested for triage and wellness facilities would be used at the Girard Avenue site, Thiel responded: “I don’t have an answer … we’re looking at multiple options. I don’t think so.”

Thomas floated waiting to fund the mayor’s $100 million request until next fiscal year “if it’s not ready.”

“I assume that is an option that Council has … to not fund the mayor’s bold vision and proposal,” Thiel responded. “We certainly don’t see the conditions on the ground can wait.”

Councilmember Rue Landau said lawmakers will need more information if they are going to approve the request.

“I don’t know if anybody is going to write a blank check of $100 million on a ‘trust us’ when things are trickling out now that are highly concerning,” Landau said. ”Every time you say, ‘Trust us,’ we want to do it, but then something takes us a step backward.”

The next fiscal year begins July 1, the deadline for lawmakers and the administration to enact tax and spending legislation. But unless Council adjusts its schedule or modifies its regular processes, the legislative deadline for reaching a deal over the budget was exactly one month from Monday’s hearing.

Thiel on Monday reiterated a promise to explain to lawmakers how the $100 million will be spent before they have to vote on it.

“We committed during the last budget hearing to providing where those dollars will go before the end of the budget process,” he said.

Parker unveiled her $6.29 billion proposal for the city’s operating budget in a March speech to Council in which she said Thiel “is examining every option for providing long-term care, treatment, and housing for those suffering from addiction, homelessness, and mental health challenges — backed up by over $100 million in new investments.”

The $100 million request is part of the capital budget, which uses debt financing to pay for one-time infrastructure projects, rather than operational costs. The administration has said it hopes to build multiple facilities across the city for people in addiction, and Thiel said Monday he expects that $100 million might not end up being enough money for the project.

“I would love if $100 million would cover our needs, capital needs,” he said. “I don’t think it will.”