Philly primary voters will see three ballot questions. Here’s what they mean.

Amendments to the Home Rule Charter essentially the city s constitution must be adopted by City Council and then approved by voters This year s primary ballot has three proposed amendments They would create an office that advocates for homeless individuals and families boost spending on affordable housing and create a new prison oversight office and board Every voter will see the questions on their ballot even non-party-affiliated residents who do not vote on candidates in the primary Residents can vote in person at their polling sites on May or register for and send in a mail ballot by May Question Should the Philadelphia Home Rule Charter be amended to create the Office of Homeless Services Ombudsperson to assist residents experiencing homelessness help provide fair access to essential materials improve quality of life in the shelter system investigate client complaints and provide oversight and recommendations to the City s providers of homeless services What it means The new ombudsperson office would advocate for people experiencing homelessness and their families investigate client grievances and provide oversight and recommendations to the Managing Director s office according to Councilmember Katherine Gilmore Richardson who sponsored a bill putting the measure on the ballot The office would be able to conduct investigations and subpoena testimony and records she announced Richardson revealed she introduced the bill after finding that the city s Office of Homeless Services significantly mismanaged its budget and has consistently provided poor quality of function Unhoused Philadelphians have faced hurdles to getting crisis shelter and faced retaliation for speaking out she noted Question Should the Home Rule Charter be amended to increase the minimum amount that must be appropriated for spending on Housing Trust Fund purposes in the City s operating budget each year What it means This measure would require the city to put more money toward programs that build and maintain affordable housing The city has an incentive plan for developers that is meant to boost the production of affordable homes Developers can build denser housing with more units or floor space if they agree to either include a certain number of affordable units or make a payment to the city s Housing Trust Fund The Housing Trust Fund supports production of low-cost homes home repairs and assistance for families at hazard of becoming homeless The incentive activity generated million from to However mayoral administrations have been putting those payments into the city s General Fund and not spending them on housing according to Councilmember Jamie Gauthier who proposed the ballot question The ballot measure would require those payments to go into the Housing Trust Fund in addition to a separate annual contribution that is already required by the Charter Functionaries reported the change would cost the General Fund about million a year The proposed rule is opposed by the Parker administration It would bind the hands of any mayor especially during budget negotiations by creating another fixed cost similar to the city s pension obligations Finance Director Rob Dubow noted last year Question Shall the Philadelphia Home Rule Charter be amended to provide for the creation of an independent Philadelphia Prison Group Oversight Board and Office of Prison Oversight and to further authorize City Council to determine the composition powers and duties of the Board and Office What it means This is the latest of several attempts over the years to improve transparency and oversight of the prison system with the goal of remedying often deplorable conditions at the city s four correctional facilities Previous such efforts included a Board of Trustees and the subsequent Prison Advisory Board which operated from to Both were widely considered powerless and ineffective The prison system has been plagued by severe understaffing overcrowding escapes poor fitness and safety conditions and the deaths of prisoners from drug withdrawal and other causes It s been repeatedly sued over those conditions and been subject to court decrees for of the past years according to Thomas Innes director of prison advocacy at the Defender Association of Philadelphia Last year a federal judge ordered the city to set aside million to increase prison staffing increase prisoner access to healthcare and reduce crowding If approved the ballot measure would create the Office of Prison Oversight within the Office of Chief Masses Safety Director along with a nine-member Oversight Board A new director of prison oversight would earn Four of the board members would be appointed by the mayor four by the City Council president and one by the city controller They must be city residents who don t work for the prisons Sheriff s Office or the police department and at least one member must have been previously incarcerated The Prison Oversight office would be authorized to conduct investigations and have access to the prisons and their databases and documents according to the City Council bill putting the measure on the ballot In the future the Council could also give the office the power to retain legal counsel The Oversight Board would meet at least monthly and could recommend investigations and other actions by the oversight office The post Philly primary voters will see three ballot questions Here s what they mean appeared first on Billy Penn at WHYY