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Councilman Nutter understands the importance of making Manayunk a neighborhood with strong businesses, while making sure residents find their neighborhood a vibrant, pleasant place to live. To guide its growth, he has helped fund streetscape improvements, develop parking lots and a comprehensive parking study, and create acreate a Special Services District to enhance and promote this unique old mill town.

Councilman Nutter helped create the City Avenue District, the first business improvement district formed to serve two local governments. It employs security officers, oversees landscaping, and maintains signage to promote this important commercial corridor. Recently renewed for another twenty years of operation, the City Avenue District is a shining example of the importance of regional cooperation.

Despite being home to many of the City's most popular attractions, such as the Philadelphia Zoo and the Mann Center for the Performing Arts, West Parkside has long been overlooked. To attract development to the neighborhood, Councilman Nutter helped establish a Tax Increment Financing District. As a result, work is underway on a 300,000 square foot retail center and the neighborhood is the future home of the Microsoft School of the Future and the Please Touch Museum.

Having outgrown its facility on Main Street in Manayunk, the Arthur Ashe Youth Tennis Center is relocating to the Gustine Recreation Center site in East Falls. Councilman Nutter sponsored the ordinance that granted it a long-term lease for the site, which will offer the East Falls community indoor and outdoor tennis courts, classrooms, office space and other amenities.

There has been a staggering increase in homicide rates in our City: 311 in 2001, 349 in 2003, and 380 in 2005. Mayor Street has proposed reducing the number of uniformed police by nearly 500 and requiring the remaining officers to work additional overtime that will cost the City $10 million. In short, he would have our streets patrolled by fewer police working longer hours. Councilman Nutter believes we should increase the number of police on our streets, not the number of hours they work. He has offered legislation that would hire 250 new officers over a three-year period.

FAIRMOUNT PARK

Fairmount Park, one of the country's largest municipal parks, is rightly considered a jewel in Philadelphia's crown. But funding for the Park has dwindled. A comparison of parks in ten major cities found that ours had the lowest per capita expenditure, the lowest per acre expenditure, and the fewest employees per acre. Councilman Nutter responded. He sponsored legislation that created the Fairmount Park Historic Preservation Trust (which preserves historic sites by securing tenants with the means to make renovations), authorized the construction of a boathouse on Kelly Drive (which was the first new boathouse in decades), and approved the relocation of the Please Touch Museum to Memorial Hall (which will welcome an anticipated 450,000 visitors every year). Recently, he proposed increasing funding for the Park by $3 million for each of the next five years.

THE "HMO FOR STREET TREES"

Councilman Nutter championed legislation that requires the routine pruning and immediate removal of dead or dangerous street trees. For decades, there had been no routine maintenance of the City's 250,000 street trees, resulting in the death of thousands of trees every year. In this program's first year of operation, 10,000 trees were pruned, 2,800 dead trees were removed, and 750 trees were planted, greatly improving the appearance and charm of our City.

THE FREE LIBRARY

In 2005, the City announced that twenty branch libraries would shift to half-day service and many head librarians would be laid-off. Library supporters protested the "reorganization plan." Councilman Nutter called for an investigation to evaluate the Library System and to find additional funding in order to restore this essential City service. After a five hour hearing, which was attended by a capacity crowd of students, library supporters and employees, restoring library funding became a critical issue during that year's budget discussions. City Council eventually rejected the budget cut, restored funding, and returned all branch libraries to full-day service with head librarians.

RECREATION DEPARTMENT

In 1998, Councilman Nutter held hearings on the needs of our recreation centers and worked with the Citywide Recreation Advisory Council to find additional funding. The hearings clearly demonstrated the need for improved maintenance, enhanced staffing, and clear performance standards to ensure that public funds were effectively and efficiently utilized. As a result, an additional $2 million was budgeted for the Recreation Department, which adopted system-wide maintenance and operational performance standards.

COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Community College of Philadelphia, the City's third largest institution of higher education, plays an integral role in the City's economy as an educator, job trainer, and employer. However, the City has neglected it, providing only 19% of its budget. As a result, it has the highest tuition of any community college in the region. To make higher education more accessible, Councilman Nutter has offered an amendment to the proposed Budget calling for 33% City funding within five years.

After working to create an independent Ethics Board, Councilman Nutter proposed changes to the Ethics Code that would provide for routine training of City officers and employees, the issuance of advisory opinions, the adjudication of violations, and the imposition of fines. These measures were approved by voters in the May 2006 citywide election.

Councilman Nutter has pushed for transparency in the awarding of no-bid (professional services) contracts. In 2005, City Council approved reforms requiring disclosure of campaign contributions prior to and during the period of a contract. 87% voted to approve this change - the largest margin ever recorded in the City. Through Councilman Nutter's efforts, contract opportunities and explanations of award decisions are now available to the public online.

Councilman Nutter sponsored a bill that requires City candidates' campaign reports to be filed with the City's Records Department and posted on the City's website. The Records Department has implemented this reform, making campaign reports available to the public online.

Councilman Nutter introduced an ordinance that prohibits the receipt of City financial assistance by those who have made qualifying campaign contributions to City candidates or incumbents. It also requires those seeking financial assistance of $50,000 or more to disclose campaign contributions made in the past two years, and those awarded financial assistance to refrain from making qualifying campaign contributions for the following five years.

Creating smoke-free environments is a critically important public health and workers' rights issue. Smoke-free laws are good for the public, good for workers, and good for business. Councilman Nutter proposed legislation that will create smoke-free environments in all public places in Philadelphia. City Council passed the bill in a June 15, 2006 vote.

The Neighborhood Benefits Strategy began from legislation written by Councilman Nutter. It has expanded business opportunities for underprivileged residents and businesses by requiring housing and community development projects financed with federal HUD funds to employ low-income neighborhood residents and contract with neighborhood businesses to the greatest extent possible.

Councilman Nutter created a bidding preference for local businesses on qualifying City contracts. The program provides that the bids of "Local Business Entities" are reduced by 5% during the bid selection process, but are paid in full if the contract is awarded.

In an effort to give city residents more job opportunities on construction projects, Councilman Nutter introduced legislation requiring that local residents perform at least 50% of the work on qualifying City construction projects. The bill requires contractors to comply with the hiring preference by requiring them to submit detailed employment plans before receiving building permits. They also must submit monthly compliance reports throughout the construction project.

To combat unemployment, Councilman Nutter sponsored legislation requiring at least 40% of the workers on City construction contracts exceeding $150,000 to be low or moderate income workers. This requirement also extends to contracts administered by City-related agencies (such as the Redevelopment Authority) that involve City funds or financial assistance.

Councilman Nutter sponsored an ordinance establishing reporting requirements for Tax Increment Financing Districts (districts where certain increases in tax revenue associated with development projects can be used to finance them). The reports must include detailed information on construction, hiring, minority participation, and other important employment statistics.

In 2002, Mayor Street's attempts to eliminate reductions in the wage tax outraged business leaders, who led a "briefcase brigade" down Broad Street. Councilman Nutter responded, writing legislation that restored the cuts without endangering City revenues. And in 2004, he sponsored and secured passage of legislation that will reduce the wage tax to 3.25% by 2015 for residents and non-residents alike.

In 2002, higher property assessments caused dramatic increases in property taxes, creating a serious burden to homeowners. Councilman Nutter introduced legislation that would place a 10% yearly cap on the property tax increases. The Board of Revision of Taxes (BRT) eventually adopted his proposal. He also sponsored legislation reforming the way property taxes are assessed, making the process more equitable and fair to Philadelphians, eliminating loopholes for additional tax increases. In 2005, Councilman Nutter introduced a bill providing for a homestead exemption that would protect long term, low income property owners when market values rise abruptly.

Councilman Nutter supports the gradual elimination of the Business Privilege Tax (BPT). Despite repeated vetoes by the Mayor, Councilman Nutter continues to push for gradual reductions in the gross receipts and net profits components of the BPT.

Councilman Nutter understands the need for change in our City's tax policy. He pushed to establish the Tax Reform Commission in 2002, which evaluated the tax structure and recommend ways to improve it. Philadelphians endorsed his efforts in 2003 by approving a ballot question in an overwhelming 4 to 1 margin. Shortly after the Commission issued its final report, Councilman Nutter introduced its recommendations for new legislation, and began promoting comprehensive tax reform.