WHEREAS, Josephine Razler began her career with the City of Philadelphia in the Department of Licenses and Inspections in 1981 as a clerk/typist; and
WHEREAS, “Jo,” as she is affectionately known by her colleagues, quickly worked her way through the ranks of L&I, before being “stolen” by Bob Solvibile to tackle bigger and better jobs that Solvibile didn’t feel like handling himself; and
WHEREAS, Jo worked in L&I’s Crisis Program for a number of years, overseeing all aspects of the plan and coordinating inspections of properties when necessary; and
WHEREAS, Jo’s crowning achievement was her rise to the position of “Demolition Queen” of L&I. Although the title sounds nice, the position was full of enormous responsibility, including the handling of all City contractual obligations regarding residential demolitions. The “Demo Queen”, in addition to managing a $25 million budget, is also credited with saving the City thousands of dollars annually due to her shrewd oversight of demolition issues; and
WHEREAS, Jo was instrumental in resolving issues and assisting those residents in Wissinoming who lost their homes, coordinating the effort to remove the sinking houses; and
WHEREAS, In addition to her responsibilities at Licenses and Inspections, Jo also deftly handled her responsibilities at home, raising two wonderful children, Robert and Susan; and
WHEREAS, Jo will spend her retirement as a doting grandmother, spoiling her “babies,” Nicholas, Matthew and Lauren, not to mention her favorite pot-bellied pig, Otto; and
WHEREAS, Jo will also have the opportunity to spend more time in Ocean City, New Jersey, going with friends to the Water’s Edge Restaurant in Cape May, her favorite eatery; now therefore
RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That we hereby honor, commend and express our sincere appreciation to Josephine Razler, for her hard work, dedication and distinguished service to the City of Philadelphia and its’ residents.
FURTHER RESOLVED, That an Engrossed copy of this resolution be presented to Jo, as further evidence of the grateful appreciation of this legislative body.
End