Urging the Mayor not to proceed with the closing of the North and Northeast Municipal Service Centers, popularly known as the mini-City Halls.

WHEREAS, The mini-City Halls were opened in 1985 and are located in the Northeast Shopping Center at 9215-27 Roosevelt Boulevard and 22nd

and Somerset Streets; and

WHEREAS, For twenty years, these offices have served as a needed and valuable city service to the people of Philadelphia, providing bill payment, setting up payment arrangements, probating of wills, and the obtaining of city licenses, among other services, and;

WHEREAS, Many taxpayers also come to the mini-City Halls because they are having problems with different city departments and services and seek assistance; and

WHEREAS, The Northeast mini-City Hall serves over 100,000 taxpayers each year and provides over $100 million in various revenues each year; and

WHEREAS, The cost to the city to operate this facility is only $43,000 per year; and

WHEREAS, A comprehensive plan to provide the taxpayers who now use the mini-City Halls with adequate services in place of those offices have not been offered; and

WHEREAS, The closing of these offices will have a tremendous negative impact on the over 100,000 taxpayers who use these offices each year and the closing will also have a negative impact on the city's budget; now, therefore

RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA,

THAT Council urges the Mayor not to proceed with the closing of the North and Northeast mini-City Halls until an appropriate alternative can be reached that will ensure the same amount of service as is presently the case.

End