Authorizing Council's Committee on Law and Government to conduct hearings to explore the benefits of creating a computerized database containing information on companies doing business with the City.

WHEREAS, Each year, the City of Philadelphia awards hundreds of millions of dollars of professional services contracts and other contracts that are not subject to the competitive bidding requirements of the Philadelphia Home Rule Charter; and

WHEREAS, The citizens of Philadelphia have a right to transparency and integrity in the way their City does business; and

WHEREAS, Contracts should only go to honest and capable vendors and the City should obtain the highest quality and quantity of goods and services; and

WHEREAS, Neighboring municipalities use an online database such as VENDEX® or Lobby Tracker® (a computerized repository of information on companies doing business with municipal agencies) to provide useful information to the public about the city's contractors, specifically with respect to campaign contributions; and

WHEREAS, By searching a company's name or the name of a company principal on the database, any citizen can obtain basic information about who holds or has held city contracts, the value of those contracts, and the amount of any campaign contributions made by the company; and

WHEREAS, Access to this information is helpful to the citizens of the City in evaluating the effectiveness of the contracting process of their government; now therefore

RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA,

That the Committee on Law and Government is hereby authorized to hold public hearings to investigate the process of establishing a computerized database containing information on companies doing business with the City.

End