Resolving that the City of Philadelphia shall be deemed to have satisfied the local governing body review requirement for its application for a Recovery Act Byrne Grant.

WHEREAS, In May 2009, the City of Philadelphia submitted an application for an Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (“Recovery Act Byrne Grant”), which was authorized by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (“Recovery Act”) and administered by the Bureau of Justice Assistance (“BJA”) within the United States Department of Justice; and

WHEREAS, To apply for a Recovery Act Byrne Grant, the applicant was required to make its application available for review by the local, legislative governing body - here, the Philadelphia City Council - “not fewer than 30 days before the application is submitted to BJA,” and to describe in the Review Narrative portion of the application the manner and date on which it did so; and

WHEREAS, During the May 5, 2009, public hearing on the proposed Fiscal Year 2010 budget for the District Attorney's Office, the Administration testified regarding its plan to apply for a Recovery Act Byrne Grant and the need for the application to be submitted to City Council for review prior to submission to the Department of Justice; and

WHEREAS, The Administration did not make its Recovery Act Byrne Grant application available for review by City Council prior to submitting it to the Department of Justice; and

WHEREAS, The Department of Justice awarded the City of Philadelphia a Recovery Act Byrne Grant in the amount of $13.5 million on July 8, 2009; and

WHEREAS, The City's receipt of a Recovery Act Byrne Grant might be jeopardized by the failure to provide the application to City Council for review prior to submission; and

WHEREAS, City Council desires to take all necessary steps to prevent potential loss of this needed federal funding, or any other penalty; now, therefore be it

RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA,

That the City of Philadelphia shall be deemed to have satisfied the local governing body review requirement for its application for a Recovery Act Byrne Grant.

End