Philadelphia City Council Gets Off To Busy Start
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The new Philadelphia City Council set itself an ambitious agenda, today, in its first business session.
Altogether, council introduced more than 60 bills and resolutions and immediately approved more than a dozen resolutions without a dissenting vote.
First term councilwoman Helen Gym told her new colleagues she was impressed.
"Right now, it is my belief that city council is the most effective elected body in the state. It's sure not Harrisburg."
Among the issues council agreed to tackle are the impact of reverse mortgages on senior citizen homeowners; the heroin epidemic; workforce diversity; the physical safety of public school buildings; the safety of students in those buildings in light of decreases in funding; and the addition of Muslim holy days to city and school district holidays.