The Fox Chase Homeowners Association wants its members and guests to learn more about the City Council members who represent them. So during the civic group’s monthly meeting on Nov. 11, it was at-large Councilman Bill Greenlee’s turn to speak about his agenda.
FCHA President George Bezanis has said that the intent is to have other at-large Council members speak at future monthly meetings.
Greenlee, a Democrat who won a fourth four-year term in the Nov. 3 municipal election, previously served as an aide to longtime at-large Councilman David Cohen. He cited several of his prior and ongoing initiatives, which have included legislation to prevent property fraud known as “house stealing,” as well as legislation to mandate paid sick leave for private sector workers within the city.
His latest worker-advocacy project is to prevent employers from so-called “wage theft,” which occurs when employers shortchange employees on wages earned or hours worked. Last Thursday, Council passed Greenlee’s bill to create a new city office with powers to penalize employers who engage in wage theft. The bill awaits Mayor Nutter’s signature.
In addition to the failure to pay earned wages, the office will address complaints involving overtime disputes and the classification of workers as “independent contractors” by employers seeking to avoid paying for mandated benefits and taxes. A recent Temple University study concluded that there are 92,000 cases of wage theft in Philadelphia each week.
Also, the bill contains provisions to penalize employers who retaliate against workers who file wage theft complaints.
On another topic, Greenlee said that he thinks Mayor-elect Jim Kenney’s “first appointment is a good one,” in reference to Kenney’s selection of Richard Ross to serve as the next police commissioner. Ross, the police department’s first deputy commissioner, will replace Commissioner Charles Ramsey in January.
In other meeting business:
• Kelly Little, marketing manager for New Courtland Senior Services, told residents that her organization will soon open its first New Courtland LIFE facility in the Northeast at Roosevelt Boulevard and Harbison Avenue in the Roosevelt Plaza.
The decade-old program recently expanded its footprint from the Northwest and North sections of Philadelphia into all 12 Northeast ZIP codes. The mission is to help seniors “age in place,” in the comfort of their own homes, by providing them with a multitude of medical and personal services under one roof.
The program will be able to transport member seniors from their homes to the center, where they can see a family doctor or a specialist, get their prescriptions filled, see a therapist and even get a haircut and manicure. At the end of the visit, the program will transport the senior back home. The program will also offer home health aides and help with physical modifications of the home.
Membership is treated like supplemental insurance. Premiums are based on a sliding scale. The program is contracted in the Temple and Einstein health networks and is in negotiations with other local providers.
• Matt Braden, the FCHA vice president, announced that the civic group hopes to launch an inaugural holiday home decorating contest. The details are still being finalized, but local folks will be able to nominate themselves or their neighbors whose homes are decorated well for the holidays.
Nominees must live within the civic association’s regular boundaries. Information will be forthcoming on www.foxchasehomeowners.org. ••
