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Basically, the Parks' organizational structure is a mess, the result of an Antique Parks Law that has not been updated in 135 years. Because the Mayor doesn't have the power to fire Commissioners, he cannot hold people accountable for the kind of job they are doing. Compared to other Commissions, Fairmount Park Commission has a huge number of members (16) who answer to a host of different bosses. This makes it difficult to hold any one person accountable for the successes or failings of our Parks (i.e., there's no one person in charge).
Living in one of America's oldest cities, Philadelphians are constantly rubbing up against their City's history, often without even knowing it. But living in a City with a long history means more than occasionally getting stuck in traffic behind a horse and carriage around Independence Hall. We pay a real price for our history.
Not only do we have old buildings, we also have old laws. The law creating Fairmount Park and its governing Commission was from 1867 and has remained, with the exception of park boundaries, substantially the same for 135 years. It would be impossible for the current US Congress to return to its former home of Independence Hall: the building is too small and lacks modern amenities such as electric outlets. But our 21st century Parks continue to be governed by the same 19th century law.
New York City with 8 million people has one Parks Commissioner. In Philadelphia, with 1.5 million residents, we have 16 Commissioners.
Why so many Commissioners?
Since this decision was made by men living 135 years ago, only a historian can say for sure. New York has a simple system with clear lines of responsibility. One person is in charge of NYC's Parks. New York City's Parks Commissioner is appointed by the Mayor. If Mayor Bloomberg wakes up in the morning and decides he doesn't like the job his Parks Commissioner is doing, by 11 am the Commissioner is cleaning out his desk.
Things are not so simple in Philadelphia. Basically it is impossible to fire Commissioners. Ten Commissioners are elected by Philadelphia Judges. According to President Judge Frederica Massiah-Jackson's Counsel as the appointing authority for these Commissioners, the Judges could vote to remove them at any time, but it's never been done. Six Commissioners automatically belong to the Commission. So long as they hold their city jobs, they can never be fired no matter how many meetings they miss or how bad a job they do.
Of these sixteen, ten are selected by the 100 or so Judges who sit on Common Pleas Court. Why the Judges? I am told our founding fathers wanted to remove politics from the selection process. Commissioners were to be selected based on their merit, not to reward political allies. And who better to do this, than judges, the people we depend on to resolve our disputes in a fair and objective manner?
This was the theory, at least. In the past, the Judges elected whoever the party bosses told them to.
Call it simplicity Philadelphia style.
This last election (May 2002) for Fairmount Park Commissioners was different, though. Following intense scrutiny of the Parks by the Daily News and others, it took the judges 3 hours and seven ballots to select their ten Commissioners. Ultimately, the Judges chose to replace six of the ten incumbent Commissioners.
There are also six Ex Officio Commissioners, people who are on the Commission because of another important office they hold.
The law forbids Commissioners from being paid for their work. I think we can assume that the Commissioners who show up for meetings find other ways to compensate themselves. For example, some public minded souls might derive satisfaction from helping to improve our City's parks.
With six seats on the Commission, the Mayor would appear to have the strongest voice. Five of the Ex Officio members are his employees, and he has his own seat as well.
On the other hand, City Council controls the purse strings, but only controls a single seat on the Commission vs. the Mayor's six. Let's count them a distant second after the Mayor.
The Commission's cloudy organizational structure makes it easy for party bosses such as Congressman Bob Brady and Sen. Vince Fumo to install their people on the Commission. For this reason, I think it's safe to assume that the party bosses enjoy considerable say in park matters.
| Elected Commissioners (10) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commissioner | Day Job | Appointed by | Party | Age |
| Nix, Robert | Board of Revision of Taxes | Judges | Democrat | 53 |
| Goldstein, Debra | Heritage Conservancy | Judges | Democrat | |
| Baum, E. | Zarwin, Baum, DeVito | Judges | Democrat | |
| Binswanger, John | Binswanger | Judges | ||
| Carter, Thomas | Judges | |||
| Pauciello, Rosanne | Sen. Vince Fumo's Office | Judges | Democrat | |
| Price, Philip | Philip Price & Associates | Judges | Republican | |
| Smith, Doris | Exodus Project/59th St. Baptist Church | Judges | Democrat | |
| Tucker, Leon | Room 544 | Judges | Democrat | |
Six members of the Fairmount Park are Ex Officio Commissioners. In other words, they weren't elected to the Commission, but automatically belong to the Commission because of the office they hold. The Mayor, Council President, the Water, Public Property and Recreation Commissioners as well as the Chief Surveyor all sit on the Commission Ex Officio. Neither the Mayor nor the Council President attend Commission meetings. Rather they send a representative who votes for them. The fact that our City's highest elected officials don't bother to attend suggests how much importance they attach to our Parks.
I am dubious whether high officials like Mayor Street can legally delegate their office (and vote) to somebody else. To me this would seem to be a case of "use it or lose it." If you can't/won't attend meetings, then you shouldn't be able to give your Commissionership away like a baseball card. When I asked the FPC attorney about this, he told me that an answer to my question would require him to do research and suggested I hire an attorney.
| Ex Officio Commissioners (6) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commissioner | Day Job | Works for | Party | Age |
| Brunwasser, Bernie | Water Dept. | Mayor | Other | |
| Schlotterbeck, Joan | Dept. of Public Property | Mayor | Democrat | |
| Richard, Victor | Commissioner, Recreation Dept. | Mayor | ||
| Tolson, Clarena | Chief Engineer & Surveyor | Mayor | Democrat | |
| Verna, Anna | Council President | Council President | Democrat | 77 |
| Commissioners' Representatives (3) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Representative | Day Job | Appointed by | Party | Age |
| Makadon, Marcia | 1806 Delancey St. | Mayor | Democrat | |
| Turner, Beatrice | Mary Mason Show | Council President | Democrat | |
My sense is that while Mayor Street could exercise significant leadership when it comes to our Parks, he has not done so to date. In the past he has spent far more time and energy on new Stadiums than on improving our Parks. My guess is that in an organization like Fairmount Park where authority is fragmented and which enjoys little prestige among officials, it is the people in charge of running the place day to day end up setting policy. In other words, staff.
| Commission Staff | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Representative | Position | Appointed by | Party | Age |
| Borski, Karen | Interim Executive Director | Fairmount Park Commission | ||
| Bessler, Barry | Chief of Staff | Fairmount Park Commission | Democrat | |
| Roache, Carol | Commission Secretary | Fairmount Park Commission | ||