Mayor Parker splits duties, names pair to head city's Dept. of L&I

Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker made several "significant appointments," -- as her office called them -- to her administration on Thursday afternoon.

"We want the right people, for the right positions at the right moment," said Parker. "And, we wanted the best and the brightest."

And, at a recent event to name new members of her administration, Parker suggested she may name a new head of the city's Department of Licenses and Inspections before the end of the week.

And, on Thursday, she followed through with that promise -- twice.

In a move similar to how she split duties that were done by one person in the city's Department of Streets into two roles, Parker has appointed two people to lead the city's Dept. of L&I.

And, she said that will help as, over the past few years, the department has suffered, what she called, "mission creep."

It means that, Parker explained, the department has been tasked with a number of new roles, becoming the "default department" to take on issues that other departments couldn't.

"They were unable to perform all of the responsibilities that were put on their shoulders," she said. "Enforcement in both construction and enforcement in quality of life issues, they were not being addressed according to the standard that Philadelphians expect and deserve."

In order to do this, she has appointed former Deputy Mayor of Labor, Basil Merenda as Commissioner of the department's new Inspections, Safety and Compliance Division of the Dept. of L&I.

"Basil Merenda has made public service his calling as well as his career," said Parker.

It's a role that, he said, he looked forward to taking on.

"I see L&I as the one department of city government that can have a direct, positive impact on the everyday life of every Philadelphia citizen," said Merenda.

In taking on the role, Merenda said he's looking forward to putting together a team to embrace challenges the department faces with "vigor and effectiveness."

Joining Merenda atop the Dept. of L&I, Parker has appointed Bridget Collins-Greenwald, the city's former Commissioner of Public Property, as the Dept. of L&I's new Commissioner of Quality of Life.

Parker said that, in calling Collins-Greenwald on the night they offered her the role, she told her that the job would be a key part of her goal to make Philadelphia the safest, cleanest and greenest city in America, with economic opportunity for all.

"I said 'Bridget, we've got to succeed.' I said, 'I failed before I started if we don't address safe, clean and green,' and we can't do that without enforcement," remembered Parker.

In stepping up to take on the new role, Collins-Greenwald noted that she's already spent 12 years as part of the Dept. of L&I, and watched as the department "took on more responsibilities... without the resources to keep it all going."

"Splitting L&I into two distinct pieces is something that's a longtime coming and absolutely makes sense," said Collins-Greenwald.

Asked what the fiscal impact might be -- as splitting roles is essentially adding new salaries that did not exist before -- with her recent moves, Parker said the implications will be part of her budget address to City Council in March.

But, she promised there would be no tax increases due to these moves.

"With everything that we are proposing, we are living within our means and we are doing so without a tax increase," she promised.

With Thursday's announcement, Parker said her office has now appointed nearly three dozen new officials for municipal roles in her administration.