In a city that lost 70,000 residents over the last decade, it's foolhardy for Philadelphia leaders to content themselves with halfway measures to halt the flight.
What they need to do, instead, is set policies that send out a clear message that Philadelphia - as the slogan goes - "loves you back" in ways that make a real difference.
One smart way to do that has been proposed by City Councilman James F. Kenney, along with a number of Council colleagues.
In their view, City Hall needs to scrap its insular, in-bred approach to hiring police, firefighters and other municipal employees. It needs to welcome qualified job applicants from anywhere.
Measures before Council now would free the city from the archaic 1953 requirement of a one-year city residency prior to being hired for most civil service jobs. It's a practical way to improve the city's prospects for hiring the best and brightest, as well as attracting new residents.
With the "Help Wanted" sign displayed to all comers, the city's talent pool grows from a few hundred thousand to potentially millions.
And for every new hire from outside the city, another taxpaying worker - and family - would be added to the population rolls. That's because the mandate to live in the city, once hired, would remain in place.
So, please, no more whining about city jobs being for city residents. The fact is, the Police Department, for one, faces a hiring crisis. Not even an earlier loosening of rules allowing the force to recruit on military bases has done the job.
Again, halfway measures don't work. Another one: using individual residency waivers in special circumstances. That's tinkering, and the city doesn't have time for it.
Mayor Street has gone outside the city repeatedly to hire his top aides. Every appointment makes a new, committed Philadelphian, even if it's only a few.
The Kenney measure could push that potential yield into the hundreds.To do anything less bold is just prepping the city for life-support.
