After members of Occupy Philly interrupted City Council on Thursday, shouting down attempts to restore order and creating a circus-like atmosphere for their own mock session, the actual elected members got down to a varied and lengthy agenda.
The results included a bill to let restaurant servers keep all of their tips, approval of a major construction project to turn gas from a city wastewater plant into electricity, and a debate on the place of advertising in the public sphere.
Councilman James F. Kenney's servers bill would prevent restaurants from taking deductions from tips to cover credit card processing fees. Kenney said such deductions can cost the typical server more than $1,000 a year. That bill was the only one given the Occupy approval with waving fingers.
"I think all this bill is about is being fair," Councilman William K. Greenlee said. "Giving people what the customer intended to give them, which is their full tip."
But Stephen Starr, who owns 20 restaurants in the city, said in an interview that the legislation would cost his company $200,000 to $300,000 a year, and he said he was frustrated at getting no notice before the bill was introduced.
"We've created close to 3,000 jobs in Philadelphia. . . . Restaurants are one of the city's biggest draws," he said. "To add another burden is totally irresponsible. . . . I don't know if they get it. They have to wake up."
The bill passed, 14-2, with Councilmen Brian O'Neill and Bill Green, who called the measure a "targeted tax increase," voting against. Councilwoman Maria Quiñones Sánchez was absent.
Council also passed two bills that would put in motion a complicated deal to build a cogeneration facility at the city's Northeast Water Pollution Control Plant in Bridesburg. The facility would burn biogas from sewage to provide 85 percent of the plant's electricity - or the equivalent of the power for 4,120 homes. That also accounts for 15 percent of the Philadelphia Water Department's total energy use.
The project would be the city's largest alternative-energy initiative and is in keeping with Mayor Nutter's goal of making Philadelphia the nation's greenest city, Water Commissioner Howard Neukrug said.
"We don't really know what's going to happen 20 years from now with the price of energy. We do know that having a diverse source of energy is a good thing," he said. "We're really looking at a whole new way of managing water."
