NUTTER CLASHES WITH HOUSING AIDE OVER BLOCK GRANTS

Philadelphia Daily News (PA) - Thursday, June 10, 1999 Mark McDonald , Daily News Staff Writer
Glaring at the Rendell administration's housing director, City Councilman Michael Nutter growled about
"duplicitous tactics" and "despicable, disrespectful, two-faced" conduct.
No, Nutter wasn't talking about a convicted felon or a shady developer. His target was John Kromer , the
mayor's veteran housing director.
The issue was Nutter 's plan to shift ever so slightly the city's policy on spending federal block-grant money
so that neighborhoods that haven't fallen into complete decay can get a makeover with new curbs,
sidewalks, trees, lighting and other infrastructure.
Nutter likes to think of the Avenue of the Arts. Before Team Rendell started the major projects on South
Broad, the city spent millions to fix up the streetscape. We can have that look and feel in many of our
neighborhoods and commercial corridors," Nutter says. "That is the bottom line of my proposal."
While conceding the spending shift would be legal, Kromer flatly opposed Nutter 's bill, which has nine co-
sponsors, saying that the current strategy for spending community development block grant money is
producing a variety of housing and job-training opportunities.
During a marathon four-hour, 40-minute hearing yesterday, Nutter engaged city bureaucrats in a form of
torture by question.
In the end, some of Nutter 's colleagues privately concluded that for all his effort, the two-term Democrat
suffered more self-inflicted wounds by gutting his own bill with amendments, including language that
removed developers of large projects such as the proposed Phillies stadium as a source of funds for
neighborhood revitalization.
Faced with withering criticism from the Rendell administration, Nutter tabled even that weakened bill until
next week instead of trying to force his colleagues to support it.
Nutter was incensed that Kromer and his staff had talked to the traditional recipients of block grant funds,
chiefly community development corporations, who showed up at the hearing ready to complain that
Nutter's plan to spend scarce resources on sidewalks in relatively stable neighborhoods like Overbrook
would shortchange their efforts.
"I despise people who do not tell the truth and know it and those who would use underhanded scare tactics
to virtually force many of you to come here today on the threat that your funding would be affected by this
bill," said Nutter , who demanded an apology from Kromer .
Kromer , who appeared surprised by the attack, didn't apologize and defended his belief that Nutter 's plan
would hurt the city's housing efforts that are targeted to the most devastated areas of the city, including
North Philadelphia.
But Nutter also produced amendments aimed at protecting the array of housing groups, though he cut in
half the amount of money that would be available through a federal loan program that is repaid with future
block grant funds.
Most surprising was Nutter 's decision to make the city pay into a special Community Revitalization and
Infrastructure Fund 5 percent of the total cost of projects valued at $250 million or more no later than five
years after the project's completion.
Originally, Nutter wanted the project developers to pony up an amount equal to 10 percent of the total
project cost.