Oh you loyal PhillyClout readers, how you tickled us with your haikus about trash pick-up fees last week.  So much, in fact, that we've decided to repeat the haiku contest for this, our third installment.  Your topic:  City Council keeping the public OUT of a meeting this week where they talked about the best way to inform the public about the city's budget in upcoming hearings.

Our prize once again is a Daily News t-shirt, size 2XL, perfect for pajamas or lounging around after completing the Wing Bowl!  Sorry, no entries allowed by Philadelphia Media Holdings employees or family members.

Submit your entries here [brennac@phillynews.com] by 6 p.m. Monday and then we'll announce the winner.

It's nice to know Young Philly Politics cares.

Mayor Nutter says he’s thrilled to be hosting Vice President Joe Biden and the middle class task force today as they discuss the benefits of green jobs. He’ll be speaking about how Philly is developing green jobs during one of the panels.

“The whole task force is about the middle class. Our perspective in Philadelphia is that green jobs are the pathway to the middle class,” Nutter said.

There was some good green news for Philly today. A total of $1.3 million in grants from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation will be awarded to green job efforts in the city, including a grant to the non-profit Energy Coordinating Agency to launch a green jobs skills training center.

“Philadelphia is looked increasingly as an incubator of innovation,” Nutter said.

PhillyClout's Catherine Lucey reports that Vice President Joe Biden's Philly visit kicked off this morning with a tour of the operations control center at the University of Pennsylvania. He's here for the first session of his middle class task force, which will focus on green job creation.

Biden, joined by Governor Rendell, Mayor Nutter as well as local congressman and members of the cabinet, was first shown a model of Penn's plans to convert wasteland on the eastern edge of campus into athletic fields and park space.

"Where will the squash courts go?" asked avid squash player Sen. Arlen Specter.

Later, during a tour of the school's control room for heating and cooling campus facilities, Biden noted Specter's role in passing the $787 stimulus bill.

At that, US Rep. Chaka Fattah quipped: "He's the secretary of the stimulus."

The city Board of Ethics sues a political action committee with ties to Gov. Rendell for keeping sloppy books.

City Council decides to meet in secret to talk about how to hold public hearings on the budget.

Defense attorneys complain the massive federal corruption case against former state Sen. Vince Fumo is driven by a vendetta from prosecutors.

And Clout has now started filling the city's coffers by chasing down city service scofflaws.

Almost three weeks ago, Mayor Nutter presented City Council with the data he collected from city departments on how 10, 20 or 30 percent cuts would affect their ability to provide services. Soon after, we received a hefty packet of the cut scenario data, which showed the crippling affect such cuts would have on police, fire or library services.

But we noticed that several departments were not included in the packet – among them commerce, human services and the managing director’s office. According to the city, that information will be provided in a second volume of data.

Well, we still haven’t seen that second volume. We asked for it about a week ago and then over the past several days we’ve been specifically requesting just the managing director’s information. We want to see what would happen to signature programs like Philly Stat and 3-1-1 under cuts.

So far nothing. The press office told us today that the city wants to release all the remaining department data together and the department of human services information isn’t ready.

We don't get it. The mayor has repeatedly talked about this being an open and transparent budget process. He has stressed that everything is on the table as he tries to cut $1 billion from the five-year-plan. And  he has made clear that all departments had to prepare these cut scenarios. So why can't we see the managing director data?

City Council members are right now gathered in a closed-door City Hall meeting and refusing to let reporters come inside. Mayor Nutter briefed Council leaders earlier today on budget issues so Council members could be discussing that. There's no way to know for sure since we're locked out. Reporters gathered outside the meeting believe there is a quorum of Council members present, which means the meeting must be open to the public, according to state law.

Tony Radwanski, an aide to City Council President Anna Verna, told reporters the meeting is about how Council will hear public testimony on the city budget during upcoming hearings.  There is no provision in the state's Sunshine Act -- which covers public records and open meetings -- to close a meeting so public officials can discuss how to run hearings.

We've been down this road before.  Mayor Nutter last fall shut reporters out of meetings where he briefed a majority of Council members about the city's budget woes.  Nutter insisted he had the right to hold secret meetings -- one had an armed guard posted at the door -- because Council was taking no action on the budget at the time.

A Common Pleas Court judge later sided with Nutter when the Daily News and Inquirer went to court in November, asking for access to the meetings.  The judge's ruling said the newspapers had not presented any evidence about what went on at meetings where reporters were not allowed attend.  We did not make up that last line.

UPDATE, 4:10 pm:  After the meeting, Verna told reporters the Council members had debated whether to hold hearings on the city budget out in their districts rather than just City Hall.   There was no debate about the budget itself, she insisted, because Council has no updated information on the finances.  Verna seemed surprised by the questions about closing the meeting.  "If that is against the law, it's news to me," she said.

Councilman Jack Kelly

City Councilman Jack Kelly, attending his first weekly session since his former chief of staff, Chris Wright, was convicted on federal bribery charges Tuesday with his one-time campaign manager and a political donor, made it very clear to reporters that he is finished speaking about that case.

"I am greatly relieved that the trial is over," Kelly said. "I’ve known Chris for over 25 years. I only wish him and his family the very best. I think now I have to get back and do the people’s business. And by that I mean I have to work and we’re hoping to attain I think some fiscal stability in the city. I hope and I plan to work with my colleagues and this administration to not only provide a balanced budget but a budget that’s going to give a high level of services to the people of Philadelphia."

Kelly cut off questions about Wright, saying, "I just want to say right now that that’s all I’m going to say about that incident. Now I have to get back and do the people’s business. And by that, I mean those distractions are over. Now I have to concentrate on what’s best for the citizens of Philadelphia. Thank you for your consideration."

Still a reporter asked if the Wright case had tainted Kelly's office.  The Councilman turned and walked away.  Kelly secretly recorded for the FBI conversations with Wright and campaign donor Ravinder Chawla in June 2007.  He testified during the recent trial that he didn't think Wright had done anything wrong but then backtracked significantly, suggesting that his staffer had been involved in potential conflicts of interest and ethics violations.

Tomorrow Philadelphia hosts the first session of Vice President Joe Biden's middle class task force, which will focus on green jobs.

This morning, City Hall fixture Toby Rich, of the Scoop -- AKA the Mayor of Girard Avenue -- asked Mayor Nutter if this conference means that he's President Obama's "green man."

Which of course gives us an excuse to post this green man video from "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia." Will Nutter wear the outfit to the meeting?