FBI probe shadows Philly City Council's return

Philadelphia City Council returned from its three-month summer recess Thursday, proceeding with business as usual despite the cloud of an FBI probe looming over the office of Majority Leader Bobby Henon.

Council President Darrell L. Clarke, asked if he was concerned about the federal investigation, said he was always concerned "on a personal level" when one of his colleagues comes under scrutiny.

"But again, I have no idea why the FBI did what they did," Clarke said. "And I'm not sure that anybody does other than that particular agency. So to speculate and to speak about it, I think, would be inappropriate at this time."

The Aug. 5 FBI searches of Henon's City Hall and district offices are part of an investigation into International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 98 and its leader, John Dougherty. Henon, a former Local 98 political director, is still on the union's payroll.

On Thursday, Henon faced a scrum of television cameras and reporters for the first time since the raid. He made a brief statement outside his office but, as he has repeatedly, declined to answer specific questions.

"I don't know what the motivations are," he said of the probe. "But what I can tell you to date is that law enforcement has not contacted me or any member of my staff, to my knowledge."

Council members Thursday introduced a handful of bills.

One from Helen Gym would expand the legislation that requires contractors on certain residential and commercial developments to pay the prevailing wage, a rate that fluctuates based on the type of work being done.

Blondell Reynolds Brown and Maria Quiñones Sánchez introduced a bill that would change how the city certifies a business as "local," a designation that earns it preference in bidding opportunities. Under the legislation, an entity would have to have its primary place of business within city limits, or meet other requirements, to qualify as local.

Clarke introduced a bill that would give the Philadelphia Land Bank, which gathers properties for sale by various city agencies under one umbrella for the purpose of spurring development, first choice when the city sells the lien on a tax-delinquent property. The legislation would require the Land Bank to be notified before any such sales.

Looking forward, Clarke said he expected Council to be particularly focused in the coming months on overseeing the implementation of the programs that will be funded by the city's new sweetened-beverage tax. Among those programs is an expansion of early childhood education and large-scale renovations to the city's parks, recreation centers, and libraries.

tnadolny@phillynews.com

215-854-2730@TriciaNadolny