PHILADELPHIA CITY COUNCIL TO HOST SPECIAL SESSION OF COUNCIL ON MONDAY, MARCH 24 TO HEAR FROM MAYOR CHERELLE L. PARKER ON NEW HOUSING INITIATIVE

Philadelphia City Council President Kenyatta Johnson (Second District) and members of City Council to hold a Special Council Session on Monday, March 24 to hear from Mayor Cherelle L. Parker about her Housing Opportunities Made Easy (H.O.M.E.) initiative.

The special session on housing will start at 10 a.m. inside Philadelphia City Council Chambers, Room 400 (Fourth Floor), Philadelphia City Hall.  It is believed to be the first time Council has held a special session on housing in history.

The H.O.M.E. initiative is part of the Parker administration’s plan to create and preserve 30,000 units of new and existing housing during her term in office.

During the Special Session on Housing, Mayor Parker will give a speech to Councilmembers laying out her full H.O.M.E. plan. In her Fiscal Year 2026 (FY 2026) budget address to City Council, Parker called the H.O.M.E plan a historic, unprecedented investment for Philadelphians and said her administration will issue $800 million in bonds for the Housing Plan during her proposed Five-Year Plan.

Mayor Parker asked Council President Johnson to call this special session, and the Council leadership agreed. Under Council’s Rules, the Council President may call special meetings of the Council whenever in the President’s opinion the public business requires it. In the case of a special meeting, the subject(s) to be considered shall be specified and such subject(s) alone shall be considered at the said special meeting to the exclusion of all other matters.

This Special Session of Council will be unlike a normal Council session, as neither bills mor resolutions will be introduced or voted on and no public comment will take place.

The special session will air live on Xfinity Ch. 64, Fios Channel 40, and stream at www.PHLCouncil.com/watch

Council will hold a series of public hearings on the proposed Operating and Capital Budget with Parker administration leadership to understand the mayor’s spending proposal. All FY 2026 budget hearings are held before the Committee of the Whole, chaired by Council President Johnson. These hearings include testimony from department heads and independently elected offices to support their proposed budgets and answer questions from councilmembers.

The first budget hearing is scheduled to be held on March 25, 10 a.m. at City Council Chambers (Room 400, Fourth Floor). The H.O.M.E. Initiative budget hearing will be held on April 21, 10 a.m., in Council chambers.

The FY 2026 budget hearing schedule is subject to change. For the latest updates, visit https://phlcouncil.com/budget2026/