Police forensics lab financing is now law after a 17-0 vote

Philadelphia's new police forensics lab has its financing. City Council voted 17-0 on Oct. 15 to approve $40 million in bonds for the lab at 4101 Market St., and Mayor Cherelle L. Parker signed the bill Oct. 19, according to Legistar.

This affects how fast crimes get solved. Council members said the current lab's cramped space has slowed ballistics and other testing, the Inquirer reported. The new site is meant to expand DNA, ballistics and digital evidence work. The lab could open as early as 2027, the paper reported.

The money

According to the Inquirer:

• Total construction cost is about $90 million, according to an administration spokesperson.
• About $50 million was already set aside in earlier budgets. The new $40 million in bonds covers build-out, construction and equipment.
• The city expects to pay about $11.4 million a year in rent once the lab is running.
• Construction began in December 2025. The site search started under former Mayor Jim Kenney.

Bill 260691 does not issue city bonds directly. It approves a service agreement with the Philadelphia Authority for Industrial Development (PAID). PAID issues the bonds, and the city promises to make the service-fee payments that cover them each year. Under the ordinance, the city covenants to budget those payments in every fiscal year they are due.

What our records add

• Sponsors: Council President Kenyatta Johnson and Majority Leader Katherine Gilmore Richardson, who chairs the Finance Committee.
• Timeline: Introduced Sept. 17. Heard by the Finance Committee on Oct. 7, which approved it unanimously, the Inquirer reported. First reading came Oct. 8, final passage Oct. 15, and the mayor's signature Oct. 19. That is 32 days from introduction to law.
• The roll call. The Oct. 15 vote was 17-0, recorded member by member. Voting yes were Cindy Bass, Kendra Brooks, Mike Driscoll, Jamie Gauthier, Katherine Gilmore Richardson, Jim Harrity, Curtis Jones Jr., Quetcy Lozada, Brian O'Neill, Anthony Phillips, Mark Squilla, Isaiah Thomas, Nina Ahmad, Rue Landau, Nicolas O'Rourke, Jeffery Young Jr. and Council President Johnson.

Gilmore Richardson said residents have long asked for the department's forensic operation to be modernized, the Inquirer reported. Public Safety Committee chair Curtis Jones Jr. called the process long but essential, according to the paper.

Also on the police front

The Oct. 22 meeting record includes an Oct. 20 letter from the mayor to Council. In it, she says her administration intends to submit a contract proposal to the Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge 5, beginning the collective bargaining process. Police contracts drive one of the largest lines in the city budget.

What's next

With financing approved, the remaining work is construction and fit-out. The opening date depends on that schedule. Council's budget hearings next spring will be the next public checkpoint on the lab's costs, including the first rent payments.