Mayor Appoints L&I Commissioner

Frances Burns returns to city government as Philadelphia’s new L&I Commissioner. Mayor Nutter announced the appointment July 18. Burns is currently the executive director of the Manayunk Development Corporation and will take over at L&I next month. Formerly Deputy Commissioner for Administrative and Technology Services at L&I, Nutter considers Burns’ history with the department an asset. “Frances knows this department, she has a clear vision for its future, and she is highly capable of making the changes that we need,” the mayor said in a written statement.

L&I is the chief regulatory agency for the City of Philadelphia, administering and enforcing the city’s codes on building, property maintenance, business, and zoning, among others. As the department responsible for issuing every permit or license required by city business people, homeowners, developers, and others, the process can be confusing and slow. That’s why Frances Burns intends to focus changes on improving customer service and streamlining current practices. “I have asked Frances to undertake a top-to-bottom review of the department and to propose a restructuring that will be consistent with our overall goal of bringing predictability to the planning and permitting processes,” Nutter stated. 

Prior to her role as deputy at L&I, Frances Burns served in the Managing Director’s Office as Assistant Managing Director and as Assistant Budget Director in the Office of Budget and Program Evaluation. Burns’ public service also includes a position as Director of Capital Analysis and Operations at the Pennsylvania Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority and work as a representative of the Mayor’s Business Action Team for the City of Philadelphia’s Commerce Department. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and a Masters of Public Administration, both from Villanova University.

For more on Burns’ plans for L&I, visit http://www.planphilly.com/node/3579 .