Council Gives Preliminary Approval to Property Tax Hike for Schools
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Council Gives Preliminary Approval to Property Tax Hike for Schools
Catherine Lucey
In a major policy reversal, City Council tonight opted to raise property taxes for a second year in a row to help bailout the cash-poor school district, rejecting Mayor Nutter’s preferred soda tax proposal.
Voting 11-6 in favor, Council approved a plan that would raise property taxes for one year by 3.5 percent, providing $37 million to the district. They also expect to dip into the city’s surplus fund balance and raise parking meter fees, bringing the total aid for schools to $53 million.
The deal marked a major political defeat for Nutter, who put all his chips on the line for a second year in the row to try and pass a sugary drinks tax.
Comments (72)
to Jame and babyboy go to opa.phila.gov--look at homes in bella vista and girard estate and see how little they pay. and my house is assessed for $25000 and i would be LUCKY to sell for $180000.— banana- "with the amount Philadelphia is spending on schools" - you mean about 23 percent less than the suburbs?
As for kindergarden being babysitting, I can't speak for other schools, but my kindergarden kid moved up 2 grade levels in reading this year, does basic math, writes journals and had homework 5 nights a week. That doesn't sound like babysitting to me.— philly_kid - City Council can go to hell and take Ackerman with them. The state has no confidence in her leadership, nor do the vast majority of local parents. The property tax hike is one more hit to people who are hanging on by a thread. Sadly this is going to lead to more hard working tax payers leaving the city. This nail in the coffin of citizenry morale is reminiscent of the last line of George Orwell's Animal Farm- "The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which."
— CurleyQLink - To those who think that they should have taxed "big soda" and that they have deep enough pockets to absorb it... wake up. What democrats don't seem to get about increasing taxes on corporations is that you are really increasing taxes on the citizens. It simply gets passed down. So whether it is a hike in property taxes or on soda, the ugly cycle continues... more taxes, more spending, more taxes, more spending, etc. This is what you get for basically supporting a one party system for all of these years.— 106S.P.Bailey
- Did you expect anything else based on the management style? Best part about the whole thing is Philadelphia voters will most diffidently vote for "more of the same" with the next election.....— Chef Joe
- all this in order to save free septa passes for all students who don't want to go to their neighborhood school & summer school and "alternative schools" for the teenage criminals. Money well spent philly.— philafan
Comment removed.- I can't afford to live here any more. See ya.— MomInPhilly
- Start collecting the $500+M in UNPAID taxes and then Vote the stupid tax and spend corruptocrats out.— jverlin
- Bend over and take it, Philadelphia. Most of all, keep voting Democrat.— Philly.Tru
- This is the first time I've considered leaving Philadelphia.— ptahan
- i wish i could move :(— banana
- Comment removed.
- Once again, Council members show they have no guts. Hey, money talks and the unions continue to run this lowlife city. It's a great idea to keep the poor and fat people drinking soda while taxpayers like me foot the bill for a despicable school district whose students shoot and beat one another and when they're bored, start a flash mob to attack everyone else. Anyone ever count how many people are on Queen Arlene's PR team? Over 20, many if them making over $80K. This city is dirty, crime ridden, and full of scum who play the race card, like Queen Arlene. Once this city turns 100% into a chocolate city, then your taxpaying base will laugh at you since most of them are only interested in buying big screen TVs and Escalades while they use their Access cards to buy candy and...SODA! Well done, ineffective city "leaders". I'll be taking my white flight soon out of this dump of a town-- it can't happen soon enough.— avivare1
- Lots of anger here directed at a mayor and council that has no control of the way schools are managed. The State is in charge, remember? It was the SRC that hired AA and decided on a budget.
No one here has mentioned the decision by Corbett to write a budget that shortchanges all schools in the state. There is over a half billion tax surplus in the state and talk of using some of it to pay for private school tuition.
Excuse me? But the state constitution does not say anything about providing free "private" schools and strictly forbids spending on religious education.
There is enough revenue for education in charging some kind of tax on the frackers who are ruining our water supply. But they are off limits.
And someone also said that we need to end the ten year tax abatement for an elite class of homeowner.
There are many sources of revenue that are presently off limits and unreasonably so.
We need to change the conversation to regaining local control of our schools. We need a locally appointed and elected school board to whom all school management and financial decisions are accountable.
Alain Leroy Locke who graduated from Central High School in Philadelphia, became the first African American Rhodes Scholar in 1910.
— Magistra
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Chris Brennan, a native Philadelphian and graduate of Temple University, joined the Daily News in 1999. He has written about SEPTA, the Philadelphia School District, the legalization of casino gambling, state government, the mayor, the governor, City Council and political campaigns. E-mail tips to brennac@phillynews.com
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David Gambacorta spent a small eternity writing about cops, drug dealers and serial killers. Now he’s writing about power and politics – which sometimes reminds him of the old crime beat. He joined the Daily News in 2005. And yes, he knows you’re not quite sure how to pronounce his last name. E-mail tips to gambacd@phillynews.com
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Jan Ransom, a native New Yorker, joined the Daily News in 2010 after graduating from Howard University. She has since written about the difficulty of filing police complaints, tax deadbeats and life after violent home invasions. She joined the Daily News City Hall Bureau in 2011 and has plunged headfirst into reporting on administration budget battles and City Council shenanigans. E-mail tips to ransomj@phillynews.com
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Sean Collins Walsh is from Bucks County and went to Northwestern University. He joined the Daily News copy desk in 2012 and now covers the Nutter administration. Before that, he interned at papers including The New York Times, The Dallas Morning News and The Seattle Times. E-mail tips to walshSE@phillynews.com
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Follow Chris on Twitter
David Gambacorta spent a small eternity writing about cops, drug dealers and serial killers. Now he’s writing about power and politics – which sometimes reminds him of the old crime beat. He joined the Daily News in 2005. And yes, he knows you’re not quite sure how to pronounce his last name. E-mail tips to gambacd@phillynews.com
Follow Dave on Twitter.
Jan Ransom, a native New Yorker, joined the Daily News in 2010 after graduating from Howard University. She has since written about the difficulty of filing police complaints, tax deadbeats and life after violent home invasions. She joined the Daily News City Hall Bureau in 2011 and has plunged headfirst into reporting on administration budget battles and City Council shenanigans. E-mail tips to ransomj@phillynews.com
Follow Jan on Twitter
Sean Collins Walsh is from Bucks County and went to Northwestern University. He joined the Daily News copy desk in 2012 and now covers the Nutter administration. Before that, he interned at papers including The New York Times, The Dallas Morning News and The Seattle Times. E-mail tips to walshSE@phillynews.com
Follow Sean on Twitter
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