The biggest debate in this year's budget process is going to be Mayor Nutter's plan to shift the city to a property tax system that uses market values.
The administration yesterday said that they will collect an additional $90 million in property taxes from residents under the "Actual Value Initiative." That revenue all goes to the school district. The change will also effectively make permanent the revenue increases from two tax boosts that had been billed as temporary.
One big question mark is whether Nutter can get Council to approve the plan. Here's what some members had to say about the plan:
1st District Councilman Mark Squilla: "I think the people in my district are going to look at it as a tax increase. It's an increase in revenues, it's an increase in taxes."
At-Large Councilman Bill Green: "They should share the data with us that they have. I think they should give us and citizens confidence that there is data and evidence behind the assumption that this can be revenue neutral on the city side."
Council President Darrell Clarke: "We're going to have to do it at some point. The issue is the timeliness of getting accurate information."