Shuffle In Nutter's Team As Mayor Seeks More Revenue
Mayor Nutter this morning named Thomas Knudsen as his first revenue collection czar, a new position charged with "dramatically increasing" the collection of taxes, fees, fines and any other source of money due to the city.
Shuffle In Nutter's Team As Mayor Seeks More Revenue
Mayor Nutter this morning named Thomas Knudsen as his first revenue collection czar, a new position charged with “dramatically increasing” the collection of taxes, fees, fines and any other source of money due to the city.
Nutter also announced that Revenue Commissioner Keith J. Richardson, who previously was responsible for collecting the bulk of the city’s taxes, would be leaving for a post at the Philadelphia Housing Authority. Streets Commissioner Clarena I.W. Tolson will move to take over Richardson’s job.
Deputy Commissioner for Transportation David J. Perri will be acting Streets commissioner, Nutter said.
Knudsen, who will make $160,000, will have responsibility for taking a “global view” of revenue collections across all city agencies, Nutter said. While Revenue collects the lion's share of the city’s taxes, other city departments, such as Streets, Licenses and Inspections, police and fire, also bill for services and collect money through fees, fines and other mechanisms.
Knudsen has been a lauded manager of public institutions in crisis. His most vaunted accomplishment was turning the Philadelphia Gas Works from a money-losing mess into an efficient, profitable operation. He did his job so well that the city is now considering selling off the utility.
Knudsen, who spent more than 10 years at PGW, last held the title of chief recovery officer at the School District of Philadelphia, managing the district through its budget crisis until the new superintendent, William Hite, began work last fall.
“From my days at PGW I know high levels of collections from the citizens of this city are possible,” Knudsen said. “I know how critical that is.”
The collection of taxes has been a focus of Council and the mayor this year as the city moves to a new property tax system that promises to fix the badly broken and inequitable system now in place, but will shift the tax burden around the city in some painful ways. Large commercial properties, for example, are expecting their taxes to come down, while homeowners living in growing areas of the city are facing some eye-popping increases.
Although Nutter officials say the city collects more than 90 percent of property taxes, the administration has come under fire for not doing enough, especially with regards to delinquent payers, often speculators, who seem to avoid taxes on dilapidated properties with impunity.
Council has convened a number of hearings this year, asking how to wring out every tax dollar possible to keep down the property tax rate and minimize the hit on homeowners facing higher bills.
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Cut the pay down from Nutter and everyone else on the taxpayer payroll all these years. Then, get rid of all the entitlements and high-end perks. Cut back their Cadillac benefits and fat pensions like DROP etc. Address corruption before they get away with the cash-money instead of waiting until they spend it all. Take away city vehicles for lazy City Hall people and gas allowances. Put anyone caught cheating the taxpayer out of so much as a buck in jail. Cut the lavish catered parties and other nonsense too. Do these things and you will find all this money.— MS. LOU.- agree 100%. all the (useless) city workers in DC33 and 47 should be moved to 401k's immediately. no more cadillac pensions for these drones
- Yeah. Speaking of drones, that's another topic which doesn't get enough mainstream media attention. — MS. LOU.
- "City Has a Spending Problem" (Re-printed from, you guessed it, The Inq. May 6, '12)
The mayor's latest revenue initiative is as light on clear thinking and common sense as it is silent on the accountability against the very people who caused it: Arlene Ackerman and Michael Masch. Conceptually, my solution is as simple as it is fair. Collect all outstanding receivables from people and corporations who are delinquent – more than $450M all told. But these prevaricating liberals don’t see it that way. They would rather resort to fear tactics by saying that the schools won’t be able to open unless more than $90M of additional revenue is realized in less than 5 months. Philadelphia already has more revenue streams than even most countries: a property tax, sales tax, wage tax and real estate transfer tax. Enough! For many years, the city government has a spending problem. If left unchecked, the financial fabric of Philadelphia will become marred beyond redress as it already has in much of Europe. If tax assessments are adjusted under the mayor’s proposal, many property owners will see their real estate taxes more than double. That’s not fair to honest hard-working folks, especially in time of economic recession. I pay my taxes and I expect my neighbors to do the same. More than this, I expect the city to live within its means. The people need to wise up and demand to be treated fairly. The financial imperative of our time demands nothing less.
Submitted,
Jonathan R. Verlin
www.jverlin.com— jverlin - "Revenue Commissioner Keith J. Richardson, who previously was responsible for collecting the bulk of the city’s taxes, would be leaving for a post at the Philadelphia Housing Authority." The lesson here is if you're connected, you could totally suck at your job and you will just get moved to another position. I'd like to see where they get the "90% of property tax" collected. I'm going to have to call BS on that one. While we're at it, drop DROP!
- If we just put this deck chair here, and that deck chair over there, that iceburg is not gonna be a problem, because we make APPS and there are young people with no jobs that want to be here and ride their bikes! La la la— bullrun
- So why not put the names of delinquent taxpayers on a city website, and then offer a 10% or 15% "turn them in" finders fee program. Maybe their next door neighbor will see they are delinquent but driving late model luxury cars, taking trips, etc. or other resources, etc. Make it anonymous, like the Crime Commission rewards.— TheGuyfromPhilly
- They do have it online. You can see who owes how much at each address and how long they have owed the money. There is a color-coded map of the city, where the color indicates how many years the back taxes have been owed on each property.
Just because you're to lazy to look for it doesn't mean that it doesn't exist. There have been links to the lists in Philly.com stories. Do some work instead of making up stuff just to complain.— Tatt2 - Just shuffling seats around for connected lifetime government "workers" who suckle at the teet and accomplish zilch. The citizenry suffers while the machine grinds on and the bureaucrats by fancy suits at Boyd's.— #1 With A Bullet
- Clown mayor! Playing musical chairs isn't going to fool me! Get rid of that buffoon Richardson, get rid of redundant roles, but most importantly...get rid of yourself!— OohChildNoPhilly
- Can we PLEASE can we get a current or recent picture.— counselormom
- This one should have been titled "Future CZAR of Philadelphia"....hello? — hmmm
- 1 of 5 of our city tax dollars goes towards city overly generous pensions. I am ok with pensions, but the city continues to give, the taxpayers continue to give, and we the taxpayers are getting hosed. Eliminate the DROP right now. If you council person fails to vote to eliminate it, vote for the other person, whomever it is. The new person will not yet be corrupt. Change the pension calculation from 2.5% per year, to 2% per year. Even then, the city will be waaaayyy underfunded and only the taxpayers can make up the difference. So, move new city employees to social security, and a 401k that is matched up to 3%. That is what the rest of us, that pay the taxes, get from our employers.— misterpond
- David Perri is a great City official and it's good he's being elevated to Acting Streets Commissioner. He should be made permanent Commissioner.— NotADoneDeal
- City is collapsing but city council voted unanimously to keep DROP.— TEMPLE55
- From my days at PGW I know high levels of collections from the citizens of this city are possible,” Knudsen said. ***** Straight out of George Orwell*****— cementhead
- What a great story this is. I hope Mr. Knudsen brings his magic wand with him, because he still has to deal with the same team that historically is unable or unwilling to collect a bill.— axxell
- Knudsen is useless. We're sunk.— Themonkofmagdalena
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These fat cats treat us like Limburger.— Lil Tyreese Biggums
Why are the Democrats continually voted in? Answer: We have too many ignorant, lazy or uninformed voters in this city.
People, these Democrats do not care about you. Repeat...THEY DO NOT CARE ABOUT YOU! They care about how they can milk the system and line their pockets. More revenue! Translation: more taxes. I am gone in 2 years. Heading to the burbs. Where I know where my hard earned money is going.- KNudsen? Now that he has sucked up $25K a month from the school district for the past year, he's off to greener pastures. God help us.— pachysandra
- It's funny. Didn't Knudsen retire from PGW, and so isn't he collecting a pension? Here he is, so valuable that only he can help the school district and the city government, yet not so valuable that anyone else has hired him. So charitable that he can step in and help out with civic duties, yet not so charitable that he doesn't have to collect high salaries from the schools and the city on top of his pension.— bullrun
- Mayor Urkel knows he can't run to the state demanding more money with that story out there that he and his fellow elected Democrats have refused to collect taxes from his constituents. The rest of the state is going to tell the lot of them to drop dead. Expect our stenographer media to run with a press release, er, 'story' in a few months talking about the amazing progress that Knudsen and the city are making on collections, and how the state should now 'do it's part' and give Urkel all the money he wants for the schools. Or be called racists. Lather, rinse, repeat.— b,ill a,tkins
- Knudsen just go away,you really cleanup the school dist. BIG Fraud.— aguckin
- Dave Perri is the first good decision this mayor has made.— cityslicker
- This is like shuffling the deck chairs on the Titanic.— wislad
- Yeah. Like standing there on deck playing violins for a captive audience. — MS. LOU.
- Like it or not D-Bags, Philly is on the rise. I know it hurts your head, but facts is facts. People want to live here, stores are opening, and downtown and surrounding environs have been on the upswing for A DECADE with no end in sight. Love it or leave it BABY!!!!— Mackey Dingo
- It's about time. Most deadbeats in Philly know that they can get away without paying taxes. Let the sucker middle class pay all the taxes.— neddyflanders
- Pfft. Facts is facts? Facts are that employment is down in the past DECADE while the labor force is up. More people chasing fewer jobs, what a success story. Unemployment rate in Philadelphia city/county January 1993, 7.9 percent. January 2013, 11.7 percent. You know what's going to help that? NUTTER RAISING TAXES AGAIN FOR THE FOURTH YEAR IN A ROW.— bullrun
- Pachysandra, the article did not say Knudsen would not be retained as a consultant for SDP @ $25K per month as well as appointed TAX CZAR @ $160,000 per annum. Until that is clarified, my bet is he stays on the district's books. Like Penny Nixon? Is she still drawing salary/benefits during her sabbatical?— hmmm
- I agree with the comment about David Perri moving up to acting Streets Commissioner. He is a consumate professional. Good decision, congrats.— Eileen OB
- Another nutter fiasco in the making.— anti-tax
- How is Knudsen going to collect all those taxes? From whom? Certainly not from the politically-connected slum lords who owe the bulk of them. They have a "Get out of jail free" card issued by the Dem party.— DonQ
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