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Tuesday, January 10, 2012

What could the city sell off in 2012?

Which assets should the city sell?
Parking meters
Airport
Philadelphia Gas Works (PGW)
The water department
All of the above, and then some
Other
Nothing, our tax dollars built this stuff
View results

As part of WHYY's series "Just You Wait," which explores the words and phrases that you might hear a lot about this year, I was on the radio yesterday talking about public asset sales.

Public asset sales are when governments sell off their properties or utilities, like airports, parks or parking meters.

There are a few reasons why asset sales are poised to become the next big thing.

Mayor Michael Nutter has created a task force to examine selling city assets, among other things. Though a report from the task force isn't due until mid-2013, the city expects to hold public meetings on the idea before then.

Mayoral spokesman Mark McDonald said the task force, which is chaired by former mayoral candidate Tom Knox, is holding its first meeting today.

Also, Council president Darrell Clarke supports the idea of public asset sales and wants the city to look at different ways to raise money. At the inauguration last week, he said, "I believe we can use the assets we have in new ways to help create jobs and raise revenues."

Last year, Clarke floated the idea of selling or leasing the city's parking meters to raise money.

Council commissioned a report last year to examine ways to raise money and reduce costs. The report, which was done by Econsult Corporation, said, "If the city sold more assets to private companies or entities, including major parks, roads, bridges and buildings, it could potentially generate $100 million or more in upfront funds."

The report also said that this fiscal year's budget expects to yield about $2.5 million in capital asset sales, but "more aggressive and systematic disposition of capital assets could yield the city $5 million or more in net revenues."

Additionally, Councilman Bill Green plans to introduce a bill this year that would require that proceeds from public asset sales over a minimum amount — say, $1 million — be used to pay down the pension. He expects to hold hearings on the issue this year.

So will there be a "For Sale" sign at the airport this year? Not yet. But the public is likely to weigh in on asset sales at hearings in 2012 — which could become very contentious. And there might be more small-scale public asset sales (think buildings) in the near future, too.

You can listen to the full radio piece here.

Follow us on Twitter and review city services on our sister site, City Howl.
Posted by Holly Otterbein @ 5:16 PM  Permalink | 38 comments
Comments   
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 8:23 AM, 01/11/2012
    Whatever the city decides to sell, it should consider using professionals that excel in those areas -- such as auctioneers, Realtors, and factoring agents.
    — featherman
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 8:51 AM, 01/11/2012
    They shouldn't sell anything. PA just needs to get rid of the northern, useless half. If Pennsylvania was cut in two, we'd be a lot better off, and we'd get rid of a lot of money wasted on funding for people who live in places which simply don't matter. That money could be better used here in Philadelphia rather than wasted in say, Hughesville.
    — tynol10
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 10:43 AM, 01/11/2012
    They're only jurisdiction is Philadelphia. This is a city only initiative.
    — CleanupPhilly
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 10:48 AM, 01/11/2012
    Oops. The only jurisdiction is Philly. The sale of assets refer only to Philly.
    — CleanupPhilly
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 4:35 PM, 01/11/2012
    LOL. Pittsburgh should become part of Ohio.
    — gho_matt
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 8:30 AM, 01/11/2012
    They've already sold their souls (and not for Rock n Roll, either).
    — kjuggs77
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 8:49 AM, 01/11/2012
    This comment has been deleted.
    — Citizenc92
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 8:51 AM, 01/11/2012
    That's right! We will! Cause the other option leaves us totally screwed.
    — tynol10
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 9:37 AM, 01/11/2012
    As opposed to right now?
    — kjuggs77
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 8:50 AM, 01/11/2012
    This doesn't seem like it makes sense in the long run, sure you get the upfront cash, but you then lease the stuff back from a company. So you keep paying these monthly rates for years, there has to be a break even point down the road, and then after that you're losing money.
    — myawesomebike
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 8:54 AM, 01/11/2012
    Sell off all Section 8 housing and bulldoze it.
    — dontlikeneocons
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 10:53 AM, 01/11/2012
    Well, Section 8 is privately owed. These can be owned by private for profit or nonprofit landlords. What the city needs to do to maximize revenue is to be sure that nonprofits are in good standing or else reassess that property in real market values now.

    Some of the Sect. 8 nonprofits are not in goods standing, lost their federal IRS tax exemption, so they are no longer eligible for the city property tax exemption.

    Fixing this error by the city will net millions in new property tax revenue.
    — CleanupPhilly
  • Comment removed.
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 10:50 AM, 01/11/2012
    PHA does own a lot of empty lots and vacant buildings that they could sell, getting revenue for themselves and jump starting the economy by private builders in neighborhoods with an active real estate market.

    Why not have Nutter and Council form a real estate disposal policy in conjunction with city policy? Working together to sell off assets neither the city or PHA can use in areas that need growth and construction jobs makes sense and improves revenue for the city.
    — CleanupPhilly
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 10:55 AM, 01/11/2012
    Jojo I also agree that there are private for profit and nonprofit owners who will buy some of the pools from the city, even agreeing to keep running them as they are now run for the most part. Why not let a private swim club buy O'Connor for example, if it is a nonprofit? Why not let the YMCA buy some city pools for their swim programs?
    — CleanupPhilly


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Every year, city government spends slightly more than $4 billion. Where does all that money come from? More importantly, where does it go? Are we getting the most bang for our tax buck? “It's Our Money” is a joint project between Philadelphia Daily News and WHYY, funded by the William Penn Foundation, designed to answer these questions.




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