PhillyTablet Inquirer Daily News
Mobile
Home Delivery
philly.com
email
font size
comments
29
options
 
Friday, September 25, 2009

City: New Hires Must Pay City Bills Before Starting Work

The city is getting tough on bill collection.

Top officials today approved new regulations that would require all potential civil service and exempt employees be fully paid on all city taxes and fees -- or have entered a payment agreement -- before they could start a city job.

Revenue Commissioner Keith Richardson said the city will check to see if a new hire is up to date on bills and taxes. If they owe money, they'll get 20 days to either pay in full or enter a payment agreement through payroll deductions.

The city Administrative Board – which includes the mayor, the managing director and the finance director -- today approved a new civil service regulation that would cover civil service hires. That policy should be in place in a month. And a similar rule was approved for non-civil service hires also.

Richardson said the city has also been cracking down on current employees who owe. Letters were sent to 1,491 city workers with delinquent bills in May. The number with outstanding bills is down to 872 now. Richardson said the city controller is expected to soon send them a letter warning of payroll deductions if the employees don't settle the debts.
Posted by Catherine Lucey @ 11:35 AM  Permalink | 29 comments
Comments   
  • Comment removed.
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 11:51 AM, 09/25/2009
    Anyone working for the city who has not paid property taxes in Full must be jailed if they owe over $10k. Others owing lesser amount must begin immediate 5 year maximum payment plan with interest. ACORN is run by George Soros, invesigate it yourself.
    — BFlint
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 12:53 PM, 09/25/2009
    Entering a payment agreement is not "tough" though, and this law should be retroactive for all city employees, or else it is just window dressing, just a fake effort at reform lite. The city employees can pay in full, and use their credit cards or other a home equity loan, or some private financing. The city can't afford to be the bank of debtors, because the interest is not that much. It's not worth it to the city to be in the business of extending credit, so creditors have to do that, and the bill paid to the city in full. Or else the city has to have serious penalties and interest that can't be forgiven by the local politico in a strict, non-tamperable, impermeable, non-political billing and collection process. Right now the Dept. of Revenue is hardly better than the BRT -- there are numerous ways "around" the official policy, even this one. The system is devoid of any real controls or integrity, and the city and schools will not get the money they need.
    — CleanupPhilly
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 12:54 PM, 09/25/2009
    People retire and so the city does have to hire some new people even in economic downturns to fill key positions. And while it might be an interesting idea to report late property taxes to the credit bureaus, we don't do that in the state of Pennsylvania. We don't even do that when people buy properties at sherrif's tax lien sales and then don't pay the taxes on the building going forward -crazy as that sounds. This is a very resonable proposal despite the off-topic rants on ACORN above.
    — seand
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 12:54 PM, 09/25/2009
    It only requires a sheriff sale of any property that owes over a certain amount for a certain time to made clear to the public. This baffles me why they mayor has not done so. How can no one know the clear drop dead date before the city forecloses on your property for not paying taxes? How can a city run like this? In most cities you can't owe one year of your assessment for more than one year, or foreclosure and sheriff sale is automatic until the full bill is paid.
    — CleanupPhilly
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 12:59 PM, 09/25/2009
    There's no distinction between any owner buying at any process and not paying taxes. You have to pay property taxes in any other place in the rest of PA. If you buy at sheriff sale, you have to pay, if you don't you have to pay. There's no logic to drawing a line. Any property tax debt, like any credit card debt should be reportable debt because the creditor gets a better picture of the moral standards of the borrower, and their diligence. This is just good government that keeps borrowing costs low in urban areas. That's where the Democrats have failed in Philly, and the "new" Dems have to ask themselves if they can support these policies that keep costs high for borrowers, defund Philly schools, and cause the city to need crisis-borrow, all for a few cheap votes from deadbeats. Where are those good Dems in Philly?
    — CleanupPhilly
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 1:03 PM, 09/25/2009
    The Philly Dems are trying to spare bad agencies, low performers, who have all this property and are not paying property taxes, from losing their property at sheriff sale. But consider that this will put fire under their butts to get back to work and fulfill their mandate, all while growing the Philly tax base. It keeps people on top of things. That's why property taxes are a the most significant source of revenue in most cities and not wage taxes. You want to compel private owners to invest as much as possible into their property, not reward blight by not collecting property taxes or assessing at market value. The city can't survive without living in the market place in real time.
    — CleanupPhilly
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 1:11 PM, 09/25/2009
    Let's put it another way. Can school kids get into a payment plan to the School District to borrow to get good schools, or do they depend on the cash being paid in full? Payment plans for people who are already way late are not going to work, that's why credit card companies don't do things that way. If we want good schools, we have to get real.
    — CleanupPhilly
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 1:18 PM, 09/25/2009
    Isn't the city on a hiring freeze? At least certain departments are.. except for city council and the mayor's office whose budget has increased in the budget crisis
    — streetjustice
  • Comment removed.
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 3:22 PM, 09/25/2009
    good question streetj...they said that and are supposed to be, Budget Crisis? But are currently hiring and promoting anyway....just need to do a little investigating DN and inky
    — uandwhosearmy
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 4:05 PM, 09/25/2009
    do the same for those already on the payrolll....and watch the leeches run....fire political hacks.....start firing, fining and issue eviction notices to all city personel, companies doing buisness with the city and all propertie owners in the city.....
    — nuggett
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 4:05 PM, 09/25/2009
    The Managing Director and the Finance Director need to report delinquent accounts to the city to the three credit bureaus. Period. That is standard, normal operating procedure in even the tiniest municipality. Then a sentence to that effect can be added to the billing and the city website with links to payment. This is not rocket science, people.
    — CleanupPhilly
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 4:10 PM, 09/25/2009
    This measure has no teeth because of the payment plan provision. Pure and simple, if your city taxes are not paid in full, you should be prohibited from working for the city.
    — jfar86
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 4:17 PM, 09/25/2009
    The city makes it very hard to pay them in some cases, and has a habit of losing a check and then charging penalties even after crediting a payment to principal.
    — dartvader


29 comments | View All Comments | View All By Latest
View comments: 1  |  2
About The Philly Clout Team
PhillyClout
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.
 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.

Catherine Lucey joined the Daily News in 2002 and has written about murderous drug gangs, political protesters and Harry Potter. After covering the 2007 mayoral election, she moved over to the City Hall bureau where she has been reporting on the Nutter administration.
 Follow Catherine 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.
 Follow Jan on Twitter



Share your tips

Catherine Lucey
luceyc@phillynews.com

Chris Brennan
brennac@phillynews.com

Jan Ransom
Ransomj@phillynews.com
Advertise Here