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Council grills Nutter on tax-deadbeat collection plan

DURING a City Council hearing Tuesday, the first of six on tax delinquency, members questioned Mayor Nutter's proposal to spend millions as part of a massive effort to collect from tax deadbeats.

The 2300 block of Gerritt Street in Point Breeze includes three vacant houses. The city's lack of an efficient system for dealing with abandoned, tax-delinquent properties means such sites often remain festering for many years. In other cities, they would be cleared off within as little as a year.
The 2300 block of Gerritt Street in Point Breeze includes three vacant houses. The city's lack of an efficient system for dealing with abandoned, tax-delinquent properties means such sites often remain festering for many years. In other cities, they would be cleared off within as little as a year.Read more
    by BY JAN RANSOM, Daily News Staff Writer <a href="mailto:ransomj@phillynews.com">ransomj@phillynews.com</a>, 215-854-5218
    Published 

DURING a City Council hearing Tuesday, the first of six on tax delinquency, members questioned Mayor Nutter's proposal to spend millions as part of a massive effort to collect from tax deadbeats.

Nutter's plan, announced last month, includes investing $40 million in new employees and a new database to bring in $260 million from tax delinquents by 2018.

Members asked Revenue Commissioner Keith Richardson about the goals of Nutter's plan and why no portion of the anticipated revenue was included in the mayor's proposal for the coming fiscal year's budget.

"That's an issue when you talk about investing without including the return on the investment," said Council President Darrell Clarke. "Given the challenges associated with the Revenue Department, we need some sense that we will collect additional revenue."

City Finance Director Rob Dubow said at an unrelated meeting Tuesday that the administration had not included revenue projections because it wanted to ensure that the plan would work before counting on new money.

Dubow was certain about one thing, however: "If we don't make this investment, things won't get better."

- Staff writer Sean Collins Walsh contributed to this report.