Council appears set to delay AVI for a year
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Council appears set to delay AVI for a year
Catherine Lucey and Jan Ransom
City Council appears set to approve a plan to delay the mayor's proposed property tax overhaul by a year and provide $40 million in funding to the school district.
"I think what we've reached is a great compromise which protects taxpayers from unanticipated increases," said Councilman Bill Green.
Mayor Nutter had proposed to move the city to a property tax system based on market values, known as the Actual Value Initiative (AVI), and wanted to raise $94 million for schools in the process. But over the past week, Council members grew increasingly nervous about the plan, raising questions about the fact that assessments are not yet complete and state enabling legislation has not yet passed.
Nutter, who had been in Orlando, FL for the annual meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, jetted back Wednesday night to try to revived the deal. He spent most of Thursday huddled in his office with members
Defying Nutter's requests, Council members said they will approve a plan to keep the current property tax system for the 2012-2013 fiscal year, with a pledge to go to AVI the following year. The schools funding -- far less than Nutter sought -- would be $40 million through a property tax hike and an increase to a business tax known as the use and occupancy tax.
Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown said she was glad some money would go to schools.
“I’ve been consistent and persistent that whatever the end agreement is, we continue to help the school district,” said Brown. “Can we deliver what the mayor asked for? It takes 9.”
The Nutter administration has warned Council that keeping the current tax system could result in costly property tax appeals, based on a ruling from a state tax board. But members said they were hopeful that state lawmakers could provide some relief from that threat.
Seriously they have NO idea what they're doing down there. Let me guess, so now to get the PSD the $94 million (they're begging for) we'll all incur another 'Temporary Tax'? Yet another year of Philadelphia tax inequity. All because they cant realize a 1 - 1.25% millage rate would work. And 1.6 - 1.8% was absurd. I really hope they'll FINALLY go after some of that 515 Million in DELINQUENT taxes ... those are the monies that should go to the PSD. Not anything out of our wallets.— kennedy2
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Re: "Nutter, who had been in Orlando, FL for the annual meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors."
HMMM. You can't go out one day cutting the ribbon at Shake Shack at 20th and Walnut and the next day head to D.C. and speak out against sugar without being called a hypocrite. Now, you're the attack dog for Obama against Romney. Love that you think you can lecture Romney on what it takes to run the country when you can't even run the City of Philadelphia. What happened to "A New Day, a New Way?" Advise: Rather than going on tour, why not (1) work on reducing the murder rate, (2) get concessions from the public sector unions, and (3) collect back taxes from scofflaws.- I went to school in Philly from k-12 (and college). We always had about 50 students in a class. Most of my class mates seemed to get a pretty good education. Money and class size did not seem to matter that much.
Does anybody have any figures on how much is spent per student in Philly vs the suburbs?
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- @ CleanupPhilly - Wow, never thought I would say that, but Nutter fooled me, I really thought he was a reformer and was different then the rest of them, but was I wrong, they are the same, nothing has changed. The John Street/Johnny Doc administration that embarrsed our city in the movie "Shame of a City", that Nutter said he was going to change, then he supports Johnny Doc zombie Mark Squilla for City Council, so as we see, the names have changed, but our city keeps looking more and more like Detroit everyday because of how many people are leaving this city. But hey with people like the John Street/Johnny Doc/Mark Squilla team running City Hall, can you blame them ?— Fred Druding, Jr.
- What the Heck is going on here? They're raising property taxes again!!!?? A third "temporary" increase? This has to be illegal. Have these buffoons found a way to just keep adding on "temporary" tax increases? Where does it stop? Isn't there a real estate attorney out there with ethics who'll go to court and rip the City to shreds? We can't keep taking this abuse without responding or impeaching somebody..Nutter? Council? OPA? Let's start a counterattack and really throw these idiots some legal challenges instead of meekly letting these incompetent bandits continue to rob the citizens of Philadelphia.— oblekr
- How much more money is the city going to throw at a failing school system. Nobody seems to be discussing the failure of the family structure in the inner city. These "students" are not held accountable for their behavior at home. How are the teachers supposed to control them? Throwing more money into the system is just a waste. I don't know what the answer is, but you can raise taxes as much as you want,and continue to throw money away, but if you don't hold the parents(if you can find them)responsible for their children nothing is ever going to change in the public school system.— jen2990
