Nutter: Pols Shouldn't Stoke Fear On AVI
At a news conference this morning to discuss a series of upcoming public sessions on his property tax reform effort, the Actual Value Initiative (AVI), Mayor Nutter also addressed concerns raised by some elected officials that the recent citywide reassessment was rife with errors.
Nutter: Pols Shouldn't Stoke Fear On AVI
Troy Graham @troyjgraham on Twitter
At a news conference this morning to discuss a series of upcoming public sessions on his property tax reform effort, the Actual Value Initiative (AVI), Mayor Nutter also addressed concerns raised by some elected officials that the recent citywide reassessment was rife with errors.
In particular, Nutter was asked about a letter this week from Controller Alan Butkovitz, a frequent AVI critic, who asked for detailed information on the methodology used to calculate the assessments and their overall accuracy.
Butkovitz said his office had run six different tests on the numbers, five of which showed that values assigned to single family residences were off-the-mark by a wide margin.
Nutter said Chief Assessor Richie McKeithen, “who actually is an expert in this area – I’m not sure the Controller is – will be putting together a comprehensive and detailed response.”
“I think it’s pretty clear, unfortunately, that some of the information the Controller has put out is just inaccurate and wrong,” Nutter said. “I think it’s unfortunate if that’s being done in an effort to basically scare the hell out of people.”
McKeithen also said today that about 6,000 people have filed for a “first level review” – a way to appeal an assessment with the Office of Property Assessment. The deadline to file for that review is March 31. The deadline to file a formal appeal with the Board of Revision of Taxes is Oct. 7.
Butkovitz responded to the mayor’s comments today by noting that the city has been working on the reassessment for more than two years.
“The public has a right to know how this process was created and implemented – that is what I requested,” he said. “The methodology for each property owner's assessment should have been in the envelope with the new assessment.”
Asked about a proposal from Councilman Mark Squilla to phase-in changes in tax bills over four years, Nutter said not enough focus had been placed on property owners who will see a decrease in their bills thanks to AVI.
“There are a bunch of folks who for decades have been paying more than they should. We should be as concerned about remedying that situation as some who might be about the increases,” the mayor said. “The phase-in delays those who rightfully should be getting the lower bill right now.”
The news conference ended on a question from KYW’s Mike Dunn, who asked Nutter if he was concerned about elected officials politicizing AVI and using fears about the reassessment for their own gain.
“I cannot imagine any responsible elected official in this city engaging in that kind of activity regarding something so serious,” Nutter said. “I don’t know any that could be that irresponsible.”
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Nutter is a joke!!!! he knows the numbers are wrong and will play hide and seek as long as he can.— UNIONJACK- This is too precious! A cockfight on The Animal Farm! Hey fellas...you shoulda used Zillow like I said two years ago and then thrashed out the details. Sorta like what you'll do now with a fleet of new patronage hirees. Hom much is this AVI costing Philadelphia tax payers ? We hired 66 new suits at $45,000 per suit. That's a lot of coin and patronage. Yo Butkovitz, cough up the numbers. You're the Controller. How much have we been soaked already on this mess?— Themonkofmagdalena
- Butkovitz has been playing chess with Nutter and winning just like the child Nutter lost to a few weeks back.
Butkovitz has been acurate and on target every step of the way on this AVI situation. Nutter has been wrong since taking office and losing on the "close the Library and rec centers" case all the way through the Fire Fighters arbitration and everything in between. His legacy will be "and the people said please bring back John Street" what a waste of five years and no promise of anything better in the next three.
— UNIONJACK - Nutter knows that the AVI figures are manufactured and probably about 10 to 15% high for most people. Those who managed to get their assessment lowered aren't the issue at the moment. It's the 90% who had them raised. The assessors sat in their offices (to date I have not met one homeowner who saw, talked to or had a "hanger" or questionnaire left on their property.) Where are these people? I keep asking and see that my contacts are all saying they received increases, especially in the NE area. So much for little change in that part of the city, eh? Add to that the built in inflated assessments and you have a formula that only benefits the City. When you call in, they'll cut 5 or 10% off your already robust new figures to make you think you've won a victory. You have not. The City, remember, raised our rates about 15% over the past three years. Now, they'll add more on to those artificial figures. See what I'm driving at? We can't win because the City has lied from Day One. Sure, certain areas needed "adjustments" to align values with reality, but the City very subtlely pumped up enough homes to guarantee another "windfall" profit for the treasury. We had a $133 Million Budget surplus last year due to the City raising our taxes unnecessarily and this year, we're already way ahead in tax recipts, showing another surplus. Insrtead of living within its means, the Mayor and his cronies are pressing for maximun income. Damn the honesty, they want money!! I'm still asking where the $400 million surplus is hidden. No one will talk.....— oblekr
- It's ashame people don't realize that just because their appraisal has gone up it doesn't mean that their taxes will. They are working on changing the tax rate also. My appraisal was 11K less than the bank appraised it at 4 months ago.— gemini48
- I have no issue with my assessment. I MAY have a big issue with my tax. Even with the homestead exemption, my taxes will go up either $50 or $300 based on the rate. For who, for what?— Themonkofmagdalena
