The outcry from homeowners over property-tax increases reached a new pitch yesterday as City Council began public hearings.
Disgruntled residents were among those to testify in favor of a bevy of bills that would offer relief to property owners, some of whom were slapped with tax increases of more than 300 percent. Also addressing Council were members of the Board of Revision of Taxes and the Street administration.
On Tuesday, First District Councilman Frank DiCicco held a press conference to rally support for legislation he introduced and two bills that were drafted by Council President Anna Verna and Fourth District Councilman Michael Nutter.
"The time has come," DiCicco said. "We have been talking for years about the inequity of these things. Now may be an opportune time because the public is demanding it."
Hearings will likely continue next week.
DiCicco wants the city to freeze real-estate tax reassessments and bill homeowners at the same rate as last year. The councilman said this would give Council time to consider other tax legislation on its docket.
Verna and Nutter drafted a pair of bills that would cap property-tax increases at 10 percent a year. DiCicco and Council members James Kenney, Marian Tasco, Angel Ortiz, Frank Rizzo Jr. and David Cohen cosponsored the bill.
Tenth District Councilman Brian O’Neill introduced a similar bill capping increases at 4 percent.
Verna also introduced a resolution with Nutter authorizing City Council’s Finance Committee to investigate the practices of the Board of Revision of Taxes that led to the recent rise in tax assessments.
"Council clearly is concerned with what’s been going on," said Verna’s spokesperson Bob Previdi, "and we do not think it is in the best interest of the city to see these kinds of increases continue."
State politicians also are expected to begin discussing the issue this week in Harrisburg. Their participation is necessary because the BRT is a state body. Gubernatorial candidates Ed Rendell and Mike Fisher are both promising property-tax reform if elected in November.
DiCicco and Verna each have been busy meeting with constituents upset over tax bills for the past several weeks. DiCicco has attended four community meetings throughout his district, and he said a fifth is likely before the Oct. 7 deadline to file appeals.
The councilman mailed 31,000 letters and tax appeal forms to homeowners in his district. The councilman is encouraging residents to mail their appeals to his office. So far, he has received 1,500 applications.
Counting a meeting last night in Southwest Philly, Verna has been to seven community gatherings on the issue.
"She is absolutely astonished at what she has been hearing," Previdi said, adding one constituent’s taxes increased by 225 percent.
Two weeks ago, Verna addressed 300 residents at the Stella Maris school hall, along with Councilman-at-Large Rizzo. They promised Council’s attention to the issue.
A member of the BRT explained how the city assesses property taxes, but the audience showed little patience for learning the intricacies of the city’s formulas.
Residents had two things on their minds, said Judy Cerrone, president of the Stadium Community Council: learning how to complete the appeal form and mailing it in.
"The whole neighborhood is appealing," Cerrone said.
She collected 157 applications at the meeting, and residents were still calling her this week asking for blank forms, she said.
Cerrone said she feels she is being penalized for staying in the city, and finds no satisfaction that the higher taxes reflect the increased market value of her home.
"We’re not selling," she said. "It doesn’t matter if our property value is higher if we are not going anywhere."
Cerrone has been notified that the taxes on her home on the 3100 block of South Juniper Street are about to increase from $400 to $2,100 annually.
According to the BRT, more than 55 percent of the 485,000 homeowners in the city have been notified that their taxes are increasing. Homes are taxed at 2.6 percent of their market value in Philadelphia. Taxes are adjusted when five properties within one neighborhood are sold within three years.
Residents can learn the market value of homes in their neighborhood by logging onto www.phila.gov and clicking "Search Property Assessment."
