Title
Proposing An Amendment To The Philadelphia Home Rule Charter To Provide Accountability To City Council For Real Property Assessment Increases; And Providing For The Submission Of The Proposed Amendment To The Electors Of Philadelphia.
Body
WHEREAS, The Philadelphia Home Rule Charter requires that the annual operating budget be balanced; and
WHEREAS, The Real Estate Tax is a major source of revenue for the City of Philadelphia; and
WHEREAS, Real Estate Tax revenue can be increased either through a City Council approved increase in the tax rate or through an increase in real property assessments; and
WHEREAS, The 2019 assessments resulted in the median market value of single-family homes increasing from 2018 by 10.5 percent from $112,800 to $124,600; while 48 of Philadelphia's 57 neighborhoods saw increases, with the "North Philadelphia/West" neighborhood - containing Brewerytown and Strawberry Mansion - rising the most, increasing 47.1 percent between 2018 and 2019; and
WHEREAS, The 2019 real property assessments amount to a big Real Estate Tax revenue increase without a Real Estate Tax rate increase-essentially a "backdoor" tax increase; and
WHEREAS, Pennsylvania State Law mandates that real property assessments be based on the "actual value thereof" to accomplish "equalization with other similar properties within the taxing district" considering three methods: cost of reproduction or replacement; comparable sales; and income; approaches considered in conjunction with one another; and
WHEREAS, Real property assessments should result in increases or decreases in actual value as warranted by the real estate market, independent of the need to balance the annual operating budget; and
WHEREAS, Under Section 6 of the First Class City Home Rule Act (53 P.S. ?13106), an amendment to the Philadelphia Home Rule Charter may be proposed by a resolution of the Council of the City of Philadelphia adopted with the concurrence of two-thirds of its elected mem...
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