Guest Commentary: Mayor Kenney, Who Are You Going to Fire?
Guest Commentary: Mayor Kenney, Who Are Y'all Going to Fire?
A court ruled that the Metropolis illegally taxed property owners nearly $fifty one thousand thousand. A skillful government watchdog wonders who volition exist held accountable
Jul. 24, 2019
The same cast of characters in City Hall who lost track of more than than $30 million and who compiled hundreds of millions of dollars of financial errors are at it once again. While their past actions have been largely errors on urban center ledgers, their most-recent misadventures will have tangible impacts for Philadelphia residents. This time, the hubris and lawbreaking of high-ranking Kenney administration finance officials will toll the metropolis and schoolhouse district virtually $l one thousand thousand in refunds that must be provided to property owners who were illegally taxed by the city in 2018. Every dollar of the $50 meg is a dollar that now cannot go to reduce violence, improve schools, clean streets, or reduce the high burden of city taxes.
In a ruling with wide-ranging implications for city real-estate taxation, a Philadelphia guess confirmed that, indeed, taxation must be uniform and the city may non pick and cull which properties to revalue for taxation purposes in a given year. The estimate ended that, when city finance officials decided to concentrate re-assessment activities on commercial properties to generate additional real estate tax revenues in 2018, the activeness violated the Pennsylvania State Constitution. In his ruling, the judge concluded:
"The Metropolis claims there is no show of political force per unit area on the Office of Property Assessment to finish the Revenue enhancement Year 2022 reassessments without a complete reassessment of all backdrop. In that location is ample prove of such political pressure level. The court therefore concludes the desire and demand of City Council for revenue from a targeted reassessment of commercial properties was a substantial motivating factor."
He then ordered the city to refund tens of millions of dollars to aggrieved commercial-holding owners.
Every once in a while, the sharp smack in the face of a truthful result provides a moment of clarity to bring some real change.
Of form, this is not the but time that the metropolis has violated the police and illegally reassessed certain properties. Another case involving the latest round of reassessments is making its way through the court system today on behalf of residential existent-estate taxpayers to attack this very illegal but very common Philadelphia finance exercise. While an appeal of this most-contempo ruling is probable, the law that demands fair valuation for all properties is clear and justice is unrelenting.
The stunning and blatant condone for the law demonstrated by height city officials with regard to city real-manor assessment practices continues without sanction or accountability from the mayor. Despite a legal requirement to publish the urban center's assessment methodology, meridian city finance officials pass up to deliver the legally mandated transparency. Independent analyses conclude that city assessments still fail to meet industry standards for fairness. That willful disregard for the law and for the residents of Philadelphia who deserve an open and transparent authorities may be tremendously frustrating. But, as the multi-meg-dollar consequences of this contempo legal ruling should make clear, there is a true and expensive cost to Philadelphia for the law-breaking ways of our city-finance honchos.
It is long past fourth dimension for Philadelphia to properly, accurately, and fairly administrate annual real-estate revenue enhancement assessment—and it is long past time for Mayor Kenney to oust the tiptop finance officials responsible for the connected lawbreaking that has now toll the city and schoolhouse district so dearly. (Of course, if the orders to break the law are coming from the mayor, himself, it is time for city finance officials to blow the whistle and tell the public how our government is truly administered.)
The stunning and blatant disregard for the law demonstrated by top city officials with regard to city real-estate assessment practices continues without sanction or accountability from the mayor.
In then many cases, Philadelphia government officials wait the other mode when they should exist enforcing the constabulary (looking at you, officials who do not ticket those who park in the South Broad Street median, and yous, officials who exercise non crack down on construction disruptions that force pedestrians off sidewalks into decorated streets). In so many ways, Philadelphia authorities officials put their thumbs on the scale to help the connected and victimize the public (talking virtually you, architects of land sales through councilmanic prerogative and you lot, crafters of the police-administration building deal). In and so many instances, the do-it-and-duck mentality in Philadelphia authorities counts on inadequate enforcement mechanisms to preserve the capacity to do wrong (pointing a finger at you, who flaunt campaign-finance rules and yous, who inadequately inspect construction and demolition sites).
In all these ways, corrupt, unjust, and illegal activities persist because we, collectively, provide no result to terminate the wrongdoing. Merely, every once in a while, the sharp smack in the confront of a true consequence provides a moment of clarity to bring some real modify. Hopefully, that is the case with this judicial ruling and the hope of $50 one thousand thousand worth of reasons to create some true accountability.
Burn down the officials responsible for the decision to blatantly break the law.
Hire officials who will run a fair and just organisation of existent-estate assessment.
Repeat for every other instance of systemic lawbreaking and injustice being carried out by city government.
Brett Mandel is sometime executive director of Philadelphia Forward, a nonprofit that encourages civic engagement and advocates for smarter uses of public money. He ran for City Controller in 2013.
Photo via Flickr 
Source: https://thephiladelphiacitizen.org/guest-commentary-mayor-kenney-who-are-you-going-to-fire/
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