State Supreme Court saves BRT, at least partly
Despite the strong vote by Philadelphia residents in the spring to abolish the BRT, the State Supreme Court says the board can continue to exist and hear property tax appeals. The justices ruled that only the General Assembly could take away all the power of the BRT. The city did have the right to take away the board's power to assess properties in the first place, they ruled, so the mayor can go ahead with the plan, approved by voters in May, to open a new property tax assessment office. The plan to create a new independent appeals office, however, is on hold.
The Committee of Seventy
has called for quick action by the General Assembly to strip the BRT of its appeal power and restore the will of the city's voters.
Earlier: Philadelphia voters abolish the BRT:
By a strong margin, Philadelphia voters agreed on May 18 with the
Committee of Seventy and approved a ballot question to abolish the
dysfunctional Board of Revision of Taxes, the agency that determines the
value of city properties. The board will be replaced in the fall by two
separate agencies - one to determine property values and one to hear
appeals by property owners. This move is a major step forward for
Philadelphia and opens the way for broader reform of the city's tax
structure, which experts say is rickety and tends to discourage economic
growth.
For a detailed explanation of how the BRT system got so
bad and what the new system will look like, please see our pre-election
report:
"Bye, Bye, BRT."To
download a copy of the April 2010 Executive Director's report on the
BRT, which contains extensive information on the state of the agency
today, please click
here.
The
Committee of Seventy had strongly recommended a YES vote on the ballot
measure because (1) abolishing the BRT fits within Seventy’s mission to
fight for more effective government, and (2) can only be accomplished
through a Charter amendment. This is one of the most important ballot
questions to come before the voters in recent history. The BRT came
under blistering attack after the Philadelphia Inquirer exposed decades
of gross mismanagement and political deal-making. Mayor Nutter removed
its authority to assess the value of all city-owned properties in
October 2009. The BRT now only hears assessment appeals.
Seventy
has publicly argued that the BRT-run assessment and appeals system
severely prejudiced Philadelphia property owners and needed to be
changed. The May 18 ballot question replaces the BRT with two new
agencies that are certain to be more accountable than the current
agency, which is independent, but whose members are appointed by the
city’s judge with input from the Democratic and Republican parties.
Testimony:
President and CEO Zack
Stalberg recently testified in Philadelphia City Council on proposed
legislation to dramatically overhaul the BRT, which has been plagued by
allegations of mismanagement and ethical abuses.
Read Download
the Tesitmony here: Testimony
to City Council Committee of the Whole on reform of the Board of
Revision of Taxes (10/27/09) (PDF)
PRESS
RELEASEs
Vote to Kill the
BRT, Committee of Seventy Says
Committee
of Seventy Urges Urgent Action to Abolish the BRT
Committee of Seventy Reiterates Call for Removing BRT
Employees from School District Payroll