Philadelphia 2035 (Pittsburgh, Chester, New Castle: association fees, expired, candidates)

[cpomp]

https://www.philly.com/politics/prim...-20190415.html

Is it me or are others not too enthused with the lineup presented here? A few positives in there though, I have to read up more on the people I like so far.

Also, what is the tax abatement suddenly the devil?

Ronald James Adams, Democrat:

Tax abatement reform. With a 26% percent poverty rate and our schools so under funded, it’s past time to enact legislation to either cap, slowly reduce or target the tax abatement in Philadelphia. I was happy that councilwoman Gym introduced tax abatement reform last year, and was disappointed it was tabled. If elected this will be the first piece of legislation I would champion.

So we are blaming the high poverty rate on the abatement now? Or am I missing something....?

[Redddog]

Originally Posted by cpomp

https://www.philly.com/politics/prim...-20190415.html

Is it me or are others not too enthused with the lineup presented here? A few positives in there though, I have to read up more on the people I like so far.

Also, what is the tax abatement suddenly the devil?

Ronald James Adams, Democrat:

Tax abatement reform. With a 26% percent poverty rate and our schools so under funded, it’s past time to enact legislation to either cap, slowly reduce or target the tax abatement in Philadelphia. I was happy that councilwoman Gym introduced tax abatement reform last year, and was disappointed it was tabled. If elected this will be the first piece of legislation I would champion.

So we are blaming the high poverty rate on the abatement now? Or am I missing something....?

Isn't the abatement program credited with bringing a crap-ton of tax base growth to Philly?

By all measures, the Tax Abatement Program has been a slam dunk.

How about Philly collects all the delinquent taxes owed to the city? Or take the properties and auction them? Maybe reduce the city tax and incentivize all companies (not just how they did that for the mega wealthy companies) to move to the city? Growing the tax base with people who pay their taxes is the way to go. And that exactly what the Abatement program did/does.

I'll never understand how scumbag property owners get a pass but everyone else is held liable.

[Pennsport]

Originally Posted by cpomp

https://www.philly.com/politics/prim...-20190415.html

Is it me or are others not too enthused with the lineup presented here? A few positives in there though, I have to read up more on the people I like so far.

Also, what is the tax abatement suddenly the devil?

Ronald James Adams, Democrat:

Tax abatement reform. With a 26% percent poverty rate and our schools so under funded, it’s past time to enact legislation to either cap, slowly reduce or target the tax abatement in Philadelphia. I was happy that councilwoman Gym introduced tax abatement reform last year, and was disappointed it was tabled. If elected this will be the first piece of legislation I would champion.

So we are blaming the high poverty rate on the abatement now? Or am I missing something....?

I know, it's amazing how short-sighted our government officials are. The tax abatement very well might have played one of the more integral roles in the city turn-around over the last decade. Fortunately, I believe the groundswell is well underway and even flat-out abolishing the abatement at this point won't have serious detrimental impact on the city continuing to expand and improve.

[MarketStEl]

Originally Posted by Pennsport

I know, it's amazing how short-sighted our government officials are. The tax abatement very well might have played one of the more integral roles in the city turn-around over the last decade. Fortunately, I believe the groundswell is well underway and even flat-out abolishing the abatement at this point won't have serious detrimental impact on the city continuing to expand and improve.

What a lot of people don't understand about the tax abatement is that it's not really a tax break for the home buyer (though it is that) - it's a subsidy for the builder.

If the buyer knows that the taxes on that new or rehabbed house will be $x, that limits to a degree how much the builder can charge for the house. If, thanks to the abatement, the taxes drop to $.6x, the builder can charge more for the house, and the buyer will gladly pay it, since it really won't matter in terms of taxes until 10 years later.

We all know that our construction costs run high and our rents (and house prices) aren't high enough to cover those costs unaided. The Building Industry Association may be overselling the dampening effect on the local construction market, but there is likely to be one.

The abatements began to expire in the early 2000s. From what I can tell, their expiration hasn't led home owners to put their houses up for sale en masse. And the city treasury has benefited from the new revenue.

I'm working on a comparison piece examining the cost of the various proposals today. It's based on information that's publicly available.

[kyb01]

Originally Posted by cpomp

https://www.philly.com/politics/prim...-20190415.html

Is it me or are others not too enthused with the lineup presented here? A few positives in there though, I have to read up more on the people I like so far.

Also, what is the tax abatement suddenly the devil?

Ronald James Adams, Democrat:

Tax abatement reform. With a 26% percent poverty rate and our schools so under funded, it’s past time to enact legislation to either cap, slowly reduce or target the tax abatement in Philadelphia. I was happy that councilwoman Gym introduced tax abatement reform last year, and was disappointed it was tabled. If elected this will be the first piece of legislation I would champion.

So we are blaming the high poverty rate on the abatement now? Or am I missing something....?

Angst about continuing the tax abatement in its present form has been going on for a long time.

And time has already run out wrt the abatement with probably a fair number of developed projects from the '00s by now. So are these "protesters" even thinking about that? Money, from expired abatements, should be coming in and should increase over time. They can, afaik, then apply for the homestead exemption which would decrease their assessed home value by $30 K and their property taxes.

Look, this council "turn around" will take time. And Brian "coward" Sims won't do anything more apparently as any kind example.

[kyb01]

Originally Posted by Redddog

Isn't the abatement program credited with bringing a crap-ton of tax base growth to Philly?

By all measures, the Tax Abatement Program has been a slam dunk.

How about Philly collects all the delinquent taxes owed to the city? Or take the properties and auction them? Maybe reduce the city tax and incentivize all companies (not just how they did that for the mega wealthy companies) to move to the city? Growing the tax base with people who pay their taxes is the way to go. And that exactly what the Abatement program did/does.

I'll never understand how scumbag property owners get a pass but everyone else is held liable.

Yes, to answer your first question.

A lot of those "owners", as you have probably surmised, aren't local which probably compounds the tax delinquency problem.

[KansastoSouthphilly]

Originally Posted by Redddog

Isn't the abatement program credited with bringing a crap-ton of tax base growth to Philly?

By all measures, the Tax Abatement Program has been a slam dunk.

How about Philly collects all the delinquent taxes owed to the city? Or take the properties and auction them? Maybe reduce the city tax and incentivize all companies (not just how they did that for the mega wealthy companies) to move to the city? Growing the tax base with people who pay their taxes is the way to go. And that exactly what the Abatement program did/does.

I'll never understand how scumbag property owners get a pass but everyone else is held liable.

The city does take properties to auction, in fact it currently has four Tax Sales every month. By contrast there is only one mortgage auction per month.

[cpomp]

https://www.philly.com/news/a/philad...-20190418.html

The numbers are in! Slow and steady for the region. Nothing groundbreaking, but every county is PA ended with small net gains, as well as New Castle County, DE. SJ con

For those who have a paywall, here are some stats...

2017-2018 Change

Chester: .6%, 3,112
Philadelphia: .2%, 3,917 people
Montgomery: .5%, 4,042 people
Delaware: .2%, 1,264
Bucks: .2%, 1167

New Castle: .5%, 2,916 people

Gloucester: .2%, 558 people
Burlington: 0%, 188 people
Camden: .1%, 735 people


% Growth since 2010

Chester: 4.4%
Philadelphia: 3.7%
Montgomery: 3.5%
Delaware: 1%
Bucks: .4%

Gloucester: .8%
Burlington: (-.8%)
Camden: (-1.2%)

Its a shame Pittsburgh continues to lose residents. The expected areas (Texas and Florida) were the biggest gainers.

[kyb01]

Originally Posted by cpomp

https://www.philly.com/news/a/philad...-20190418.html

The numbers are in! Slow and steady for the region. Nothing groundbreaking, but every county is PA ended with small net gains, as well as New Castle County, DE. SJ con

For those who have a paywall, here are some stats...

2017-2018 Change

Chester: .6%, 3,112
Philadelphia: .2%, 3,917 people
Montgomery: .5%, 4,042 people
Delaware: .2%, 1,264
Bucks: .2%, 1167

New Castle: .5%, 2,916 people

Gloucester: .2%, 558 people
Burlington: 0%, 188 people
Camden: .1%, 735 people


% Growth since 2010

Chester: 4.4%
Philadelphia: 3.7%
Montgomery: 3.5%
Delaware: 1%
Bucks: .4%

Gloucester: .8%
Burlington: (-.8%)
Camden: (-1.2%)

Its a shame Pittsburgh continues to lose residents. The expected areas (Texas and Florida) were the biggest gainers.

Tbh, it oftens feels like there are a thousand toddlers/babies in Fairmount right now. I'm exaggerating but it feels like an explosion compared to 5 years ago. And the post Gen-Z generation may have started already.

[Pennsport]

Originally Posted by cpomp

https://www.philly.com/news/a/philad...-20190418.html

The numbers are in! Slow and steady for the region. Nothing groundbreaking, but every county is PA ended with small net gains, as well as New Castle County, DE. SJ con

For those who have a paywall, here are some stats...

2017-2018 Change

Chester: .6%, 3,112
Philadelphia: .2%, 3,917 people
Montgomery: .5%, 4,042 people
Delaware: .2%, 1,264
Bucks: .2%, 1167

New Castle: .5%, 2,916 people

Gloucester: .2%, 558 people
Burlington: 0%, 188 people
Camden: .1%, 735 people


% Growth since 2010

Chester: 4.4%
Philadelphia: 3.7%
Montgomery: 3.5%
Delaware: 1%
Bucks: .4%

Gloucester: .8%
Burlington: (-.8%)
Camden: (-1.2%)

Its a shame Pittsburgh continues to lose residents. The expected areas (Texas and Florida) were the biggest gainers.

I should probably look this up myself, but I have back to back meetings today. Question: Does the census breakdown sections of metropolitan areas or is just counties? I would love to see the stats on CC and near CC neighborhoods vs. parts of the NE and further out sections.

Also, what's the deal with Pittsburgh? I thought that city was started to reinvent itself and get "found" again...