iradiophilly | News - Phialdelphia Tax Delinquent Big City: #1

Streaming Radio for Philadelphia
More Music. Fewer Interruptions. Just what you want to hear.

FOLLOW:

News
Talk about what's in the news


The Post

Phialdelphia Tax Delinquent Big City: #1

by: Rebel - Havertown, PA
started: 08/15/11 3:48 pm | updated: 08/15/11 3:48 pm

Philadelphia is the most property-tax-delinquent big city in the nation. The impact of this failure to collect has had a huge and highly visible affect on neighborhoods across the city.

There's close to 111,000 properties in arrears, on which is owed a combined $472 million to the city and School District. The city's failure to promptly sell off vacant tax-delinquent land acts as a significant drag on redevelopment.

This summer, State Rep. Chris Ross introduced legislation to overhaul tax-delinquency collection laws across Pennsylvania.

The changes are intended to make it easier for municipalities to collect what they are owed and is also designed to arrest the cycle of delinquency and abandonment that plagues low-income Philadelphia neighborhoods.
----------------------------------------------------------------------

"Tax-delinquent properties lead to blight, they depress the property values of their neighbors, and they create an added financial burden for those who do pay their taxes on time," said State Rep. Chris Ross (R., Chester).

"It's time we deal with this mess," Ross said.

The connection between delinquency and redevelopment is crystal clear on the hard-case block of Manton Street.

In the last two years, six market-rate houses have been built on this long-troubled block. Of those, five were built on tax-delinquent properties bought at sheriff's auction - vacant lots and crack houses. This year, the drug houses were torn down and replaced with two 2,400-square-foot townhouses, each with a roof deck and an asking price around $300,000.

Ori Feibush, their developer, is itching to buy and renovate more delinquent lots.

"We're begging and clamoring for tax-delinquent properties to go to sheriff sale," Feibush said, standing beside a vacant lot opposite the Manton Street houses he built. The lot has been delinquent for 25 years.

"It's a tremendous fight. But we absolutely have the appetite to not only purchase but to build on every single tax-delinquent sheriff-sale property [in Point Breeze] immediately."

TOP STORIES

(0) responses

Welcome to iradiophilly! Philadelphia's Internet Radio Community

Welcome! Start listening now for FREE! The music is always on, so choose a radio station and click to listen. You can find fun Events around Philly and you can list yours on our Events page FREE. We will also promote cool Philly shows, events and fundraisers on the air FREE. There are also great opportunities to become a sponsor or advertise. iRadioPhilly supports the Philadelphia music and arts scene. If you are a local musician or performer, send us your stuff. We will play it on our BYO radio station, Philadelphia's Local Stage. We're designing the radio stations and iradiophilly to reflect Philadelphia's music tastes, so we'll want your input. We're glad you're here. Invite your friends.

FOLLOW:

Site Design by Bananaland | Built by quadpain media