Council OKs plan to sell tax liens
By Troy Graham, Inquirer Staff Writer
POSTED: OCTOBER 26, 2013
PHILADELPHIA City Council gave its stamp of approval Thursday to the idea of selling liens held against taxdelinquent properties to private investors and collection agencies.
In truth, the bill passed Thursday could wind up having no practical effect - the city already has the authority to
sell its liens, and its Law Department opined last week that Council had no say in the matter.
Councilman Bill Green said he sponsored the bill in part to spur the Nutter administration to consider using this
tax collection "tool" - which has its share of critics.
At a Council committee hearing this month, Revenue Commissioner Clarena I.W. Tolson was agreeable to the
idea. She said she thought "including the private sector into the mix . . . enha nces the collection process."
A recent study from the Pew Charitable Trusts pegged the amount of money owed to the city in back property
taxes, interest, and penalties at more than $515 million. The study cautioned only about 30 percent of that was
collectible.
By selling liens, the city would get money up front and turn collection of the debt over to private hands.
Council members Jannie L. Blackwell and Maria Quiñones Sánchez voted against the bill Thursday. Blackwell
called the idea of selling liens, especially those held on owner-occupied homes, dangerous.
Sánchez is the prime sponsor of legislation to create a central land bank, which would be responsible for assembling vacant and tax-delinquent property for redevelopment.
Critics of lien sales argue that turning over numerous tax-delinquent properties to the private sector frustrates
civic redevelopment efforts. The land-bank bill faces a committee hearing next week.
Green said his bill added consumer protections for homeowners and would help bring in taxes owed by out-oftown speculators.
"We need certainty of action for property owners to change the culture of nonpayment in this city," he said. "That
culture change can result in a $60 [million] to $80 million increase in our annual take of real estate taxes."
Some Council members and other witnesses remained skeptical. "All of this is after
the fact," said Maureen Rush, the University of Pennsylvania's chief of public safety.
"We still had a crime occur."