Philly councilman says there is still a split on AVI

A Philadelphia City councilman says “no, for now” to using actual prices in real estate taxation in Philadelphia. 

Councilman Mark Squilla, who says he’s still not ready to vote for the Actual Value Initiative or AVI, adds he’s not alone on City Council.

“We have, I guess, several people on both sides of the issue, but the majority are on the fence,” Squilla said. “They could go either way.”

Squilla says one of the major problems is that the citywide reassessment is not complete, and will not be finished before a budget has to be passed.

  • WHYY thanks our sponsors — become a WHYY sponsor

“I think, at this point, I’m still on the side of delaying it until we get all the assessments done and everything properly brought in, in order to come up with the proper consensus and conclusions in order to protect the residents who need it the most,” Squilla said.

Council President Darrell Clarke says he is hoping to find a consensus for a budget deal in the upcoming few days.  A formal City Council meeting on the issue is scheduled for Tuesday.

WHYY is your source for fact-based, in-depth journalism and information. As a nonprofit organization, we rely on financial support from readers like you. Please give today.

Want a digest of WHYY’s programs, events & stories? Sign up for our weekly newsletter.

Together we can reach 100% of WHYY’s fiscal year goal