Nutter cuts BRT board funding

He’s also cutting salaries of the board that oversees property tax assessments.

After sparring with Philadelphia’s Board of Revision of Taxes or BRT all week, Mayor Michael Nutter has cut off the board’s funding.  He’s also cutting salaries of the board that oversees property tax assessments.

Mayor Michael Nutter says the BRT has officially been cut off financially.  Nutter froze the money to retaliate for the board breaking an agreement that gives the mayor power to dictate major changes at the embattled agency.

Nutter: The unacceptable action by the BRT board to not renew the agreement in place to separate the board appeals function from assessments has required and compelled us to take a series of actions to get the board re-focused on the issues at hand.

The BRT cannot spend a dime without direct authorization of Philadelphia’s finance director.  The mayor has also sent a bill to city council to cut the pay of board members from about 70 thousand dollars a year to 18 thousand.  The BRT has been slammed by critics for inaccurate property assessments and political cronyism.