Philadelphia City Council wants delinquents on payment plans

A plan to keep people from falling further behind on their Philadelphia property taxes has moved forward in City Council. 

The bill calls for setting up consistent payment plans for back property taxes and publicizing them as part of the delinquency process.

Councilwoman Maria Quinones-Sanchez says she wants residents to take advantage of housing counselors.

“As a city we’re already funding these housing counselors to work on these issues including delinquent taxes,” she said. “This bill ensures that taxpayers are referred to these housing counselors for help.”

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Housing counselor Scott Winfree of the Philadelphia Unemployment Project says back taxes are not collected uniformly.

“The issue with tax collection in my opinion is that homeowners are not treated equally, have different processes depending on the collection agency and very often are required to maintain unrealistic plans that are quickly broken,” said Winfree.

The bill now moves to the full council for approval.

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