Taxpayers owe the city of Philadelphia around $492 million in unpaid real estate taxes. And City Councilman-at-Large Allan Domb says he has a plan that will recoup those dollars in just about a decade. Though a City Council contingent is skeptical of the plan and introduced its own version of the legislation on the same day as the "condo king" turned politician offered his.
On Nov. 16, two bills tackling the collection of delinquent real estate taxes "and possibly other municipal claims" hit the City Council floor.
Domb, who focused his campaign on bringing efficiencies to city government, previously laid out his strategy to recover the funds. Taking cues from New York City's securitization model, the first-term councilman wants to take what many might consider an old school approach – direct mail that notifies delinquent property owners 90 days, 60 days, 30 days and 10 days prior to the debt entering the tax lien securitization process.
"This is about going after those who chose not to pay," Domb said. Even though this lien sale structure is different from past iterations, Councilwoman Maria Quiñones-Sanchez (7th district) told the Business Journal, the aim should be to capture the major players in real estate who owe large amounts not a "blanket policy."
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