Neighbors, I want everyone to be aware that the city does not cash its checks in a timely fashion.
I did a test this year because i serendipitously discovered that the city had secretly levied charges against me for property taxes a year or two ago. Like most Philadelphians outside of the old boys and girls network, I pay my property taxes in full. On April 15 of this year, I paid my city business taxes at the municipal services cashier and mailed my state and federal tax bills. (I wanted the time stamp recording the time the check was presented to the city). The state and federal government cashed the checks in a timely manner. The city waited so long to cash the check that it appeared on the following months bank statement! Earlier this spring, knowing that I had a zero property tax debt to the city, I discovered that I was charged small amounts on the property taxes of each of my properties in a previous year. After the initial shock, I realized that these amounts look like interest and penalty charges, yet I had no recollection of paying late. Clearly, if a citizen pays taxes close to the deadline, he or she is penalized because the city delays cashing the checks. For those of you who have ever tried to correct mistakes caused by the city, you know that it is nothing but an exercise in futility. (One neighbor once remarked, "I don't bother trying, I just look for a way to cheat the city and even things out!") Nobody knows nothin at city hall. The city workers usually blow off citizens telling them to "go to their councilman with complaints!" It does no good to tell them that the entire councilman staff is too busy to return calls or e-mails, let alone work on the problems in government that have serious consequences for constituents! Neighbors, as long as we have two separate systems, one for the politically connected, and nothing for everyone else; the complete helplessness at the hands of our government will continue. Like usual, I will be forced to pay more, even though I was cheated by the incompetence of the city system. Should the city place a grace period, before adding penalties, equal to the delay caused by their incompetence? But going to the mayor's office of complaints or the offices of city council is a complete waste of time because these people don't want to change the system and view this cheating as "revenue enhancement" like the bogus trash tickets. It's really nice that city employees get handicapped stickers, don't have to pay parking tickets, don't have to pay trash tickets, or taxes. But when they condescendingly insist that little people should have a stiff upper lip when cheated, it doesn't allow the little people to feel good too. I don't want to see city workers cheated like the rest of us. I want city officials who listen and respond to the real problems of ordinary Philadelphians. They need to stop the damn photo ops and stop depending on the special perks in the old boys network, so that they have time to fix the government! Sincerely, Glenn, a cheated citizen ---- You are receiving this because you are subscribed to the list named "UnivCity." To unsubscribe or for archive information, see <http://www.purple.com/list.html>.
