Al, talking dirty will get you nowhere with me. However I do know someone with whom it will.
Joe On Fri, Feb 26, 2010 at 9:20 AM, Glenn moyer <[email protected]> wrote: > "The district's board decided to make the assessment mandatory but to > allow those who had exemptions to keep them until they sold their units, > Levy said." > > We were told that special service districts were created to serve. This > one statement shows the arrogance. Without hesitation, they assert > governmental power, simple metamorphisis, from "service district" to the > unassailable autocratic ruler. Who the hell elected their board and Levy? > > > > This challenge is long over due!!!! > > > > thanks for the info, > > Glenn > > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: [email protected] > Sent: Feb 26, 2010 8:54 AM > To: [email protected] > Subject: [UC] plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose > > > It could'a been us! Thanks again, Councilwoman Blackwell. You were for > us there when we needed you. > > Al Krigman > ------------------------------ > From this morning's Inqy > Center City District sued over its fees > > By Joseph A. Slobodzian > > Inquirer Staff Writer > Former Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Russell M. Nigro has sued the > city and the Center City District, contending the district's assessment for > public maintenance services is not equally applied to condominium owners. > > The proposed class-action lawsuit, filed this month in Philadelphia Common > Pleas Court, says the district allows condo owners who bought before Sept. > 13, 2005, to "opt out" of paying the property levy. The levy is mandatory > for owners who bought after that date. > > The former justice - defeated in a 2005 retention election - bought a $1.35 > million condominium on Washington Square on April 28 and at closing had to > pay $1,176 to the district to cover that year's assessment, according to the > lawsuit. > > Nigro, a member of the city's Board of Revision of Taxes, subsequently > learned that Center City condominium owners who bought before Sept. 13, > 2005, could file an affidavit and choose not to pay the district charge. > > George Bochetto, the Center City litigator who filed the suit on Nigro's > behalf, said yesterday that the district's assessment was really a tax, and > that the collection policy violated the taxing-uniformity clause of the > Pennsylvania Constitution and the equal-protection clause of the U.S. > Constitution. > > Bochetto called the district's assessment policy "a most peculiar > patchwork, a hodgepodge," adding that he was "surprised no one has > challenged this before now." > > The Center City District was created in 1990, the first of several > quasi-governmental improvement districts designed to make key downtown > neighborhoods cleaner and safer. The district concept enabled neighborhoods > to obtain public services that city government could no longer afford. > > The district covers most of Center City's business and residential > neighborhoods: 120 blocks and more than 4,500 properties. It is roughly > bounded by the Schuylkill on the west, Sixth Street on the east, Vine Street > on the north and Locust Street on the south, with extensions along the Broad > Street corridor north to Spring Garden Street and south to Pine Street. > > Each property is charged an annual amount that helps fund the district, > this year yielding $15.2 million, according to the district's budget. > > That the lawsuit is a first is about the only thing on which Bochetto and > Center City District president Paul R. Levy agree. > > Levy said yesterday that the district's authority to charge property owners > was part of the legislation creating the agency. The opt-out exemption was > created in the district's early days when condominiums were rare in > Philadelphia - basically just Academy House, the tower at 1420 Locust St. > behind the Academy of Music. > > At that time, Levy explained, Academy House was dominated by elderly > residents, many of whom said they could not afford the district's charge of > about $93 each. The solution, Levy said, was to allow any condominium owner > for whom the unit was their prime residence - not an investment - to file a > sworn affidavit seeking an exemption. > > By 2005, however, the number of senior citizens seeking the exemption was > dropping and Center City was in the midst of a condominium building boom. > The district's board decided to make the assessment mandatory but to allow > those who had exemptions to keep them until they sold their units, Levy > said. > > He said he saw the exemption as an easy way of accommodating senior > citizens with limited incomes, especially because the lost revenue was more > than offset by voluntary contributions to the district by otherwise exempt > nonresidential organizations. > > "We're really talking about pennies here," Levy added. > > Since the 2005 policy change, he said, the number of all district property > owners with the exemption has gone from about 19 percent to 7 percent. > > "We were surprised at the lawsuit," Levy said. "It's the first time anyone > has challenged this, and he [Nigro] never contacted us about this before the > suit. We're quite willing to sit down and talk whenever he wants." > > ---- You are receiving this because you are subscribed to the list named > "UnivCity." To unsubscribe or for archive information, see .
