The September 6 Q&A Zoom meeting for District 8 residents with Councilperson Cindy Bass and representatives from the City was well attended. Co-hosted by Penn Knox Neighborhood Assoc., SoLo, NW Neighbors, West Chelten Neighbors, Maplewood Neighbors and WCGN, the forum provided an opportunity to ask questions and learn some valuable information about property re-assessment and taxes
Here are the most important things you need to do now:
1. Check to make sure that you are registered for the HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION. To be eligible for this exemption, you must own and reside in your property. The reassessment form you received states very clearly whether you have or do not have this exemption. A qualified applicant can receive from $40,000 to $80,000 reduction of their assessment.
2. If you are not registered and you do own and reside in your property, you should immediately apply for it by calling: 215-686-9200 or going directly to www.phila.gov/opa.
As far as the new assessment itself is concerned, if you believe that it is wrong or too high:
You should complete and submit the 2023 Residential Property Assessment First Level Review Request that was included with your Notice of Valuation for 2023 and submit it with photos, comparable block and neighborhood property assessments, and other documentation, either online or by mail with a postmark no later than September 30, 2022.
The City was represented at the meeting by Salima Cunningham, Communications Coordinator, OPA (Office of Property Assessment) and Carla Pagan, Executive Director of the city’s BRT (Board of Revision of Taxes). For any questions they suggested going to:
www.phila.gov/brt or phoning 215-686-4343
www.phila.gov/opa or phoning 215-686-9200.
Realize though, that both the OPA and the BRT will be getting calls from every corner of the city of Philadelphia and they will be swamped.
District 8 City Councilperson Cindy Bass spoke at the meeting as well and she said that she would connect with the BRT and OPA about offering help to citizens. She also stated that she would try to offer a place for people within our district to go to get help processing any appeal. As of September 12, there is nothing in place.
We certainly hope that she is able to set up something so that any questions her constituents may have can be answered and requests can be filed before the September 30 deadline.
Call her at 215-686-3424 or go directly to her local office at 4439A Germantown Avenue to request help if you need it.
Meanwhile, just a reminder that Crosstown Coalition, a group of RCOs of which WCGN is a member, has put together a detailed guide showing how a property owner can challenge the City’s reassessment of their property if they feel it is inconsistent with that of neighboring properties. You can see this guide here.
