OUR OPINION: A.V.I. – Will We Find Heroes?
The Mayor’s launching of his Actual Value Initiative onto the properties of this city will put a serious hurt on the economy if it lands unchanged.
No matter what is said, AVI, as it now stands, will take more money from those who cannot afford it, to pay for more public “Initiatives”. Haven’t we yet learned every City program with “Initiative” in its title has proven to be a chaotic, costly failure? They all fell far short of their goals, with little to show.
To their credit, the City Council’s District Members, for the most part, are moving to lessen the fiscal damage impacting their constituents when it becomes the law of the land. They are the first line of defense for their howling public.
We trust and hope they all won’t cave in under the pressures to allow AVI to stand as is. For example, shortly, well-meaning blocs of school supporters now being programmed will descend on Council meetings to demand an increasing share from the City’s take in property taxes.
We believe the majority will support City Controller Alan Butkovitz’s call for a full disclosure into what criteria were used to determine the new tax rates, and who and how they were determined. Some have been spared, many others are hurt. Renters will bear much of the cost where properties have been heavily hit.
Also a tip of the hat to 1st Ward Leader John J. Dougherty, IBEW Local 98 business manager and former Pennsport Civic Association president, for a free public seminar on Wednesday, Mar. 13, 5 to 9 p.m. at Edward O’Malley Athletic Association, 144 Moore Street. Get the real answers here.
Kudos go to District Councilmen Mark Squilla and Kenyatta Johnson for hosting the first of free information forums for their constituents at the Hawthorne Community Center, Mar. 12 at 7:30 p.m. They will be there to give info and learn from their constituents what needs to be addressed before AVI becomes the letter of the law.
Meetings like these we sorely need and welcome. We urge the Mayor to attend one of two of his own outreach sessions as well, where he might get a better understanding of what he has unleashed and what the people think of his administration. His first are tonight, from 6 to 9 p.m. at American Heritage Federal Credit Union, 2060 Red Lion Road, with another at the same time at Joseph Coleman Library, 68 W. Chelten Avenue. There will be another one on Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at SS. Neumann-Goretti HS, 10th & Moore Streets.
