Butkovitz Blasts AVI Data

City Controller Alan Butkovitz has released an independent review of the City’s 2014 full-value reassessment that indicates the Actual Value Initiative did not improve accuracy, uniformity and fairness.

The Office of Property Assessment’s 2014 taxable property values are highly variable in quality, which is well beyond the standards set by the International Association of Assessing Officers, according to the independent review conducted by Dr. Robert Strauss, a professor of economics and public policy at Carnegie-Mellon University.
The IAAO recommends that the variability, which is actual value of property in relation to the median sales in a selected area, should not be higher than 15 percent. Dr. Strauss found residential properties actually rose from 82 percent for the 2013 values to 112% for the 2014 proposed values under AVI.

“This report clearly shows that the OPA full value reassessment is actually more inaccurate than assessments under the current system,” said Butkovitz, at today’s press conference. “AVI was supposed to do just the opposite – bring property values closer to their market values.”

The review also found significant evidence that more expensive taxable properties are assessed at lower levels than less expensive taxable properties. The study shows that as zip codes become more African American, the median level of residential assessment rises. As zip-code areas become more Caucasian, the median level of residential assessment falls.

“The results raise real, serious, important questions for any citizen of Philadelphia,” said Dr. Strauss. “There are lots of reasons to get this right – in the short run, and the long run.”

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