The announcement accompanies the release of a report examining the accuracy, uniformity, and equity of Philadelphia’s real estate tax assessments
PHILADELPHIA – Mayor Cherelle L. Parker announced today the creation of the Philadelphia Residential Property Assessment Task Force. This Task Force is being created in partnership with Reinvestment Fund and Community Legal Services, Inc. (CLS). Mayor Parker has asked Ira Goldstein, Senior Advisor of Policy Solutions at Reinvestment Fund, to Chair the Task Force, similar to when he chaired the Philadelphia Home Appraisal Bias Task Force created by then-Councilmember Parker in 2021.
The announcement of the Philadelphia Residential Property Assessment Task Force accompanies the release of a report entitled Examining the Accuracy, Uniformity, & Equity of Philadelphia’s 2023 Real Estate Tax Assessments. The report, which was recently completed by Reinvestment Fund’s Policy Solutions Group and prepared with CLS and the Chicago-based Center for Economic Policy Analysis, demonstrates that, while there has been steady progress made in the quality and fairness of Philadelphia residential property assessments, there remains more work to do.
“I want to thank James Aros, Jr. (AJ), our Chief Assessment Officer at the Office of Property Assessment (OPA). When CLS and Reinvestment Fund came to him, wanting to partner with the OPA on this research, AJ embraced transparency and effectively ‘opened up their books’ for scrutiny,” said Mayor Cherelle L. Parker. “One of the main recommendations from CLS and Reinvestment Fund to accompany the release of this report is to create a Task Force to continue this work, which is why I am proud to announce the creation of this Task Force, which will be Chaired by Ira Goldstein.”
“On behalf of the OPA, I would like to thank Mayor Parker and our partners at CLS and Reinvestment Fund for providing the forum to continue these important conversations,” James Aros, Jr., Chief Assessment Officer, Office of Property Assessment said. “The OPA’s inclusion on the Task Force affirms our commitment to continuously explore ways to improve the uniformity, equity, and accuracy of assessments and the assessment process.”
“We are grateful to Mayor Parker and her administration for its commitment to fairness in property tax assessments,” said Debby Freedman, CLS Executive Director. “Her careful consideration of the assessment equity report and recommendations made by CLS and Reinvestment Fund, and the formation of this Task Force, are important first steps to ensure that no homeowner pays more than their fair share. CLS is proud to be included in this process and we look forward to continuing to work with the Mayor, City Council, and James Aros, Jr., and the OPA on ways to improve the process.”
“Our analysis uncovered positive news, which is that the accuracy of residential assessments by the OPA, which ultimately help determine people’s property tax bills, has significantly improved in recent years. Much of the credit for this improvement goes to James Aros, Jr., and his staff at the OPA, who met with us several times while working on our report, and who took our concerns seriously,” said Monty Wilson, CLS Supervising Attorney. “However, there is still work to be done. The report finds that there is statistical evidence of unintentional, systemic bias in some residential assessments done by the OPA. More specifically, the report found that there are ‘hotspot’ neighborhoods in Philadelphia where property assessments are not sufficiently accurate, or uniform based on professional standards, and these hotspots are more likely to happen in lower-income Black and Hispanic neighborhoods.”
“Our study shows improvement in assessment quality measures, but challenges do remain that disproportionately disadvantage the City’s Black, Hispanic, and lower income neighborhoods. Improvements are due, in no small part, to the leadership of Mr. Aros, Jr.,” said Ira Goldstein, Senior Advisor of Policy Solutions at Reinvestment Fund. “Through Mayor Parker’s Philadelphia Residential Property Assessment Task Force, we look forward to ensuring that the OPA gets the benefit of resident voices, and property tax experts, as they move forward. I’m honored to be named by Mayor Parker to lead the City’s Task Force.”
The Task Force will include representation from the OPA, CLS, Reinvestment Fund, and industry experts. The Task Force’s work and goals will be divided into two parts: identifying best practices and recommendations and creating frameworks for implementation. Task Force participants will first review and scrutinize the study’s methods and recommendations. Through discourse with subject matter experts and convening public listening sessions open to Philadelphia property owners, the Task Force will: further detail the experiences and challenges Philadelphia homeowners face when dealing with the assessment process; identify an array of best practices around accurate and fair property assessments, with a particular focus on addressing systemic racial and ethnic bias in assessments; and design a set of recommendations that are actionable in the City of Philadelphia for Mayor Parker and her administration.
Finally, as part of its recommendations, the Task Force will not only address the current inequities identified in the study, but also present an implementation process to ensure continued progress and continuous monitoring of that progress toward more accurate, uniform, and equal assessments for residents across Philadelphia’s neighborhoods.