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Information requests from City Council to Administration during budget hearingsPrepared by Sophie Bryan 05/04/2009Page 1

RequestRequested byRequested toComments

ClarkeMDO3/25/2009Goode3/25/20094/29/2009GreenFinance3/25/20094/8/2009GreenFinance3/25/2009GreenFinance3/25/20094/8/2009Cite to PDF on City's website.Green3/25/20094/8/2009GreenDOT3/25/20094/8/2009GreenDOT3/25/20094/29/2009

DaterequestedDatereturned

Net savings of 311 after backing-out start-up costs.Total dollar value of contracts the Cityplans to issue during Five Year Plan (FYP)and percent of contracts (numerically anddollar-value) that it aims to allocate todisadvantaged businesses.Commerce/Finance/Chief of Staff Response indicates that OEO "does notmake a practice of projecting participationover the life of the Five-Year Plan."Base growth assumptions, by year, for different General Fund taxes (i.e.,supporting schedules for revenueprojections).

Base growth assumptions provided for wage tax only.

Detailed data re assumptions underlyingreal estate transfer tax projections,including both sales volume andtransaction price assumptions."Real Estate Transfer Tax assumptions inthe FY10-14 Five Year Plan include a 20%decline in prices and transactions will notrebound substantially."

No further detailprovided re sales volume/priceassumptions.

Breakdown of the efficiencies included inthe $39 million per year in efficiencies andrevenue enhancements included in theNovember re-balancing plan.Copies of all extenal consultant studiesregaring IT-related savings to the City.Division of Technology (DOT)Copy of Deloitte & Touche report from2002 provided.Copies of all internal studies regarding IT-related savings to the City.Response indicates that DOT only awareof one study -- the Deloitte one -- on theissue.Detail behind the savings assumptions for the items listed in the "Moving Forward"section on page 50 of the FYP.Response describes three areas in which"substantial savings" assumed --consolidation of common IT supportfunctions; IT sourcing; and technologyinfrastructure and communicationsnetwork refresh --

but does not put adollar figure on the savings either intoto or for the constituent parts of theinitiatives.

Information requests from City Council to Administration during budget hearingsPrepared by Sophie Bryan 05/04/2009Page 2GreenFinance3/25/2009GreenFinance3/25/2009GreenFinance3/25/20094/8/2009GreenFinance3/25/20094/8/2009GreenFinance3/25/20094/29/2009GreenFinance3/25/20094/8/2009GreenFinance3/25/20094/8/2009GreenFinance3/25/20094/8/2009Current tax delinquency rate on real estatetax bills.Current tax delinquency rate for residentialreal estate tax bills.Correlation between tax delinquency andhome value or household income."At this time, the City is

unable todetermine if a correlation exists

. Wewould need to undertake an extensivestudy to establish such a correlation."Whether the revenue projections based onthe proposed higher real estate tax ratesalso include assumptions about increasedtax delinquencies and, if so, what thosedelinquency assumptions are.FY09 delinquency rate = 11%; FYPassumes delinquency rates of 14.6% inFY10, 13.7% in FY11, and 11% in FY12.The percentage of tax delinquencies thatlead to foreclosure.Response notes that "all real estate taxdelinquencies can lead to Sheriff's sale,"and indicates that since fall 2007, whenthe city announced a new collectioninitiative, outside counsel has filed for Sheriff's sale for 3,000 of the 23,00delinquent properties targeted for collection.Extent to which the FYP takes into accountcollateral costs related to tax-relatedforeclosures.FYP does not take these costs intoaccount.The protections currently in place for low-income and/or fixed-income homeownerswith respect to increased property tax bills.N.B. Response

does not includediscretionary deferral of increases >15%

by Revenue Dept.The Administration’s plan for protectingthese homeowners from the potentiallydevastating consequences of significantincreases in their property tax bills.Administration "intends to work with theState legislature to develop a plan toprotect low income taxpayers from theimpact of the increase."

Information requests from City Council to Administration during budget hearingsPrepared by Sophie Bryan 05/04/2009Page 3GreenFinance3/25/20094/8/2009See above.GreenFinance3/25/20094/8/2009GreenFinance3/25/20094/8/2009See above.GreenFinance3/25/20094/8/2009Green Finance3/25/20094/8/2009$38 million in FY10.Green Finance3/25/20094/8/2009Cost-savings of 311 system.Greenlee3/25/2009Dollar value of City-owned property.JonesChief of Staff3/25/20094/8/2009If the Administration's plan includes use of a homestead exemption, how it plans todeal with the provision in the Pennsylvaniaconstitution section regarding homesteadexemptions that reads: “A local taxingauthority may not increase the millage rateof its tax on real property to pay for [thehomestead exemption].”Impact on business and residentiallocations decisions of temporarily raisingreal estate tax."To the best of our knowledge, there is noempirical analysis to date that evaluatesthe impact on business location or residentlocation decisions from a temporaryincrease in property or real estate transfer taxes. However, property tax increaseshave a smaller impact than wage taxincreases."Impact on residential location decisions of temporarily raising real estate transfer tax.Study re long-term impact of temporaryslowing of reduction to wage tax rate.Revenue generated by .1% increase inwage tax.Revenue generated by 5 mill increase ingross receipts portion of BPT.$23.5 million in FY10 from 0.5 millincreaseManagingDirector's Office(MDO)RDA owns 5,500 properties; land/buildingvalues determined by appraisals; RDAdoes not obtain appraisals until activelymarketing the property for sale.