Presenter
Presented by Mr. Peduto
Title
Resolution authorizing the Mayor to form a Land Recycling Task Force which shall assist in the development of a plan for how the City can better recycle tax delinquent and abandoned properties and turn them back into revenue-generating land that provides for future use and the increased viability of our neighborhoods
Body
WHEREAS, the privilege of property ownership has a corresponding responsibility of timely payment of taxes; and
WHEREAS, there are many properties in the City of Pittsburgh that are several years past due in taxes that are causing blight and destroying the quality of life for those who currently reside in our City's neighborhoods; and
WHEREAS, the City has supported the outsourcing of delinquent City real estate taxes to a 3rd party agency, Jordan Tax Service, that will consolidate and centralize the collection process with Pittsburgh Public Schools, the County of Allegheny and Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority as part of a greater movement towards linking tax collections; and
WHEREAS, one of the core responsibilities for the government of the City of Pittsburgh is to support the recycling of tax delinquent and abandoned property in the City of Pittsburgh; and
WHEREAS, the City of Pittsburgh was recently selected to participate in the Community Land Reform Initiative, a joint program of the Center for Land Reform and Harvard University's Kennedy School for Government, and sponsored by the Ford Foundation, to explore successful approaches to implementing large scale land recycling systems that are financially sustainable and are not dependent on public or private grant funds; and
WHEREAS, this taskforce would evaluate the creation of a land bank or other entity that would be responsible for acquiring, maintaining and facilitating in the transaction of tax delinquent and abandoned property for the purpose of transforming neighborhood liabilities into community assets; and,
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