Philadelphia’s Department of Revenue has street teams made up of volunteers who knock on doors in North Philadelphia as part of a city-wide initiative to help residents save money on their real estate taxes and educate the community about the department’s services.
We are glad the city is making an effort to save community residents money and knows to target the area around Main Campus where gentrification and displacement are not only hot-button issues, but a reality to many nearby.
The different programs the Department of Revenue is promoting will help residents freeze or possibly lower their property taxes — which can skyrocket as development around Temple continues. Residents shouldn’t be priced out of their homes simply because the area around where they live is changing.
While this is a good step forward, the city should look into using Temple, a large resource in North Philadelphia, in its efforts to educate North Philadelphia residents about tax programs. And we hope Temple would be eager to help spread the word about these programs.
Temple already hosts monthly job readiness workshops for community residents, adult education courses and preparatory programs for youth. The university also backs programs like the free tax preparation program in Ambler.
Temple has the resources, and it could be extremely beneficial to educate the community about programs that benefit our neighbors.
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