Mayor, Council zero in on BRT

But the new figures are not yet perfect, and it is plausible that their long-delayed adoption will be pushed off yet again if the BRT is disbanded and its property evaluators are moved into a different city department.

"It is quite a coincidence that the calls for the abolition of the BRT come one week after it has submitted Actual Values for all the properties in the city to mayor and council," said Feeley, the BRT spokesman. "After all, once Actual Values are implemented, that would shift the onus to mayor and the Council."

The transition to Actual Value will require Council and the mayor to set a new property-tax rate, a politically charged decision that City Hall has managed to avoid for 18 years.

"That's the real resolution of the problem: Setting accurate values, which is what Actual Value does, and then setting an appropriate tax rate," Feeley said. "It does not appear that folks in City Hall want to tackle that."

Contact staff writer Patrick Kerkstra at 215-854-2827 or pkerkstra@phillynews.com.