City rolls out web app showing how tax hike would help Philly schools

Mayor Michael Nutter is proposing a 9.3 percent property tax increase next year. He says it will raise $105 million for Philly schools. Members of City Council, all of whom are up for re-election, did not seem jazzed about the plan.
Now, the Nutter administration has released a website (with a sleek layout, to boot) that lays out exactly how much your taxes would rise, under the new rate, and where they would go — what schools the money would go to and what it would pay for there, like support staff or equipment.
See the site
It’s a savvy move by the Nutter administration: using data for transparency purposes but also to push Nutter’s political agenda.
In a way, Nutter is giving citizens the tools to make their own decisions about the property tax increase, and though it’s ultimately up to City Council, Philadelphians have at least some sway with their elected officials.