| Sign up | Log in | Forgot Password |
Open Records News
Philadelphians win access to absentee landlord records
Posted by Ed Goppelt
Monday, 02/23/04
(1077548676516)
|
In the past, Philadelphians attempting to contact the owners of
abandoned or nuisance properties were obliged to make the time
consuming and expensive trip to City Hall. No longer: after a year
long legal battle with the City, Hallwatch posted the addresses of
157,509 absentee landlords yesterday evening on its web site.
The City's Revenue Department provided Hallwatch with the addresse ...Read entire story |
Open Records News
City loses bid to keep addresses of absentee landlords secret
Posted by Ed Goppelt
Saturday, 01/24/04
(1074962992999)
|
The Revenue Department must provide Hallwatch with the mailing addresses of absentee landlords Commonwealth Court has ruled. In a closely reasoned 13 page opinion released earlier this month, the three judge panel rejected the City's ...Read entire story |
Open Records News
City Lawyer: Assessment Software Doesn't Exist
BRT Doesn't Store Property Data on Hard Disk
Posted by Ed Goppelt
Wednesday, 05/14/03
(1052912044600)
|
City Lawyer Mimi Choksi played the FUD card in Court yesterday, telling
Judge Esther Sylvester that
it would be very difficult for the City's Board
of Revision of Taxes (BRT) to copy data
from its mainframe computer system
to a CD.
I sued the BRT to compel the release of the software it uses to ...Read entire story |
Open Records News
Computer Professionals: I Need Your Help
Posted by Ed Goppelt
Sunday, 05/04/03
(1052068227782)
|
Dear Computer Professional: I'd like to ask for your help explaining to a Philly judge that the data on the City's property tax web site is ultimately stored on a hard disk somewhere. Back in November I asked the Board of Revision of Taxes to provide me with two data fields that would allow Hallwatch users to ...Read entire story |
Open Records News
Records Dept. Keeps Word: Delivers Records at Reasonable Price
Posted by Ed Goppelt
Friday, 05/02/03
(1051911498819)
|
I promised City Council I would post the Land Ownership Records within 24 hours after I got them. At 9:30 pm last night I was able to download the first batch of records, which includes transactions through the end of March. By noon today, Hallwatch users were using the up-to-date records. I sent the following letter to members of City Council thanking them for their help in gettin ...Read entire story |
Open Records News
Open Records Victory!
Records Dept. Cuts Fee for Computer Records By 90%
Posted by Ed Goppelt
Monday, 04/21/03
(1050929197213)
| The Records Dept. has cut its fees for land ownership records in computer form from $400 per month to around $40, a reduction of 90%. I had wanted to post up-to-date info. on real estate transactions on Hallwatch, but could not afford the Dept.'s $400 fee for monthly updates to its Recorders Index Extract computer file. Historical deed records from 197 ...Read entire story |
Open Records News
Records Dept.: We Think Public Records Should Cost $4,800
Posted by Ed Goppelt
Friday, 04/11/03
(1050069251157)
|
BREAKING NEWS, April 14, 2003--I will be meeting with the Records Dept. and its City lawyers on Tuesday, April 15, 2003 at 10:00 am. Finally, an appointment, a chan ...Read entire story |
Open Records News
Philadelphians Denied Access to Records Corporations Get for Free
Posted by Ed Goppelt
Monday, 04/07/03
(1049727665133)
|
An open letter to Hallwatch users from the Webmaster.
|
Open Records News
Records Commish Offers Public Records in Unpublishable Form
Posted by Ed Goppelt
Sunday, 04/06/03
(1049685257768)
|
Records Commissioner Joan Decker continues to throw up roadblocks to Philadelphians' access to public records. Decker was questioned sharply by Councilmembers about the favored treatment private companies have received from her Dept. on Wednesday, April 2, 2002. She has been called back to complete her testimony to City Council this Tuesday, April 8, 2003 at 1:00 pm in City Hall Room 696 ...Read entire story |
Open Records News
BRT: We Don't Store Tax Records on Computer Disk
Posted by Jack Morley
Thursday, 04/03/03
(1049396201376)
|
South Philly resident Ed Goppelt got his day in court today. Goppelt, who runs the good government web site Hallwatch, had requested tax records from the Board of Revision of Taxes (BRT) with the intention of posting that information on his good government web site, Hallwatch. The BRT refused to provide so much of the information that Goppelt s ...Read entire story |
Open Records News
BRT Union: Assessment Software Does Not Work
Posted by Ed Goppelt
Tuesday, 04/01/03
(1049214950902)
|
Union Rep Mark Whitlock says that BRT management won't discuss
serious problems with its assessment software.
In a December 2002 memo to management, the assessors describe assessment software that is difficult to use, contains inaccurate data, is inflexible and which raised people assessments whose houses were already properly assessed. "From the perspective of the evaluation ...Read entire story |
Open Records News
Records Dept. Giving Corporations Free Ride
Ordinary Philadelphians Must Pay $400 for Same Public Records
Posted by Ed Goppelt
Tuesday, 04/01/03
(1049175037303)
|
The Records Dept. is charging ordinary citizens $400 for records it gives away free to a select group of private companies. I've asked City Council to look into this clear example of the Dept.'s favoring corporations at the expense of the public. Take Action:
|
Open Records News
Judge to Decide BRT Suits Tomorrow
Posted by Ed Goppelt
Wednesday, 02/19/03
(1045667649180)
|
Feb 20, 2003 1:36 pm--My suits against the BRT will not be heard tomorrow. I've just received word from my attorney's office that he has the flu and has asked the Court for a continuance. As soon as I find out the new time and date for the hearing I will post it on Hallwatch. How fair are the real estate assessments in Philadelphia? I'd like to know and tomorrow Judge Esther ...Read entire story |
Open Records News
Letter to Records Commissioner Joan Decker
Posted by Ed Goppelt
Sunday, 02/02/03
(1044212908370)
|
In my experience, City agencies routinely ignore requests for public records and when this isn't enough to discourage a requester, resort to a grab bag of tricks and deceitful behavior, as detailed in this letter to Records Commish Joan Decker. Last week I sued the Records Dept. over its attempts to charge me $400 for records I esti ...Read entire story |
Open Records News
City Bureaucrats Playing Footsie with Law Dept.
Not Providing Access to Public Records
Posted by Ed Goppelt
Thursday, 01/30/03
(1043930629566)
|
The guy behind bullet proof glass was firm: he wasn't going to talk to me, much less release my car, until I gave him my driver's license. All this because in a moment of weakness I parked where I shouldn't have. Having my car towed cost me $150, a few moments of extreme anxiety and several hours of running around. It was a nasty way to end a pleasant Sunday morning brunch with friends. ...Read entire story |
Open Records News
Hallwatch Forced to Drop Street Lists
New State Regulations Discourage Political Activity
Posted by Ed Goppelt
Wednesday, 01/29/03
(1043887892668)
|
New state regulations went into effect yesterday which specifically ban the
publication of voter street lists on the Internet. Street lists are
lists of registered voters organized by street.
Registered Hallwatch users had been able up until now to create custom street lists for Philadelphia. Street lists are used by candidates to plan their campaigns, for mass mailings etc. ...Read entire story |
Open Records News
Judge: Prothonotary Wrong to Refuse Hallwatch Open Records Suits
Posted by Ed Goppelt
Thursday, 01/23/03
(1043376447722)
| On Wednesday, January 22, the Philadelphia Prothonotary filed without question a law suit I had brought under Pennsylvania's new Right to Know Act. That I was able to file is progress. Last week, the Prothonotary--the Clerk of the Courts--refused to accept three open records suits I had prepared even though they were identical in form to sui ...Read entire story |
Open Records News
2nd Open Records Suit Filed Against BRT
Posted by Ed Goppelt
Monday, 12/09/02
(1039442640968)
|
Last Friday, December 6, I once again sued Philadelphia's Board of Revision of Taxes (BRT) under the Right to Know Act. Read the law suit here. The BRT is the city agency responsible for setting property assessments. I don't like suing the BRT . It's expensive and it takes a lot of time. And it means lots of conta ...Read entire story |
Open Records News
Goppelt v. BRT or Why I am Suing the BRT
Posted by Ed Goppelt
Thursday, 10/24/02
(1035479182370)
|
On October 23, I filed suit against Philadelphia's Board of Revision of Taxes (BRT). The BRT is the City agency responsible for setting the assessments for the 570,000 homes and commercial properties in Philadelphia. Why am I suing the BRT? |
Open Records News
A Visit to the Prothonotary's Office or Where to File Suit Against the BRT
Posted by Ed Goppelt
Thursday, 10/24/02
(1035476243240)
|
I was ready to sue the BRT. I had done my research, drafted my appeal. All my papers for my law suit against the BRT was in order: 4 copies of my appeal and accompanying exhibits. But where/how does one actually file a law suit in Common Pleas Court in Philadelphia? If you want to sue an agency of the City of Philadelphia, or anybody else for that matter, yo ...Read entire story |