This week’s edition of Shackamaxon covers data centers, property assessments, and more woes at the Philadelphia Sheriff’s Office.
Sports data center
Former Eagles offensive lineman Jason Kelce seems to be more omnipresent in retirement than he was during his career. Most recently, he filmed a commercial for Garage Beer and Liquid Death that asked Americans to send him their urine to supply data centers.
While conjuring a negative image of yellow liquid in a cup is probably an unwise strategy for someone who co-owns a light beer company, Kelce’s commercial had another major problem — data centers don’t actually use as much water as public perception suggests.
In fact, the biggest threat to U.S. water supplies is something far more mundane: alfalfa farming.
Across the arid Western states, farmers are using vast amounts of water to irrigate their fields, which are then used to feed cows for the beef industry. A single acre of alfalfa uses 1.6 million to 2.5 million gallons of water. In Utah, feed farming uses over half the state’s water supply. Meanwhile, the data centers themselves increasingly rely on closed-loop systems. The water used as coolant gets purified and reused, reducing their own need.
The confusion over water use is emblematic of the general debate over the centers, which is rife with hard-to-vet claims. And shifting public opinion has left politicians in both parties flat-footed and scrambling to react.
Gov. Josh Shapiro, the ever-Ambitious Abingtonian, issued his own response to the situation. Much of what Shapiro said is reasonable. He wants tech companies to pay for their own power and contribute to community benefits agreements, and to respect the Pennsylvania Constitution’s guarantee of clean air and pure water. Some of it is less sensible, specifically his commitment to local control.
Local control sounds great in theory: Why shouldn’t communities have the final say over how they are developed? In practice, however, it is shortsighted. There are two reasons for this.
One, the impact of data centers is regional, not local. If opponents are correct about the impact on water and electricity bills, this impact will exist no matter where the centers operate. Given the PJM grid Pennsylvanians rely on spans multiple states, there is no plausible pathway for local communities to insulate themselves from rising energy demand by blocking data center proposals.
Two, not every community can afford to say no. Take the bankrupt city of Chester, for example. From its efforts to sell the Chester Water Authority to its role as host for the Reworld Trash Incinerator, financial considerations already play a big role in that city’s policymaking. By handing control to local authorities, the governor is ensuring cities like Chester will disproportionately play host to data centers.
For those who believe they will have a strong negative impact on quality of life, how is that possibly fair?
Instead, what is needed is federal, regional, or at least statewide coordination.
Fair value
Over in Allegheny County, home to Pittsburgh and many of its suburbs, the courts have ordered local officials to begin a full property reassessment, which must be completed by 2032. Pennsylvania is unique in not requiring regular reassessment.
Pittsburgh’s values were last set in 2012, but more than a third of the state’s counties haven’t been reassessed since the 20th century. This leads to wildly out-of-whack and unfair tax bills for some residents.
Of course, Philadelphians can tell you that regular reassessment is not a panacea for discontent. The city’s most recent valuations have set off a firestorm of consternation, especially given how many lower-income areas saw big increases. It doesn’t help matters that the neighborhoods Cherelle L. Parker used to represent on City Council, and powered her election as mayor, saw some of the smallest boosts in valuation.
As tempting a story as the mayor favoring her core supporters while squeezing the city’s poorest neighborhoods may be, that is not an accurate assessment.
Given the massive decrease in shootings and consistent efforts to clean and green the city, it is not surprising to see increased demand for neighborhoods like Kensington, Grays Ferry, and Fairhill. While there is still a long way to go on public safety, higher valuations are a sign of progress.
It also should remind Council members that their theory that development drives property appreciation is faulty. Many of the neighborhoods with higher appreciation have seen little to no new development. In Northern Liberties/Fishtown, one of the city’s hot spots for new construction, values increased by just 1.7%.
Additionally, the city has a powerful tool for protecting low-income homeowners: the homestead exemption. While the city’s stated property tax rate is 0.013998, owner-occupants pay a much lower rate. For a home valued at the city’s median of $260,000, the total tax bill is $2,239.68, or 0.008614. In Fairhill, where the median home value is $80,000, the homestead exemption eliminates the total tax liability for many residents. Boosting the exemption from $100,000 to $110,000 or $120,000 would ensure more low-income homeowners are protected from rising tax bills.
Bilal’s babysitter
Mayor Parker wouldn’t do it. City Council wouldn’t, either. Accountability for the Philadelphia Sheriff’s Office instead came from Common Pleas Court Judge Paula A. Patrick.
After listening to a list of excuses and promises, it was clear Patrick had her fill of incompetence. The beleaguered department, which had been ordered to produce a specific set of documents months ago, suddenly released thousands of pages the night before the hearing.
Instead of putting officials before the court with direct knowledge of why a backlog in processing property deeds began, Sheriff Rochelle Bilal instead sent Steven Wakefield, a deputy undersheriff who was hired just two months ago. Wakefield was tasked with testifying about past events he was not privy to, despite repeated warnings from the judge.
As for Bilal herself, she claims to have “limited personal knowledge of the underlying facts.”
Issuing deeds is one of the core functions of her job, but apparently the sheriff had no idea what was going on. Instead, Wakefield tried to scapegoat a former employee named Melissa Simpson, who had apparently been handling the entire process on her own without oversight from anyone.
This testimony led to an agreement in which Bilal will have to identify someone to oversee deed sales for six months. A babysitter, essentially.
While it is good to see someone holding the sheriff accountable for once, a temporary babysitter is only a partial solution. The office should be abolished.
Sadly, that seems unlikely. Bilal may struggle to perform her day job, but she has thrived at building up political allies. She has been invited to news conferences by District Attorney Larry Krasner, remains a political player after her years running the Guardian Civic League, and faces next to no criticism from City Council. She was even honored by the Phillies as a “hometown hero.”
Troublingly, Bilal does not even seem to have an opponent in next year’s elections, despite the continued public mismanagement of her office. That, at least, should change.
Perhaps the Ambitious Abingtonian can find a Perspicacious Philadelphian willing to take on the challenge of replacing Bilal.
