[{"_1":2,"_87":-5,"_88":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6602490,"mediaKeyId","3001279-ac9b6c7ef4daa0c3779c9e191343b066","parentId",3001279,"title","Commerce department outlines FY2026 budget and $30 million JumpStart plan as council considers ending $100,000 BIRT exemption","audioSeconds",734,"startMs",745000,"endMs",10899,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3001279-ac9b6c7ef4daa0c3779c9e191343b066&start=745&end=10","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3001279-ac9b6c7ef4daa0c3779c9e191343b066/thumbnail_745000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6602490/Philadelphia-City/Philadelphia-County/Pennsylvania/Commerce-department-outlines-FY2026-budget-and-30-million-JumpStart-plan-as-council-considers-ending-100000-BIRT-exemption","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6602490-1c2ce9d893f28f12626f64a812118387/orig.mp4?Expires=1771177662&Signature=UfAScPefhFyX4HMUpXgvziIVyxSMgUSTBey4O5ApLzyU5Onn11ckCVqAjLxvlA~KuUK6EsuilKAd7nsgkfXQA7i3lRKdtx-n4nuB62p0PBZq2HbEPaO3o46dxDLiU2Qq0woeZ6UaXOVP8Uu44aEZL4hKKDTqUqkQHjtDjEnNbgmgnzzIC71gJ7zzta0tgj4sRQ-F-POxdl7oWZaOYLCa9KeWT4BHoNcxSGD1WFcCp1uYboPtWjgy~1gHpiY8mEzudxHfq5tEsYhsOUCSlGyFL-kXWcvTMYhcZHrhD1WkOI-yVj4eiaVbcmMbUkY5SAHvdBIGm~7uPD6esW7JI8EJQQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Philadelphia City Council","date","2025-04-16T00:25:42.553Z","article","Alba Martinez, the city’s director of commerce, testified to the Committee of the Whole about the Department of Commerce’s proposed fiscal 2026 operating budget and a package of business supports the administration calls GrowPhilly.

Martinez told council the department is launching a JumpStart small-business initiative and a separate $5 million Catalyst fund to expand access to capital and technical assistance, and that the overall FY26 request includes new resources to grow small-business supports and corridor investment ahead of 2026 events. “We are implementing a strategy we call Grow Philly to make it easier and more attractive to start, operate, and grow a business in Philadelphia,” Martinez said.

The testimony came as council members discussed a possible removal of the existing exemption for the first $100,000 of receipts from the Business Income and Receipts Tax (BIRT). Council President and others flagged that change during budget debate; Commerce staff described a multiyear package intended to help businesses adapt.

Why it matters: council consideration of removing the first-$100,000 BIRT receipts exemption would require many small businesses to begin filing and paying BIRT for the first time. Commerce officials told council they expect the city to deploy targeted aid to reduce harms and support business continuity.

What Commerce said
- Martinez highlighted several programs the department intends to expand or launch: a JumpStart initiative totaling roughly $30 million over the first year of operation for education, capital, and technical assistance; a $5 million Catalyst fund targeted at growth-ready firms and business property purchases; and an expansion of the Taking Care of Business (TCB) corridor maintenance program from $10 million to $24 million.
- Martinez said Commerce’s business-service staff and the Mayor’s Business Action Team (MBAT) helped more than 5,000 businesses in the prior year and that new tools such as a Permit Navigator and a forthcoming “Philly Biz Hub” website will centralize permits, licensing, education and capital resources.

Projected scale and outreach
Deputy Commerce Director Yvonne Boyd told council the department estimates about 75,000 entities previously exempt from filing BIRT may now have to file, and that approximately 56,000 of those are not real-estate firms. Boyd said the department expects to directly serve roughly 11,000 businesses per year with the $30 million program through a combination of grants, technical assistance and capital support, while broader education and outreach will reach many more.

“We have about 75,000 businesses who previously did not have to file for the BIRT who now will have to file,” Boyd said. “Based on the programs that we’ve decided to deploy the $30,000,000 in, we will serve about 11,000, a little more than 11,000 businesses, in the first year.”

Commerce officials described several elements intended to reach businesses that may not currently file city taxes: coordination with the Revenue Department for education and outreach, an MBAT phone line and business-service managers, targeted communications in multiple languages, and an expansion of staff capacity for direct assistance.

Funding mix and program priorities
Commerce staff said the JumpStart dollars will be directed to programs that already have demonstrated results and to pilot innovations such as the Catalyst Fund and a single-application process for capital. Martinez noted the city is also proposing targeted general-fund increases to support marketing, corridor beautification and business technical assistance.

Other programs and metrics mentioned
- Taking Care of Business: expanded from $10 million to $24 million; TCB currently employs 324 cleaning ambassadors across 39 nonprofit partners and Black-owned businesses and is slated to expand to 52 partners with more than 400 ambassadors.
- Philadelphia Business Lending Network: Commerce said its incentive grant program has helped more than 100 businesses secure loans from 30 lending partners, and that 70% were first-time borrowers.
- A new Philly Biz Hub website and Permit Navigator are due to launch to centralize permitting and assistance.

Council concerns and staff responses
Several council members asked how the department will ensure the JumpStart funds go to the businesses most affected if the BIRT exemption is removed, how Commerce will staff up to handle demand, and whether the $30 million will be sufficient. Martinez and deputies emphasized a mix of marketing, outreach, direct assistance and vetted capital awards.

Martinez identified Heloise Jettison, Commerce chief of staff, and Frank Nasir, Commerce finance director, as contact points for council on program continuity during leadership transition. Commerce repeatedly emphasized a “no wrong door” approach to help businesses find the right resource or staff person.

What remains unclear at the hearing
Council members pressed for district-level data on the 75,000 businesses Commerce expects to be newly required to file and for a precise, auditable breakdown of the $30 million allocation. Commerce said it would provide more detailed, written materials to council.

Outlook and next steps
Commerce said outreach and pilot launches will begin immediately, including a single-application pilot for Catalyst and the Philly Biz Hub website. Council members signaled they expect written program breakdowns and district-level business counts before final budget votes. Commerce said it will continue working with council, Revenue and community partners on education, tax-prep assistance and capital access.

Ending note
“Bottom line, we’re making it easier for businesses to start, stay, and grow right here in Philadelphia,” Martinez said, urging council to view the department’s proposed investments as both response and opportunity as the city evaluates tax policy and FY26 appropriations.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Committee of Whole: Budget Hearing 04-15-25 Morning","oneSentenceSummary","Alba Martinez, the city’s director of commerce, testified to the Committee of the Whole about the Department of Commerce’s proposed fiscal 2026 operating budget and a package of business supports the administration calls GrowPhilly.","taxTitle","Philadelphia City, Philadelphia County , Pennsylvania","taxId",80615,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6602485,"Planning and development present HOME initiative, Turn the Key progress and land-bank plans; tangled-title, garden acquisitions highlighted",791,5484000,6275000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3001279-ac9b6c7ef4daa0c3779c9e191343b066&start=5484&end=6275","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3001279-ac9b6c7ef4daa0c3779c9e191343b066/thumbnail_5484000.jpg","/articles/6602485/Philadelphia-City/Philadelphia-County/Pennsylvania/Planning-and-development-present-HOME-initiative-Turn-the-Key-progress-and-land-bank-plans-tangled-title-garden-acquisitions-highlighted","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6602485-f58c7babdfe33b32fb1e2aa9ad673d01/orig.mp4?Expires=1771177662&Signature=cB4udkH8Qyo6r~BkczNCaCZITsR-k0bQevjjd2zwo7YU1DNXJaYoon8ocRY~9uallzuTak3FVnB3Mmb~9t9rPMbQsUTQedTraD-rWbqPiiymf0HzHxFtse1r842YDxJACzl8zl6rWq0-dCggarHfA3UYbGGBFf3V57KVHlU~lvhiZByxCzESh0F6XLpd-U6vg~LBjWPqwv92k5Nd4gguuwyScWhvkrX9-WZD0gSHV0iJhJuCR8j-GJ9vOjpFodVETGb6TJFwdMPunSWg6KwvlHzZJ2HeHOjTx400w~ZxZKhFKvIwfh6MAjxZbveFbJahyQu2n4RqvbmcY52~QL9FhQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Jesse Lawrence, director of the Department of Planning and Development (DPD), presented the department’s fiscal 2026 priorities to the Committee of the Whole, centering the HOME initiative to “create and preserve 30,000 housing units” and a set of neighborhood stabilization and land-management actions.

Lawrence told council DPD will coordinate comprehensive planning, affordable housing creation and preservation, land management via the Land Bank, and economic development programs tied to neighborhood infrastructure, foreclosure prevention and equity-focused appraisal changes.

Turn the Key and land-bank updates
Angel Rodriguez, executive director of the Philadelphia Land Bank, provided metrics on Turn the Key and other land-bank activity. Rodriguez said the Land Bank has approved 800 properties for Turn the Key; about 400 are under construction; 235 have been completed and “over 200 have been sold.” He said 75 of the sold units were purchased by city employees and that the Land Bank has engaged about $13.1 million in Turn the Key secondary mortgages and $1.3 million for the Philly First Home program.

Rodriguez also told council the Land Bank secured roughly $5 million to resume sheriff-sale acquisitions and identified an additional roughly $1.5 million related to US Bank liens. He said the Land Bank planned a first bid on the city’s bid platform for a set of sheriff-sale properties in June and that acquisitions for those properties could occur then, subject to required legal notices and respondent options.

Community gardens and the US Bank lien properties
Rodriguez said the city executed a memorandum of understanding to pursue acquisition of US Bank liens tied to properties that include community gardens. He said the sheriff-sale timeline and required statutory notices mean the Land Bank expects to record titles then proceed to disposition; he warned that dispositions requiring council resolution would likely occur in the fall because council is not in session during the June sheriff-sales period.

Tangled-title fund and foreclosure prevention
Mark Dodds, deputy director for housing and community development, discussed tangled-title assistance and other foreclosure-avoidance supports. Dodds said the tangled-title fund currently covers costs up to $4,000 per case and that the department is communicating with legal aid partners about increased transfer-tax costs. “We do anticipate receiving somewhere in the neighborhood of $300,000 in FY26 as the increase in recording fees,” Dodds said, and staff are discussing how that revenue can help offset higher transaction costs for families.

Land Bank inventory and disposition
DPD and Land Bank staff said the city’s inventory of public properties under agency management has been refined over the last decade; Angel Rodriguez said the Land Bank has disposed of about 1,017 properties since inception and currently manages about 6,000 properties in the public inventory. Rodriguez and DPD staff told council the Land Bank is increasing disposition capacity but needs additional project management and real-estate staffing to accelerate timelines.

Council questions and requests
Council members asked for written breakdowns of MPI/HOME bridging plans, details about remaining MPI bond funds (council cited a $50 million figure), and clarity about which programs in HOME will be bridged from prior MPI commitments. Council also requested a streamlined application and support process for community garden groups that may be eligible to acquire US Bank lien properties, and DPD and the Land Bank said they would coordinate with nonprofit partners such as NGT on a specialized garden disposition application.

Why it matters
HOME and Turn the Key represent large, cross-departmental efforts to expand affordable housing, reduce blight, and move public land into productive ownership. The Land Bank’s sheriff-sale work and tangled-title fund affect homeowners with complex title issues and community gardens at risk of losing stewardship rights if liens and sheriff-sale processes are not handled with notice and direct outreach.

Ending note
DPD and Land Bank officials promised follow-up written materials and district-level briefings for council to clarify program timelines, inventory numbers and the planned June sheriff-sale process for US Bank lien properties.","Department of Planning and Development Director Jesse Lawrence described the HOME initiative and neighborhood programs; Philadelphia Land Bank Director Angel Rodriguez and others reported Turn the Key outputs, acquisition plans for US Bank liens and rising costs in tangled-title assistance.","actionData","errors"]

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Commerce department outlines FY2026 budget and $30 million JumpStart plan as council considers ending $100,000 BIRT exemption

Planning and development present HOME initiative, Turn the Key progress and land-bank plans; tangled-title, garden acquisitions highlighted