In University City, a nonprofit dedicated to picking up litter and conducting safety patrols is tired of relying solely on voluntary contributions to fund its activities. Now, it wants businesses and property owners with at least four units to pay up.

A 2000 amendment to a state law made it easier for community groups to create Business Improvement Districts (BIDs), which are types of Neighborhood Improvement Districts (NIDs) that collect mandatory "assessments" from those who benefit from their services. BIDs in Center City, East Passyunk, Roxborough and Manayunk already tax local businesses.

BUSINESS EXPENSES: The University City District helps keep 36th and Lancaster clean. But they want locals to start chipping in. : Michael T. Regan

Today, the University City District (UCD), whose biggest patron is the University of Pennsylvania, is asking 1,300 businesses and owners to fork over an amount equal to 12 percent of their property tax bills. In many cases, that works out to less than $5 per property a month. But to opponents, it's not all about money.

"It's taxation without representation," says realtor and fourth generation resident Chris O'Donnell. "I never elected anyone at the University of Pennsylvania; therefore, I don't want them to have the power to tax me."

The tax is projected to generate $1 million in the first year, but before UCD usurps taxing power, City Council must approve the deal, which means Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell has to introduce an ordinance, something she says she'll do only if most are happy with the plan.

"Is it really the will of the majority," she asks, "or is it the will of a few who run big apartment buildings and own a few homes?"

The University City District, a nonprofit organization that uses donations from West Philly institutions to conduct "Clean and Safe" programs and market community events, was created in 1997. Nearly a decade later, Penn contributes 40 percent of UCD's $5.4 million annual budget. Now, supporters say, it's time for those who benefit from its services and indirect perks like rising property values to share the burden. Some locals think it's a fair price to pay.

On four separate evenings last summer when Christopher Loftus closed his coffee shop on Lancaster Avenue, some kids harassed him and once tried to swipe the cash register. After calls to the police went unheeded, Loftus called UCD, which sent Safety Ambassadors (who work with city and Penn police) right over. "I feel like I should have been paying for that then," he says. "City Hall is so damn … well, nothing gets done down there. Representation just doesn't happen in this city anymore."

Loftus trusts the UCD board to do the right thing, but Al Krigman, who has owned property here for more than 30 years and rents out about 30 units, doesn't.

"If Penn wants to spend their money to clean the streets, God bless them," he says. "But if they're going to use my money to clean the streets, I'd like to see some evidence."

UCD says its workers, on average, annually provide 350 walking escorts and remove 80,000 bags of trash. But without a clear system of accountability, such as a public election, Krigman says, "They're pretending they know how to spend our money better than we do without even getting our advice."

Not so, says UCD, which held three public meetings. Tonight, the NID steering committee plans to decide whether more public meetings are needed before the plan is presented to Blackwell. If council OKs the plan, property owners have 45 days to object, says Larry Houstoun, a Cranbury, N.J.-based consultant working for UCD.

If 51 percent of owners or owners representing 51 percent of the assessed property value say "no," the plan is dead. "We've never had that level of opposition by assessees before," he says. "Maybe we would this time, but I don't think so."