By Mike Dunn

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – Mayor Nutter is warning of possible confusion over property taxes next winter, stemming from City Council’s decision to delay new assessments by one year.

Council members chose to delay the Actual Value Initiative (AVI) system so there’s more time for the numbers to be fully vetted. Mayor Nutter now says those new values will be mailed to property owners on February 15th of next year. Two weeks later, tax bills are due.

But, here’s the confusing part: those tax bills due next February will be based on the old assessments.

“Unfortunately, some may get slightly confused by all of this activity. It is unfortunately an unintended consequence of making a transition from one system to another.”

The new assessments will be used for tax bills that are due at the end of February 2014.

“The new assessments have nothing to do with the 2013 tax bill that property owners will be paying under the old system. We don’t want folks who are getting ready to pay their Tax Year 2013 bill to look at the new assessment that they will have just received, and then try to multiply that by the then-current millage rate.”

Click here to view a calendar (PDF) explaining this.