In our already topsy-turvy world, this morning’s CdA Press heralded yet another mind bending headline. I can’t link to the article because it is not online, but I will try to give you the basics here.
The article is titled “LCDC expects higher budget“, by Tom Hasslinger, and reports that LCDC expects $5.1 million in property tax revenues this year. Remember this is money that comes from property taxes and does NOT go to the city or county…..it goes to the unelected board of LCDC to spend on “deterioration and blight”. The rest of us pay more to make up the difference.
So, when all other public agencies are cutting budgets, and private businesses are laying off thousands of local folks, LCDC is expecting an INCREASE in the money they skim off of the property taxes from every single building in the whole downtown, Riverstone, Mill River, NW Blvd area.
Tony Berns, Exec. Director of LCDC (who makes more than the Governor of Idaho), is quoted in the article as saying: “These districts are perfoming exactly as they should be. We have a lot of good projects perfoming wonderfully, generating revenue for the betterment of the community.”
Are you including Riverstone, Tony? What’s so “wonderful” about the condos they are having to auction off at rock-bottom prices?
What about the Lofts on Sherman? Word on the street is that only one has been sold, and that was to one of the owners.
Let’s get real: the tax burden caused by LCDC is inappropriate. It’s time to rein in the districts, keep the active projects on the slate but return the huge tax increment skimmed from the business core back to the city and county. What do you think?
Don’t forget Belrive. Chesrown has drastically cut the prices on these river front condos and neither of the big units have sold. Frankly if they cannot sell river front properties for those prices then the upcoming auction for the Riverstone condos will be a complete bust. One only needs to look at the lack of continued work to see the situation clearly. There will be no new construction in these developments for the foreseeable future. Not only is the LCDC going to hang on to its failed existence it is encumbering taxpayer owned properties to fund more projects that have no better chance of success. Given the clear lack of performance it is time for someone to at least put the LCDC on hold.
Comment by Wallypog — July 22, 2009 @ 4:16 pm
Am I crazy or is Berns out of touch with the common man?
Why should we rejoice that LCDC is increasing its coffers when the common man is concerned about his increasing tax burden?
Here comes the Twilight Zone again.
Comment by citizen — July 22, 2009 @ 9:58 pm
Every penny, nickel, dime, quarter and dollar of taxpayer money sitting in an LCDC bank account is a penny, nickel, dime, quarter, and dollar of taxpayer money not being spent on remediating (alleged) deterioration and blight in the LCDC’s two projects.
Comment by Bill — July 23, 2009 @ 2:27 pm
Yes, Bill,according to the city’s own web site, under the topic of the HUD grant (Federal Housing and Urban Development Grant), the city says this:
So, tell me why we still have LCDC? Oh, Tony Berns would say it is for Economic Development. Do you want to be taxed extra for that reason right now, or ever? Do you want public money to go to private businesses so they will build bigger and fancier buildings that will unfairly compete with other local businesses that do not receive the tax benefits?
Comment by mary — July 23, 2009 @ 7:00 pm