An alert reader sent me this information, obtained from the Kootenai County Assessor’s Office and reflects actual 2007 tax bills for 4 area properties. I have the addresses and parcel numbers to back up this info. These example properties show the small percentage of tax money that goes to our city & county, and how much goes to LCDC. Remember that those of us living outside the LCDC districts pay more to offset the money the city and county are shorted by this operation.
Property 1: Tax Bill=$9,100. Dollars Paid to City/County=$347. Tax Dollars to LCDC=$8,753.
Property 2: Tax Bill=$14,795. Dollars Paid to City/County=$7,363. Tax Dollars to LCDC=$7432.
Property 3: Tax Bill=$34,393. Dollars Paid to City/County=$856. Tax Dollars to LCDC=$33,537.
Property 4: Tax Bill=$23,907. Dollars Paid to City/County=$775. Tax Dollars to LCDC=$23,132.
LCDC rules…or at least has the gold.
Comment by Pariah — August 17, 2008 @ 11:37 am
The fact that the LCDC drains money from property taxes simply illustrates how Urban Renewal works in Idaho. That’s not the issue. The issue is what the LCDC does with that money. The City doesn’t get to spend the money for police and fire, sidewalks, streets, or parks. Instead, with Mayor Bloem’s blessings, the money goes to rich developers and insiders. The typical citizen in Coeur d’Alene doesn’t see the benefit — and if there is any benefit, then the Mayor and City Council are not explaining what it is.
Comment by Dan — August 17, 2008 @ 2:19 pm
Sorry. I had to add it up and put it on here. $9341 versus $72,854. 7.79 times that go back to the rich developers instead of the infrastructure that is desperately needed due to this uncontrolled growth. Not antigrowth, uncontrolled and unregulated growth. It is sad that these same people get priority for their parks, new sidewalks, snow removal, etc. I am curious what the total for ALL LCDC truly is if this is just 4 properties. And there are those that have no problem with these figures. I just don’t get it!
Comment by concerned citizen — August 17, 2008 @ 2:22 pm
I agree with most of what both Pariah and CC have to say. The common citizens of Coeur d’Alene, through LCDC, are subsidizing outlandish growth created by rich developers that is degrading our quality of life and ripping a huge hole in our property tax receipts at the same time. And this is good for who?
Comment by CdACanuck — August 17, 2008 @ 4:22 pm
The typical citizen in Coeur d’Alene doesn’t see the benefit — and if there is any benefit, then the Mayor and City Council are not explaining what it is.
Isn’t Riverstone a benefit? I shop and eat there and go to the movies there too. Even concerts on Thursday nights.
Comment by reagan — August 17, 2008 @ 4:32 pm
reagan,
I too enjoy Riverstone but, at an eight to one tax difference? That is outrageous! I could understand this type of tax difference IF the jobs created were career level. They are not. They are service level with maybe one percent management. One cannot count the construction jobs. Once this is built out those jobs are gone.
Again, there are those that have no problem with these figures. I STILL don’t get it! The only ones benefitting would be John Stone, the “mysterious” stakeholders, and the LCDC. John Stone would have built Riverstone anyway. I do not understand stealing from the poor to feed the rich.
Please explain it to me!
Comment by concerned citizen — August 17, 2008 @ 5:05 pm
The typical CDA citizen doesn’t even go to Riverstone.I’ve only been there a coupla times, just to see what was going on.OH’the mud puddle was great,you can see all the lil’ ducks swim by.WOW!
Hey and concerts.Reagan has seen maybe,Chris Driesbach and his one man band and next week kids,the Brady Bunch will be there,while on their 40 year reunion tour.
Summation: Those LCDC dollars(taxpayers money)was well spent.NOT!
Mary,It’s well over 100 today and the heat is getting to me.I need to get to the closest body of water.Hey,
the Riverstone Pond.Oh’darn it’s only for ducks and geese and I’m not allowed to go through Bellerive condos,which are on the Spokane River.So,I have to drive all the way down to Independence Point to cool off in the water.That’s OK,I’m sure LCDC is working on solving the problems of the average working person of this CDA area.
Comment by kageman — August 17, 2008 @ 5:05 pm
BTW regan,
Rich developers get tax breaks, Tax incentives, land at a reduced rate. When I started my “small business” I had to either find partners that would take part of my profits or I had to get it financed and PAY interest back for the loan of the monies borrowed. Could you please tell me why you think this is alright to tax the hell out of small business and give incentives to someone that is only providing service jobs?
Comment by concerned citizen — August 17, 2008 @ 5:18 pm
To John Stone and his tenants whose hands you grease when you patronize them. Corporate welfare at it’s ugliest.
Comment by Pariah — August 17, 2008 @ 7:07 pm
IF urban renewal ONLY granted back tax incentives to highly specific projects using only the tax revenues generated by that project, I would not be as concerned. That’s the image that Tony Berns and the LCDC members want to portray. “These tax revenues wouldn’t even be here if we (LCDC) didn’t give the developer these breaks.”
But the huge, seldom understood truth is this: ALL of the tax increment from every single building, old and new, in their districts, whether the building received LCDC funds or not, ALL of it goes to LCDC, not to the city or county. They never want to tell you that.
Their districts are enormous. The Lake district covers nearly all of downtown, up 4th Ave, up NW Blvd all the way to the Kroc Center. The River district goes all the way out Seltice to Mill River…and watch them expand it to include the Atlas and DeArmond Mill sites.
Comment by mary — August 17, 2008 @ 7:12 pm
You know, Pariah, I don’t blame John Stone or Mike Patano or any of the developers who have received public money to enhance their profits. They are just being savvy businessmen. (I wouldn’t do it, but I like to sleep peacefully at night.) The people I blame for the misuse of public funds are the members of the LCDC board and especially the Mayor and City Council who are supposed to supervise them and take care of our money. They should not allow smart developers to get these deals but, and I say this with all due respect, many of these elected officials don’t really understand the urban renewal process and they are probably afraid to admit it.
Comment by mary — August 17, 2008 @ 7:34 pm
Mary, you say “with all due respect, many of these elected officials don’t really understand the urban renewal process and they are probably afraid to admit it.” I have a hard time giving any due respect to these people for the simple reason I can’t think of one of them , with all the exposure and revelations about their activities, who can claim ignorance. They know absolutely the effects of what they have been doing. Some of them may have regrets of what they have allowed to happen, but as you say, are afraid to admit it. Those individuals and their advisors are on the LCDC board and the city council and deserve no respect as they are cowards. It will all unravel soon due to the growing awarness by ghe public of their poor judgement and lack of good stewardship of the public’s business, thanks in no small part to vocal critics like you and others who have not been afraid to tell us about it.
Comment by Gary Ingram — August 17, 2008 @ 9:09 pm
The LCDC increment taxes for Riverstone is not 7 to 1. It is 1 to 1. 100% of the property taxes paid for Riverstone properties and any other new property within the URD goes to the LCDC. The reason is that they are new to the tax rolls. They did not exist when the LCDC started so they have no original base value. The incremental change is then 100%.
I agree that Riverstone is nice. Developer Stone has done a good job and will reap huge rewards for his effort. He had no business getting one penny for Riverstone Park and the LCDC needs to close out the project NOW. The 11 acre park is nothing more that the major marketing water feature for the Riverstone development. Go to the Riverstone web site and see this for yourself. Half of the park is completely useless. Name any city park anywhere where 1/2 of the facility is literally illegal to use. Even the geese are not allowed to use that stupid lake. 4 picnic tables, 1 jungle gym and a 200 seat, ass-busting concrete seat, outdoor theatre to serve a city of 36,000. All for only $3,200,000.00 on top of what Stone got from the LCDC for his development. And now the citizens of CdA get to keep Riverstones water feature park groomed for the residents who will get to look at it. It is a shameful abuse of public trust and funds.
Since 2002 the valuation of property within the LCDC URD has risen close to 600% to $280 million. Much of this is due to the increase in property values and more and more of it will be due to new properties, like Riverstone, being completed. This proves that the purpose of the LCDC has been met and that the LCDC can be dissolved. The URD is beyond flourishing. It is exploding with economic growth. Show me the blight. Show me where the LCDC needs to use one more public dime to correct blight. The LCDC has become a publicly funded developer of private property. They are indeed enriching themselves and the elected officials responsible for their oversight. That is the only blight I see.
Comment by Wallypog — August 18, 2008 @ 6:46 am
Very well said, Wallypog.
Comment by mary — August 18, 2008 @ 8:56 am
LCDC Budget meeting this Wednesday. I watch most meetings just to see the famous red light/green light report from Berns. Is anyone planning on attending?
Comment by doubleseetripleeye — August 18, 2008 @ 9:17 am
Gary, I appreciate your viewpoint. Yes, it is difficult to respect the actions of many of our public officials involved in these actions. That’s why I used the term “due respect”. Some of them don’t have much respect due.
Comment by mary — August 18, 2008 @ 11:13 am
LCDC is just another reason I will not vote for any tax increase such as the jail. Until the fat cats pay their share I will fight paying for them. Perhaps the Riverstone area should be forced to provide their own police protection and other services since they are not contributing anything but an extra burden on services.
Comment by Mama Bear — August 18, 2008 @ 3:02 pm
Wallypog,
Your statement is correct but only one seventh of the monies go back into the city coffers. Seven times that amount goes directly to the LCDC.
Comment by concerned citizen — August 20, 2008 @ 9:00 am
If this information is absolutely ironclad, irrefutably correct, then it should be in the newspaper where it may be read by larger numbers of people than this blog engenders. As Mary has her weekly column, I strongly urge her to publish this information.
Comment by Diogenes — August 20, 2008 @ 9:29 am
The situation WILL GET WORSE. The LCDC will consume more and more money that the city needs to run. The results: they will have to shut down parks, recreation, the library, and other “non-essential” services. The city will borrow money from the LCDC. An non-elected board will govern the majority of tax dollars collected in Coeur d’Alene. The people will not have a vote over how this money is spent, nor will they have any idea where it’s spent because the LCDC has no plan. It will be corruption and cronyism as its worse.
The Mayor and Mike Kennedy are, of course, okay with all that.
Comment by Dan — August 20, 2008 @ 9:49 am
Yes, Diogenes, I agree it needs publication. These numbers are absolutely true but they are from 2007 and new information is being gathered.
Comment by mary — August 20, 2008 @ 10:32 am
Then publish with that notation exactly. That the figures are from 2007 make the information no less onorous. Publish the 2007 figures as such and state that more recent figures are being researched. This is the exact type of information that must be widely disseminated to the public. Not opinion, but fact that cannot be flim flammed or obscured by the city council.
Comment by Diogenes — August 20, 2008 @ 4:08 pm
Mama Bear is right on the money. I am NOT voting for a single levy, tax increase or what ever else they want to call it in this county or any taxing district until this abomination, or is that obamanation, lcdc takes their hands out of my wallet. I live in the county just outside Hayden. Why are my county tax $$$ going to CDA, PF and Hayden urban renewal districts?
Diogenes is also right on the money. What the hell is wrong with Patrick, this should be a headline that fills up the entire front page of the CDA Press and run for a week, at least.
It is certainly time for some serious house cleaning in the cda council. HELL, if KC residents are sending this much money to cda, then WE should be able to vote in the cda council races.
Comment by Will Penny — August 20, 2008 @ 5:55 pm
The county residents have to pay higher taxes because property in the CdA “urban blite” areas goes to LCDC who hands it out to developers and pet projects. This means a tax shift to the county taxpayers to cover services. It is time for our elected county officials to make real noise on this issue. The more we in the county say no to increased tax levies and bonds, and we point to LCDC as a reason, the pressure will grow for the elected officials to start screaming to the State Legislature.
Comment by Mama Bear — August 20, 2008 @ 8:36 pm
Dan, you paint a scary picture. To borrow money from LCDC for essential services and then being in their debt is as scary as it gets…..Please don’t tell me it could be even worse or the city folk may not sleep at night. Actually that might be good because they would have to wake up and open their eyes.
Comment by Mama Bear — August 20, 2008 @ 8:42 pm
Mr. Patrick has expressed outrage over the LCDC many times. The problem is that the story is boring. It isn’t sexy. Unless there is a major scandal involved, people could really care less.
At OpenCdA, we will continue to get out the message. Mary’s column helps. Indeed, at the LCDC meeting today, Jim Elder mentioned that they need to “get the word out” to counter what Mary writes, and what I said this past Tuesday in the paper. Of course, we’re merely making public what the LCDC does; if they truly want to change their image, they need to change what they do.
By the way, can someone confirm that Tony Berns’ compensation package is now up to $161,000? That would make him the highest paid public servant in all of Idaho.
Comment by Dan — August 20, 2008 @ 9:36 pm
Will Penny brings up another horrifying aspect of urban renewal: Taxation without representation. The mayor and city council in CdA are elected by the citizens of the city. These officials appoint the LCDC board who then approve tax subsidies for developers. Everyone in the county pays more on their property taxes to make up for the taxes within the urban renewal district that go to LCDC rather than to the city and county. That is absolute taxation without representation for those outside of CdA. You have no say, no vote for those causing your additional taxation.
Comment by mary — August 20, 2008 @ 10:48 pm
Exactly Mary, Taxation without representation was one of the main reasons our Fore Fathers fought for our freedoms. To paraphrase Thomas Jefferson; “Millions for the jail, not one penny for lcdc.”
Dan I think with the figures cited here, with tax bills of a total of $82,095 collected by the county, they kept only $9,310. That means that the county got less than 9.5% of the taxes they collected. Any Idea what that percentage is for all taxes collected by the county? THAT should cause Patrick and the rest of the media around here to take notice. It may finally wake up the sleepy electorate in CDA to replace the bozos that mismanage their city. The County Commissioners and the sheriff ought to be making this known as to why we have to have this massive bond for the jail and other improvements.
Comment by Will Penny — August 21, 2008 @ 5:04 am
The budget approved yesterday is not detailed; however, Administration expenses are as follows: Lake District, $97,010, River District, $64,674, for a total of $161,684. Mr. Berns told me he does not have a secretary as he is very efficient, so I have no idea as to the breakdown.
The budget figures should indicate expenditures of past years as does the Coeur d’Alene. The totals cover a multitude of payments that should be itemized for public information. The itemization should be attached to the budget as I had difficulty following Tony’s answers.
Comment by Susie Snedaker — August 21, 2008 @ 7:01 am
“The itemization should be attached to the budget as I had difficulty following Tony’s answers.”
Doesn’t everybody have difficulty following Tony’s answers since he talks in LCDC lingo?
LCDC lin·go
Pronunciation: el se de se \ˈliŋ-(ˌ)gō\
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural lingoes
Etymology: probably from Lingua Franca or tony berns, language, tongue, from Occitan, from Latin lingua — more at tongue from tony berns
Date: 1660
: strange or incomprehensible language or speech: as a: a foreign language b: the special vocabulary of a particular field of interest c: language characteristic of an individual
Boy does that explain him or what?
Comment by concerned citizen — August 21, 2008 @ 7:32 am
GREAT, now Harrison wants a URD. More money diverted from the county coffers.
Comment by Will Penny — August 21, 2008 @ 12:13 pm
I was able to watch yesterday’s budget meeting of LCDC. Several items warrant discussion. The Salvation Army approached LCDC to participate in the funding of the traffic signal at Golf Course Road and Ramsey Road(not Ramsey Boulevard Major Chamness). As the city leaders were depleting the rainy day fund for this project, assurances were given that the traffic signal would be paid for with CDBG monies awarded under a grant written by Panhandle Area Council. The proposal wasn’t selected. Now Harry Amend and Major Chamness wish to have LCDC participate for $75,000 to fund this signal which will cost in excess of $300,000. LCDC has already pledged to support the Salvation Army Kroc Center $100,000 for each of the next five years. The question is will the LCDC open their bucket of cash and fund this planning snafu just like they did when they agreed to fund the public safety building downtown, when they were told by Troy Tymesen that no funds had been allocated in the Coeur d’Alene budget for this vital structure. Major Chamness why don’t you have the Salvation Army pass the hat during Sunday Services. Enough is enough.
When City attorney Mike Gridley asked LCDC for $19,000 for surveying the Centennial Trail property, he had no competetive bids. Oh well, it’s really just an advance against their line of credit and LCDC will be made whole after the property is transferred. The most shocking thing of this presentation was when Mr. Gridley said “Things are progressing nicely, the mill has closed.” Please help me understand, has that become the prevailing attitude of our residents? This beautiful city was built with timber dollars. Maybe even Lori (Barnes) Isenberg of Northwest Dynamics remembers THIS FAMILY SUPPORTED BY TIMBER DOLLARS. Oh well, she was thanked by the LCDC board for her wonderful work in Midtown. I believe she was thanked $10235 times.
Stepany Bales and PacWest were hired again to work on a communication strategy for the Education Corridor at a cost of $6,000. LCDC agreed to fund $1450 of this cost, with the remaining portion to be paid by other partners. Specifically excluded was the Fort Ground Homeowners Association. The reason was that they didn’t want to burden them with this cost. One might surmise that there are other reasons for this exclusion, but it really doesn’t matter since this whole Education Corridor project is going nowhere. Proponents do not have the funds nor the broad-based support needed to make it happen.
Finally, LCDC I’m really happy that you have received more tax increment than you expected; now please explain to me how that benefits me the taxpayer.
Comment by doubleseetripleeye — August 21, 2008 @ 12:43 pm
“Taxation without representation” should be a battle cry for our Kootenai County Commissioners. They seem to be missing in action! Perhaps when all bond and levy requests are denied by the county taxpayer the Commissioners will start to lead on attacking LCDC for robbing the County for the City.
NIC will also learn that allowing the City to dictate to the County where OUR community college is located will backfire, as County residents will never pass a levy or bond to fund the a hijacked community college.
Comment by Mama Bear — August 21, 2008 @ 8:46 pm