>It's OBVIOUSLY not "free money", and anyone who thinks there is such
>a thing is either a liar or not very bright (toned down for Tim's
>benefit).
I'm going to come out of retirement on this issue (after only 24
hours) for Erik's benefit.
(Note: I'm toning this UP for Eriks benefit :-) )
Sure, there is no such thing as FREE money. In my opinion, that is a
very NAIVE interpretation of the argument, set up to make a TIF
supporter look stupid (I guess some call this a straw man argument).
Of course there is no such thing as FREE money and I've never heard a
TIF supporter make that argument.
However, there is such a thing as untapped resources (i.e. -
POTENTIAL property taxes that have not been realized) or untapped
money. There is a different between "untapped/unused" money and
"free" money.
An unused parcel of property is a source of "untapped" property tax
revenue. Leaving it undeveloped, does not generate revenue for the
city in terms of property taxes. Some might say, that the city has
"opportunity costs" associated with that undeveloped parcel of
property. Tapping the POTENTIAL property taxes for development isn't
"FREE" money, but it is "UNTAPPED" money or "UNUSED" money (or source
of money).
It is money that DOES NOT compete with existing revenue, becaues we
haven't collected it (and have no other plans to collect it - if the
TIF project is being done properly). Its revenue that the city does
not yet have, so it can't be competing with education or public
safety.
The KEY here is, to make sure that the property would not be
developed anyway without the TIF money. Any project that is done with
TIF money that could have been done without, is at least a mistake
and potentially the "corruption" that Grace Kelly talked about.
I'm not arguing that we should use TIF willy nilly, only that we look
at it and evaluate it on a case by case basis - AND that we exercise
MUCH control over how and when its used.
For the sake of the "FREE MONEY" argument, I'll also argue that there
is no such thing as "FREE DEVELOPMENT." Some folks in this forum seem
to think, that if the city does nothing, developers will voluntarily
come along and invest large sums of money in our community on sites
that no one else is interested in, for a socially responsible profit
level, while conforming to community wishes (no strings attached).
Well, I'm sorry - that isn't how it works.
Cities work hard to make development happen, not always, but often.
They do it in many ways. Even in cases in which no TIF money is
involved, the city has potentially spent a great deal of resources
promoting and encouraging developers.
This is NOT always the case. BUT, I think it is the case more often
than some of us want to admit. TIF is only one of the most obvious
tools that cities use to entice developers, it might also be an often
abused tool. BUT, the fact that has been abused in the past is not
necessarily a reason to stop using it altogether.
If someone can make the case, that it has been abused so much and so
often that its completely lost its legitimacy, then maybe I'll change
my mind. BUT, so far, I'm not convinced that its gotten that far.
But, I am listening........
Best wishes,