On Tue, 11 Jul 1995, Carole Helm wrote:
> EDC Economic Update June, 1995
> ___________________________________________________________________
>
> BUSINESS OFFICE PARK UPDATE
>
[...]
> We're excited to have tax allocation financing available to help
> with the development of the Park. Tax allocation financing is a tool which
> can be utilized by local governments to temporarily target a portion of the
> INCREASE in tax revenue that flows from new construction (buildings) in a
> designated area. (The school district retains 60% of their portion of the
> increase). For a short time, this revenue is used to pay off bonds sold to
> finance the basic infrastructure for a given project. After the bonds are
> paid, all of the resulting tax revenue increase flows into the general funds
> of the local taxing districts (city, county, school district).
And what if the project falls flat on its face and revenues don't
increase? Who pays? A business park can be a highly speculative
venture.
> This short-term targeting of a portion of increased tax revenue
> resulting from designated development allows a project to happen that
> wouldn't have happened without the initial investment in the infrastructure.
> The Business Office Park is an example of such a project. Because it will
> take a few years for the park to fill with companies and buildings, the
> private sector finds it difficult to develop this type of project without
> forging some type of public-private partnership.
Why is it that business interests extol the virtues
of the market providing for the needs of the citizenry...and then
seek relief from government officials to insulate projects such as
this from the whims of the market?
Bonds will floated to cover the business park which
will be presumeably underwritten by the taxpayers of Moscow. Will the
people of Moscow have an opportunity to vote on whether to underwrite this
venture?
> Without a place for our technology-based companies to relocate to
> once they leave the Business Technology Incubator, we have been losing them
> to other areas. As these companies develop and mature, they create
> good-paying jobs, employ university students and graduates, bring NEW money
> into the community to circulate among our existing businesses, and diversify
> our economy to make it more recession-proof. Continuing to lose these
> businesses means that all the local benefits they bring to our economy
> (which includes increased property tax revenues) leave with them.
>
> The EDC's Business Office Park Committee, chaired by Larry Hodge,
> has been developing a plat plan for the park.
Ummmm....no conflict of interest here....
Perhaps it is time to relate a story to help dull the roar of the
bulldozers and graders.
Computer Services recently adverstized for a technical computer
position. An excellent candidate from Mt. Vernon, Washington
applied for the position saying he had visited Moscow about 3 years
ago. He found Moscow to be a nice, liveable community then and
was anxious to interview for the position. He drove over on
a Sunday expecting to interview with us on Monday. He said he
wanted some time to look around the community again. He called
me on Sunday from his motel room with a heavy heart. He said
he could not go through with the interview because Moscow was
not the same community he remembered. He drove around and all
he could see was new development and more new development. He
said he was attracted to the position in Moscow because of all
the development along the I-5 corridor in WA. In his eyes,
Moscow was no different from what he saw happening in WA.
He was hoping for a respite from rampant development and behold,
he found Moscow to be no such place. The bottom line is that
we lost an excellent person BECAUSE of all the development.
-- Greg Brown (gregb@uidaho.edu) Computer Services Adjunct Assistant Professor, College of Forestry,Wildlife,& Range Sciences University of Idaho Moscow, ID 83843 (208) 885-2126 Fax: (208) 885-7539