Promoters of half-billion-dollar project struggle to answer questions
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This is awesome. 130 million in TIF means no property tax for the city, the county, the school district or other taxing entities for 26 YEARS! All taxes will go to pay for the project. Who is going to make up the difference during those 26 years that the project utilizes city and county services, the children who will live there who attend schools? And remember, no concessions by the developer in the form some affordable housing units in the mix. Please attend the Council meeting on Monday and not allow this atrocity to go forward. Duluth can do better!
How many units will be in the Incline Village site?
Every Duluth Council Member should watch the documentary “City of Joel” on ROKU.
Oh no, Jeff Schiltz again?! Does Duluth ever learn? One more promotion for shyster projects. A correction: Jeff Schiltz is not an architect–he is just a fast talking promoter.
What BS. No more money for vacation condos! We need AFFORDABLE housing by reputable developers. Not someone’s college buddy or ANYONE involved in the Red Plan.
This corporate welfare practiced by the City of Duluth is ludicrous . Why is it necessary to subsidize developers when the city is growing rapidly? Do these leaders even think about who picks up the tab for costs imposed on the rest of us by these mega projects (more traffic, pollution, stormwater runoff, street maintenance, school expansions, more wear and tear on parks, etc.)? The rest of us would like to have our taxes deferred or paid into a special fund for our use too. From an equity standpoint, it would be fairer to make the entire city a tax increment financing district.
Tax increment financing was conceived of as a financing tool to develop blighted urban areas. It has since become one of the most abused forms of corporate welfare in existence. If anything, the city should have development fees to help pay for the costs associated with these projects. Other cities in Minnesota have had development fees for years, recognizing them as a fair and legitimate requirement for developers.
You are correct, sir. The city purportedly documents the developer’s financial “need” for the tax incentive, but I have asked repeatedly for these data and have never received it. I submit that there is no analysis done. And no one on the DEDA Commission or City Council (except Wendy Durrwachter) ever questions this. Show the need, Do the math!