As l learned on Wednesday there is probably going to be proposed legislation next year that could change TIFs to apply to residential housing. But does the city have to wait for Pierre to make a move?
I don’t think so.
There are already things the city has been doing or are planning on doing;
• A home buying program for police officers and firefighters
• The city can give property tax rebates to homeowners, I think the last mayor to do this city wide was Hanson
• The mayor gives yearly tax rebates to dozens of developers and big employers
• Community development loans either low interest or no interest and federal grants associated with the program
• Councilors Pat Starr and Curt Soehl are exploring elderly property tax rebates
The city council only likely has the power to rebate the city’s portion of the property tax, but over a period of 5-10 years, that is significant savings.
I don’t think the city has to wait for state law to change, I think they have the power right now to start a city property tax rebate program for people who want to buy a home in our core that needs rehabilitation, in fact they could have started this program 20 years ago if they wanted to.
I have been a proponent for over a decade that the city engages in a pilot program in our core that rehabs entire neighborhoods with a combination of public works (streets, sewer, water, lighting, sidewalks, curb and gutter) and individual property owners with fixing up their property with the use of Federal grants, community development loans and city property tax rebates.
So why doesn’t the city pursue this? I don’t have that answer, but if I had to guess it has to do with developer greed and the elite structure of leadership in our city.
So when someone tells you it is hard to rehab poorer neighborhoods in our city because of ‘laws’ I just don’t believe them. The city council in conjunction with the mayor’s office and planning department have all the tools they need to start on a pilot program like this, but their hatred of the working poor is getting in the way of their handouts to the welfare developers.