Why TIF’s are hurting us . . .

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This quote from County Commissioner, John Pekas, pretty much sums it up;

“We are the constant underfunded entity in the state of South Dakota,” Pekas said. “This is the perfect poetic situation. The state has a surplus, the city has a surplus and we are out of money.”

I have often felt that there should be a shift in property tax dollars towards the county, I have also felt that the School Board, the County Commission and City Council should all have to approve a TIF with a 60% majority.

Trust me, if the law changed to allow this kind of approval process, no more TIF’s would be approved, and ironically, development would continue.

Hotel at the Elmwood site

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I guess there is several ways to look at this, so here we go.

This is what we know so far, the city is going to put out an RFP for a Hotel on the Elmwood Golf Course property, the contract deals are not final, but the city is looking at leasing the land and maybe profit sharing with the hotel.

Some questions;

• Why doesn’t the city just sell the property to a potential hotel and stay out of a private/public partnership?

• This is a precedent because the city has never, as I can recall, gotten involved with a partnership with a private lodging business. Why now?

• Our recent track record of providing lodging DT resulted in millions in river landscaping and even more $$$ in property tax cuts. How is the taxpayer going to benefit from this,

• And how much investment will the city make with a private entity that provides lodging?

There are some positives here. The EC task force said that another hotel would have to be in that area to support lodging for the new EC. But why not closer to the EC? And what about David Graham’s empty lot that he has been trying to sell for lodging? The city has harassed him several times when it comes to code enforcement of his property, why not encourage him to build a hotel?

Is the city doing this to prove they have potential prospects when it comes to building more hotels in the area?

While I am all for more hotels in the area, I am a bit leery about us partnering with a private business for lodging. It is not in the taxpayer’s best interest to make sure visitors have a place to stay. Hotels are private enterprises, they should stay that way.

More taxpayer incentives for the DT Hilton?

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hilton

Just when you thought the incentives for the DT Hilton couldn’t be anymore, in steps Dakota Business Finance, (look at the board of directors.)

There is a sign outside the Hilton that says basically says this;

Financing Provided By
Dakota Business Finance
SBA 504 Financing
20 Year Fixed Rate
Low Interest Rates
So not only did the Hilton get taxpayer subsidized landscaping and bulkheads, property tax cuts in the form of TIF’s, they also received SBA funding?! All for a ‘luxury’ hotel. Folks, I wish I was making this shit up.

Not my words . . .

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Found this statement by Paul Hegg interesting after receiving a TIF, a bulk head, spray park and renovated pedestrian bridge to his Hilton property;

Paul Hegg is one of the hotel’s developers. It’s the first partnership between Lloyd and Hegg companies and it’s a marriage that’s produced one of the most upscale properties in town. 

“We’re going to be at the higher end because we’re going to be the luxury property in the marketplace, but, yeah it’s going to be an affordable location for people,” Hegg said.

The only oxymoron in Hegg’s statement is the word ‘affordable’. Sure, after property tax breaks and taxpayer funded amentities (in the millions) the place should be cheaper then Motel 6. Once again this proves our planning department and city council’s priorities when it comes to subsidies to the ‘Luxurious’ and ‘Upscale’ people of our community.

SON Prevails! WM challenge comes up short.

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SON-REF-LOGO

It will be interesting to watch how this turns out at the ballot. I am sure if it were voted on today, WM would win, but at least SON will have an opportunity to educate the public on their situation before the election.

City clerk, Lorie Hogstad threw out 1159 of the challenges and said.  SON ended up with 5343.  They needed 5089.  Son ended up with 82% after the challenge, city sample a few weeks ago tested at 86%.

It was quite an accomplishment. The election is April 8, 2014.