- Updated pro forma reflecting current costs of at least $159,500,000 and no development from Phase I
- An Auditor's report on the updated pro forma
- Final Costs of Polar Park. It sure is more then $159,500,000. We are guessing $175,000,000.
- Completed LDA of the Left Building Site.
- When will Madison actually break ground on any of their projects???
- Who is paying for Polar Park police details??
- Where is the new Polar park Commisson?
** BTW we predict a former councilor will chair this commission
Comments
The Dual tax rate is an impediment to development and instead of dealing with it, it grants exemptions to new businesses and penalizes existing businesses with a tax rate which grows faster than inflation.
Tax and spend is the standard operating procedure of the City and someone, whether it be Konnie Luke's or someone else, needs to be asking the hard questions.
What to see profiles in cowardice; look at the majority of city councilors that voted for the lowest possible residential tax rate. They are buying votes to keep their free salary and free health insurance for life. They may say that they are worried about seniors on fixed incomes etc, but there are exemptions on a giant chunk of value that ditties do all the time to address this. It is a false premise. They know that the small businesses don’t have a vote and can’t vote against them so they continue to dump the extra taxes on them and have driven large employers out of the city. That’s bad for everyone in the city but them.
It is about them and only them and it is a disgrace that the city has to agree not to collect commercial taxes to get anyone to build anything here.
I never believed that part-time city councilors should get medical and retirement benefits from the City. I don't know of any private corporations that still have Defined Benefit Pension Plans Most have moved to the Defined Contribution plans (401(k) plans.)
Many former councilors have used the council as a springboard to bigger and better things.
Jordan Levy used his theatrical skills to land a $675,000 per year gig as a radio host. Tim Murray is sitting pretty at his $225,000 per year job at the Chamber of Commerce. Ray Mariano used his connections to land a $97,000 per year job as director of the WHA. He now collects a $91,000 per year pension (plus accrued city council benefits).
Just when I thought it could not get any worse, the recent comments on real estate taxes on the ballpark got me thinking the City messed up on the income redistribution. Think about it.
There was no other way to see how it would play out. Thats if anyone in the city cared about anything but their photo ops.to be fair, I will say that someone finally did something about the vacant contaminated desert that was festering there for decades, but what were our reaistic options other than a doomed to failure slot parlor?
When the small business paying tax at more than twice the residential rate get yet another tax increase (residents will too, but they get to have their votes bought so the blow will be much more soft). And don’t make the mistake that it will change for the next tax vote. The billionaires are owed a huge income stream and free taxes. We have to shut up and pay.
We are supposedly getting spin-off development. So far the only sure thing is an extremely low income subsidized housing project. Yes, we need more affordable housing, but this could have happened with all of those tax credits anyway. Look at the courthouse apartments.
If that is the case my taxes may be subsidizing someone from Shrewsbury enjoying a game.
I don’t know where you got your information that Jordan Levy is making that large a salary at WTAG. Market 114 does not pay anyone that kind of salary. Even the top 10 radio markets only pay their morning talent that kind of money.
I can even remember when WTAG had a full time news department located here. IHeart is so cheap now they give you canned headline news from anchors who don’t even reside locally.
The family eventually all got busted for cocaine trafficking. Despite calls to do so he refused to resign as CEO. They ended up selling the company to him for a song. He eventually sold it a large profit. That's how bought his mansion on Whisper Drive.
By the way, they’re now market 118 not 114.