5 & 10 YEAR TAX ABATEMENTS
GRANTED 8-09
8-13-09 The Tax abatements passed as revised &/or amended
since the last presentation.
Residents were not alerted to any of the information on the
changes that were being proposed and which passed tonite .
5 years abatement will be given in some cases - 10
years in others- on the improvements made to properties
that meet the specific guidelines. The abatements are on a
graduated scale starting with 100% abatement in the first year (
or tow?) and gradually adding some tax in each year over the
specified term. For more information contact your
Township or Commissioner. Despite major flawed math that
was offered in the first presentation, not a single Commissioner
spoke to grant residents requests to view the "new" math that
may (or may not) show a profit. It was admitted that there are a
vast number of factors at play that make any such calculation
difficult, at best.
_______________________________
6-09
As of June 09, we have been told the Economic
Development Committee is
planning to present their
proposal to the School District for their input before having
another public meeting
6-09 10 YEAR OF TAX ABATEMENTS ON COMMERCIAL
IMPROVEMENTS?:
For several months now there have been discussions about
continuing the tax abatement programs that have been ongoing in
the Township in one form or another for as many as 13 years. The
original programs were 5-year - but being proposed now are10-year
programs with 100% abatement in the early years and then
gradually adding some amount each year so there is not such a
hard transition at the end of the 10 years. There is also a
desire by Township Staff and/or The Economic Development
Committee and some Commissioners to increase the zones or areas
where these will be allowed.
In conjunction with all of the
zoning re- writes that are currently being considered, this
program could have a substantial effect on our taxes for years
to come. There has been no direct summary of the financial
impact of this on residents that presented the entire picture.
At a prior meeting only the positives were calculated- and even
they were done on a "guesstimate" basis - none of
the possible losses were considered.
Here are some important points to know:
---- abatements are not being offered all over the Township -
only in designated zones or areas and the properties
must meet the LERTA standards.
---- the whole property is not abated - only the new
improvements. The property would still pay taxes on the
portion that they were originally paying
on . With the number of improvements being planned
Township-wide, this could have quite an
impact. Services would still need to be provided for the
improvements based on their new occupancy &/or
activity levels. If we experience increased traffic
and police needs, someone has to pay for them.
---- the goals of the abatements include attracting
developers to our area and also encouraging current
commercial
property owners to improve their properties .
WHAT ARE SOME OF THE DOWNSIDES OF ABATEMENT?
The theory is that this is a win-win for the Township. But
consider ........
---- There would be a loss if the business was
going to improve without the abatement.
---- There would be a loss if the business would end
up going out of business before the benefit had
been
reaped, which takes years
---- Current taxpayers would have to suffer the infrastructure
and other costs of the improvements while
waiting
for the benefits (Increased water treatment, police, fire,
traffic, code enforcement needs
just to
name a few )
---- There would be a loss if abatements were offered
to those who had already built or improved had agreed to
build and would have been paying the taxes anyway
---- The goods and services sold by the new businesses would not
take from existing businesses - thereby
threatening
them with a lower revenues and the possibility of becoming
the next area of blight
----
The devaluation of other properties & rents that can occur from
encouraging building or overbuilding in an
area with so
many vacancies already
---- Do you really want that much more of a Commercial
voice in your township affairs - will abatements given
bring
developers who might not otherwise have built here and will
their voices change zoning laws in
their
favor rather than yours ?
---- Did we factor in the cost of money over
time .....?
---- Is it OK to set up such a blatantly lop-sided advantage for
select owners ? Why should one property owner
get these advantages while another might have to pay more
because of it?
SOME WELL KNOW AUTHORS & AUTHORITIES ARE CRITICS OF
ABATEMENTS
Critics will tell you that tax abatements can be a way for
developers to gain, while residents can lose, big time
-Read David Cay Johnson's "Free Lunch" and you will find well written and researched examples of what looks like a win -
win ............ but isn't at all.
What happened to that free market theory ? If it's not a good
enough investment to attract a developer initially, should
we be paying to sweeten that ?
Please share your thoughts.....and/ or opposing views.
Please feel free to
contact us
with your own
information on these topics and please be sure
to
contact us
about any information you believe to be
incorrect -
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