Circuit Breaker-Tax Relief

Fort Wayne blogosphere and other bloggers are real quiet on the property tax increases that had hit the mailbox or are being sent to the printer as I type. Fort Wayne blogosphere are talking about things like an interview with Sam T, Mitch Ditched his opponent, and TIF.

I've already addressed Mitch, so let me move on to Sam's interview: Sam tells all should be the title of this interview. Sam contradicts himself over and over again. The most telling part of the interview for me was this statement:

Talarico: It’s kind of interesting, I don’t know how long you’ve been around Fort
Wayne, but I almost viewed it as an 8 year process. About 6 months after I was elected there had been an ongoing dispute that went on for a couple of years about whether or not to approve $38 to 40 Million to expand the Coliseum. It got caught up in the court system because of a lawsuit over the food and beverage tax and everything else. I wrote an editorial about 6 months into being on council that said if we’re going to spend $40 Million to renovate the coliseum why not build a new arena downtown like every other community has done? People were saying, and they ended up being right, we’re adding 4000 bad seats and for the same amount we might be able to build something brand new.

Well that took off and it became a huge movement and unlike Harrison Square it was
extremely popular. I would say the pros and cons ran just about opposite of Harrison
Square.

The thing was the idea just came too late – it was at the 11th hour. The county council and commissioners basically just said “you’re out of luck, it’s too late” and sent us on our way. And I’m not going to mention any names, but after that county council vote I went up to one of the county council members and I asked him why he didn’t consider a couple of issues. And his response to me I can’t even repeat, but it was rather juvenile and basically he said get out of my face we’ll do things the way we’ve been doing it for a long time. Well I left that meeting and met with some other people and we came up with the idea that we were gonna put a slate of candidates together to go after the incumbents in the primary election. Everyone said we were nuts, said that none of them would get beat, that we’d be lucky if one of them won, and they all won.

I felt momentum from that because they were all people connected to the downtown
arena debate. And only because of them getting on board have we been able to have
discussions about consolidated government, 1362, and it’s kind of flowed all the way
through the 1362 discussion into the Harrison Square debate which we wouldn’t be
forming a committee to study consolidation, we wouldn’t have Harrison Square, if not for this whole batch of new people that had been elected, including Tom Didier as well.

Does this not scream Sam T is bragging on hoodwinking the people all in the name of "democracy"? And did he really believe Tim Pape had a change of becoming Mayor, running for Mayor yeah, but having a hail Mary change of winning?

Tim and I, on the whole Harrison Square thing, we both put party aside. We told each other we would do that early on because we both felt so strongly about it. I have a lot of respect for him and I actually think he would’ve been by far the best candidate the Democrats could’ve put up for mayor this time.

The interview confirmed for me my suspicious that there was a group of people who did not have the voters best interest at heart.


Now let me discuss the article about TIF. Remember Sam T. strategy of slating candidates this can applied to the group interviewed for the TIF article by Ben Lanka.

Tax increment financing, or TIF, allows governments to capture property taxes from new development in an area

Is that really how Tax incremental financing (TIF) work? Is that how the groupies, explained it to Ben? YOu know the groupies, the ones in the article, let's see Karen Goldner, Jim Lindsay, Mike Sylvester, and John Stafford. I would have loved for Ben to interviewed the folks in Indy to explain how TIF really works.

For example, TIF is not complicated when you know what you are talking about and don't have to remember the lies. My understanding of TIF is that it freezes the property tax in a specific area. And if there is an increase about the property freeze, that money can be used for specific improvements. The improvements to the specific area is to attract new development into the area. And with new development will generate additional funds to improve the area and attract even more development. A sort of snowball effect from the first revenue received from the TIF district.

Did you notice I did not say anything about giving tax dollars to build condominium or a hotel? Did you see anything in the code Ben about TIF dollars building hotels, motels or anything else? Ben did you talk to legislators? Just talk to somebody other than the those who hit on boards to hide the ball, that's all I'm asking!

These folks can't blame Fort Wayne Community Board for the increase in their current tax bill, so now they want to blame it on TIF. TIF DOES NOT HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE CURRENT INCREASES!!! IT IS TRENDING-THE OVERASSESSMENT OF PROPERTY VALUE AND NOT LOWERING THE TAX RATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sylvester had his assessed value reduced last year and this year he will pay $210,100 $3,611.56. I could not find Karen Goldner, but I did find a Stafford John R & Linda K 2207 Owaissa Way $126,200 $1,560.78 .

Have you figured out the arbitrariness of the taxing of these folks yet. Folks are real quiet on the current increases to their tax bill. Too quiet