Did you read this

Spring taxes delayed, says the News Sentinel. I reported Saturday that you would receive your tax bill in the mail in June. But, Robert Lee states, that I am wrong. That the bill that you should have received in MARCH, you will receive in JULY. But you will still have the NOVEMBER DATE FOR THE SECOND HALF.

Allen County Treasurer Robert Lee announced that spring taxes will be delayed this year because of adjustments to property values. This is the first time the adjustment has been implemented in Indiana, joining 48 other states.

Yeah right, the first time, my behind. The first time the adjustment is called trending. Remember all those computer glitches, instead of saying oops no we did not go out and assess all these properties in the proper manner.

However, Lee has started a property tax e-mail system to keep taxpayers updated on when tax amounts are in and when they are due. Register at www.allencounty.us/treasurer.Tax bills are expected to be ready the beginning of July.

I found that gem in the police brief in the newspaper. Right there in the criminal section of our newspaper, what a fitting place to locate such news for our taxpayers. Go see for yourself, I am not making this stuff up. Do you really want these folks to have your email address? These are the same folks who did not send a man a certified letter and his property was sold. Property sold at a tax sale. I don't think email is a good way of communicating with these folks.

Now the big question for me is why are our property tax bill so late? I know what Lee says, but I have my doubts. And it all points to this Harrison Square Park deal. It may be just me, but I suspect they have not priced the property for Jason and Chris. You know our friends at Hardball Capital. Because, the price of that property will determine how much taxes Hardball will have to pay for those condos. And it will determine how much will go into that special fund, TIF.

You know the fund, Jefferson Pointe TIF expansion. TIF will freeze the amount that Jason and Chris will have to pay on taxes. Had you ever played the game Freeze. Well that is exactly what is going to happen to the land, that Greg Leatherman, is now trying to do a better job of assessing.

You probably read where Leatherman, stated that he probably overpaid Bill Palace, $2.4 million dollars on property valued at a little over $600,000. Now Leatherman could probably play Mr. Big Spender with taxpayers dollars. But Jason and Chris, our friends, because we are so happy that they are spending $5 million and $15 million more on condos. I don't think Jason and Chris are going to spend an extra penny on over assessed property.

Yeah, I'm thinking that's what happened. Because, when have you known Leatherman, or any elected official, to admit they made a mistake? So, everybody should have went to their window, and saw all that snow falling, and thought it was an indication, that something is not right.

Anyways, back to TIF and our late tax bills from Robert Lee and friends. As you know City Council has not approved the extension of TIF yet. So if our friends, Jason and Chris, want to take advantage of this reassessment they need to move locking in the current value of their downtown investment. As soon as Chris and Jason sign the agreements surrounding property is going to skyrocket. But those who are already in the TIF designation is going to be protected from increases in their tax burden each and every business that's in the area. But, first City Council must approves the TIF district. What you say?

Nope, no new taxes. It is all the folks who comes in afterward. Yep, Hardball is to be the CATALYST to all these new businesses. Businesses drawn to greatness, the field of dreams. You know the saying about if you can't be a mountain, at least attach yourself to one. But you knew that, I'm not telling you nothing you didn't already know.

Why do you think Leatherman and his cliche are running around recalculating figures on land already sold ?!! They, city leaders, have not told you the value of the property for our friends, Jason or Chris. They can tell you everything else. They can tell you projection 20 years out. But they are scratching their heads on the value of that land that, you know the land they already bought by secretly going knocking on folks doors. Did not even tell City Council.

So, my theory is our tax bills are being delayed because we are waiting on our new neighbors. Our friends, Chris and Jason's property to be properly assessed. There is another saying, that you can fool some of the people some of the times, but you can't fool all the people all the time. I think our friends Chris and Jason are teaching our Room for Dreams city that very lesson. I could be wrong.

One of my readers said I sit on a throne of lies. He recently came over and apologized. He also told me he was impressed. But, this blog is all about recognizing, if you don't know you need to ask somebody. And if folks ask, tell them FWAAIW, told you so.

YLNI photo op to say we got what it takes-but no money

The Young Leadership of Northeast Indiana has connected to the city propaganda machine. YLNI is setting up as we blog, to push the message that the Harrison Square project is about investing in their future, their children, their tomorrow.

YLNI will have little bitty survey requesting a yes or no? Do you support the mixed use presented tonight? What kind of dumb question is that from our wannabe new future leaders? But that little dumb question will serve the purpose of putting a spin on folk are really for the Harrison Project.

YLNI and city planners are still pushing the propaganda that the gathering at the Church was more pro than con about the Harrison project. The rest of the story was that the folks who were in the room were supposed to be for the project. It was the ones who showed up to speak against it was the surprise.

Harrison Square Voices of Authority

Who is Jack Swarbrick? Swarbrick wrote an opinion piece for the Journal Gazette about the marketing tools used to sell downtown development, the group of blue prints. But I wanted to know more about Swarbrick interest in Fort Wayne.

Jack Swarbrick is a partner in Baker & Daniels LLP in Indianapolis and former chairman of the Indiana Sports Corp. He wrote this for The Journal Gazette.

stated the article. So what is Indiana Sports Corporation.

Indiana Sports Corporation (ISC) is a private, not-for-profit organization that represents Indianapolis in the national and international sports marketplace. Created in 1979 to attract national and international sporting organizations and events to central Indiana, ISC coordinates and markets major amateur sporting events. Indiana Sports Corporation was instrumental in the process which resulted in the NCAA's decision to relocate its national headquarters and Hall of Champions to Indianapolis, and ISC supports and assists more than a dozen sport-related organizations in our city.

By targeting sports as a growth industry for Indianapolis, Indiana Sports Corporation's goals are to stimulate the economy, improve Indianapolis' image nationally and internationally, enhance the city's quality of life and provide opportunities for youth.

Since 1979, Indianapolis has hosted more than 400 national and international sporting events.

The Indianapolis sports community looks forward to welcoming the world as Crooked Stick Golf Club hosts the 2005 Solheim Cup.

Funding: Indiana Sports Corporation relies on corporate and individual memberships, private contributions, event revenue and charitable grants as chief funding sources. Call 317.237.5000 to learn more about sponsorship and/or membership opportunities.

Structure: Indiana Sports Corporation has a full-time staff and a volunteer Board of Directors and relies heavily on part-time volunteers to carry out its mission. Earl Goode serves as chairman of the board, and Susan Williams is president of ISC.

So is Swarbrick really interested in Fort Wayne becoming a great American city or furthering the business interest of the private not for profit company investors in which he served as former chairperson?

Go back and reread: Created in 1979 to attract national and international sporting organizations and events to central Indiana, ISC coordinates and markets major amateur sporting events.

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Swarbrick writes that you have to swallow the whole pill of redevelopment dollars. That Hardball is dropping $20 millions for downtown. That folks need to stop breaking pill of the redevelopment into just the $5 million piece representing the stadium. Because it's not being honest. And how does the taxpayer pay to match that $20 millions is yet to be revealed in this grandiose scheme? And this is the reason for calling Fort Wayne disingenuous?

But wait a minute, Swarbrick suggest taxpayers fund the private investors, and then the private dollars will follow:

When the success of this project spurs, as it almost certainly will, other development, the amount of private money being invested in downtown Fort Wayne (money that would never have otherwise been invested) will continue to climb.

But in the meantime, taxpayers are not to ask the hard questions concerning the spending of their money. Sounds like a good theme for a movie, Field of Dreams, but not at the expense of the hometown fans who are rooting for economic security for their families.

The City of Strip Joints-Fort Wayne

This is a new spin on Fort Wayne. The harm to downtown economical development is the number of strip joints in the city. The voices from the radio called them SOB, sex oriented businesses. The lack of criminal enforcement to protect the city from permissive criminal activity cultivate an environment for such activity. Families will protest these areas by avoiding such areas, that build bars for more drinking and irresponsible behavior. Building a baseball stadium downtown will encourage such businesses and not shopping. The more family friendly shopping activity is located in Jefferson Pointe.

The voices on the radio station were Matt Kelty who is running for Mayor and Charley Butcher. It's amazing how fast this story is flying on the blog. After I posted this story FWOB placed the press release on his site. ADvance Indiana gave a hat tip to Fort Wayne Observed. I would think, Christopher Mann, campaign worker of the Kelty for Mayor campaign, would be the one who is driving this story you think?

Did you hear what I heard? I didn't but did you hear what I heard?

I read both interview sets and was not impressed. First leading questions supported the blogger's position. You already know your position, built on information from the other side. I would rather ask questions explaining the project which would lead to other questions. Second, I would not take in a laundry list of questions for an hour and half interview.

I would have requested documents, documents and more documents. Documents answers some of the laundry list questions and provide a source for more relevant questions.

Next, I would structure my questions around the individual who would serve as the primary source for information.

Therefore, my questions would materialize from the folks in the room and the available material.

So, two questions, where are certain documents? And the funding sources?

This is my take on Downtown Fort Wayne Baseball interview, Starting with the first leading question,


Harrison Q is a signature project. It is a private and public dollar venture. The investment dollars willbe spent on Harrison Q in hopes of creating more foot traffic, which would in turn support the huge public investments, already in the downtown area.

The venture calls for more investment dollars from the public. What out of town investor does not what support from the locals? Nevertheless, this time public dollars will be combined with private dollars for mixed used project. Mixed use meaning not only a hotel,residential condominiums, street level retail, baseball stadium and a parking garage, but also the commingling of public and private funds.

Local officials controlled community input with planting certain types of projects that would be included in the mixed-use venture. Of course, those volunteering thought at the time of their participation some of these ideas came from their group, but city officials were planted in each group. Nevertheless, city officials and paid consultants compiled these ideas from the meetings and stored the data into three reports, Downtown BluePrint (2002), Downtown BluePrintPlus and Downtown Baseball Plus as marketing tools for private developers.

Because the public dollars are stretched in supporting the big-ticket items, the signature venture is needed to support these big-ticket items. Many of these projects are nonprofits. Moreover, to creatively support these projects they may become branded by the signature project. Branded meaning because their names will be visible. And the parking spaces of smaller nonprofit can collect revenue for charging for parking.


Because Hardball Capital is using their private dollars in this signature venture, they will be driving the development of the Harrison Q project. It makes sense that these businesspersons know more than the elected official knows or appointed officials.

Of course the Embassy, Grand Wayne Convention, Allen County Public Library are in position to take advantage of some of the decisions by Hardball Capital, but who will locally be a part of the project is in negotiation in the role Hardball Capital will play managing a public park.

The city will benefit from Hardball Capital driving this project from the shared revenue stream. This revenue stream is being hammered out as we speak in a legal document of Memorandum of Understanding in which all involved parties will have to sign.


Other public dollars will be similar to what we did in using the restaurant tax for Memorial Coliseum. Instead, this time we were able to extend the Jefferson Pointe TIF district to two streets downtown, Jefferson and Washington. We were motivated so that Jefferson Pointe Tif dollar could be used in the downtown area. The expansion allows us to use the fund from Jefferson Pointe TIF for public improvement on Harrison to the east, Ewing to the west and Baker to the south to improve traffic flow. Moreover, another use of the TIF fund would be to finance the parking garage.

This would free up income generated from the parking garage to pay for maintenance and operation of the parking garage. In addition, CEDIT dollar can now be lumped into one area instead of going into the separate councilman district and at large districts. This be an additional source of public dollars to commingle with private dollars.

Now if it is a success all the new business sales and income taxes will be limited to under a million dollar, more like $750,000.


The tiny businessperson will have an opportunity depending on Hardball Capital, on the other side of Ewing and Jefferson. However, Hardball may have a potential working partnership with the developers of Jefferson Pointe, RED, focusing on the big names and national chains. This would prevent any stores from competing with the stores or restaurants in Jefferson Pointe. In addition, if the tiny businessperson were allowed they would become renters and no longer owners.

Some local business will benefit, like architectural firm learning from a national firm and becoming part of a team in designing the baseball stadium of this signature venture. Other folks like construction companies, contractors, and homeowners in the West Central Neighborhood. Even the Holiday Hotel could benefit if it was to remodel and use the hotel for office space or apartments, which would sure help the new hotel.

By Any other Name-Harrison SQuare Project

I've posted some of my thoughts about the project known at the beginning as the Downtown Stadium, Harrison Street Project. I have since settled on names like Harrison Square Park, Downtown Marriott Hotel, Condominium and National Chain Retail Stores, but will more information some of these titles are subject to change.

The revitalization of the Downtown area has stirred up some heated debate within the local blogosphere.

Councilman Samuel Talarico questioned a local blogger on his qualification in sitting down to take a look at the numbers driving this project. WoW

If Councilman Talarico questioned this budding CPA, can you imagine how he feels about folks who are not number crunchers? I've studied and drafted a state budget with projections. And I'm not even an accountant!!! I've studied the law and represented clients in courts of law and I'm not an attorney !!!


There is another blogger out conducting interviews and posting the interviews along with editorials and other stuff. I don't find the interviews to objective. The questions tend to be leading questions, too general and not getting to the meat of the subject.

I think both bloggers are finding out that answers are not readily available.

Harrison Square Supporters-Mayor or City Council Members?

The News Sentinel prints this letter to the editor from John Shoaff a city council member in response to a letter to the editor from Fred Rost on council members commitment to the Harrison Square project.

In his otherwise-thoughtful Feb. 15 guest column, Fred Rost errs in linking the City Council to the mayor’s position and actions on the Harrison Square project. Contrary to his assertions, the council is not “leading” or “moving forward” at this time on that project. The administration has brought neither this project nor any part of it to the council. We have not discussed it as a body, either at the council table or behind closed doors (where assembly of enough of us to form a consensus would be illegal).

If Rost were to approach us individually, he would find we are all asking questions. I think he would be impressed by the diversity of our opinions and concerns. Two council members, Tom Smith and Don Schmidt, are calling a public meeting at 6:30 p.m. March 8 at Good Shepherd United Methodist Church, 4700 Vance Ave., to solicit further public input. For all of us, the complexity and high cost of public funding, with its high opportunity cost, mandates that we evaluate the project with the greatest of care before approving or rejecting it.

I would also like to respond briefly to a point made Feb. 16 in a guest column by David Haist. Haist stated correctly that a volunteer task force had recommended a complex of the type represented by Harrison Square. However, it was one of numerous recommendations, and it was not made a priority. It is important to clarify that the task force was disbanded before it would have had the opportunity to evaluate and approve the suitability and prioritization of the Harrison Square plan itself.

I would also ask Haist and other supporters of the project to bear in mind that many who question or even oppose Harrison Square remain nonetheless as deeply committed to downtown revitalization as he is. The overarching question for all of us should be whether Harrison Square isthe best way to get us there.

John H. Shoaff, at-large Fort Wayne City Council

Feb. 15, 2007

I have to agree with mayoral candidate Matt Kelty’s Feb. 1 letter on the proposed Harrison Square project. I believe his position of supporting downtown redevelopment, but questioning whether the proposed stadium is the best way to do it is a practical and measured position. The questions he believes needs to be answered are indeed right on; particularly, Who benefits?

There will be proponents of the project who will undoubtedly criticize Kelty’s call for a business case, transparency, accountability and public discourse on the $125 million proposal as being anti-progress and critical of so-called leadership. As an Army combat veteran of two conflicts and a business executive, it is my experience that there is a difference between leading on an issue and demonstrating leadership.

As a new Army lieutenant coming out of graduate school, I was an Army leader, but I demonstrated leadership after I gained the confidence and trust of my platoon through good judgment, competence and genuine concern for their well being, to where they would follow me anywhere and do anything, enthusiastically and without question. The mayor and the City Council may be leading on this issue, but they have not demonstrated leadership, evidenced by the people overwhelmingly questioning their judgment on promoting the stadium. I believe we deserve more facts and less marketing.

Although Kelty was called a “skeptic” by a recent editorial in The News-Sentinel, I believe his skepticism is well-founded, particularly when one looks at the speed and ferocity with which the mayor’s administration and City Council is moving to get a vote and break ground on Harrison Square. What’s the hurry? I think all would do well to ask who benefits from this project and follow the money.

Early on in his first term, Mayor Graham Richard moved away from having any one law firm represent the city and has successfully spread it around to many Fort Wayne law firms. So who are the local law firms aligned with this proposed project that will benefit from it moving forward? Further, are any City Council members or their respective firms positioned to directly and materially benefit from a Harrison Square transaction? If so, shouldn’t they recuse themselves from voting on the issue to avoid a conflict of interest?

Southtown Centre is heralded as a model success. I would agree the Menards and Wal-Mart have been good additions to the area, but approximately $30 million for a hardware store, a general merchandise store and public-safety academy (a solution in search of a problem)? Too much! As a project, Southtown was over budget and not on schedule, at least as originally briefed to the City Council (and I wouldn’t be so fast to blame it all on litigation). And again, who benefited? Sole-source contracts with much of the work coincidentally going to some of the mayor’s largest campaign contributors. C’mon, we can do better than that.

Kelty is right. If the stadium idea is such a good business opportunity, why aren’t businesses flocking to fund the entire endeavor with no public funding required? I might agree to some favorable tax treatment (such as General Motors has received in Allen County) if private developers built downtown, but even then, wouldn’t we want to make sure that whatever project was being built works with downtown, is part of more comprehensive plan and achieves our objectives for revitalization? If a public investment is to be made downtown, shouldn’t it be made in revitalizing the surrounding neighborhoods, what Kelty calls the “urban core,” so it seamlessly becomes a vital part of the fabric of downtown?

Polls indicate people support the revitalization of downtown. The question is how; the answer should make business, practical and strategic sense and be supported by residents. Perhaps the most frustrating aspect of this issue is the arrogance. The mayor and City Council are moving forward on their own, regardless of public outcry and disapproval, then calling it “leadership.” Since the mayor and some City Council members have decided to leave office this year, the public doesn’t have much leverage with key elected officials for them to consider and act on their concerns.

Downtown, yes; stadium, no. If it does get rammed through, we should all ask, cui bono?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fred Rost is a senior vice president at Sierra Nevada Corp., former general manager of General Dynamics in Fort Wayne and a Fort Wayne resident.

Taxes, Taxes. More Taxes

The state is relieving itself from the local blame game of increased property tax. And in the meantime locals are scrabbling to find places to generate the needed revenue, so the tax payer won't learn that it was locals who skewed their property values and in doing so increased their property tax. One proposal is a corporation tax of 1% to fund fire and pension funds. But the chamber of commerces will be on this one before the ink dries. Fort Wayne, has another place to raid its citizens rather than businesses. It has it Allen County Food and Beverage Tax that was to serve one purpose to pay off a debt but now serves many purposes.

In 1986, the Indiana Legislature enacted the Allen County Food and Beverage Tax, which allowed a qualified “fiscal body of a county” to “adopt an ordinance to impose an excise tax, known as the county food and beverage tax,” on certain transactions according to Allen County versus Wayne Stellhorn.

The county treasurer was required to establish a “coliseum expansion fund” and to deposit all funds received from the tax in that fund upon receipt. I.C. § 6-9-23-8(a). The purposes for which the funds could be appropriated were limited to “the acquisition, improvement, remodeling, or expansion of an athletic and exhibition coliseum in existence before the effective day of an ordinance adopted under section 3 of [chapter 23]” or “to retire any bonds issued, loans obtained, or lease payments incurred under IC 36-1-10 (referred to in this chapter as “obligations”) to remodel, expand, improve, or acquire an athletic and exhibition coliseum in existence before the effective day of an ordinance adopted under section 3 of this chapter.” I.C. § 6-9-23-8(a)(1), (2).

In 1992, a request was made to build a baseball stadium. Part of the funding would come from the coliseum expansion fund, about $2 million. Constructing a baseball stadium was not the same as repairing or expanding the coliseum. This was in violation of the the 1986 legislation. The county was warned, but greed driven, the county drafted an ordinance giving themselves permission to do what it was forbidden to do under state law.

According to the News-Sentinel,

Since then, however, the tax has paid for other projects too, most notably the $30 million expansion of the coliseum’s arena in 2002.

Although details are still being worked out, the legislation would further enlarge the tax’s scope, making its revenues available for projects not on coliseum property.

Sound like a path to digging into the coliseum expansion coffer again, this time to support the Harrison Square. Especially since, taxpayers were lied to, when told that their tax dollars would not be used to build the hotel or new baseball stadium. If they are able to build the hotel, additional revenue from the innkeeper's tax could help offset the cost of the hotel, reducing the increase in property tax. To further reduce the burden on the tax payer, the new stadium will need to be built to capture the food and beverage tax to help pay for the stadium.

With all that revenue tied up, the property tax will have to be increased to support our public schools. But of course, the repairs of the schools will be blamed for the property increase. When in fact, all other revenues that could have been used for the schools are being diverted toward private developers, and that's called TIF. TIF equals millions and millions of tax dollars that could be used to improve our schools.

Now you know why Johnny and his school are so needy.

City of Fort Wayne steals private property again (Southtown Mall was the first) for economy development without just compensation

AARP is deeply concerned with the preservation of home equity, the availability of affordable,safe, decent and stable housing and the elimination of discrimination in housing.


AARP is deeply committed to ensuring that its members are not forced out of their homes and communities except as a means to remove blight or for a needed traditional purpose use and to ensuring that when such displacement occur that older homeowners receive compensation that recognizes the unique cost of their dislocations.

In the summary, of a Kelo's amicus brief, the attorneys representing AARP and other groups argued that Connecticut constitution does not support the government taking private property from one owner and giving it to another private property owner for mere economic development. The Constitution requires a true taking, if not it can be dangerous and will disproportionally harm racial, ethnic minorities, elderly and economically underprivileged.

To allow government to take property through eminent domain for economic development purposes, would in essence eliminate judicial review, a check on the overreaching by government on citizens private property protections on such takings from the overbearing elites.

It is no accident according to former Attorney General of Minnesota in Downtown, Inc. Negro Removal is not just a thing of the past. During the 1960s whole communities of African-Americans were bulldozed from their homes, and under- compensated for their homes. In Alleging Race-Based Condemnation, African-Americans are targeted for such removal.

Statics suppose that the taking of property impact certain groups, specially the elderly, Hispanic and African-Americans. The reason why government target such groups because more than likely these groups are the weakest politically and lack the resources to fight in the court system that is dominated by folks who do not look like them. In addition, the government reaps a much larger windfall from an area that it has depressed and sell at a higher market value.

The city select the area and secretly goes in an offer compensation only for the value that a home would sell for in that area, but fail to include the trapped value in which they are aware when purchasing the property. If home owners are not adequately compensated for the cost of a similar home in a different area, during this secret process, many will be unable to afford to purchase homes in the higher priced neighborhoods. For families displaced, their ability to transfer their wealth to their children have been transferred to elite families. They hurry and moved into these areas in anticipate of the City's planned scheme of things.

The City purchased the property and now is selling land to the Wizard owners, a more refined taking of property for an economic development. The City is hiding under the debate of whether or not to build a hotel and stadium. The City is not answering when they got authority to use taxpayers dollars to enter the real estate business with their tax dollars.

No wonder Hardball is only paying $5 million, this is not their idea. The City says I have some land for you dirt cheap (no pun intended).


Indiana law blog writes about urban renewal today, too.

Fort Wayne's Toll Road-650 Miles of Downtown Property

No wonder our Mayor Dick was rewarded with a raise. The Journal Gazette reports about Harrison Square and I blogged about early here. The Mayor calls it a catalyst, I call it a "My Man Mitch Pitch." Governor Mitch Daniels catalyst for the revitalization of Indiana was the toll road, and Mayor Graham Richard catalyst for revitalizing downtown Fort Wayne is a stadium. According to the Journal-Gazette,

We had a plan to develop a catalyst, and all of a sudden the Wizards get bought, not just by a baseball owner but by a developer used to taking risks specifically in downtown areas,” Richard said. “They said, ‘Here’s an opportunity to invest not just in a ball team, but in a dynamic rebirth of a downtown.’

Daniels rented or sold the toll road to a private company to raise money, Richard is offering property tax money which can be allocated to special taxing district. The special taxing district will use the increase in taxes from the increase in property values during a reassessment to pay for projects. This property tax increase is called TIF for short.

TIF is the diverting of revenue from the payment of property tax funds after a property value increases. If there is a the property increase more than likely so will the property tax increase. The City will keep the old amount for budget purpose and keep the difference from the increase in property tax to place into a general funds to be spent in the special district only.

But I thought the property tax was for schools, housing, you say. Yeah, but the legislators established authority to set up a commission to be responsible for directing any redevelopment commission to designate any area as a blighted area that can be developed through the ordinary operations of private enterprise including non-blighted areas for economic development. Where were you when Belmont was fighting this thing? Or the scheme of ripping off the owners' value in the Southtown Property to be used later by the public-private sector of Fort Wayne that went all the way to the Indiana Supreme Court?

Is this not the same as the families who lived in the Harrison Square area. TIF is supposed to be for the temporary allocation of redevelopment or economic district of the citizens property taxes to be used for a variety of purposes to improve the areas.

Municipal bonds are then issued to finance the public improvements. Bonds payable from TIF may be used to finance the cost of redevelopment and the construction of public improvement in the redevelopment area or for projects that directly serve or benefit that area. Once the bonds have been paid off, the taxes collected from the allocated area are distributed to the remaining taxing districts, such as schools.

TIF districts are to encourage developers to invest in dying business areas or in land banked industrial sites. Some requirements are for developers to diversify development beyond retail, connect to downtown with transportation, help existing business grow and expand, and foster economic development by assisting entrepreneurs in the area with start up and strengthen the economic base in the area.

Harrison square is sold as the public benefit and all the improvement as the catalyst attempting to duplicate Atlanta's popular Georgia Aquarium, billed as the largest as well as a museum dedicated to a soft drink company, according to the article.

Within four years, the $2 billion Allen Plaza is planned to have five other buildings in adjacent blocks that would house offices, apartments, condos, retail outlets and another hotel, all built by Barry or in partnership with Atlanta apartment landlord Post Properties.

Helping spark this revival, across from the park, is the year-old, hugely popular Georgia Aquarium, billed as the world’s largest,
and the new World of Coca-Cola, a museum under construction dedicated to the soft drink.

One City Council member, Tom Smith does not oppose the stadium being built downtown, but questions the private developers mere $5 million contribution. But Smith does not go deep enough, the public-private dollars are more like, the property owners would pay with their property taxes, $82 millions and the private owners $43 millions for the entire project.

There is nothing complicated about understanding TIF dollars. The question is where does TIF dollars come from? Answer, TIF comes from property tax after a reassessment. If you were paying $90 in property tax dollars on your property in 2001 and your property taxes increases to $270 in 2003 there is a difference. Well, the City will freeze their portion at $90 and put the remaining $180 into a general fund. The $180 is marked off as TIF to be spent just in that special district. But as the Journal-Gazette points out the success of Apple Glen and Jefferson Point as TIF and used the money from those special district to give some downtown project some of the money. But that is not how it works. This is not too much different from when the county borrowed from Hersey company and gave to General Motors abatement issues.

Wait you need to know some of these TIF special districts? Let's see:

Jefferson Pointe area, Midtown Crossing, Baer Field Economic Development Area(EDA), Centennial Park, Jefferson/Illinois EDA, Maysville Stellhorn Road EDA, Summit Industrial Park. And lets not forget the Bluffton Road area that includes General Motors, Fort Wayne Assembly. Do you understand why downtown looks like a desolate valley?

Why siphon away parts of property taxes and place into a general funds because your tax dollars can helps improve selected area instead of amenities that makes for a better quality life for all of Fort Wayne citizens. The money would pay for schools, library, housing in our city. But, tax payers don't want to subsides the lives of the poor while they giving handouts to the rich in the amount of $83 million. So, the millions of dollar that are collected in the General Motors area benefits that area not the whole city. Jefferson Pointe taxes benefit that area only not the whole city. But we offer these businesses abatements and other stuff. So what is the city doing with your property tax dollars if not paying to improve schools, giving it to developers to encourage them to take a risk in big ticket items in our city. So why is the City saying it's not increasing property taxes to build the stadium. Because it sounds good.

Now imagine this community of dreamers if you didn't have a special project where would the money go that's in the general funds? It would go toward the schools that the city is telling you that will cost billions of dollars to fix up? What do you think developers should invest in first, building for educating people rather than buildings for recreation?

Are you still with me? The City is saying it will have to raise taxes to fix schools, but.......(you need a moment to digest this)....the tax dollars from the new increase will still go into the general funds and the schools will get some of the property tax increase. That's right the new increases will benefit the special projects and not much to the schools. You elected these folks, while your children suffer. And why the Mayor is enjoying his new $130,000 salary. It's your money