Jackson's Boilerplate

People are still waiting for Mayor Frank Jackson to excite them.

He’s just likely never going to be an imaginative leader.

People often assess progress with construction of some new sparkling building project. That’s why politicians love big concrete projects.

Such ventures often prove illusory, if not misguided.

Former Mayor Michael White sucked up all the public money he could for “progress” with Gateway, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Browns Stadium.

Now, a tightly fiscally limited Jackson does not have a quick project to impress us.

That is good.

Jackson last week announced his “wish & to do” list. A new convention center was on the list, an idea some elites would find just dandy.

However, very pricey. That’s the rub.

So I hope he is unsuccessful with that item. Why? It’s too costly a project for a small payback and for many, many other reasons.

If anyone remembers, a Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Convention Facilities Authority has been “studying” the matter since 2004. The Authority, however, has been AWOL for a year now.

The reason: It can’t find a tax people will not gag on.

Otherwise, Jackson’s announced “vision” for Cleveland was just as ordinary as his first year in office.

Jackson’s desires comprised a familiar ward laundry list of chores. The list looked common – “make absentee landlords take care of their vacant properties” to “Build Opportunity Boulevard to open access to Forgotten Triangle area” to “Create arts and culture district along Buckeye Road.

The city does have some funds tucked away. Jackson is probably keeping that quiet.

I’d like to see how much money the city has in Chagrin Highlands' tax sharing funds and from loans being collected from Urban Development Action Grants (UDAG) and UDAG repayment loan reimbursement.

I notice from an older document repayments due back to the city. The income includes loans of $1,839,876 from Lakeview Superior Finast; $1,164,000 from Myers Senders; $7,663,000 from Tower City Community Urban Renewal Corp.; $2,240,700 from Triangle Properties Ltd. Partnership; and $850,000 from Glenville Plaza Company.

It totals $13.75 million.

The next big repayment won’t come until 2009. That’s for $7.7 million from the Renaissance Center Partnership, the Scott Wolstein office building at E. 14th and Euclid. The next repayment would be early 2010 for the Tower City Post Office project at Tower city, $9.2 million. In 2012, Dick Jacobs will finally have to repay a $10 million loan for the now Key Center and $7,663,000 for the Marriott Hotel, as will the Ratner family have to repay $9.7 million for the Ritz in 2016.

These nice people were given these “loans” for 20 year at zero interest rates, sweetened with 20-year tax abatements.

It always surprising how much attention illegal graft gets. The legal form is heralded as progress.

Jackson, unfortunately, is already under fire for his intention to “reform” tax abatement and add revenue to the city.

The outlook, unfortunately, is for business as usual and that has never been enough for real change.

Freeloaders Yell Loudly – We Need More!

The fight to reform the tax abatement laws in Cleveland has started.

It’s not surprising that the Pee Dee waited for the developers – or the Gimme Boys - to go to city hall to cry about the dangers of losing their candy to begin coverage of the issue.

Doug Price, builder of Stonebridge in downtown, threatened at a Council meeting:

“I will not build without tax abatement. I will never get the project loans to finance the project.”

Price sells his Stonebridge “luxury condos” – as his ads describe them - at up to $600,000 an apartment.

Why should someone who can afford a $600,000 apartment not pay his or her property taxes for 15 years? Can’t afford to pay taxes?

What I’d like to see is some real reporting that tells us just how much tax revenue has been lost to abatement since it was started back in the late 1970s with a state law written by Squires, Sanders & Dempsey.

The figure will be in the millions of dollars, shocking to taxpayers.

The last time I looked here are four tax-free parcels and their tax value: Jacobs Field, $172.2 million; Q Arena, $134.6 million; the garage servicing stadium and arena, $20.1 million; and Browns Stadium, $285-million.

Revenue from those pricey buildings: Zero.

Compare that your house or business, which does pay taxes.

For the years 1996 through 1998, for example, the city’s tallest structure, Key bank building at Public Square, was relieved by abatement of a $24.5 million tax bill. At about $8-million tax each year, the 1996-2006 period would mean Cleveland citizens have forgiven some $88 million of taxes on this one building.

About $55 million of that would have gone to the Cleveland school system. Sorry, teachers… children.

National City Bank was the first to be granted a 20-year tax abatement. It at least had a sliding scale, going down 25 percent every five years.

Generous George Voinovich and George Forbes began in the late 1980s giving 20-year, 100 percent abatements usually accompanied by no-interest loans of 20 years. Developers didn’t have to repay a cent until the 20th year while forgoing payment of annoying property taxes.

It started with downtown office buildings.

It extended to full exemption of property taxes to sports facilities, which never pay any property taxes on their structures.

Then developers got 15 year, 100 percent tax abatements for new housing projects.

It has been like picking up $1,000 bills in the gutter for developers.

Any wonder they do not want to give it up.

We do know, of course, that despite the same sweet 20-year deal for a second Public Square complex, Dick Jacobs never built it on Public Square in the past 17 years.

The reason: As conservatives say, The Market rules. So despite the 20-year abatements, nothing was built. The Public Square west side remains a 17-year old parking lot where a good number of buildings stood in 1989.

Now, however, developers say without hefty abatements new housing development will end. The Market apparently is irrelevant.

Cleveland residents need a taxpayer’s rights organization to represent their interests and to tell legislators how they feel about the free ride given to others.

Having paid the full tax tab - year after year after year - how do people who pay feel about the freeloaders?

How will they feel when the city and schools ask for another levy for the schools?

Should they be asked to pay while others walk away?

I’ll be interested to see how the Pee Dee, Tee Vee and bloggers handle this crucial public issue.

Gateway Bonds – 2007 Payment

I doubt Cuyahoga County Commissioner Tim Hagan personally mailed a County check of $6,344,939.13 to some already rich bondholders on January 16.

The check, however, went in the mail.

This $6.3 million, added to past payments, totals $99.1 million paid by County taxpayers from general fund sources.

County Commissioners in the early 1990s let two bonds for $75-million and $43-million at the request of Gateway to meet unexpected costs of the project. These annual payments represent the principle and interest on those bonds.

It does not include other payments – such as excess sin tax and city admission taxes. With those payments, more than $100-million in extra County general fund have been diverted from public uses to the sports teams. This doesn’t count the some $250 million in sin taxes.

It is not over.

Gateway was supposed to reimburse the County for these bond issues. Neither the Gateway Economic Development Corp. nor the Cleveland baseball or basketball team owners has paid one cent on the bonds in all those years!

Only you, the taxpayer, have shelled out.

Hagan should have had to crawl over to Jacobs Field to present the check. After all, he was largely responsible for the gift.

Timmy is the only Cuyahoga County Commissioner serving who pushed and voted for the taxpayers to add some three hundred million dollars in county subsidies. He acted with his typically arrogant disdain for the public at the commissioner’s meeting on the bond issues.

Here’s is Hagan to a citizen at the meeting discussing these bond issues in 1992:

“I don’t see why you or anyone else thinks because you speak as an individual in the public that (it is) the public that you think you represent. But you’re only representing yourself.”

The citizen, a lawyer, representing one of the few organizations taking a stand against the proposal, said: “I’m sorry you think I represent myself. I’m here for an organization, a watchdog of the people.”

Hagan: “Fine. Thank you very much for your self-appointed watchdog of the people. Every four years the people appoint, eh, elect people in a democracy to represent their views. If you would like to be involved in being more than that, then run for political office.”

The actual amount due bondholders this year totaled $10,148,801.27. It was reduced to the $6.3-million by – get this - $3,480,956.84 in other taxpayer money, primarily admission taxes from the Q arena that should flow to the city of Cleveland and $212,000 in bed tax funds.

Last year, county taxpayers shelled out $5.7 million.

Over the life of these bonds, $12.9 million in admission taxes were diverted from Cleveland to pay off these County bonds.

After all, the City of Cleveland doesn’t need that revenue. Does it?

Thanks again this year, Tim.

Bikes Get More Attention Than People

It’s too bad that taxpayers and poor people do not have the kind of special interest advocates backing their needs as bicyclists do.

Mayor Jackson’s Five-year Capital Improvement Program calls for more than $10-million in bicycle trails and street lanes. I counted city plans to spend $9.1 million in bike trails, not counting the cost for numerous bike lanes to be detailed on city streets.

They bicycle lobby is strong and vociferous and it is getting attention as the figures suggest.

There’s nothing wrong with bike paths. In fact, they’re good.

However, priorities should play a significant role in what a city does. I doubt a priority of most Cleveland residents would be for bike paths.

Poor people don’t have a pressure groups and foundations demanding government resources to meet their needs.

From Cool Cleveland contributor Roldo Bartimole roldoATadelphia.net
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