If trying to access TIF and Corporate Welfare page, make sure to click directly on that title.
Convince me if I am wrong: Here are some of my thoughts on the Comprehensive Plan that is in the making:
Non-owner housing.
We have all played Monopoly and know that those who own Boardwalk and Park Place, retain the buying power and win the game. As a community, which focuses on helping investor's grow their assets at the expense of the poor and middle class, this will lead to lowered quality of life and widening the gap between the poor and rich.
On page 40 of the Comprehensive Plan, HN.1.C states "Removing barriers to development of non-owner occupied housing to help meet the region's housing needs."
In conjunction with this, I was not surprised when I found out that our Economic Development Department was involved in petitioning our Redevelopment Commission, on November 14, 2023, for $96,000 to rework this current Comprehensive Plan to focus on non-owner housing. Specifically, House Bill 10-05 was mentioned, by Bill Schalliol, the Executive Director of Economic Development, as one of the reasons to change this current plan. House Bill 10-05 is a bill, which passed in 2023, "Provides that the fiscal body of a county may adopt an ordinance to designate an economic development target area. It removes the threshold conditions for establishing a residential housing development program and a tax increment allocation area for the program."
This is another way to continue to grow the TIF and Economic Development Areas in our county, redirect our tax money for corporate interests and subvert the power of our elected officials to an un-elected commission. In essence, we are removing the checks and balances from our government.
If you go to the page titled, TIF and Corporate Welfare, you will see more information on TIFs and why it is harmful to the community. Make sure to click directly on this title to access the link.
On top of that, we have a branch of local government, the Economic Development Department, which has the sole purpose of helping corporations grow their assets. This has placed corporations and growing their wealth over the rights of the people. While this may have started off with the best of intentions, this has become a place to facilitate backroom deals that benefit the corporations and it is no longer for the best interests of the community. As it is, the example with the Executive Director of Economic Development petitioning for $96,000 to change the plan for corporate interests is akin to having our tax dollars used for lobbying to do the will of the corporations and not the people.
Here are some other take-aways:
- We also should not be looking into TIFs or bonds as a way to live. This has no place in our comprehensive plan. Taking out debt for those who are not even born yet is absolute theft. (Do you think this could be a form of debt bondage or financial entrapment?)
- Find ways to foster home ownership and not rentals. Look into programs such as Habitat for Humanity.
- Develop economic growth that nurtures the individuals, small businesses and keeps money within our community. Stop siphoning our money out of the community by increasing the wealth of global companies.
- On page 82 and throughout the plan we talk a lot about coordinating with other jurisdictions, this can lead to soft policy taking away local control and home-rule. The long-term implications of this must be addressed. The rights of the people must be preserved as it is a pillar of our State Constitution.