“No nation ever can or did make itself prosperous by taxation. Taxes prey upon national wealth and industry. Governments do not produce wealth. They consume it.” — Ashton Shallenberger, 1932
That pretty much sums up my attitude today. And I don’t see it changing much by the Monday night special city council meeting at 6:30pm.
There is no argument in my mind that the building at 200 South Fourth Street is inadequate for use as a modern police station for the City of DeKalb. As it is designed and used today it is awkward in its split use as Police Station/City Hall. Enter the premise to do city business and you may be intruding in a domestic dispute in what is used as the lobby for the police station. Bathroom facilities for women cramped. The 911 and dispatcher center is so jammed it looks like an expensive accident waiting to happen. Did I mention forced water plumbing lines above the 911 data center?
The finance advisory committee (I am a member) was asked to attend. I assume the purpose in doing so was to gather ideas for paying for one of the two options staff has offered for the council’s consideration.
I feel better about the options offered because Steve Irving has provided key insight and he is one of the better local commercial builders around. Actually our community is well represented by quality builders and this project is small enough for them to tackle and big enough for them to call back a few workers from the unemployment lines. That’s all good.
But how to pay for it without raising taxes? I’m kicking around ideas and googlin the heck out of them. And I’d love to hear from you. Got any ideas? Discuss. 🙂
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12 Comments
One last thing Mac, I am not arguing for “wealth distribution” as you claimed. Since Ronald Reagan we have already gotten it. Wealth has gone from the middle class and poor to the rich and powerful. This is due to his foolish tax policies. If Reagan were alive to ask Americans if they were better off now than they were 30 years ago, how do you think they would answer?
Stephen, a progressive tax system is all about wealth distribution isn’t it? I guess I missed those times when the poor were wealthy.
I won’t defend trickle down economics and I opposed the Bush II tax cuts. But I disagree that Republicans made people hate taxes. King George III did that.
Mac I am not sure that the police Facilities Committe even still exists. If it does I have not heard a word since the council decided not to go forward with anything we recommended back in 08 or 09.
I don’t see how we possibly can discuss this without more detailed information on the financing options. How about these questions for starters.
— Can we get a recap of the amount of money “freed up” by the debt restructuring?
— How much of each renovation proposal would qualify for TIF? Even if we think TIF money is appropriate, are the TIFs performing well enough to take this on?
— What other parcels of city-owned land are/can be put up for sale and what would be the expected proceeds?
— Are compensation cuts on the table this year?
— What’s left of the EPI reorganization recommendations and how much would the savings be in implementing them?
Etc.
On selling land:
There are 5 city-owned properties that immediately come to mind:
1) The W. Lincoln Hwy property originally purchased for a new police station
2) 1st & Locust Streets (Northeast Corner)
3) 1st & Locust Streets (Southeast Corner)
4) 4th & Lincoln Hwy. (Northeast Corner)
5) 7th & Lincoln Hwy. (Southeast corner)
These are all properties previously zoned commercial and would likely fit retail development plans. Four of the five were listed as available properties. The two options appear to eliminate use of the West Lincoln Hwy property as a police station so it should be added to the list.
The market for such property is not hot, It would therefore be better, IMHO, for future taxes generated from eligible properties to be designated for a capital improvement abatement fund as part of a public facilities financing plan.
Question for Ivan Krpan and Ed Pevonka… has the police facilities committee discussed any of this?
The city certainly waited way too long to do anything about the police station–expand it, and thus tell the drug dealers not to stay here.
I totally agree that governments do not create wealth. They can (and often do) make a mess. Well, we have a mess with perceptions of crime in DeKalb, partially attributed to years of inaction by city government in regards to the police station. Go ask the out-of-town criminals if they came here because they thought they could ‘get away with it’ in DeKalb.
The proposal by Irving Construction points out something I think is very important–what could it cost if the police station is not expanded? One bad lawsuit could cost about as much as the proposed expansion. Beyond that, what are the current crime levels costing the city? What does it cost the local economy if the number of NIU students drops because people consider DeKalb dangerous? What businesses will want to come here if people think DeKalb is dangerous?
Build the expansion, and send a message to people that if they want to be in DeKalb, they better behave.
Side Note: As usual, there is no opportunity for citizen comments at the meeting. The last time there were opportunities for citizen comments in the agendas for special budget meetings was under Mayor Van Buer.
The Shallenberger quote misses our current financial problem. We have historically low taxes for the wealthy and corporations. The top 400 Americans have as much wealth as the bottom 150 million. These powerful interests have successfully shifted the tax burden onto the middle class and the working poor. Now they want to do away with our social safety net. The Right has demonized taxes to accomplish this. A progressive tax system is vital to having a healthy middle class with a decent standard of living.
Somehow, some way we must break the vicious cycle of partisanship. Ashton Shallenberger was a Democrat born in Illinois moved to Nebraska where he became Governor and later served multiple terms in the US Congress.
The current financial problem mirrors those of the Great Depression (including 1932) with alarming similarities.
Your argument of wealth distribution was very much a part of the political debate of those times. Probably the most ardent promoter of wealth redistribution was Huey Long (Louisiana) who was considered by FDR to be one of the two most dangerous people in the world (Gen MacArthur the other). FDR compared Long to Mussolini and Hitler but candidly admitted that he incorporated many of Long’s ideas into the New Deal 2 to steal his thunder for a presidential challenge to FDR.
Long’s bid for the presidency was cut short by assassination. That often happens to true progressives. Today’s Democratic Party, especially the local one, doesn’t know the meaning of the word progressive.
Sadly, it looks like “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country” died with JFK or perhaps RFK.
But I digress.
Are you suggesting a progressive income tax for the City of DeKalb to pay for the City Hall renovations, Stephen?
NO. I am speaking to the broader issue as corporations used to pay 30% of governmental costs now down to 6%. The top federal tax rate was 91% now down to 35%. Warren Buffet says he pays a lower rate than his secretary. If government doesn’t collect revenue, all levels from the federal, state, county, and municipalities will feel the pinch. Republicans have succeeded in turning taxes into a dirty word. Paul Ryan wants a “fairer” flatter tax system. That means shifting the tax burden onto the middle class and poor and doing away with our social safety net. There is no patriotism in corporate board rooms as they evade taxes and outsource our jobs. If Americans don’t wake up they will find themselves living in a third world country.
We could start by selling any number of the city owned land parcels that are not generating a dime of taxes while costing us to maintain.
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Republicans have been lowering taxes and demonizing paying taxes for years. They haven’t been concerned about debt until now. Remember when Cheney told Bush that, “Deficits don’t matter.” Now they offer the false choice of lowering debt or eliminating our social safety net. Tax fairness will go a long way to paying our obligations. Our American revolution was precipitated by the actions of the East India Company and the Crown enforcing their will. Read Unequal Protection by Thom Hartmann it identifies our problem with corporations that is driving America’s decline.