By: Diane Benjamin
Tari Renner was quoted in today’s paper: “No tax dollars that we’re currently getting will go to this project”.
Judy Markowitz said the same thing about the Coliseum. She hired consultants – they were WAY OFF projections: https://blnnews.com/2016/02/11/the-tale-of-the-coliseum-tari-a-hotel/
Tari, please explain where the money to pay SB Friedman to consult came from? Did you pay the bills yourself since you claim taxpayer money isn’t involved?
$61,041.95 so far:
S B FRIEDMAN & COMPANY EFT 11/09/2015
Econ Devel Oth PT Sv 9,950.00
CHECK TOTAL 9,950.00
Monday night Tari wants the Council to spend $33,000 for another consultant.
$94,041.95 Total.
Close to $100,000 and nothing is concrete yet. I suppose another consultant will be needed to tell you the infrastructure won’t support a downtown hotel. One more will be needed to estimate the cost of asbestos removal underground.
Tari, if current tax dollars won’t be used – does that mean you will raise taxes to pay for the shortfall? The City did for the Coliseum! It was sold as being able to pay the bond – just like your hotel. It doesn’t come close to paying the costs.
Today’s article talks about rebating taxes back to Giebelhausen to pay for the project he is brokering. Does that mean the guy with no money is financing the City’s share: 8.8-12.2 million?
You really don’t want to be Mayor after next year, right Tari?
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As you’ve stated and shown in your post, current tax dollars are being spent. The Mayor is blatantly misleading the taxpayers by inferring that tax dollars will not be used for his pet downtown project(s). The hotel proposal has not been finalized but the proposal requires all future taxes to be used to finance it. There is no mention of the 30 year bonds which will need to be issued for support of the hotel/conference development. The City will be paying the debt with interest for a generation even if the project is successful. Anyone wondering where the increased liquor and video gaming fees will be going?
He’s lied before, and he’ll continue, Just like his “Transparency promise” He so FULL of BS he ought to be teaching Animal Husbandry! And you wanna BET that he’ll jack taxes AGAIN just so he can build a “Renner Respite” Just look at todays Panziegraph, he wants ANOTHER TIF in DOWNTOWN, WHO is going to pay for ALL this lost income? Enquiring minds want to know!
Ready the straight jacket as he is completely losing it.
Thank you Diane for your work. I don’t always agree (though this time I do), but this is important work and I wish more people were doing it.
Agreed. The Council members should be rechearching information prior to voting. Often the meeting packets don’t provide complete information. The Pantagraph doesn’t report this information either.
More often than not, when habitual liars lie. They lose touch with reality and blatantly lie of which seems to be the case here. Ready the staff in the white coats for the delusional mayor.
At this point they’re paying for studies. Would you rather they blindly go into such projects? That’s what it sounds like. Or I suppose not go into public-private partnerships at all, even though it works everywhere else, including Uptown Normal!
Look at the tif reports for uptown. Government creates debt and tells citizens to pay the bills.
Note the “that we’re CURRENTLY getting”. That leaves it wide open for future tax dollars.