By: Diane Benjamin
The handouts of tax money continue in Normal on TUESDAY. Unless developers are paid to build in Uptown it doesn’t happen.
Monday’s giveaway teeters on laughable. The documentation claims the $1.6 million project will not go forward unless a rebate from sales tax of $150,000 is approved.
Can you see the bulls-eye placed squarely over Uptown? The word is out, the Normal Town Council will pay you to invest in Uptown, just ask.
http://normal.org/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/3396
So what’s the project? See PDF page 93. It isn’t filling the still empty space in 1 Uptown Circle. With yet another restaurant – why would that space ever be occupied?
What’s even funnier?
The financial statements are done. A presentation for them is before the Fiala presentation. The update on the Uptown TIF is AFTER. Shouldn’t the Council know before voting to hand out more money how the TIF is doing?
The TIF report from 3/31/2018 shows the Town has borrowed $74,700,000. For FY 2018 TIF Revenue was only $2,172,946, the Fund Balance was ZERO. Downtown Redevelopment_1
I’m betting the 3/31/2019 report will be glowing! If Uptown is such a success, why do developers still have to be compensated to build there?
Bills they already paid:
If the Town knows what they are doing, why do they have to keep paying a guy in Florida?
In Other Business:
Coal is the cheapest way to generate electricity, therefore it has to end or “green” technology doesn’t work. Normal will be bidding new rates for gas and electric.
I wonder if King Koos will require them to have white table clothes?
Koos is mortgaging the farm to prevent empty storefronts in Uptown that shouldn’t have been built in the first place. Uptown is an egotistical showpiece for the town elites. How much craft beer and bar food does this place need to sell to indebted college students before taxes are collected? Literally millions in revenue need to ring through the register before the town collects one red cent of tax money. Given the life expectancy of a restaurant, the town may never collect sales tax revenue from this place. I wish them well, don’t get me wrong. But, I wish them well with their money not taxpayer money. At the end of the day, Koos is just trying to prevent empty storefronts in Uptown because they can’t be hidden in a footnote of some obscure document waiting to be FOIA-ed. Empty storefronts in Uptown are visually indisputable evidence of failed policy, leadership, and decision making on display for all to see. Expect more tax money and “incentives” thrown at Uptown so Koos can cover his political tracks.
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Of course. Sharing is the only way to inform more people!