By: Diane Benjamin
Make sure you reads to the bottom!
https://normal.org/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/3962
PDF page 31-39:
104 West North has been leased to Dan Brady and Rodney Davis for many years – same price $1 a year. They are responsible for utilities and insurance. Then there’s this:
PDF page 36:
So, the Town gets $1 in revenue, but the Town (taxpayers) pay the Property taxes. How much are they?
Brady and Davis rent the first floor, the documentation doesn’t say if anyone is renting the second floor (they aren’t). Eventually the Town wants Trail North built on this site. When the town locates somebody willing to build the final piece taxpayers will get to subsidize them too. Both representatives get an allowance to use for district offices. Normal wants taxpayers to pay instead.
In other business:
Abating Rivian’s property taxes is on the agenda per the 5 year agreement signed in 2016.
Also on the agenda is annexing the farmland Rivian bought across the street and rezoning is it to manufacturing.
There is no annexation agreement included in the documentation! How can the Council vote to annex the property without an agreement with Rivian? Is the Town giving away more stuff they don’t want citizens to know about? Abating property taxes? Running utilities at taxpayer expense? When was the required Public Hearing?
Watch the vote, the bobbleheads won’t care they don’t know what they are voting on.
As Nancy Pelosi says: You have to pass the bill to find out what’s in it.
Rivian won’t stop asking for taxpayer money. It’s hard to blame them, especially if they perpetually get what they want with limited to no questions asked, all while the Town government and pompom cheerleaders at the EDC and Chamber sing their praises. Rivian is sitting on billions in cash and they need a tax abatement? Give me a break! Where are all the ‘pay your fair share’ and ‘eat the rich’ protesters?
Chips shortages are making new vehicles scarce, I wonder how they are affected? Used vehicle prices are sky rocking because they are in short supply
I totally agree with your question about why the local protesting class isn’t screaming about giving away tax dollars to some rich corporations. Too busy worrying about all the local police brutality and other imagined injustices, I guess.
The local protesting class is MIA because Rivian is a “green company” and aligns politically with their views. The leaders, including Clark, are all likely of the “woke” mindset just like Coke, Delta and numerous others. Besides, they see companies like Rivian eventually putting evil oil out of business for good. Doesn’t matter if the product appeals to a very small percentage of the market or prohibitively expensive for the masses. The ends always justify the means.
Coke suspended their woke agenda! Sales drop? Yep 😳
Rivian (i.e. Government Motors) has little of its own cash to invest in anything. Everything they have done thus far is with other people’s money. Such was true when Normal wasn’t even on their radar. The real proof of their staying power will be four to five years after the novelty of their vehicles is no longer their primary marketing strategy and they have to survive off of consistent sales like any other auto manufacturer. By then, everyone will know if the vehicle is dependable and how expensive repairs are and if the competition hasn’t totally caught up and surpassed them. For now, they are planning on making money off a very small niche market that is likely not financially sustainable. They are getting everything they want from Normal because it is Koos’ economic development legacy project. If someone else was the front man or woman, community leaders would not have given Rivian the time of day.
The property next to the Brady/Davis lease is owned by the town and is where Brady’s campaign office and Ohm Fit are. The town claims this property as tax-exempt. I see at least 3 problems
1.) Normal taxpayers are subsidizing a political campaign office. Tax dollars are not supposed to help one particular politician get elected or reelected.
2.) Ohm Fit, a for-profit business is not required to pay property taxes when others do. This is the government picking the winners and losers.
3.) The Brady/Davis lease is in a TIF. The town is paying property taxes to funnel tax dollars into the TIF and inflate the TIF revenues. They could just as easily make this property exempt like the neighboring one. Because there is inconsistency leads people to believe there is something fishy going on.
OhmFit moved out
$8,127 that tax payers should not be paying – When do tax payers get a break?!?!
Speaking of Brady. What is Brady up to now – I thought he resigned?
I am noticing ALL prices are sky rocketing….Inflation is here!
Can’t hand out millions or trillions of dollars with no impacts.
Other Brady resigned, Bill
And my property taxes went from 6300 to 7100 this year. Unfreaking real
Unit 5?
Yep. 600 of the increase was unit 5
They will never have enough $$$