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Get a good look at this blurb while you still can: It's Portland's next mayor, Char-Lie Hales, bad-mouthing "urban renewal" in order to get votes:
Right now, our local schools, libraries, community colleges and other children’s programs are losing funds to older urban renewal districts. We need to get those funds back to these vital services by exempting voter approved bonds and levies from tax increment financing of urban renewal. When voters approve levies and bonds, they are agreeing to pay taxes for the service specified in the ballot measure. They aren’t told that a percentage is siphoned off by urban renewal. And, we really need those dollars for the approved services.
You can bet that tune will be changing around 8:00 tonight. Old Homer Williams and the other development maneuverers are licking their chops. And notice, if you read the fine print, Char-Lie's only down on old urban renewal districts, not new ones. Lincoln High School condo towers, here we come.
| Posted at 1:43 PM | Permalink |
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Comments (6)
I'd love Charlie to give 1, uno, ONE example of a URD that has been cancelled even after the bond is paid off.
CoP won't do it - It too much gravy coming in that they can blow on something else.
Posted by Steve | November 6, 2012 2:09 PM
Jack,
Some of us have been around long enough to know that
what Charlie says needs to be translated to what Charlie really means
Posted by clinamen | November 6, 2012 2:14 PM
The way I read it, he isn't even advocating for sunsetting older UR's. He justs wants any new voter approved levies to be exempted from the UR bite. So he has no problem with a general erosion of the tax base because of UR, he just wants people to be able to vote for higher taxes to fund things that would be funded were it not for UR. That's quite a shell game.
We need to come up with a name for Hales' language.
How about Char-Lie-Speak?
Posted by Dave Lister | November 6, 2012 2:54 PM
You are absolutely right, Jack. Homer and the minions are like a pride of lions, eyeing the water hole surrounded by prey. The carnage will be just amazing.
Posted by Portland Native | November 6, 2012 3:12 PM
Only "old" urban renewal areas -- formed before 2001 -- siphon off voter-approved levies, like those for the schools, PCC, zoo, etc. The education urban renewal district, whatever you think of it on the merits, does not collect based on the voter-approved levies, only from the permanent tax rate.
Hales supports a legislative proposal - now being drafted by Legislative Counsel - to change that, so that NONE of the urban renewal areas would take a chunk from the school bond, the PCC levy, the Children's Levy, the firefighter capital bond, etc.
Posted by Sarah Carlin Ames | November 6, 2012 6:24 PM
"Only "old" urban renewal areas -- formed before 2001 -- siphon off voter-approved levies, like those for the schools"
I thought the URD caps the prop taxes for the base rate, so if a prop generates $1000 a year, gets thrown into a URD, then it will only generate $1000 a year in perpetuity (at least until someone cancels one). Individual bonds approved are exempted (also from M5 valuations), but NOT the base rate.
If you think school districts can freeze their budget for the next 20 years, let me know, otherwise, I'd disagree.
Posted by Steve | November 6, 2012 6:50 PM