City mulls over cuts to basic services, giving $37M to hotel developer

According to this Journal Star article, the City of Peoria is looking for ways to cut basic services like sidewalk and sewer improvements due to a nearly “flat projection” in sales tax growth. Meanwhile, according to this other Journal Star article, developer Gary Matthews is still pitching his hotel plan which relies on $37 million in TIF and sales tax revenue. That figure is down from the $39.3 million originally proposed (and approved), but the project is smaller now, too. There are 70 fewer rooms and “[i]t will be designed so that another 100 rooms can be added later, if needed,” according to Matthews.

“It has taken me a lot longer to reach this point than I expected. I didn’t see the recession coming, especially one that deep. Even so, I never thought it would be so tough to finance a project that is 50 percent equity,” Matthews said.

He didn’t see the recession coming when he submitted this project for council approval in December 2008? Really? That’s funny, because the recession started in December 2007, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research. Yet despite this striking admission, we’re still supposed to trust his judgment with our $37 million in tax money. And the City has such a great track record of choosing economic winners and losers… well, at least losers. Cub Foods. Firefly Energy. A few more “self-supporting” projects like those, and we’ll be completely bankrupt.

It’s time the City stopped acting like a bank for entrepreneurs who can’t get private financing because their projects are too risky, and started doing what they’re supposed to be doing, which is providing basic services for the residents of the City. It’s past time, actually.

17 thoughts on “City mulls over cuts to basic services, giving $37M to hotel developer”

  1. How many times have we just been a few weeks/months away from a start to this project only to see those deadlines come and go? That speaks volumes for this project and what the private sector thinks about it – why can’t the public sector see the same thing? I would hope that our elected officials (and public service employees) will give him a firm, public date for this project to move forward. I would have also hoped that in the 15 months since this was first made public that the public process would have been more open – the money that the city is putting into this project are not private dollars so this project should not have the same right to privacy that a private project should have.

    This project is such a high risk in this economy (even in a good economy) that it should have very minor public support. Even when the economy improves, this will be a risky project.

  2. It is too bad for Peoria citizens that city officials cannot be held accountable for their misfeasance in a manner similar to that of other contractual obligations made in the private sector. Yes they say vote them out of office, but during the last election look who the choices were (or were not). And so look who astonishingly we re-elected in spite of their negative performances, their lack of courage and crediblity. We re-elected the same non-creative thinking people who miss that spark in their brains which directs them to sensiblity, prudence and efficacy. It makes me want to holler “goddammit” from Knoxville and Pioneer to Western and Starr.

  3. The city should clean up the Firefly mess first before dabbling in any other ventures…

  4. I agree with Glen. You sometimes can’t vote these people out. Look at the 2nd District council person. She made a fool of herself at a frat house, poked a police officer, disrespected a whole police department, lied during her first election about getting rid of the garbage fee and yet, she gets re-elected. Those people in the second must love this abuse.

  5. Don’t forget about Globe Energy. The city got behind a tech company that hadn’t updated it’s web site in 2.5 years. How stupid can you be, Peoria?

  6. The “you can’t vote them out” line is bullshit. We all have no one to blame but ourselves. We could run, but we don’t. We could vote differently, but don’t.

  7. “when in doubt smear the opposition with vitriol and inuendo”

    ha ha ha precinct committeeman you are just too funny.
    What was the “lefty euphemism”… these people?

    Look at any election…. ANY election. The one that spends the most money WINS. (Of course, when both candidates get to spending 10 – 100x as much as the job pays, you just look at who the corporations have their money on). Corporate money speaks louder than person money.

    Sud O Nym… “we could vote differently”

    You presume too much. Most voters believe the advertisements their party pays for, and disbelieve those the opponents pay for. It doesn’t matter what they say in the ads…
    We no longer have an informed populace to have a fair election.

    Look at the health care debate… Republicans think there are death panels. At least a significant amount to sway an election do… 35% or so. 36% per cent think using a condom is murder. There is still something like 20% who believe we found WMDs in Iraq… or will find them. 46% think Sarah Palin is qualified to President. 70% (or so) think Jefferson, Washington and the other founding fathers were born again evangelical Christians.

  8. OK let look at the vote them out line in the last mayoral election we had two choice the FOOL that was in office or an EXCONVICT who even if he won could not be sworn in because of his felonies. The con was the only one who even wanted the job besides the Fool who already has trashed the city. Nobody with half a brain wants to take on the mess these people have left in there wake so they just keep getting elected by shear lack of oposition from anyone. So unless we can get a lot of people that truely want to help the city we are going to be royally screwed by our leaders all the way up the list.

  9. Truth hurts doesn’t it precinct committeeman. There was someone running against BV in the second. Everything I posted about her is true. Yet, the people in the second felt she was the better choice. Sometimes there is no one running against a council person and sometimes there is less of a choice running like the Mayor’s job. What are ya going to do? Live with these people’s decisions I guess because they don’t hear the public.

  10. I guess Emtronics has come to realize that the winner of an election is the will of the voters. If your candidate loses you have choices, 1. let the election stand as popular will. or 2. keep throwing mud against the winner and hope you can prevail on the highest mud pile made until next election. or 3. get a better candidate and support them to the max. or 4. run yourself.(the candidate who agees with your view 100% of the time)

  11. BVA draws alot of support from people with money living in the 2nd and those are the people that vote. Remember some of those people thought she was a hero attacking those frat boys. Also Smith didnt do a whole lot to campaign which was frustrating.

  12. The 2nd district loves a kiss-up dolt who has a law degree and opposes business expansion, as I understand it.

  13. Lets stay on track people……..

    What is there to “mull over?” It is only $37 million………

    Hells Bells, we’ve spent that much on the museum already and have little more than a ‘big hole’ in the ground to show for it.

    It is only [our] money.

  14. I’m with NEW VOICE – Free tax money but “It’s only [our] money”. Ditch the museum and the dream hotel while there’s still time! PLEASE!

  15. Grist for today—–

    Globe Energy in default to Busey Bank for $7.9 million. Wow. Doubt the city or county will see any of the $200K+ owed them.

    Alternate plan to Marriott being proposed at a presser Wednesday from Grieves.

  16. From my blog:

    “This is one of two racing cars that a source tells me was bought with Globe Energy money. Boats also were purchased. This source also says the family that owned the company also sent $40,000 a month to the Church of Scientology. This source tells me that owner David Jones Sr. took a personal loan from Glen Barton, the former CEO of Caterpillar. That’s supposed to be him behind the wheel.”

    Globe Energy didn’t collapse because of the economy. It collapsed because they ran it like a private piggy bank.

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