As I explained in a previous post, the multi-billion dollar company American Financial Realty Trust (through their subsidiary First States Investors) recently bought the National City Bank building downtown (the old Commercial Bank building). That bank has a pedestrian walkway and underground vaults that encroach on the public way. Therefore, the city is supposed to be collecting ten cents per square foot on that encroachment annually.
Action was deferred last week while the staff answered some questions from the council. Those answers were released today. I’d like to simply look at the whole request and comment as I go:
First States Investors 4500 LLC, as the new owners of the National City Bank Building at 301 SW Adams, seeks the City of Peoria’s permission to continue using the pedestrian walkway and underground storage vaults on the property. Since both the walkway and the storage vaults are encroachments upon the public way, the buyer is seeking assurances that the City of Peoria will allow the continued use of the property. The buyer and seller were concerned that any refusal by the City of Peoria to allow the continued use and enjoyment of the encroachments would prevent the fullest utilization of the property and would require the parties to renegotiate the terms and conditions of the sale.
This part is completely reasonable. They want to be able to continue using the pedestrian walkway and underground vaults. The city can easily provide them assurances regarding this request. It’s the next part that defies logic:
Though § 26-111 of the Municipal Code, provides that a building owner pay .10/square foot as an annual fee for any encroachment upon the public way, the City of Peoria has not collected such a fee for a number of years.
Why not? That question was not answered in this new communication from staff. It’s apparent that nobody authorized the staff to stop collecting these fees. They just stopped, and now they want to use their negligence or deliberate unauthorized action to justify the continuation of that policy:
It would be unreasonable to begin collecting same relative to this transaction given the number of years the encroachments have existed.
No, what’s unreasonable is that staff has failed to do their job and are now shamelessly flaunting it.
The language of the ordinance provides for the building owners to provide proof of adequate public liability and property damage insurance prior to commencing any reconstruction, repair or other maintenance of the encroachments. Additionally, the Directors of Public Works and Inspections must authorize and monitor any repairs or reconstruction of the encroachments such that the City of Peoria is assured that the integrity of the public way is maintained.
Of course they should provide insurance for their own encroachment. The fee isn’t assessed to cover that. As far as the directors of Public Works and Inspections authorizing and monitoring any repairs or reconstruction, I think it’s fair to ask if they’ve been doing that, or if such monitoring also ceased “a number of years” ago.
The encroachment square footage, according to the Assessor’s Office, is 750 s.f. over the alley and 848 s.f. under the alley. If the annual fee were collected on this property, it would amount to $159.80. The land and building value is more than $4,000,000 and the City is receiving tax revenue on same. We believe collection stopped in the 1980’s.
The implication seems to be here that the amount is so small in comparison to the property tax revenue the city gets that it’s not worth collecting. Hogwash. The city collects lots of petty fines from businesses that pay plenty of property taxes to the city. The city by rights should charge them for the fees they haven’t paid since “the 1980’s.” That’s over $4,000 for the past 26 years.
Perhaps the most comical part of this is that according to this request, the company buying the bank building hasn’t even asked to get out of the fee — the only thing they’ve asked for is assurance that they can continue using the walkway and vaults; i.e., that the city won’t make them tear them out ala Peoria Heights vs. Alexis. Why city staff is insisting that the city stop collecting fees is a mystery.
But if that’s really what they want, then Patrick Nichting is right: they should include an amendment to the municipal code that repeals this fee. If a multi-billion dollar company shouldn’t have to pay it, then certainly no one else should.
Do we really want to say that anybody can use public sidewalks or other ROW’s for free? I thought the City had a budget deficit? Of course it is true that many of these ROW’s are actually owned by the adjoining property owner, and they do pay taxes on the property, but it just sounds to me like a way to sweep incompetance under the rug.
The Mouse has no clue. They are not using the public sidewalk. They are using space UNDER it. In any event, these amounts are more than miniscule compared to the city budget. It would probably cost more in manpower $ to identify and collect them than they are worth. Forget collecting this. The Chase building (formerly Jefferson Bank, Bank one..) also has utilized space under the city sidewalks, both Fulton and Adams. Maybe the city can spend a couple of thousand $ and collect $200 from them too? The law needs to be removed out of common sense.
Well, if $6/month for garbage collection and $10 for parking tickets aren’t too small for the city to collect, I’m sure they can collect $160 without paying a couple thousand dollars. But if the fee is too low to make collection worth their while, maybe they should raise the fee.
Seriously, I don’t care if they get rid of the fee or not. But if it’s on the books, they should collect it unless/until the council tells them to stop collecting it.
You are trying to confuse the issue. The garbage fee is sent to tens of thousands of residents and is automated. Parking tickets also generate more revenue than they cost to produce. If you think the garbage fee is too high, move out of the city. Then you can pay $10-$14 per WEEK for the same thing.
MDD: Maybe you are confused. The Garbage Fee is collected at a cost of $88,000. That is what the IAW is getting for collecting it. It does go to ten of thousands. Now the ROW fee is also collected but not to tens of thousands. If you let one person get away with not paying it, then why would I have to pay it if I encroached the ROW? Because I’m not a million dollar corporation?? There aren’t any fees associated with collecting this other than a pocket calculator, a postage stamp, and the paper to write the “amount due” on it. I think the point is that running a City you can not be selective with who to charge and not charge. It must be by the book. If someone on Staff screwed up and forgot to bill, then it’s time we dock some of these high paid people and start collecting what is due. Tough shit if the buyer doesn’t like it. With the City running a debt and then dreaming up silly crap like a Garbage Fee (which doesn’t go to garbage collection) is a slap in the face of every private property owner. For one, I am tired of getting slapped by the city for taxation without representation. I believe that is why we all went to war with England. 🙂
$88,000 compared to how much is collected? It makes a profit. To collect that $159 someone will end up sending out a crew to survey the property and then make out a report. Multiple people will look at that report and make another report as to how to collect the money. The law needs tobe changed as it isn’t worth it to collect it. It will take years for the ROI. If you don’t like the city fees, move out of the city. No one is forcing you to live there.
Emtronics — I agree, you are correct, it is the principle of the way the City does business — regardless of one’s position on the socio-economic foodchain.
This mantra is spreading of telling people to leave the city — if they do not like the fees, or whatever is going on — whatever happened to making the cogs work better — even if it is uncomfortable to fix them?
… zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…
MDD– you make some excellent points regarding changing the law. That’s what the city’s staff should have done… 20 years ago.
And please stop telling me if I don’t like things to move out of Peoria. Civic-minded people look for ways to improve their city, not abandon it.
Shhhh… Pregoman is sleeping….
Folks, in case you haven’t noticed, people have been moving out of the City by the thousands. The more fees you charge, the more move out, and higher the fees get. And exempting those that “cost too much to collect” or that inconvenience big powerful corporations, that really encourages people to stay, doesn’t it? Eventually, the City will be only the wealthy and the poor. Maybe that’s what MDD wants?
People and businesses are fed up with the petty fees, anti-business philosophy and general bureaucracy of the city of Peoria. If it takes X amount of money to run it, then have the property taxes take in X amount of money. Don’t add in fees, fines, etc left and right to make up for it unless it is done in a true ala-cart manner. If you use it, you pay the true cost cost for that service. If you don’t use it, you pay nothing. As an example, I have 2 kids in JFL and they are to sell a minimum of 20 items each for a fundraiser. Just tell me the real amount it takes to be in the thing and give me a price. Add in some extra $ to take care of those that truely can’t afford it and I will pay it. Trying to nickel and dime people so that they “don’t notice” the real amount doesn’t work. Why do you think all of these people have moved out of the city? They are tired of overpaying for “services” they don’t want or need.
MDD: Buy my house and I’m gone. What an idiot. $88,000 is taxpayer money. It must be nice to be so caviler with somebody else’s money. Oh, wait, the answer is; move! If that were true, then everyone would live in a mobile home and when they didn’t like something, move on. Nothing would get done. The point is, the City should not have to pay some company to do something it does already, and that is collect taxes. As for ROW fees and everything else, it all adds up and if this City would quit wasting money on surveys and studies it might have the money it needs to provide basic services. It must be easy for you MDD as you probably don’t live in Peoria and those are always the people who have the so called fixes for our problems. When you’re not standing in shit, it’s easy to smell like a rose.