A couple of responses to today’s Journal Star editorial. First, there’s this:
Even Mayor Jim Ardis, who never saw a tax increase he didn’t greet with contempt, seems to have come to the realization that City Hall probably can’t cut its way out of this.
That’s not exactly accurate. Mayor Ardis happily voted to increase sales taxes by 1% within the Hospitality Improvement Zone downtown.
And then, there’s this:
As a result [of the need to make more cuts to city services or raise taxes to balance the budget], a fair number of locals are venting, understandably, though some of them paint either-or scenarios that do not exist. Indeed, the choice is not a recreational trail vs. police officers, or a museum vs. firefighters. The vast majority of the funding for those quality-of-life projects comes out of dedicated revenue streams controlled by other local governments – the park district and county, respectively, with the help of grants. Those dollars couldn’t be used to put more badges on the streets even if the council wanted to. Like them or hate them, those projects — one of them initiated by a successful citizen referendum — are not what created this operating deficit.
First of all, this framing of the argument is obviously a “straw man.” I know of no “locals” who have made the assertions they are countering. Clearly “either-or scenarios” as painted here do not exist. But to imply that these projects have absolutely no relation to the City’s fiscal crisis is also false.
Yes, construction of the rail-to-trail project is funded by the Park District, but it’s only made possible by the City of Peoria giving away a $3 million asset to the Park District for one dollar. The City just threw away $3 million (or at least $750,000, the last bona fide offer to purchase the rail line) while at the same time they need to cut $800,000 from this year’s budget. Why didn’t they put the land up for sale to the highest bidder? Putting this land into the hands of a rail carrier and working with them to woo new manufacturing business to Pioneer Industrial Park would have resulted in raising the tax base in Peoria through new business and new jobs.
Then there’s the Sears block, which has lain dormant for over a decade now because the City won’t enforce deadlines on redevelopment agreements. This is prime real estate that could be parceled off and sold, which would provide a couple of things: income from the initial sale, and on-going revenue from sales and property taxes by the businesses who locate there. Instead, the City is sitting on the land indefinitely, until they can finally give it away for nothing to be used by a non-profit organization that will be a perpetual drain on the county taxpayers.
In addition to the lost opportunity to generate revenue with these assets, taxpayers now have to pay for their development and maintenance in perpetuity. That means we have to pay higher taxes to support these drains on the economy. And that exacerbates the City’s budget woes. Since taxes are high because of increases by other local governments (to which the City directly contributed, as shown above), it puts pressure on the City not to add to the tax burden. And that means the City continues to try to balance its budget by cutting — police, fire, public works, etc.
The Journal Star is simply trying to rationalize its support for non-essential pet projects by using straw-man arguments to dismiss valid criticism.
See also Billy Dennis’s post in response to today’s PJS editorial.
good analysis, but, in the end, it is either-or to an extent. There is only so much money at any one time, at any one place. If it goes to x, it, ipso facto, does not go to y.
“This is prime real estate that could be parceled off and sold, which would provide a couple of things: income from the initial sale, and on-going revenue from sales and property taxes by the businesses who locate there.”
That is the assumption that a business would want to locate to that particular piece of real estate and that said business would not request money from the city to develop that lot. The lot next door is still for sale maybe all those businesses could still look there?
“Putting this land into the hands of a rail carrier and working with them to woo new manufacturing business to Pioneer Industrial Park would have resulted in raising the tax base in Peoria through new business and new jobs.”
Once again assuming that manufacturing jobs would want to locate to pioneer parkway and that the rail line there would attract them. Manufacturing is a dying horse Im not sure I would want to depend on it for revenue or employment.
Gee Stephen, Billy is right here. As it stands now, we the taxpayers are going to have to support a museum come hell or high water and we the taxpayers gave away a rail line for a buck. Don’t forget the Midtown Plaza payments, and the Firefly loan payments too. I’d take my chances on selling the hole in the ground to a business and the rail line to the railroad. At least we wouldn’t have the 1% tax increase downtown, which IS a tax increase. Standby folks but the garbage fee is baout to jump 2 bucks too. Another temp tax. LMAO
Here’s one. Shoot me down but is there a spot near the riverfront in one of the older buildings that might be a more fitting spot for a museum? Could it work for a lot less money in an already historic setting? Could we all benefit from letting some one develop the prime real estate that is the Sears block?? Just asking.
Stephen Scanlan-Yerly wrote: Manufacturing is a dying horse Im not sure I would want to depend on it for revenue or employment.
Who says new business lured by a railroad has to be manufacturing? Plenty of logistics businesses are rail-served and the Peoria area has, historically, been a regional distribution center. Recall the massive industrial and distribution expansion spurred by the Toledo Peoria & Western in Mapleton and East Peoria during the 1950s/60s/70s. Much of that was new businesses to the area.
Most existing business of the Illinois & Midland RR, for example, was attracted by it and predecessor Chicago & Illinois Midland Rwy. since the 1980s. Several of these came to Pekin – American Milling, a railroad-owned barge dock, Agridyne LLC and Reed Minerals – were all attracted by the railroad.
It’s not just railroads: Pekin has done a good job building its Riverway Business Park since 1992. Two rail users, Hanna Steel Corporation (manufacturing) and Amerhart Ltd (warehouse), began operations in 1999 and 2006, respectively.
Isn’t it strange that rail-spurred economic development happens where it is wanted (Pekin) and doesn’t happen where it isn’t wanted (Peoria)? No…not strange at all.
And some of us ask, what could have been if the City Council had listened to reason rather than a loud minority?
We have two historic buildings on the riverfront that could be used. One is the RiverStation the former original Rock Island Depot and the other is the other Rock Island Depot up the river at Constitution Gardens. This one was built in 1967 and still sits there unused. That’s just two on the river front. The warehouse district has many many more that could be converted to a beautiful museum while causing renovation to the warehouse district that has been wanted for a long time.
Did I defend the museum? Nope. I just said that if the Sears block and downtown overall is such prime diserable real estate why has an adjacent lot to the Sears block been for sale for over a year? Why do we not see businesses competing to locate there? Im not saying anything about the museum Im just questioning the percieved value of that lot. Why couldnt this flock of businesses locate to many of the unused buildings downtown, the riverfront, the warehouse district or the main street corridor? Only the Sears lot will work? Thats what’s halting a this amazing flowering of business in Peoria?
“Putting this land into the hands of a rail carrier and working with them to woo new manufacturing business to Pioneer Industrial Park”
David I didnt say that was the only business that could be brought in by the railroad I was just replying to that statement in CJ’s post.
Vonster & SD,
More than a decade ago, before Lakeview & Co. pulled a ‘Mafia,’ the original plans called for renovating an existing historical building. That suggestion had been thrown around ever since. It really picked up steam leading up to the tax vote, but……. was never addressed by the museum group.
The original plan also called for spending a great deal less, and focusing more on local history, etc. What can you say? Peoria ‘genious’ at work.
Why not use the Maxam building for a museum? It has been recently renovated and other than not having parking directly at the siite would work out nicely. You could take a small portion of the Sears Block and build a parking deck that would serve the museum and the commercial development on the Sears Block. The Cat Museum either gets built or not.
Before all the comments about parking decks start to come, I would probably agree that the downtown area has plenty of parking and does not need another deck but something with easier access to museum might make sense.
If manufacturing is a dying horse, then our economy is doomed. This area cannot survive economically on tourism or retailing. It’s just ridiculous. It creates no wealth. If you’re just passing the money around, you have to have an big attraction – Hawaii or Yellowstone might be such, but I’ll guarantee the Peroia Museum isn’t.
Our economy is post industrial. Large manufacturing has been doing the death march across the country since at least the 80’s. The term rust belt dosnt exist because it sounds catchy. I never said anything about the museum being a big draw. Manufacturing might have a chance on a small scale, in certain fields that require a high level of training or are technically difficult or in right to work states where there isnt a union to drive the price of labor into a non profit scenario.
or we could stop allowing the Chinese to flood our markets with state subsidized and slave-labor produced products, the purpose of which is to destroy our industrial base so they can take over the world.