Pickerington Area Taxpayers Alliance

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From Our Pages Link (to your left): City Manager admits actions subsidize residential construction.

>From the Dispatch article...


Wednesday, November 6th, 2002
By Debbie Gebolys
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH


''City Manager Joyce Bushman said the council used the tap-in fees agreements as an alternative to more-costly tax abatements.''

Not lets take at what the city manager is really saying here. To begin with, Pickerington city council uses tap-in fees agreements (reductions in water & sewer fees or the waiving of these fees entirely) as an alternative to more costly abatements, to attract residential construction (homebuilding).

I have never heard of a municipality use abatements in the same manner that Pickerington uses tap-in fees reductions, which is what Ms. Bushman is trying to suggest.

However, when a large city like Columbus attempts to encourage development in an economically depressed area of the city and/or a part of the city that needs environmental cleanup prior to the issuance of building permits for the health and welfare of future residents, then, yes, abatements are sometimes used to attract residential development in these ''hard-to-develop''
areas. This not only makes socio-political sense it also makes economic sense.

However, to even attempt to compare these types of abatements to the tap-in fees reductions offered to developers by the city of Pickerington so that the developers can turn highly desirable farmland into high-density suburbs is completely absurd.

What Ms. Bushman is suggesting is that the city would have to offer abatements in lieu of tap-in fees reductions if the tap-in fees reductions were not available.

Offering homebuilders tap-in fees reductions to build in our area of central Ohio is one of the crazy things I have ever heard. However, offering
abatements to homebuilders to build more homes in our area is THE CRAZIEST thing I have ever heard and one of the dumbest statements ever to come out
of city hall or the mouth of one of the city's employees. Clearly, Ms. Bushman has flipped her wig.

Typos

Sorry folks,

when I read the link, I was VERY outraged and my mind was moving faster than these fingers of mine can type.


1st sentence should read: Now let?’s take a look at what the city manager is really saying here.



To say that this is foreboding would be a travesty. Does the City Manager intend to use tax abatements to entice annexations and high-density residential constuction now that tap-in fees reductions are no longer an option?

We may, in fact, really require a recall.

BTW: Recall signs are $10 each at a 50 sign order and $7.50 at a 100 sign order. My guess is price breaks are proportional as above.


Please come to the next council meeting. Better than any sit-com on TV !!! GUARANTEED !!!

There they go again

Joyce: Thanks a great deal for writing this letter. It clearly took some time for you to think of all of the positives about your partners in slime. Who are you trying to convince?

By Not surprised