posted by Mike Madison at 5:36 PM /
Opponents of the TIF proposed for the Zamagias real estate deal in Mt. Lebanon remind me that reports its demise are premature. The deadline for considering the TIF proposal is up for extension by the Mt. Lebanon Commission -- with the new (proposed) deadline set for February 28, 2007. The TIF may be barely breathing, but it's breathing. A 2/28 deadline buys a lot of time for Zamagias.
Linked here are two additional documents sent to the Commission and opposing the proposed extension. The first is a letter to Commission president Barbara Logan explaining (again) why this is a bad deal [filename: fleece.pdf]. The second is an analysis of Zamagias's budget figures [filename: feasibility.pdf]. Both are supplied by Bill Matthews.
Linked here are two additional documents sent to the Commission and opposing the proposed extension. The first is a letter to Commission president Barbara Logan explaining (again) why this is a bad deal [filename: fleece.pdf]. The second is an analysis of Zamagias's budget figures [filename: feasibility.pdf]. Both are supplied by Bill Matthews.
1 Comments:
Last night (9/25), the Mt. Lebanon Commission, with the full advice and counsel of the Municipality’s professional staff, voted 3-0 to extend the Zamagias TIF deadline.
The Municipality received Zamagias Properties’ recent Project Budget and Feasibility Analysis on 9/1. This afforded ample time to evaluate this request to pick the pockets of Mt. Lebanon Taxpayers.
The Municipality was not to be deterred.
TIF proponents argue incremental revenue from new development is new money, so we will never miss it. Why can't more than $500,000 per year be used to help pay the developer’s expenses? In 20 years when the TIF is paid off, we get the whole kernel.
For starters:
1) There is no evidence the site cannot be developed without public assistance, and
2) Zamagias Properties is pursuing an inordinate return on their investment and have repeatedly documented this in their own economics.
I can’t help but conclude the Municipality is operating in an alternative dimension from the rest of the Community. In fact – this whole TIF process reminds me of an old TV show that opened with the following narration:
You are about to enter another dimension, a dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind. A journey into a wondrous land of imagination.
Next stop, the Twilight Zone!
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