Councilor Perlatonda Upset over Council
To the Editor,
I don’t understand my fellow Councilors.
At our December 9 Council meeting, an order was introduced about the Central Avenue Redevelopment Project discussing the TIF being given by the City.
Briefly, a TIF is a Tax Increment Financing used as a subsidy for redevelopment, infrastructure, and other community-improvement projects.
Through the use of TIF, municipalities typically divert future property tax revenue increases from a defined area or district toward an economic development project or public improvement project in the community. TIF subsidies are not appropriated directly from a City’s budget, but the City incurs loss through foregone tax revenue, but in this case the City will receive tax revenue which it is not getting now.
Council President Damali Vidot wanted to move this to a sub-committee meeting and Councilor Leo Robinson objected, which made this go to a roll call vote and all but myself and Councillor Robinson voted against this.
We have had several meetings about the Central Avenue Project and there is no need to have another one.
We, as councillors, receive a packet of the upcoming agenda for the meeting three days prior, which gives councillors plenty of time to review and ask questions before that upcoming meeting.
In this week’s packet there was at least 25 pages discussing the Central Avenue Project, so if councillors took their time to go over what’s in their packets, they should know what is going on at the meeting. Instead they just want to waste everyone’s time.
What is there to discuss? The State is kicking in $22 million and the City will get $4.6 million back in tax revenue and currently we do not get any tax revenue on the property.
Plus, these councillors keep talking about people being pushed out of Chelsea; well here is a project that is putting 96 people who are living in deplorable conditions put back in, and in better conditions.
How much more needs to be discussed?
Let’s move on.
Councilor
Joe Perlatonda