Submitted by jim karlock on Mon, 08/20/2007 - 12:44am.
Roland Chlapowski: If we can come up with an additional $18 million in tax increment funds, JK:
First a little background: PDC recently released their annual report on UR and, for the first time, it actually complies with state law that requires disclosure of where the magic TIF funds come from:
City of Portland....................$20.6 million......40%
Multnomah County..............$13.8 million.......27%
Portland School District......$11.4 million.......22%
others.....................................$5.4 million.......11%
Total of all TIF....................$51.2 million....100%
Now we can put that $18 million in perspective:
40%, or $7.2 million will come out of revenue diverted from the City ofPortland such a police and fire..
27%, or $4.9 million will come out of revenue diverted from Multnomah Count such as basic human services.
22%, or $4.0 million will come our of revenue diverted from Portland Schools.
There you have it: the streetcar will be funded by stealing money from police, fire, basic human services and schools.
Roland Chlapowski: This new streetcar line would move us towards meeting our Peak Oil and global warming goals and JK: I am still waiting for you comments on global warming after you discovered that CO2 causes LESS warming than water vapor and that man only causes a tiny proportion of the total CO2. Of course there in now the recognition that 1998 was not the warmest year, it was 1934. Why not knock off the global warming hysteria, at least until the last of those Viking farms emerge from under the Greenland ice?
As to peal oil, we will never run out of oil - it is just basic economics. I am surprised by the lack of econ 101 knowledge in Portland government. (see comment 4.1 at oregoncatalyst.com/index.php?/archives/776-What-really-is-sprawl.html)
Also basic chem: liquid motor fuel is just a string of H and C atoms. You can get the H from water and the C from coal. Hitler ran a war machine on it, so we can run a few cars on it. Or we can probably figure out how to pull the C out of atmospheric CO2 and therefore be âcarbon neutral.â
BTW, I hope everyone realizes that the toy trains are run on coal because all new loads, since we built the first coal plant, are provided by coal, not hydro. 100% of the hydro power was spoken for years ago.
Roland Chlapowski: provide more Portlanders with a new cost effective transportation choice. JK:
1) It is not cost effective - it costs $1.67 per passenger-mile while the best bus lines cost only $0.34. Of course driving is even cheaper at around $0.25. See: DebunkingPortland.com/Transit/Cost-Cars-Transit(2005).htm
2) It will not be a new transportation choice unless they keep the bus service on the same streets. Iâll bet they will discontinue any bus that competes with this new toy.
Roland Chlapowski: It is estimated that this new streetcar line would incent an estimated $700 million in increased private development along its corridor. JK: Aw, come on - we are adults here. We can discuss the way the world really works and we donât have to hide history. Lets refresh our memory:
it is a myth to think the market will take care of development along transit corridors, noting the many vacant sites along the current MAX system (Charlie âstreetcarâ Hales, OCTOBER 23, 1996)
all the apartment buildings on the South Park Blocks which would not exist today without a similar tax abatement program . (Charlie âstreetcarâ Hales, OCTOBER 23, 1996)
For the full quotes, see: DebunkingPortland.com/Transit/LightRailDevelopment.htm
It is the tax abatements, not the toy train that causes development. We can save $150 million, by just giving tax abatements and not building a white elephant that will bleed the city for years to come until someone finally faces reality and rips the whole system out. Like we did in the 50s.
Roland Chlapowski: in order to seize this opportunity, Portland City Council must to be ready to make a commitment to FTA for a total of $33 million by September 7, 2007. JK: Ahh!, the old this deal is to good to pass up - but we gotta act before we have time to stop an think scam. Reminds me of a sleazy used car salesman.
Roland Chlapowski: I want to emphasize that the proposed resources for this eastside streetcar expansion will not come from funds that could be devoted to basic street or bridge maintenance JK: You left out: âexcept for parking meter revenues which were previously used for roadsâ
Roland Chlapowski: The cost estimates you will hear about today should be treated as low confidence estimates. JK: Get ready for another doubling or tripling in cost. And for what? More traffic congestion as the toy blocks traffic and at a cost SIX times that of driving. All with money stolen from basic services and schools. For shame.
Roland Chlapowski: The $17 million request from River District Urban Renewal District JK: Thatâs $6.8 million from city services and $3.74 million from Portlandâs schools.
Roland Chlapowski: The $4 million request from Oregon Convention Center Urban Renewal District JK: Thatâs $1.6 million from city services and $0.9 million from Portlandâs schools.
Roland Chlapowski: The $6.2 million request from Central Eastside Urban Renewal District JK: Thatâs $2.5 million from city services and $1.4 million from Portlandâs schools.
Roland Chlapowski: On the other hand, however, it is important to note, that unlike other projects currently slated for the area, the streetcar is projected to generate a net positive amount in tax increment proceeds. JK: COMPLETE BOLOGNA - itâs the tax money taken from police, fire, human services and the schools in the form of abatement that spurs the development. Not the toy trains.
BTW, the effectiveness of tax abatements demonstrates just how destructive taxes are to our economy.
Roland Chlapowski: In other words, investing in an eastside streetcar line will pay for itself and then generate an additional $1.165 million for other public priority projects within the Central Eastside that would not otherwise be available. JK: As to the estimates of a quick profit - they said that about North Macadam - before the 600% over run on the tram (DebunkingPortland.com/Transit/TramOnBudget.htm) and before they admitted to having to build a bunch of expensive freeway stuff for all those millionaire condo owners who would not need cars.
If that really is true, prove it by discontinuing the tax abatements!
Roland Chlapowski: Operating Costs
...
- $1 million from TriMet general fund
- $430,000 from savings from changes to the line 6 bus enabled by the new streetcar
- $945,315 from net new streetcar revenue
- $1 million from City of Portland -- likely source will be parking revenues
- $175,000 in sponsorship
JK: Let me translate, item by item:
1. TriMet will have to cut bus service to come up with the million. That will continue Portlandâs war against low income people to pour favors on the Beemer class.
2. âchanges to the line 6". That means less service, unless they figured out how to increase service and save money.
3. Streetcar revenue assumes a real effort to collect it.
4. Parking revenues - I thought you said (above) that money would not be taken from maintenance?
5. Sponsorship - finally a good idea. In fact if this line is such a good deal, why not find a sponsor to foot the entire bill and we could give them the increased tax revenue. (No tax abatements for all new construction of course)
Roland Chlapowski: My idea is to create a funding tool conceptually similar to the existing tax increment mechanism but unique in that it would take only 30% of the annual increment created in a district, leaving the rest to be collected by the school districts, the City, and the County. JK: Great idea - reduce the theft of basic services and education money! How about you keep the toy trainâs stinkin mitts off of basic service and school money?
Theft from schools, police, fore and people continues
Roland Chlapowski: If we can come up with an additional $18 million in tax increment funds,
JK:
First a little background: PDC recently released their annual report on UR and, for the first time, it actually complies with state law that requires disclosure of where the magic TIF funds come from:
City of Portland....................$20.6 million......40%
Multnomah County..............$13.8 million.......27%
Portland School District......$11.4 million.......22%
others.....................................$5.4 million.......11%
Total of all TIF....................$51.2 million....100%
Now we can put that $18 million in perspective:
40%, or $7.2 million will come out of revenue diverted from the City ofPortland such a police and fire..
27%, or $4.9 million will come out of revenue diverted from Multnomah Count such as basic human services.
22%, or $4.0 million will come our of revenue diverted from Portland Schools.
There you have it: the streetcar will be funded by stealing money from police, fire, basic human services and schools.
Roland Chlapowski: This new streetcar line would move us towards meeting our Peak Oil and global warming goals and
JK: I am still waiting for you comments on global warming after you discovered that CO2 causes LESS warming than water vapor and that man only causes a tiny proportion of the total CO2. Of course there in now the recognition that 1998 was not the warmest year, it was 1934. Why not knock off the global warming hysteria, at least until the last of those Viking farms emerge from under the Greenland ice?
As to peal oil, we will never run out of oil - it is just basic economics. I am surprised by the lack of econ 101 knowledge in Portland government. (see comment 4.1 at oregoncatalyst.com/index.php?/archives/776-What-really-is-sprawl.html)
Also basic chem: liquid motor fuel is just a string of H and C atoms. You can get the H from water and the C from coal. Hitler ran a war machine on it, so we can run a few cars on it. Or we can probably figure out how to pull the C out of atmospheric CO2 and therefore be âcarbon neutral.â
BTW, I hope everyone realizes that the toy trains are run on coal because all new loads, since we built the first coal plant, are provided by coal, not hydro. 100% of the hydro power was spoken for years ago.
Roland Chlapowski: provide more Portlanders with a new cost effective transportation choice.
JK:
1) It is not cost effective - it costs $1.67 per passenger-mile while the best bus lines cost only $0.34. Of course driving is even cheaper at around $0.25. See: DebunkingPortland.com/Transit/Cost-Cars-Transit(2005).htm
2) It will not be a new transportation choice unless they keep the bus service on the same streets. Iâll bet they will discontinue any bus that competes with this new toy.
Roland Chlapowski: It is estimated that this new streetcar line would incent an estimated $700 million in increased private development along its corridor.
JK: Aw, come on - we are adults here. We can discuss the way the world really works and we donât have to hide history. Lets refresh our memory:
it is a myth to think the market will take care of development along transit corridors, noting the many vacant sites along the current MAX system (Charlie âstreetcarâ Hales, OCTOBER 23, 1996)
all the apartment buildings on the South Park Blocks which would not exist today without a similar tax abatement program . (Charlie âstreetcarâ Hales, OCTOBER 23, 1996)
For the full quotes, see: DebunkingPortland.com/Transit/LightRailDevelopment.htm
It is the tax abatements, not the toy train that causes development. We can save $150 million, by just giving tax abatements and not building a white elephant that will bleed the city for years to come until someone finally faces reality and rips the whole system out. Like we did in the 50s.
Roland Chlapowski: in order to seize this opportunity, Portland City Council must to be ready to make a commitment to FTA for a total of $33 million by September 7, 2007.
JK: Ahh!, the old this deal is to good to pass up - but we gotta act before we have time to stop an think scam. Reminds me of a sleazy used car salesman.
Roland Chlapowski: I want to emphasize that the proposed resources for this eastside streetcar expansion will not come from funds that could be devoted to basic street or bridge maintenance
JK: You left out: âexcept for parking meter revenues which were previously used for roadsâ
Roland Chlapowski: The cost estimates you will hear about today should be treated as low confidence estimates.
JK: Get ready for another doubling or tripling in cost. And for what? More traffic congestion as the toy blocks traffic and at a cost SIX times that of driving. All with money stolen from basic services and schools. For shame.
Roland Chlapowski: The $17 million request from River District Urban Renewal District
JK: Thatâs $6.8 million from city services and $3.74 million from Portlandâs schools.
Roland Chlapowski: The $4 million request from Oregon Convention Center Urban Renewal District
JK: Thatâs $1.6 million from city services and $0.9 million from Portlandâs schools.
Roland Chlapowski: The $6.2 million request from Central Eastside Urban Renewal District
JK: Thatâs $2.5 million from city services and $1.4 million from Portlandâs schools.
Roland Chlapowski: On the other hand, however, it is important to note, that unlike other projects currently slated for the area, the streetcar is projected to generate a net positive amount in tax increment proceeds.
JK: COMPLETE BOLOGNA - itâs the tax money taken from police, fire, human services and the schools in the form of abatement that spurs the development. Not the toy trains.
BTW, the effectiveness of tax abatements demonstrates just how destructive taxes are to our economy.
Roland Chlapowski: In other words, investing in an eastside streetcar line will pay for itself and then generate an additional $1.165 million for other public priority projects within the Central Eastside that would not otherwise be available.
JK: As to the estimates of a quick profit - they said that about North Macadam - before the 600% over run on the tram (DebunkingPortland.com/Transit/TramOnBudget.htm) and before they admitted to having to build a bunch of expensive freeway stuff for all those millionaire condo owners who would not need cars.
If that really is true, prove it by discontinuing the tax abatements!
Roland Chlapowski: Operating Costs
...
- $1 million from TriMet general fund
- $430,000 from savings from changes to the line 6 bus enabled by the new streetcar
- $945,315 from net new streetcar revenue
- $1 million from City of Portland -- likely source will be parking revenues
- $175,000 in sponsorship
JK: Let me translate, item by item:
1. TriMet will have to cut bus service to come up with the million. That will continue Portlandâs war against low income people to pour favors on the Beemer class.
2. âchanges to the line 6". That means less service, unless they figured out how to increase service and save money.
3. Streetcar revenue assumes a real effort to collect it.
4. Parking revenues - I thought you said (above) that money would not be taken from maintenance?
5. Sponsorship - finally a good idea. In fact if this line is such a good deal, why not find a sponsor to foot the entire bill and we could give them the increased tax revenue. (No tax abatements for all new construction of course)
Roland Chlapowski: My idea is to create a funding tool conceptually similar to the existing tax increment mechanism but unique in that it would take only 30% of the annual increment created in a district, leaving the rest to be collected by the school districts, the City, and the County.
JK: Great idea - reduce the theft of basic services and education money! How about you keep the toy trainâs stinkin mitts off of basic service and school money?
Thanks
JK