And touching on the concerns of a few other bloggers -

Bob - tax increment financing (TIF) is basically a way to dedicate future property taxes to today's projects. Local improvement district (LID) funds come from a levy that property owners agree to pay for a specific public project that benefits them. So the short answer is: no, there will not be an increase in the LID. It is capped, and is not moving.

Jerry-

We are working on a life cycle analysis; unfortunately, our limited staff has been tied up in solving near-term problems, such as funding, negotiating new agreements with the contractors, auditing the construction of the project, and actually building the darned thing. I apologize that we don't have that; rest assured that as soon as we can perform and release such an analysis, we will.

Long View -

I agree with you - Americans on the whole need to work a shorter work week and take longer vacations; all too often we work to the detriment of our personal and familial wellbeing. Physical health, mental health, and family time should not take a back seat to keep up with the Jones'. That said, there are still a lot of unemployed, underemployed, and impoverished people who could definitely benefit from more economic opportunities. As a city commissioner, Sam can do a lot more to foster the latter than he can the former.