Tag: TIF districts
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Wichita Center City South Redevelopment TIF District Testimony
From John Todd. Update: Watch John’s testimony on YouTube here. Testimony delivered by John Todd before the Wichita City Council on December 2, 2008 in opposition to the proposed Tax Increment Financing (TIF) plan for the Center city South Redevelopment District located generally around the new Intrust Bank Arena. In 2004, proponents of the new…
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Late Changes Don’t Inspire Confidence in Wichita Government
At today’s Wichita City Council meeting, Councilmember Jim Skelton revealed that the plan for the downtown Wichita arena TIF district had changed. A provision for up to $10 million in parking was added. I had looked at the agenda report less than 24 hours before the start of the meeting. The plan for parking spending…
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Downtown Wichita Arena TIF District Still a Bad Idea
Say no to expansion of the Center City South Redevelopment tax increment financing (TIF) District. Remarks to be delivered at the December 2, 2008 meeting of the Wichita City Council. Watch the video here. Mr. Mayor, Members of the Council: It is the case the the City of Wichita is proposing to limit this TIF…
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Wichita Mayor Carl Brewer’s Reformulated TIF Plan Still a Bad Idea
Today the Wichita City Council holds a special meeting to consider a reformulated plan to provide tax increment financing (TIF) for the area surrounding the downtown Wichita arena. It’s still a bad idea. It appears there are two major changes in the new plan. First, the TIF district is smaller. Second, spending on the district…
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Should a Beat Journalist be a Layman?
Keeping TIFs from a public tiff by Wichita Eagle business reporter Bill Wilson on the Eagle’s Business Casual blog contains some comments that are troubling to me. In these comments, reporter Wilson wrote this: “Instead, a TIF, to this layman, actually is a government bet on the success of a development.” (emphasis added) Now I…
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Records Requests Sent Today
Today, I’ve made two records requests under the Kansas Open Records Act. The first, to USD 259, the Wichita public school district, is this: All correspondence between USD 259 and Schaefer Johnson Cox Frey Architecture and its representatives from July 1, 2007 to the present. I ask for both written and electronic correspondence such as…
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Does Kansas Economic Development Work?
A commentary by AFP’s Alan Cobb (Yes, but it’s only $1.3 billion) reports that Kansas economic development efforts are not working. Can the same be said about Wichita’s?
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Wichita School District: TIF Action Tests Accountability and Ethics
The real problem with this TIF district, however, is the conduct of the applicant, who is a member of this board. At a meeting of the Wichita City Council, Reverend Harding told the council that he had informed his fellow school board members of what he was doing. But two members of this board have…
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Testimony before the USD 259 Wichita Public School board regarding the Ken Mar TIF
From John Todd. President Rogers, School Board Members, and Superintendent Libhart, I thank you for this opportunity to speak. My name is John Todd. I live at 1559 Payne in Wichita, Kansas, and I am opposed to the Ken Mar shopping center TIF that was created by the City of Wichita on August 12, 2008,…