Tag: TIF districts
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Being Open and Transparent: A Sedgwick County Commissioner’s View
Yesterday (August 27, 2008) I testified briefly at a meeting of the Sedgwick County Commission opposing the formation of a tax increment financing (TIF) district that will benefit a Wichita political insider. My concern that I wanted the commissioners to be aware of is was that the applicant, Wichita school board member Reverend Kevass Harding,…
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Wichita Mayor and City Council Prefer to Work Out of Media Spotlight
In a statement read at the August 26, 2008 meeting of the Wichita City Council (see City Council Acts on Arena Area Redevelopment), Wichita Mayor Carl Brewer expressed his concern that “The naysayers have gotten too much media attention while those who are engaged and do the hard work are too often ignored and criticized.”…
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Wichita School District Dodges TIF District Issue
At the August 25, 2008 meeting of the board of USD 259, the Wichita public school district, John Todd and I addressed the board members, asking that they exercise their veto power over the formation of a tax increment financing (TIF) district recently created by the City of Wichita. My remarks may be read in…
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Wichita School District: Don’t Give Up Your Tax and Revenue Base
On August 5, 2008, the Wichita City Council greatly expanded an existing tax increment financing district. This board has 30 days from then to veto the city’s action. I want to explain why this board should do just that.
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Wichita’s Naysayers Shortchanged in Council’s Record
On August 12, 2008, the Wichita City Council considered the establishment of a TIF district that would benefit Reverend Kevass Harding and his real estate development team. At the council meeting Reverend Harding spoke, and then John Todd spoke, and then myself. We all spoke for, I would guess, roughly the same amount of time.…
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Wichita’s Naysayers Are Saying Yes to Liberty
Wichita politicians, newspaper editorial writers, and sometimes just plain folks are fond of bashing those they call the “naysayers,” sometimes known as CAVE people. An example is from a recent Opinion Line Extra in the Wichita Eagle: An acquaintance in another city refers to the anti-everything people as “CAVE” people (Citizens Against Virtually Everything). I…
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Tiff over Wichita TIFs
A post titled Keeping TIFs from a public tiff by Wichita Eagle business reporter Bill Wilson on the Eagle’s Business Casual blog reveals his bias in favor of government over individual action and preference. My post The Wichita Eagle’s Preference For Government documents one such example from the past. In this blog post Mr. Wilson…
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Wichita School District: Where Do They Think the Funds Come From?
In a Wichita Eagle article City leaders cut short trip to talk about TIF, reporter Deb Gruver writes: “Susan Arensman, a spokeswoman for the school district, said the project would not affect schools.” The context is that the City of Wichita is considering the creation of a large tax increment financing (TIF) district in downtown…
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Wichita Mayor Carl Brewer, August 12, 2008
Wichita Mayor Carl Brewer believes that without government oversight and planning of our economy, Wichita would revert back to the way it was at its founding.