More Urban Renewal Abuse In Boise At Property Tax Payer Expense

Dave Frazier aka Boise Guardian put this together and we are sharing this with our readers. It is about as graphic as it gets to demonstrate the abuses of Urban Renewal in Boise and for that matter all of Idaho.  We have a huge loophole in our Idaho Code permitting wide authority and taxpayer abuse in Idaho Urban Renewal laws.  We desperately need a legislative fix to stop this abuse of property taxpayers.

Bench Taxpayers Fund Boise’s Valley Projects

July 25, 2010 by David R. Frazier, aka Boise Guardian
When the proposed 30th Street Urban Renewal District came up at the Boise City Council meeting last week (a vote to create the district was postponed) it was noted by some that a total of nearly two square miles of Boise would be “off the tax rolls.”

Hint: 640 acres to a square mile and the new district would put a total of more than 1,100 acres within urban renewal jurisdiction. That means taxes on all improvements and appreciated value would go to the CCDC (Capital City Development Corp) NOT the city, county, school or highway district.

We looked at a map of the city and a shocking fact became obvious: The MAJORITY of property below the Depot Rim provides NO TAX REVENUE to the city.

Consider these tax exempt properties in addition to the 2 square miles soon to be under control of CCDC:

–BSU Campus and newly purchased residential areas

–Ann Morrison, Julia Davis, Albertson, Veterans, Municipal parks and Warm Springs Golf Course

–Military Reserve in the hills

–St. Luke’s Hospital and Elk’s Rehab complex

–V.A. Hospital and Federal building campus

–Capitol Bldg. and State office complex

While we certainly don’t advocate doing away with our wonderful riverside parks, hospitals or educational institutions, it should be noted those of us who live on the Bench are getting soaked for a huge tax burden with little direct benefit. No wonder the politicos keep annexing more areas to provide revenue for their pet projects.

Boise PD has special patrol squads for the downtown booze crowd, the fire department needs expensive ladder trucks and extra manpower for high rise responses–mostly funded by residents and businesses on the Bench. Rather than expand the controversial CCDC sphere of domination, we feel it would be wiser to seek alternative funding methods and leave as much property on the tax rolls as possible.

THE AREA WITHIN THE RED IS OR SOON WILL BE PRETTY MUCH A “TAX FREE ZONE.”

Note:  "TAX FREE ZONE" means no property taxes will go to support local government functions like police, fire, schools, streets, and all other taxing agencies.  All the money will go to the UR board.

Caldwell and Nampa suffer from the same levels of abuse of property tax payers via Caldwell East Urban Renewal and Nampa Development Corp.  These entities are nothing more than a alter ego of the Mayors and City Councils where they exist.  They answer to no one for anything they do or how they spend your tax dollars.

We thank Mr. Frazier for sharing this with all of us.

Paul