Commishes and Contributions, Saints or Sinners and Money Changers in the Temple

THE GUARDIAN has been following the latest brohaha over developer contributions to Commishes election campaigns just before a land use case is heard on appeal. We would offer the following for your consideration:

We did not elect these folks because they are saints. On the other hand we would like to think they are looking out for what is best for the folks who put them in office and are taking a long view of what is best in any given situation.

Everyone knows (or should know) we aren't going to be pleased with what our elected officials do 100%of the time. It would simply be an unrealistic expectation for all concerned if you disagree with the previous statement.

The first ammendment to the constitution allows freedom of speech and campaign contributions are a part of that free speech. That said, our elected officials owe it to the people who put them into office to not have even the slightest hint of the "APPEARANCE OF EVIL" on or off the job. When a developer and the realtor of a project contribute money to a Commishes campaign who will hear the appeal, it is more than a little suspect. The money is rightfuly viewed as influence buying of the worst sort by more than a few of the folks these guys work for (that would be the voters).

THE GUARDIAN finds himself agreeing with Mr. Bujack's thinking that no laws were probably broken here due to the free speech issue. However, an exchange of money in circumstances like this is a breach of community trust and calls the ethics of this into question. You can't put Humpty Dumpty back together on this deal. It is hoped the Commishes have learned a valuable lesson in the art of Public Trust with this dreadful episode with the money changers in the public temple.

New City Hall Project Will Put Caldwell In Landlord Business

THE GUARDIAN attended the update on the city hall project for Caldwell last night.

The new city hall project has been scaled back to a three story building and will be used by the city, retail and a financial/bank portion of the building. The project cost is now $14 Million down from the first blush of $31 Million and four stories in height. City portion will cost $12 Million when completed.

The City Hall portion will have 39,000 square feet of space in the building but initially occupy 27,000 square feet. The City intends rent out 12,000 square feet of unused city hall spaces. The City will be in the landlord business. This move puts the city in direct competition with folks already trying to lease empty space in town at a competitive disadvantage.

The problem is, the city will pay no property taxes on the "condominium" portion of the building they will own and have put out for lease. Private property owners will be at a competitive disadvantage on lease terms. Somehow this does not seem quite right, owners of downtown property will have to pay property taxes and other assessments and try to remain competetive in the marketplace.

The next issue is that voters have been cut out of any approval of this project. Urban renewal will spend $12 Million of your property taxes without a bond election. It was suggested a voter approved bond election be held to ratify this project but was dismissed as too costly by Mayor Nancolas. The fact that urban renewal usurps 50% of property tax revenue in Caldwell was also brought up and it was suggested urban renewal be disbanded. The city levy rate would then go down by a substantial number.

The notion taxpayers/voters should get the opportunity to vote on a project of this size and cost was dismissed by the Mayor as too costly. A bond election would spread the cost over 20 years. Again, no mention of the levy rate impacts if urban renewal went away in this process. Nor any acknowldegement that voters have been cut out of the capital budgeting process approvals.

FEMA has the project stalled until they can work out the 100 year flood plain issues with the new FEMA maps. There are no alternative sites under consideration for a new city hall at this time. All the eggs are in the 7th and Blaine location.

There will be another meeting of the Downtown Steering Committee on November 19th at noon in the Police Building meeting room.

County Offers All Residents a Prescription Drug Discount Card

THE GUARDIAN saw this piece of good news for county residents and wanted to share it with you.

Canyon County will soon introduce a discount card program to help consumers cope with the high price of prescription drugs. The county has signed a contract to make free prescription drug cards available under a program sponsored by the National Association of Counties that offers average savings of 22 percent off the retail price of commonly prescribed drugs.

The cards, which will be available in the next few weeks, may be used by all county residents, regardless of age, income or existing health coverage. Several of the pharmacies in the county will accept the NACo card, and more than 59,000 participating retail pharmacies nationwide will honor it.

“The NACo prescription discount card will offer significant savings for the uninsured and underinsured residents of our county, and even those fortunate to have prescription coverage may use the card to save money on drugs that are not covered by their health plan,” said Board of County Commission Chair David Ferdinand. “Residents do not have to be Medicare beneficiaries to be eligible for this program.”

There will be no cost to county taxpayers for NACo and Canyon County to make these money-saving cards available to residents. Once Canyon County receives the cards, an announcement will be made regarding how and when residents may obtain them.

“Using the NACo prescription drug card is easy,” Ferdinand said. “A cardholder will simply present it at a participating pharmacy. There is no enrollment form, no membership fee and no restrictions or limits on frequency of use. Cardholders and their family members may use the card any time their prescriptions are not covered by insurance.”

The discount card program is administered by CVS Caremark.

Eighty-five Percent of People Think We Are Headed In Wrong Direction In This Country

Polls in one of the news weekly magazines The Guardian reads referenced that 85% of people polled think we are headed in the wrong direction in this country. That is an astounding number of people who are dissatisfied but it is not what bothers me. What scares me is that there are 10% of the people polled think everything is just dandy.

The Guardian would like some of the stuff this 10% group is taking. Property values have gone up in smoke, retirement accounts evaporating like cheap bacon in a hot frying pan, the government bailing out banks and financial institutions right and left and the ten-percenter's are just fine with all of this.

Even the rich folks have to be feeling a little more poor than they did a few weeks ago. Let's not forget the 5% who just aren't ready to say one way or another about the direction we are headed in this country.

We have a lame duck President, a lame duck congress, and most of them on both sides of the isle are worried more about losing their jobs than they are about doing what is right for the citizens of this country.

Big spenders locally still want to unload mega bucks on pet projects. A new police station and library in Nampa to the tune of $68 Million. Caldwell has the "good news" meeting on a new city hall this Wednesday night 6:00-7:30PM at the Caldwell Fine Arts Center. This project will cost taxpayers about $10 million if all goes well and according to plan. Nampa and Caldwell Policticos must be part of the 10% group! I still want some of the "happy stuff" they are taking to justify all this fast and loose spending with the economy in the tank.

You may or may not be shocked to know that there are 570 homes in the Caldwell area either in foreclosure of preforclosure. Inside the city limits of Caldwell there are 123 home in foreclosure and 370 in preforclosure. The attitude of the politicos is that someone will get title sooner or later and the property taxes will still keep flowing their way. This will keep the Urban Renewal sandbox full of cash not matter the economic weather. It is refreshing to know that taxes and death are still the two definites in this life.

Nampa and Team Tom Folding Their Tent on Police Station Revenue Bonds But Voters Still Locked Out of Process

It looks like Team Tom and the boys and girls of the Nampa Urban Renewal District have found a new ploy to keep voters out of the loop on a new $27 Million public safety building. Not willing to wait for a "reasoned decision" by Third District Court Judge Trout, they have become keenly aware of Bonner County and Rexburg and citizen intitiated court battles with abuse of urban renewal laws.

Now they want to move forward with a leasing scheme to avoid any voter apporval. If it is a year to year lease with no equity/ownership in the property or buildings and they can walk away with no ownership rights, they can legally do this with your tax dollars. Nampa citizens should be outraged over this move to exclude voters on this deal.

This is another ploy to circumvent voter constitutional rights on the capital budgeting process in Nampa. It is quite simply, abuse of all property tax payers in Canyon County . Team Tom and his band of blind followers want to spend $68 Million before interest and bonding costs when all is said and done. A new library to the tune of $40 Millon is next on their agenda. The good people of Nampa are getting no say in any of these projects. It appears there is no end to what they are willing to do to avoid a proper bond election by the people of Nampa. Whatever happened to "CONSENT OF THE GOVERNED" and consitituional requirements to fund these projects?

Likewise, Caldwell and all the happy smiling people on city council, the mayor and urban renewal board members are about to hitch their wagon to a $30 Million public private partnership in their quest for a new city hall.

Again, there will be meetings with lots of pretty pictures and flowery hyperbole about how good a new city hall will be for our fair city. You citizens can keep your distance and please don't ask about voting a bond election for this project.

The Caldwell Politcos have couched this in terms of a 'CATALYST PROJECT" for downtown Caldwell. Fact is it will do nothing to create a single new permanent job in Caldwell or any new economic activity in downtown. The City of Caldwell's share of this project will be around $10 Million by the time they take occupancy. Again, no vote of the people on any of this stuff. "CONSENT OF THE GOVERNED" is once again trampled upon by the elected and appointed Politicos of Caldwell.

Caldwell will take in $18 Million in property taxes this year with $6 Million right off the top going to the Caldwell East Urban Renewal Board and $12 million going into the general fund. Caldwell Urban Renewal receives a $6 Million annual slush fund that a handful of people decide on how it gets spent. No voter involvement in the capital budgeting process for either city. Voters have virtually no say in how urban renewal monies get spent.

County Citizens Pay for Urban Renewal Too! This Just in From Moscow (Idaho)

THE GUARDIAN received the following opinion on Urban Renewal from a Moscow, Idaho reader and we are sharing the insights of the reader with you.

Paul,
Thank you very much for your time, effort, and intelligence in exposing URAs as city departments along with the corruption that thereby occurs.

In addition to the arguments already made, here is another consideration:

For those who live in counties where a city has an URA where incremental tax dollars go to the URAs, the out-of-city taxpayers are being taxed without representation.

When a city places participating properties in a URA district on an incremental tax plan, the general tax collected from those properties is frozen based at the initial value of the properties, even for purposes of collecting the county's share of property taxes. Hence, all taxpayers of the county must make up the difference for this lost of revenue that would occur with the incremental value of the subject propertires.

However, the taxpayers who live outside the city with a URA have no control over the city who appoints all the members of the URA board. Thus, out-of-city taxpayers have no recourse what's-so-ever at the polls if they are unhappy with the URA who is in effect taxing them. They cannot vote against the elected city officials who appoint the offending URA board members.

This is taxation without representation.

Thank you again for your efforts. I hope very much that you will be successful.

Wayne A. Fox
Moscow, Idaho

Meeting On Caldwell City Hall Equals No Bond Election Vote

The elected Politicos of Caldwell are holding yet another meeting on the new city hall project for downtown. The Guardian spotted the notice in the Legal Ads in the IPT today. The meeting is scheduled for the 22nd of this month at the Caldwell Fine Arts Center (the old Catholic Church property)6:00 to 7:30 PM. Team Garret and the Oppenheimer Group will give us yet another presentation of what will be a $30 Million project that will be both a new city hall and retail space at 7th and Blaine Streets.

Has anyone given any thought to why we are not getting to vote this project up or down. The short answer is Caldwell East Urban Renewal rakes in $6 Million right off the top of property tax dollars every year and you get zero say on how this property tax money is spent. The new city hall "meeting" is purely a perfunctory effort to say the public has endorsed spending all this money without voter approval and it will be full speed ahead after the meeting.

If the financials on this project go out beyond one budget cycle for any reason then the city will be in violation of Article VIII sec.3 of the Idaho Constitution. Team Garret and the merry men may find themselves in front of a Judge trying to explain what is going on here. Public private partnership is another way of saying we just signed everyone up for a long term debt. Courts in Idaho have already ruled on this shell game played by cities and urban renewal boards.

Next, there is the issue of $470,000 worth of studies and reports on downtown Caldwell done by various experts in revitalization. All of these studies and for the most part, none of what they had to say is being incorporated in this project.

What Caldwell needs is "economic catalyst" not a new city hall. There is not a single function that will take place in new digs that isn't already happening in current city hall office spaces. The only issue is that city functions occupy two locations about two blocks apart.

Team Garret and his merry men think if they build a new city hall it will somehow spark new economic growth in downtown Caldwell. A better use of urban renewal money would be to buy old buildings and tear them down selling the bare ground to private enterprise in a manner that will put the dirt on a par with virgin dirt outside the city core. Call it a subsidy to economic growth. A new city hall will simply take property tax generating property off the tax rolls in downtown.

More troubling in all of this is that the city will be on the hook for close to $10 million for their share of this new city hall project. You don't get a say on this deal but you do get a nice meeting with some pretty pictures. You have been removed from the CAPITAL BUDGETING PROCESS! Urban Renewal is robbing you of any say in how your tax dollars are getting spent in Caldwell.

Lastly, where is the citizen committee report certifying the need for a new Caldwell city hall?

Largest Voter Turnout in Idaho History Predicted

If the November 4 election turnout isn't the biggest turnout in history, you can’t blame the local election officials who have done everything possible to make it easy to vote.

The response to their mail-in absentee ballot campaign resulted in thousands of ballots being mailed to registered voters. In addition, early voting for those who missed the deadline is open Tuesday at the County Elections Center at 1102 Chicago Street from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily until November 3.

Election day is November 4, but Canyon County election officials hope to keep the lines short through their early vote efforts. The panic is caused by a new optical scanner ballot system that neither voters nor election workers have previously used. The old “hanging chad” punch card equipment is no longer manufactured or repaired.

A “paper trail” is created with the fill in the dot system, thus avoiding computer problems and providing for easy recount and auditing.

We voted at our kitchen table and hand delivered the ballots to the Elections Office. The crowd of people in the office voting early was astounding with all the office staff at the front desk helping people to register, vote or receive marked ballots. The fax machine in the Elections Office is humming constantly with faxed in absentee ballot request forms. The turn around time has been running about a week to get requested early voting ballots back to voters via USPS.

The following link will get you more info on an absenttee ballot:
http://www.canyonco.org/uploadedFiles/Departments/Clerk-Auditor-Recorder/Elections_-_Passports/Elections/absentee.pdf. You can also go to the county website to get your ballot request forms.

Urban Renewal Laws Are New Hot Topic

THE GUARDIAN has fielded calls from Coeur d Alene and Moscow, Idaho on Idaho Urban Renewal abuses going on around the state.

People are finally figuring out Urban Renewal money comes directly from property taxes (right off the top) and is then funneled into a "CITY IN DISGUISE" Board known as urban renewal. Voters are figuring out they have been effectively removed from all capital improvement budget decisions in their cities. Property tax money is thrown around at all manner of pork projects and subsidies for developers all over the state.

Nampa Urban Renewal is waiting for decision that will allow them to issue $68 Million in revenue bonds for a new library and police station via the urban renewal. No Vote of the People is going to take place on this deal if approved by the Judge. The Judge in this matter is wisely taking her time about rendering an opinion. The petition in this case was heard in June of this year. Manwhile, Nampa is buying the old Sundowner Motel site for the new police station for $1.5 Million with urban renewal property tax money. Government fat cats continue to belive they can spend their way into prosperity with your property tax dollars.

Rexburg's multi-million dollar swimming pool complex is in the Idaho Supreme Court over bypassing voters on this project. Again, a blatant case of elected and appointed Politicos wanting to spend huge sums of money without voter approval.

Moscow, Boise and Coeur d Alene are spending tens of thousands of property taxpayer dollars submitting "friend of the court" briefs on the Rexburg case. All of this legal manuevering to get around a proper bond election approved by voters.


You might want to ask candidates for elected office how they stand on the issue of Urban Renewal along with past and present abuses of voters rights to vote up or down big ticket spending. Urban Renewal law in Idaho has degenerated to a dictatorial method to remove you from the capital budgeting process.

Think about it! When was the last time you got to vote a bond election up or down for anything other than a new school? Urban renewal has removed this from you the taxpayer.

The State Legislature will surely have some Idaho Association of Cities lobby people there "helping" our legislators to protect cities in their quest to spend money "at will" without voter confirmations on the process. Last year it was HJR 106 and it got defeated in the waning minutes and hours of the session.

If urban renewal districts in Caldwell and Nampa were to fold up shop tomorrow your property taxes would probably go down by about 50% in Caldwell. Nampa the number would be in the range of about 20% or more. Urban renewal is a sleight of hand process to rob you of any property tax relief and remove you from any say on city capital projects.

Mayor Nancolas Responds to R/UDAT Study And City Mgr. Govt. For Caldwell

Update from Mayor Nancolas

Thank you for visiting "The Mayor's Page", a section of the City of Caldwell's website. I hope you find it helpful and full of fun, important information. Please view it regularly for updates on what's happening in Caldwell, including recent and upcoming events and issues from my office and city council. Feel free to contact me for more information at (208) 455-3011.

Generally this section of the website is dedicated to a mix of news, information and fun facts about our great city. Every so often, though, you will find that I decide to focus on one single issue of importance. There has been a lot of discussion lately - on blogs and around town - about the 1991 R/UDAT Study and Caldwell's adoption of those recommendations. If you are interested in a recent review of our implementation of the Study's suggestions, please click HERE. You will find that, despite recent reports, we have actually acted on, in some fashion or another, nearly every one of the recommendations. Some of the suggested actions are simply outdated an no action warranted as the R/UDAT Study was released nearly two decades ago.

You can go to the City of Caldwell website for links to the list of accomplishments noted in the Mayor's comments.