JOPLIN, Mo. —
My concern is the devastating impact the proposed tax increment financing district will have on the Joplin School District. I’ve lived here all my life, and I want to see Joplin recover as much as anybody, but to do it at the expense of the school district is the wrong way.
This proposed TIF district is not a traditional one. We all know the TIF was designed to be a fairly small parcel of land with an incentive for developers to bring retailers in to create economic development. I can’t imagine in my wildest dreams that when the legislation was drafted to create the TIF statute that they ever intended for it to be used, or should I say misused, in such a manner.
The schools are the heartbeat of the community, and to implement a TIF district that would restrict the ability of the district to recover its funding source as the assessed value returns will simply be financially devastating.
The voters in the Joplin School District have in good faith approved the levies that support the district and assumed that is where the money would be used. Most recently in April the voters approved a 35-cent additional bond levy to enhance the recovery effort to rebuild the schools. Nowhere on that ballot was there any language to suggest this money could be unilaterally diverted for a TIF district. This is not fair to the school district or the taxpayers in the district. It may be legal, but is it ethical?
When the school district’s financial crisis becomes reality, it has two options: 1) It can cut teachers and programs to reduce the budget, or 2) It can come back to the voters for an operating levy increase. Neither of these options is very attractive. When you rob Peter to pay Paul, it never works. The school district, the taxpayer and, even worse, the students in the school district will bear the burden of this TIF. Twenty-three years is a long time.
Jerry Black
Joplin
Opinion
Your View: The wrong way
- Opinion
-
-
Our View: ‘Why?’ has no answer
Just hours before, there was breakfast and laughter. There were pictures on the walls and memories in every room.
-
Our View: Absent from House
We can’t figure out why two Missouri legislators think they should be elected to the U.S. House when it appears they can’t seem to show up to take care of business in the Missouri House.
-
Your View: Terrorism is terrorism
In the May 13 issue of The Joplin Globe there was an Associated Press article concerning the New Orleans shooting.
-
Your View: Should we be outraged?
Were there effusive apologies following the lockdown of Boston as most of the continent indulged vicariously in the ongoing manhunt?
-
Your View: Terrible injustice
I see this Jasper County nuisance law as a terrible injustice on the rights of the residents of Jasper County.
-
Other Views: Conflicts in SEC
Money talks. In the continuing dispute over the all-too-cozy relationship between the people who create and sell financial products and the people who rate their risk, the money says: Shut up and let us do what we want.
-
Phill Brooks, columnist: Missouri Senate did what Founding Fathers had in mind
George Washington once described the Senate as being like a saucer in which you pour coffee or tea.
-
Our View: Fixing failure
Some 1,200 injured workers will finally get the payments they are owed. In its final week in session, Missouri’s General Assembly, through bipartisan efforts, passed a solution to address the insolvency of the state’s Second Injury Fund.
-
Herb B. Kuhn, guest columnist: Delaying Medicaid reform could hurt rural Missouri
The Missouri Legislature missed a rare opportunity in the just-ended session to transform Medicaid and make a real difference in the lives and health of hundreds of thousands of our neighbors. Rural Missouri has the most to lose from the legislature’s failure to act.
-
Kevin Wilson, guest columnist: When fear wins out, so do the terrorists
I’m going to make a bold statement that’s sure to draw a lot of comments, but hear me out before reaching for the keyboard to type a rebuttal.
- More Opinion Headlines
-
Okla. City Mayor: Up to 13K Homes Hit by Tornado
Raw: Aftermath of Deadly Attack in London
Paperless Scanner, Vision of the Future
Florida FBI Shooting Has Boston Bombing Links
Garcetti Elected Los Angeles Mayor Over Greuel
Raw: New Video of Deadly Oklahoma Tornado
IRS Official Pleads 5th Amendment
Lawyer: Feds Investigating Susan Powell Case
Former Rep. Weiner Running for New York Mayor
Jodi Arias: Death Penalty Would Cause More Pain
Police Ram House to End Hostage Standoff
Families Begin Returning to Their Homes in Moore
Raw: Aerial View of Moore Tornado Damage
Looking for Love? Take the Prague Metro
First Person: Baby Falcons on a New York Bridge
Crews Race to Find Survivors of Okla. Twister
Oklahoma: Images of Devastation, Reunion
Raw: Students Clash With Police in Chile
Protests Outside Cincinnati IRS Office
New Xbox One Entertainment Console Unveiled
