Here’s an idea we think Joplin city and economic leaders should explore: Give businesses a tax break for meeting energy and water conservation standards.
The Springfield City Council is considering the abatement to encourage energy and water conservation. If approved, it would be the first property-tax abatement of its kind in Missouri. Springfield council members are considering a 25 percent property-tax break for 10 years if businesses meets the standards of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program.
The program is sponsored by the U.S. Green Building Council, which encourages sustainable green building practices. Buildings can achieve four different levels of “green” certification.
Springfield is trying to encourage new businesses coming to town to work for their abatement by being environmentally responsible. Offering tax incentives to businesses in order to get them to open shop in your town is nothing new, but challenging them to come to your town and do their part to conserve energy and water is an idea worth exploring.
We’ll be watching to see if the idea passes in Springfield, and we hope our City Council and Chamber of Commerce will be taking notice as well. In fact, we think its an incentive that could be passed on to existing as well as new businesses.
Consider the fact that we are all worried about the future of our water resources. An incentive like this might be just the thing to turn the tap.
Opinion
In our view: Tax break makes sense
- Opinion
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Our View: Victims should come first
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Beth Meeker, guest columnist: Same-sex marriage battle a quest for equal rights
I would like to take a moment to reply to guest columnist Anson Burlingame’s, “The Marriage Debate” (Globe, May 13).
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Sunday Forum: 2012 graduation speakers key on tornado, mall school and president’s visit
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Geoff Caldwell, guest columnist: Pack mentality takes truth as a casualty
President Obama’s Joplin graduation speech Monday showed that while there’s the political “right,” there’s also a very active “rabid” political right.
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Your View: ‘Study’ can mean anything
A few evenings ago, I watched a television program on the science of marriage.
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Our View: Support for museum
How can you tell the story of Joplin without the accounts of its mining history?
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Our View: Finding middle ground
The G-8 summit held last week in Camp David ended as expected.
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Anson Burlingame, guest columnist: Class of 2012 upholds character, hope
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Scott Charton, guest columnist: 'Deadline in Disaster' film a story about storytellers
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Our View: Make voting easiser
This year’s ballot will not include a proposed constitutional amendment that photo identification be required at the polls in Missouri. Good.
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Our View: Victims should come first
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