Left hand, right hand?
Does the left hand know what the right hand is doing?
We
are shooting ourselves in the foot.
There are so many clichés that seem to apply to our town
government. We hired an Economic
Development Director at a cost of about $125,000 per year to bring new or
expanded commercial development to town.
The goal is to add non-residential development to help reduce the impact
of ever-increasing property taxes.The Economic Development Director has been working for months on the Epping Road TIF District, and we are on the verge of voting on it. The expectation is that, by running water and sewer along Epping Road, developers will purchase the commercial property along the road and build multi-million dollar buildings, bringing in scads of tax dollars.
But wait, while all this is happening, our Town Manager has been negotiating a water supply deal with Stratham that will undermine all the work on the TIF. How is that, you ask?
The only impediment to build-out of Stratham’s “Gateway District” is the lack of water and sewer. With Exeter’s water, Gateway District property owners will not be hampered by the septic system setback requirements. Our water will also supply much needed fire protection water, the single largest impediment to the Market Basket expansion.
Since Stratham’s property tax rate is less than half of Exeter’s, why would a developer build along Epping Road when they can build in Stratham, have all the water they need and pay significantly less taxes?
For example, why do you think that Hampton Inn and Fairfield Inn built their motels in Exeter when they could have built them a mile up the road in Stratham and paid far less in taxes? It is because Exeter had what they desperately needed: water and sewer. If Stratham had even just the water supply, those motels would be sitting north of our town line.
The proposed $2 million that Stratham would pay to “buy into” our water system is nothing compared to what Exeter will lose in property taxes if developers change their minds about Epping Road and build in Stratham.
Do our town officials even talk to each other?
This blog says it all. We have known for some time that many of our Boards, Committees and Commissions work at cross purposes. Now an Economic Development Director has been injected into the mix and must try to do his job amidst all these differing agenda. Nothing can be done to make our property tax competitve with that of Stratham, but clearly it is not in our best interests to give them a more competitive advantage than they now have. The Town needs to focus on the best way to develop land along the Epping Road corridor in order to increase our tax base to benefit all Exeter residents. There apparently is no single strategy to do this so the efforts of all can have a single-minded focus. TIF could be the answer, but it is doubtful it is the panacea some believe it to be. Voters should proceed with care.
ReplyDeleteI was told the salary was in the 80's
ReplyDeleteThe total cost of the director includes salary AND benefits. There are also costs (expenses) attributed to this new position. Hence, the $125 thousand figure.
ReplyDeleteTIF the way it is now will never be the answer because the new water and sewer will make it possible for our last commercial land to be developed as residential. The Economic Development Director is not working to make sure that we use our last commercial properties as just that commercial properties. We already have a proposed 116 unit residential development in one of the three last parcels of commercial property. And the ZBA has already given a variance for this use. Wake up Exeter and vote down the TIF.
ReplyDeleteTIF the way it is now will never be the answer because the new water and sewer will make it possible for our last commercial land to be developed as residential. The Economic Development Director is not working to make sure that we use our last commercial properties as just that commercial properties. We already have a proposed 116 unit residential development in one of the three last parcels of commercial property. And the ZBA has already given a variance for this use. Wake up Exeter and vote down the TIF.
ReplyDeleteWhether or not the town adopts the Epping Rd TIF, the issue raised by the above commenter will exist. The problem is not with the TIF, but with the Zoning Board that grants waivers from the Commercial zoning. We need to pass the TIF and then go to every ZBA hearing on it to make it clear that there should be no waivers for residential units in commercial/industrial zones.
ReplyDeleteIt is too late to stop the ZBA in making these decisions. They have already granted two variances for residential on commercial properties. One where the TIF is going and one at the site of the new cement factory. Because of this any applicant who is denied a variance in the future can site the fact that they have already done this for others and if they don't, it's on to the courts for their judgement. The whole thing is just another way to spend our tax dollars in court.
ReplyDeleteIt's no wonder Darren Winham was so busy this fall and needed three UNH interns. One at least was paid by the town. He was working 20 hours a week for Waterbury Vt as well. Add the 3 hour commute a week to Waterbury and that makes for no sleep for him since he said that he was working 60 to 80 hours a week for us. Here's an article from Stowe Today outlining what he is doing for them. http://www.stowetoday.com/waterbury_record/double-duty-on-development/article_52b888c6-5a15-11e4-8e4d-cba08493eadb.html
ReplyDelete