Project Honor on the SCJ campus in Racine.We really don't bash the JT too often, but we can't let a story from Saturday slide. The headline read:
That's a remarkably upbeat take on SC Johnson's Uptown contribution, which will be about half of what it would have been without a sneaky deal between the company, Gov. Jim Doyle and former Mayor Gary Becker. (Click here for our June 1 story that blew the deal wide open. Click here for a summary of additional stories about the deal.)
The JT's story is based on the Oct. 23 Joint Review Board meeting, which we attended, as well. The board met to create a new tax increment district (TID) for Racine's Uptown (known as TID 16). The TID allows the city to borrow money to make improvements and then pay back the loan by collecting any additional property taxes in district for the next 15 years.
To be clear, the TID gets all additional property taxes in the district. Racine Unified, the county, the state, Gateway and even the city itself do not see a penny of the additional property taxes until at least 2024.
Interestingly, the TID is not limited to Uptown. It extends down 14th Street to to the SC Johnson campus, where the company happens to be constructing a roughly $50 million new building known generally as "Project Honor." (Technically, it's two buildings.)
Here's where things get interesting. SCJ and former Mayor Gary Becker swung a deal that dates back to 2007. SCJ didn't want to pay property taxes on its new building - $50 million is a lot of assessed property - and Becker really wanted to get his Uptown arts district going.
The swap went something like this. SCJ found a tax loophole with the state that allowed education centers next to architecturally significant buildings to be exempt from property taxes. Project Honor, located next to the Frank Lloyd Wright Administration Building and Research Tower, qualified.
Gov. Jim Doyle agreed to sign an executive order exempting a portion of the project - known as Fortaleza Hall - from property taxes. The order also includes the Administration Building and Research Tower, which are valued at $4 million.
Becker agreed to the executive order in exchange for the rest of Project Honor - known as the Community Building - being included in an Uptown TID. (Actually, it's unclear if that was Becker's demand or SCJ wanting to control where its property taxes were spent. The latter seems more likely.) SCJ also agreed to kick in $500,000 over five years for Uptown, as well.
The end result: SCJ is saving at least $200,000 a year - possibly twice that much - on property taxes because of the state tax exemption. (We may never know the actual savings because the state is responsible for assessing the building, but simply won't assess the new building because it's tax exempt.)
The rest of the property taxes from the new buildings on their campus are directed into a district located on the company's door step. SCJ will pay between $160,000 and $200,000 per year in taxes to Uptown for the next 15 years.
The money will be used for:
* $400,000 to renovate buildings owned by the city's Redevelopment Authority. That includes remodeling the facade of 1418 Washington Ave. and putting a new roof on 1511 Washington Ave. The city hopes to sell both buildings to artists or small businesses.
* $50,000 for public arts projects, possibly including another mural in Uptown.
* $75,000 for streetscaping
* $750,000 for marketing Uptown, though that number may be adjusted down, depending on need
From what we can tell, there's nothing wrong with the Uptown TID. The district's historic buildings and unique layout is a potential jewel in Racine and using development tools to revive the district is a reasonable and prudent of city money. (As a side note, the city was set to create the new TID earlier this year, but Becker got arrested the district was put off until the new mayor was put into place.)
It's even hard to argue with SCJ's aggressive tax approach. They're a successful corporation that's really good at managing and saving money. That's the reason it's one of the largest private companies in the world, and we're lucky to have them based in Racine.
But it should at least be acknowledged the company quietly (even secretly) worked with the governor and mayor to save hundreds of thousands of dollars per year at the expense of Racine taxpayers. You can argue the company deserved the tax break for all that it does for the city, but there's no question they received a huge tax break that only went public after the fact.
SCJ is contributing to improving Uptown, which is a potentially valuable project for the city. The company, which is handsomely profiting off the arrangement, just shouldn't receive credit for doing so.
The JT, which chased us on the story, but still reported on it themselves, should have known better than the headline they ran.
Please, J-Wax screws the city of Racine with the help of Doyle and Becker and the Post is all happy about it. Can not wait until the big crash comes and TSHTS. Maybe then from the ashes we can get it right
ReplyDeleteWhat are you talking about? We EXPOSED the whole thing.
ReplyDeleteThat's right Dustin, you dug through the e-mails and WEREN'T afraid to report the truth!!!!
ReplyDeleteOne thing escapes me: Uptown is projecting $750K in marketing money to promote the district. Nobody here says "boo." The mayor, however, proposes $25K in his budget to market the entire city and bloggers blast him left and right. What gives? (Or who???)
ReplyDeleteMr Angry must be napping.
ReplyDeleteBig money 1000, tax payer 0Like that Company can't afford this? Let's see what we can wring out of the people of Racine. Here it comes...$$$$$$$$
ReplyDeleteDustin - you just opened the door for 400 more comments about the Waxies and richie poos.
ReplyDeleteLooks to me as if all the guidelines were followed. If you don't like the laws, get them changed!
Other taxing bodies should be allowed to create their versions of TIDs.
ReplyDeleteI bet the City would scream like crazy just at the thought. Only they should be allowed to take advantage of these tax schemes.
Have you ever heard of a TID ending and then seen an accountants review of it????
No, we're NOT "lucky" to have the House of Wax here in Racine. Anything those private sector privateers do is strictly for their own benefit. To the Waxies, hideous modern art equals philanthropy. Although they can find cash for museums which double as tax shelters,the Carnauba cash-cadgers can't help the poor. Like most of their corrupt class, the John-Swines prefer pretty objects to impoverished people. Someday--sooner than they may think--the Lighthouse Loot Lords will be divested of their obscene stash. Pray that the coming revolution may be a non-violent transition of power and a peaceful transfer of wealth.
ReplyDeleteWecome back Mr Angry - I was worried that you might miss this chance to spew your hate speech one more time.
ReplyDeleteIf the Johnsons were half as powerful as Mr Angry suggests, they would simply trace Mr ASngry's IP Address and have him "removed".
ReplyDeleteI know I would!
There is no "Mr. Angry." Rather there are many angry men who fight peacefully for social justice in our sad land. ONLY legal, non-violent methods are used by our group.
ReplyDeleteAnon 5:01 - that's a joke right? A few weeks ago you were advocating a Gilloutine on Monument Square, so really non-violance must be something new to you
ReplyDeleteI think he wants to turn JWax into a large homeless shelter...that would really help this town. Such drivel!
ReplyDeleteIs this the payoff for the city buying the building for the rubber roofing shingles company? What a deal for the mayor. A company cannot buy a building, JWax cannot sell a property. The taxpayers are left holding the bag.
ReplyDeleteCan I get a refund on my vote?
Dear 5:35 P.M., You've got the wrong guy. Guillotines aren't my thing. There are plenty of peaceful ways for the people's government to chop corrupt elitists' fortunes down to size.
ReplyDeleteI was recently reading an interview with Fisk at Cornell. He went on about doing the right thing.
ReplyDeleteI wanted to ask, who are you kidding?
Frisky Fisk thinks that he's kidding us. However, more and more rank-and-file citizens of Racine know what he's really doing: thumbing his nose at his victims and laughing all the way to his clan's Bugspray Bank.
ReplyDeleteWhen a strong people's government seizes that bank and his company, he'll learn to be less arrogant.
ReplyDeleteBut think nof all the profit sharing money that's spent here in Racine!
ReplyDeleteWhat?
Oh, never mind.....
Dustin only 380 more waxies, richie poos and Fisk pay your taxes. And Mr. Angry is back also -so you are on your way of reaching or exceeding 400 posts.
ReplyDeleteThere is no "Mr. Angry." Rather, there are many angry men who will not rest until capitalism is destroyed through legal, peaceful methods only.
ReplyDeleteActually there may be 2 Mr. Angry's.
ReplyDeleteWhether there is one or many Mr Angry's, they are total wing nuts -loser's who blame someone else for their failings.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteBlogger jay_m said...
ReplyDeleteRegardless of how many Mr. Angries there are, it looks to me like one big Anonymous that people are hiding behind. Why are those of you with such strong convictions afraid to put a name at the top?
Because Racine is nothing but a corrupt company town, we post our comments anonymously. Until the common man is safe from job-loss as retribution for openly voicing his opinions, we'll continue to follow that policy. We know who runs and ruins this town for which crass class' exclusive fun and profit. Once we've lawfully established a people's government, we'll pursue our oppressors through the courts and--if necessary--separate them from their ill-gotten gains the legal way.
ReplyDeleteDear OrbsCorbs, Many, many thanks for sharing your information anent the sickening situation at City Hall! Over the years, our organization has observed the same feculent phenomenon. The time has come for us to elect officials who'll refuse to reside in the richie-poos' back pockets. As for spineless mayors who've jumped through hoops when execu-sows oinked, I've known three of them, including a convicted felon whom the Pachyderm Potty's puppet governor pardoned so he might continue doing his porcine masters' bidding. Needed: an expose featuring this toadish town and its high-falutin' hogs. Here's hoping that the New York "Times" will do a follow-up article capable of correcting the inaccurate image of Rat-Scene with which a gullible gal unwittingly deceived the public.
ReplyDeleteMr. Angry (s), I think your only way out of misery is taking yourself out.
ReplyDeleteThere's no "Mr. Angry." Instead of one man, there are many men who are opposed to capitalism and who work peacefully through legal means only to destroy it.
ReplyDeleteIn lieu of taking ourselves out, my group and I will terminate corporate capitalism via peaceful and legal methods exclusively.
ReplyDeleteMr. Angry - Dreamin!
ReplyDeleteNo, working to build a better reality and awaken America from its capitalist nightmare!
ReplyDeleteWow, Mr. Angry is out in force today. He's waving his socialist colors high for everyone to see. His remarks about bringing down capitalism and taking away money from those who make more than him tell us much about his character, "Kill capitalism, but give me YOUR money." What a jerk.
ReplyDeleteHere's the real deal Mr. Angry: you and your national socialist buddies can try all the non-violent civil actions you want to try and bring capitalism to its knees. But, long before it falls it will visit a serious amount of violence on you in order to survive. The fact is, this is a capitalistic social structure in this country, and will remain so. If you don't like it, drag your sorry ass off to some socialist country and live in poverty under the thumb of some dictator or board of overlords. We won't miss you.
Dustin, thanks for running this article. Unfortunately, SCJ is a necessary evil in our city. They employ a lot of people and we can't afford to lose those jobs. But, if the socialists don't take over and ruin our country or city and businesses do start coming back so that we aren't so dependent on SCJ, then maybe we can do something about them.
Be glad that peaceful social justice advocates desire the death of capitalism, because there are other revolutionaries out there who'd rather kill capitalists than merely destroy their evil system. Under our people's government, capitalism would be dismantled and its worst proponents would be tried and incarcerated for their crimes against humanity. Alas, some of our competitors would execute--not imprison--the corporate class.
ReplyDeleteSorry, I was wrong. Mr. Angry isn't just a socialist, he's a fascist Nazi.
ReplyDeleteMr. Angry - once again, date, day, time of the revolution?
ReplyDeleteThere is no "Mr. Angry." Rather, there are many angry men dedicated to the legal, peaceful destruction of corporate capitalism. Although I'm not the Lord, I can tell you that the revolution is due within fifteen years--the conditions in this sad country are so close to those which prevailed in France immediately anterior to the Revolution of 1789 that I would advise our oligarchs to leave America a.s.a.p.
ReplyDeleteMr. Angry - ok that would be 2024 -can you now give me the date and time. I want to be prepared because I only have 15 years to plan. You have us richie poos pooing in our pants. We want to be ready for the revolution so that we buy everything we want before then.
ReplyDeleteMr. Angry, I think before you start chopping the heads off of corporate executives you might want to take a look at all of the wasteful taxing, spending and over-regulating your leftist government is doing that causes the corporations to lay off people and pass on the increased costs to the consumers. It is a legitimate government statistic that the top 5% of the richest people and corporations in this country pay over 90% of the taxes. So, think about what will happen when you bring them down. That tax burden is then going to fall on the rest of us. That is when the new 1040 form will read, "How much did you make?" and the next line will read, "Send it in."
ReplyDeleteDear Graham, Socialism works just fine in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, The Netherlands and the rest of the civilized post-industrial world. the sooner we have socialism here, the better!
ReplyDeleteAmen! My European and Canadian friends can't understand why the U.S.A. remains such a hell pit for ordinary working people. The Canadians and Europeans say that their peers wouldn't tolerate the crap we endure for a second. Unlike Americans, Europeans and Canadians don't fall for Horatio Alger stories and don't dream about making a fortune. They're content to live comfortably and enjoy economic security plus short work weeks and long paid vacations. In other words, the Canadians and Europeans are a lot smarter than we are.
ReplyDeleteAll this talk about the down fall of capitalism is fine, but is this really the place to discuss this.
ReplyDeleteThis story is about SC Johnson's underhanded way of making a back room deal with Gary Becker to save in excess of $200,000 a year and then trying to protray themselves as such great corporate citizens by giving $500,000 over five years to the City. Work the math people, SC Johnson is more than $500,000 ahead after just five years. Each year after that you can add another $200,000.
It is such a lie for SC Johnson to protray themselves as a good corporate citizen. Who in the you know what wouldn't take a deal like that.
This is series stuff here that is destroy out city and our society. You destruction of capitalism deserves to be discussed, just not here. Stay on point with something this important. Remember, the bottom line is SC Johnson wants nothing more that to change the topic away from their wrong doing. You only play into their hand when you change the topic to the down fall of capitalism.
The Corner House restaurant gets a lavishly redone parking lot for the bluehairs that frequent the joint at the expense of industrial properties that pay their own way and then have to pay for the connecteds.
ReplyDeleteThe city is there cleaning the snow even before it cleans Owen Avenue and Ann Street. The city cleverly makes it all free parking by limiting parking meter collections (that are miniscule) to the hours that the Corner House never uses.
Gary Becker must have gotten a few free fattening dinners from Corner House to tag the stupid taxcows with the complete cost of providing free parking to an undertaxed dump.
I would like an enterprising cub reporter to get the parking meter figures for the Uptown Parking lot as compared to the costs to the city taxcows to maintain the lot and the costs of carrying the wildly expensive repairs and new layout.
ReplyDeleteAll of the meters were removed from the areas that are farthest from the Corner House restaurant. I would be shocked if the revenue from that municipal lot covers more than two per-cent of the operating cost.
C'mon cub reporter, prove me wrong.