Original post: The city is pushing ahead with plans to help American Tire and Recycling Corporation move to 2301 S. Memorial Drive.
City Development Director Brian O'Connell is asking the City Council and Redevelopment Authority to approve incentives to help the company, and an estimated 88 jobs, move to the city.
Here's O'Connell's request to the City Council, which will be referred to the Redevelopment Authority and the Finance and Personnel Committee:
In order to match the employer with a suitable workplace, a temporary subsidy of the rent at the location is necessary. I am recommending that the city provide this subsidy from the Intergovernmental Sewer Revenue Sharing fund.
This is getting out of hand. If this company can't afford to open its business here, how in the heak are they going to afford to pay the salaries, benefits and taxes necessary to operate? There's a big difference between offering tax incentives to lure a business here and paying for its setup and operating expenses. This is stupid. How much in taxpayer dollars is it going to cost for these 88 jobs? Are the employees going to make more than minimum wage? Will they be full-time jobs with benefits or part-time jobs without? Why can't this company afford to pay its own setup and operating expenses. CITY COUNCIL, QUIT SPENDING MONEY WE HAVEN'T GOT ! ! ! !
ReplyDelete"There's a big difference between offering tax incentives to lure a business here and paying for its setup and operating expenses."
ReplyDeleteReally? How is it different? Tax incentives reduce a business' expenses. The money not spent on taxes is either spent on operating expenses and debt service (perhaps from money spent on setup) or put back in the owners' pockets.
Another article on this said "Those will include many entry-level jobs and over-the-road trucker jobs, he said. Company officials have said wages would range from about $8 to $18 per hour." The low end is just above minimum wage, but the wages are above it.
The article also says the subsidy is about $40,000 for an expected $2.5M investment. Sounds good to me. 88 jobs is not a lot, but it is alot to people who aren't working. Is Racine supposed to pass on this?
...Intergovernmental Sewer Revenue Sharing fund...
ReplyDeleteHow about we give the library & the zoo what they are owed before we give it to a new business?
Haha The zoo??? Are you kidding they should be getting less, c'mon now get real.....and are these jobs for sure going to go to Racine residents? I would like to see that in writing!
ReplyDeleteAnd if e are going to help bring jobs here lets try for more then low income jobs shall we?
ReplyDeleteYes Racine should pass on this. I feel that there will be far more $8.00 jobs then $18.00 jobs. Nothing but a big joke on Racine by the master Joker the Mayor
ReplyDeleteYes Racine should pass on this. I feel that there will be far more $8.00 jobs then $18.00 jobs. Nothing but a big joke on Racine by the master Joker the Mayor
ReplyDeleteI can understand that to make Racine's economy substainable, it requires the introduction of business that employ from 45-100 people, but why should I have to flip the bill for anyone other than my family?
ReplyDelete"I can understand that to make Racine's economy substainable, it requires the introduction of business that employ from 45-100 people, but why should I have to flip the bill for anyone other than my family?"
ReplyDeleteBecause if we do not, other communities will.
Some job is better than no job, unless of course you are lazy and like to take the entitlement route.
ReplyDeleteI know lets use tax funds to have a rat poison company move here by the Lake next to a school! Its jobs
ReplyDeleteThis seems to be another well thought out plan by the "Dickert Camp". Kind of reminds me of the great job he did researching the "Book store Nazi". Way to go John great job showing off your management skills! What a dweeb you are!
ReplyDeleteIs the Sewer Revenue Sharing fund avaliable to home owners in Racine to off set our ever rising property taxes?
ReplyDeleteIs the Sewer Revenue Sharing fund a slush fund for Dickert's fun and games? How nice for him. Yet another reason to vote him and his lap dogs out of office.
ReplyDelete6:36, The fund helps to pay for Dickerts out of town trips with his Man Secretary !!
ReplyDeleteTo Anon 3:15,
ReplyDeleteWhy? Because if 88 more are earning $ and paying taxes, your share for your family is less. 540,000 divided by 80000 people is $2/person in the city. $2.5M for $2, especially for a property with otherwise low interest is a good deal. If you attended any of the West Racine grocery store meetings, you'd know a lot of people would be happy for $8/hr.
with the sewer system in Racine in dire need of millions and millions of dollars to upgrade and repair, why are we using sewer agreement money to float a business. When his sewer backs up and he makes a claim, will we just dig deeper into our pockets to pay? Gotta keep these jobs!??
ReplyDeleteWhat about the Racine County Economic Corp? RCEDC has funds that could be used for this purpose. Why not float them a loan that could be paid back once they are up and running?
ReplyDelete7:02
ReplyDeleteNo way in God's Earth will there be 88 jobs. If $8 an hour jobs are so good I hope you give back to your employer all back $8. Thinking myself you will not and IMHO your nothing more then a Troll for Mussolini I mean The Mayor.
As for RCEDC HA!
I just love the way outside firms are always courted by Racine's majesty and locals are beat senselessly over the head while being forced to comply with tougher restrictions and higher taxes. This is a complete farce assembled by a bunch of low grade flunkies. I am very interested to see what happens with State St. and Pointe Blue. I am sure Dickert is setting himself up for a job after being mayor because it is very obvious that politics is not his forte.
ReplyDeleteI sure hope that no prospective employers read the blogs are realize just how mean, ignorant, and ungrateful some Racinians are. Small minded jerks like you guys are keeping us down.
ReplyDelete6:09, Us small minded jerks, are just tired of those such as yourself that feel they are entitled to everything. Do you liberal pricks ever believe that one should work for what they have, or do you simply think it should be handed to you?
ReplyDeleteIt seems that Mayor Dickert has alot in common with the Nazi's of WW2, pick and chose which business to support and which to bring down through opression.
ReplyDeleteProspective employers ask about taxes, police, and road maintenance. They are told about art colonies, on-staff corridor development experts and trips to other planets to court new business (while in effect trying to chase the ones here). They don't have to read negative comments on blogs to be turned off.
ReplyDeleteBusiness owners here feel like the City and County are Time Warner - only new people get deals while the old, faithful customers pay full price as well as increases.
Does anyone who throws around the terms "naysayers" etc. actually believe that those people want Racine to fail? We all want Racine to thrive! However, it is difficult to look through the mismanagement, corruption, and sophomoric visions for our future.
"City Development Director Brian O'Connell said Wednesday that a potential buyer, which he declined to identify, has offered to purchase that property and rent it to American Tire and Recycling."
ReplyDeleteThat buyer had better not be the City of Racine!
"American Tire and Recycling is a recent start-up..."
This company doesn't even have a track record. Dickert and Igor (I mean O'Connell) are gambling with city funds!
"Dickert said the new company has indicated it would not reach the 88-job level immediately, but "very soon" after starting operations."
Get it in writing and insist that it only hire Racine residences (but you know that won't happen).
"O'Connell said the city initially planned to buy the property, rent it to American Tire and Recycling for about three to five years and then sell it to the company at the city's cost."
There it is again! The city buying the property. More real estate speculation out of city hall. Look at the last several deals in the newspaper and on the RP about the real estate deals the city ventures into. In each and every case it is a LOSS!!!! This will be no different.
This is bad business. In fact, this is anti-business! Since when did local government start paying the rent for businesses? They project a cost of ONLY $40,000.00 (which you can be sure will double before it's all over), and then they have the gall to call it SAVING!!!
OK, Mr. Mayor, I'm currently unemployed, living on a shoestring and I want to open a new business here in town. Are you going to pay my rent and lessen my taxes until the business is profitable? Yeah, I thought not.
This is another reason why Dickert should not get re-elected, and further evidence as to why O'Connell should have been fired long ago. Keep digging the hole you're forcing the taxpayers into and we'll soon pull you down with us!
http://www.florenceminingnews.com/newsread.asp?ID=845
ReplyDeleteYou know we have a group of everyday folks who are starting a business in composting food garbage and other products using Vermicomposting. The operation would in the first year create 2 or three Green jobs paying about $12.00 Hr.
ReplyDeleteOf course the City of Racine did not support the effort. All Racine County Composting Co-op wanted from The City was use of empty brownfields, I think Racine has a few.
Must be I guess if you want City help you have to bring in low income housing or allow The City to pratice land speculation.
This post is way to vague. Much more detail needs to be provided. Incentives are a good thing for new business but they should come in tax breaks not city spending. What would be the limits of those breaks? We need the jobs of any kind but the breaks should be equitable to the compensation of those jobs. NOT AT TAX PAYERS EXPENSE.
ReplyDeleteThis post is way to vague. Much more detail needs to be provided. Incentives are a good thing for new business but they should come in tax breaks not city spending. What would be the limits of those breaks? We need the jobs of any kind but the breaks should be equitable to the compensation of those jobs. NOT AT TAX PAYERS EXPENSE.
ReplyDeleteWell, it is good thing that Bob Turner is going to run again. I don't think that Mr. Dickert will stand a chance this time around. He has proven his incompetence during his short stay as our Mayor.
ReplyDeletePlease Bob run! Lets get this guy out of office.
ReplyDeleteTurner cannot even speak the English language. I can't understand a word he says. You need a mayor who can express himself articulately amongst many other qualities.
ReplyDeleteGod, not Turner. Not another party hack. Isn't there anyone decent out there who cares about Racine and isn't owned by the Downtown Mafia?
ReplyDeleteUpdate here ... Mick Burke at the JT had the deal laid out in his last article about American Tire. He reports the rent subsidy will cost about $40,000.
ReplyDeleteSee the story here.
We need an independent. Could a new mayor get rid of the city admin position, or are we locked into $600,000 of our money being fed to a crony? Long after our mayors are gone, Racine keeps paying for their blunders.
ReplyDelete$40,000 for a chunk of tin in Uptown while people go hungry within spitting distance. Party on, you criminals!
Conservatives have completely lost their minds. This is essentially a tax break for a small business. This is what you morons have been shouting from the rooftops that we need and every problem will magically go away.
ReplyDeleteAnd now a prospective small business employer potentially gets one of these tax incentives and you cry about that too.
Attention conservatives. F-off. You have no solutions to anything - even the misery that is your own life apparantly.
I'll side with the people that are actually trying to do something over you pathetic whiners any day. What a disgrace.
Run Bob Run! We need you more than ever. Clean house of the Nazis. Discrimination and racism must come to an end.
ReplyDeleteLets have a man for Mayor. Bob Turner! clean house of the hacks and those who only want to enrich the good old boys.
ReplyDelete10:58 the only thing Dickert understands IMHO is lining his own pocket!
Is John still looking for a phone to call Obama? He so loves to claim he is such good friends.
ummm...Turner IS a good old boy.
ReplyDeleteRun Shakoor, run!
ReplyDeleteI am all for attracting business to our town by way of tax incentives or free land, but long term rent subsidy? I know it is only $40k but what if we were to give them say $200k and we could do so without utilizing the sewer credits? It is very simple, we fire Oconnel and Friedl and give what would have been wasted on their salaries and benefits to this company! These two city employees cost us lots of money and have yet to prove their worth!
ReplyDeleteBob learn how to speak English before any thoughts of running for Mayor.
ReplyDeleteIf its only 40K then the Mayor should write the check himself and show leadership. Oh this is Racine, Mayors here only do what's best IMHO for them and there pals.
ReplyDeleteRun Bob run!
Run Shakoor, run Bob...and take all your cronies with you. We need some NEW ideas in office, not more of the same.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteGraham: Your language is atrocious. Stifle.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.maforests.org/Facts.pdf
ReplyDeleteSo Racine the Green City is going to give Tax $$ to a company who will pollute worse then a coal plant! Par for the course