Peoria Pundit

News and Media from River City

Local: A modest proposal

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , , on March 29, 2009 by Billy Dennis

A propose that the City of Peoria add the following to it’s city code:

The owner, manager, majority of any business that receives a tax break through any city Enterprise Zone or Tax Increment Financing District shall be required to perform 40 hours of labor for the City of Peoria filling potholes or other street and sidewalk repair each year that business remains open during the life of the enterprise zone or TIF. Failure to perform this service shall repayment of these tax benefits.

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Local: They are laughing at us in St. Louis

Posted in On the Media with tags , on January 7, 2009 by Billy Dennis

From a St. Louis Post-Dispatch blog:

Here in St. Louis, we now know the folly of listening to consultants who promise that a big new hotel will attract more convention business. Our downtown Renaissance Hotel, built on the basis of such projections, has just defaulted on its debt payments. But 180 miles to the northeast, the consultants are still making such promises, and the leaders of Peoria are in a mood to believe them.

The Peoria City Council endorsed a plan last month that would provide $39 million of public financing for a new Marriott Hotel attached to the Civic Center. In one respect, the city would be making an even greater commitment than St. Louis did: Peoria appears to be talking about issuing general obligation bonds, which the city would repay out of tax revenue. St. Louis’ convention hotel was financed with revenue bonds, with no obligation for the city itself to make payments.

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