Archive: Opinions

EditorialPoliticians love those Ed McMahon big check moments.  They get to slide into a community, present an oversized check to the locals, provide photo ops, smile, shake hands, and garner goodwill for the next election. 

I love those moments, too.  They're fun and they bring money into the community for this project or that.  But when New York Governor Elliot Spitzer came to Ithaca the other day to announce a $2.3 million grant to clean up Gun Hill it made my head spin.  Because there is a line between encouraging local business and pandering to it.  Spitzer crossed the line.

As the cast of Saturday Night Live asked in 1976, 'Is it a floor wax or is it a dessert topping?'  Or in government spending terms, 'Is it a good use of public money, or is it a $100,000 toilet seat?'

Here is the scenario:  a gun manufacturing company leaves Ithaca for economic reasons, and leaves a real mess.  Someone buys the property, surely knowing that an environmental cleanup will be needed.  They plan to build 33 condominiums on the site, but the 100,000 square foot factory must be demolished and the environmental mess must be cleaned up first.  The federal Environmental Protection Agency completes a $4.8 million cleanup of a portion of the site, but the factory and surrounding area are left contaminated and deteriorating.

The developer applies for a Restore New York grant to mitigate the costs of demolition and mitigation in addition to a voluntary cleanup program.  Spitzer shows up for his $2.3 million big check moment.  The developer is also hoping to receive a $700,000 grant from he Environmental Restoration Program of the New York Department of Environmental Conservation.  That makes $3 million of state money on top of the $4.8 million of federal money all so a developer can build some condos.

Spitzer's spin is that the site is an eyesore in the middle of a thriving community.  The developer says he is paying the city's share so Ithaca won't have to pay a dime for this.  He also says the condos will generate $360,000 in tax revenue for the city annually.  So basically the benefit to the taxpayers is that it won't be an eyesore any more, and there will be a park involved.

In fact a lot of elected officials have been spinning this.  In a press release I received this week State Democratic Senate Leader Malcolm M. Smith said, "This state investment is critical for distressed areas, both upstate and downstate, and focuses on projects aimed at revitalizing communities.  These projects will serve as the catalyst for business expansion for many years to come."

"The RESTORE NY program represents projects that will make a real difference in communities throughout the state of New York," said Senator David Valesky (D-Oneida). "These are taxpayer dollars that will be well-spent, and the state of the economy upstate is job one."

Distressed areas?  Well-spent tax dollars?  Who paid for that $7.8 million?  You did.  I did.  Let's do some math:

How many years will it take for a like amount in Ithaca property taxes to be generated for the city?  7,800,000 / 360,000 = 21.67 years.

Just for fun, because this is a Lansing newspaper and Lansing folk get to pay state and federal taxes just as much as Ithacans do, consider this.  The Lansing Public Library will cost Town taxpayers $105,000 per year.  7,800,000 / 105,000 = 74 years.  Yup, the state money could fund the taxpayers' portion of the library for 28 and a half years, and the federal part could add another 45 and a half years.  Even allowing for budget rises over the course of that time, it would provide a public service for a long time to come.

Who would benefit from this money?  Well, the 2000 census claimed 10,500 people living in Lansing.  That number is different for the school district population that funds the library, so it would be eight or nine thousand.  Because about 8,000 town residents are in the district along with some overlap into sections other communities that fall within the school district boundaries.

But with the money going to help a private developer -- I don't know how that business is structured, but let's say 100 people.  Probably fewer share in the profits.  In the last census the average household size in the city of Ithaca was 2.13 people.  2.13 people x 33 condos = 70.29 people.  So the tangible benefits of the money are going to go to fewer than 200 people.  Sure the argument will be made that an eyesore will be gone and everyone can go to the park.  But everyone can go to a number of parks already -- beautiful parks.  And I can't say that Stewart park, for example, has been kept up so much lately.

So hmm... putting money toward public projects vs. private developers.  How much bang are you and me getting for our buck?  Eight or nine thousand vs. a few hundred... I guess that's why they call it a 'public' library.

For the record, I am not opposed to government helping businesses.  I think Empire Zones are a great idea, and we have a whopping one on Warren Road that will bring jobs to Lansing and keep them here for a long time to come -- good jobs with good salaries.  Jobs with a future for the people who hold them as well as long term tax benefits for our community.  These are businesses that are good neighbors and that contribute to the prosperity of Lansing.  I have no problem with public money supporting their development.

And that is what Empire Zones do.  Those companies have to pledge to create X number of jobs at X salary for X years before they get Empire Zone help.  It helps the companies, sure, but it also tangibly helps the community.  And by the way, those companies pay property taxes, too.  And guess what?  They employ way more than 33 people who also own property that they pay taxes on.

I agree that the old gun factory is an eyesore. And certainly the Gun Hill project will bring jobs to the Ithaca community.  But how many for the long term, after the condos are built and sold?  I don't blame the developer for trying to get whatever he can out of the deal.  I blame our elected officials for not spending our money as they probably would spend their own.

Nobody likes paying taxes, and everyone agrees that governments are generally not good at spending our tax money wisely, especially high-tax states like our own New York.  But after we get past the small talk we do like to think that our tax money is going toward the public good.  Sure we joke about the government purchasing $100,000 toilet seats, but in our heart of hearts we hope they'll be going to Lowes like everybody else and buying the $19.98 model, because you can get 5,005 $19.98 toilet seats for $100,000.

And heck, if a few cheap toilet seats break, it only costs 20 bucks to replace them!

If you ask me, we taxpayers have just bought one toilet seat for an enormous amount of money.

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