Back in the 1990s, during the debate of federal welfare reform, there was lots of talk about “welfare queens”-you know, layabout baby machines who counted on government handouts to get through their lives. Live the high life on the public dime. There was much tsk-tsking and wagging of fingers.
When governments give handouts to large and profitable corporations, on the other hand, it’s called sound business. To us, anyway you cut it, it’s still welfare.
The Village of North Riverside recently approved giving a total of $750,000 in “grants” to two important businesses in town. In 2006, they gave another large retailer $500,000. The businesses were looking to make improvements and came to the village for a little help. Now, did their companies actually need this money to stay solvent? We doubt it.
And, frankly, we don’t blame North Riverside for coming up with ways to keep these sales-tax producing businesses happy and content to stay in the village. But we also know why they do it, because in coming to the village and saying-gee, how about a little help for our very important business-there’s an implied threat that “we can always go elsewhere, you know.”
So, a village like North Riverside, whose life blood is sales tax revenue, really has no choice but to pony up. The net effect is that the village goes into debt to finance these gifts, and the financing is paid for by, ultimately, taxpayers.
The rationale is that within three years these “grants” pay for themselves in the form of new sales tax revenue. Of course, the reverse argument could be made, that the money the companies have to expend to make the improvements will pay for themselves in three years by virtue of increased sales revenues.
Somehow, when Best Buy opened up its new store in time for a Christmas sales bonanza last year, they forgot to hang up the “Thanks, North Riverside” sign over the front door. Maybe in the wake of these new grants, the beneficiaries can publicly thank taxpayers for their most generous gifts.
That big, bright sign at First Avenue and Cermak Road ought to do the trick.
Need more info
Well, the wheels have been set in motion for some sort of TIF district along Ogden Avenue in Brookfield. Unfortunately, there’s scant information on what it will look like, what’s being sought, how it’s going to be financed or even what village trustees think about it.
When the smoke clears, we’re estimating that any TIF is going to have to include residential properties in addition to existing commercial properties along Ogden Avenue. That is going to raise the specter of eminent domain and all of the other complaints that dogged Riverside’s quest for a TIF.
Hopefully, Brookfielders will soon start getting some answers on exactly how this redevelopment tool is going to be used and where.