Star Tribune Wed, 05 Dec 2007 05:46:50 GMT
Housing slump echoes at City Halls
Some cities' finances - and eventually taxes and services - will be strained by the downturn. ... A few years ago, when the Builders Association of the Twin Cities was looking for a target to make an example of, it chose Shakopee for precisely that reason. It wrung concessions from the city by means of a lawsuit alleging that the city was improperly diverting permit revenue into the city's general coffers, which isn't allowed. Past city officials have conceded that this was a deliberate strategy, and the suit resulted in changes, including steps to ensure a direct relationship between the cost of processing new developments and the fees charged. At the same time, housing was slowing -- from 1,087 new units issued permits in 2003 to 312 in 2006, with a similar figure expected this year. The result for the city has been sobering, finance director Gregg Voxland reports: slipping from more than $3 million a year in income from building permits and the like as recently as 2005 to a projected $647,000 for 2008. Even that figure was looking optimistic, he told council members in an informal work session in August: "We should probably look at a number that's lower than that."
[[keywords: Legal;PropertyTax;Metro;]]
No comments:
Post a Comment