Monday, July 20, 2015

Gonder on Coyle sitecapades: "We need new rules, special rules, to guide the use of public/private partnerships."


Jeff Gahan's governing clique of down-low Reaganites will be working even harder now to unseat a dangerous dissident such as John Gonder, who actually thinks aloud, for attribution, a quality so often absent from Democratic ruling circles locally. Thanks to John for thinking, although they'll probably unseat him from Redevelopment to preclude any chance of it happening again.

What's next? Someone differing with the time-honored ritual of cash-stuffed envelopes?

By the way, did I tell you that Baylor for Mayor's theme in the Harvest Homecoming parade will be the proper use of wooden stakes and garlic cloves?

First John's link, then a prime comment.

New Rules, by John Gonder at Gonder for New Albany At-Large

... We need new rules, special rules, to guide the use of public/private partnerships ... there's a nagging voice in my head that keeps saying something about "privatizing gain while socializing loss." A hopeful voice adds a third way, "democratizing vision".

Just like always, NAC's co-editor Jeff Gillenwater summarizes the Coyle site debacle with the following incisive remark.

Partnership implies sharing risks AND rewards. That's not the case here. It rarely is in public/private "partnerships". In this case, the public has taken on over half the total investment risk while giving up any claim to profits. This development won't even contribute to our property tax base for a couple decades if it ever does. The only thing transformational here is that others in the district will be required to give up the sorts of shared, public improvements that could have been funded with the same money while facing the possibility of higher taxes themselves if the project is "successful". Ethical lapses aside, that's just a dumb investment, public or private. Good for you for having the good sense to say "no".

No comments: