Wow! Reality Triumphs Over DestiNY? For How Long?
Ever go to a Common Council meeting? My job has me going to many. They are dreadfully boring things, almost all votes are 9-0 affairs with little to no discussion--that having happened in study sessions and behind closed doors. This makes truly contentious votes cracking good entertainment! And I missed out on this one, as I watched a Wallace & Grommit video last night rather than go to the hearing or even watch on News 10 Now.
I was not expecting six councilors to show the backbone to vote against the DestiNY juggernaut. We must give major props to Councilors Callahan, DeFrancisco, Miner, Ryan, Seals and Simmons. These folks will be pilloried for the next few months as Congel threatens both lawsuits and an end to the project. Where will the DestiNY windbreaker crowd show up for their next photo-op? Dear Leader must be supported.
This is, of course, nowhere near over and I'm afraid the damn thing will be built. The key contention seems to be whether the city is guaranteed to receive payments from the project commensurate with the amount of tax money that's being forfeited by the city. The Mayor believes his negotiations have given the city the guarantees it needs. The Common Council is not so sure. The city will be giving up over $380 million in property taxes over the next 30 years--more if increases are required (and when have taxes stayed stable for 30 years?)
The current stumbling block is apparently the lawsuit by current Carousel Mall tenants challenging the seizure of their lease rights by the Syracuse Industrial Development Agency. The Council reads the current contract to read that if an event such as this lawsuit goes against Congel and that either nothing is built or nothing more than a larger Mall, Congel still gets the tax breaks. The city could be giving up over $500 million with no chance of recouping more than a fraction of this in increased sales tax revenues. The mayor believes the city would be covered.
Who's right? The public has no clue, not having access to any of the documents. So we fall back on our stereotypes: Congel is a crook, we don't trust him. The Council is a bunch of power-mad dunces whose hubris will ruin our regions' best chance at recovery. Despite the fact that I subscribe to the first stereotype, I'd still like some meat put on the bone of this debate. The public needs a tutorial with charts and graphs and spreadsheets. Until that happens we'll just be content to spew rhetoric (like my Dear Leader cracks at the North Korean-style DestiNY rallies).
I was not expecting six councilors to show the backbone to vote against the DestiNY juggernaut. We must give major props to Councilors Callahan, DeFrancisco, Miner, Ryan, Seals and Simmons. These folks will be pilloried for the next few months as Congel threatens both lawsuits and an end to the project. Where will the DestiNY windbreaker crowd show up for their next photo-op? Dear Leader must be supported.
This is, of course, nowhere near over and I'm afraid the damn thing will be built. The key contention seems to be whether the city is guaranteed to receive payments from the project commensurate with the amount of tax money that's being forfeited by the city. The Mayor believes his negotiations have given the city the guarantees it needs. The Common Council is not so sure. The city will be giving up over $380 million in property taxes over the next 30 years--more if increases are required (and when have taxes stayed stable for 30 years?)
The current stumbling block is apparently the lawsuit by current Carousel Mall tenants challenging the seizure of their lease rights by the Syracuse Industrial Development Agency. The Council reads the current contract to read that if an event such as this lawsuit goes against Congel and that either nothing is built or nothing more than a larger Mall, Congel still gets the tax breaks. The city could be giving up over $500 million with no chance of recouping more than a fraction of this in increased sales tax revenues. The mayor believes the city would be covered.
Who's right? The public has no clue, not having access to any of the documents. So we fall back on our stereotypes: Congel is a crook, we don't trust him. The Council is a bunch of power-mad dunces whose hubris will ruin our regions' best chance at recovery. Despite the fact that I subscribe to the first stereotype, I'd still like some meat put on the bone of this debate. The public needs a tutorial with charts and graphs and spreadsheets. Until that happens we'll just be content to spew rhetoric (like my Dear Leader cracks at the North Korean-style DestiNY rallies).
