Something I have been talking about for four years has finally reached the Mayor's ears.
Fair PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) payments are something that the Mayor has been giving lip service to over the years. Institutions claim they don't have any additional funds for the City, while at the same time getting property and permits from the City to build grand new buildings that further tax (literally and figuratively) the citizens.
I have been saying in public meetings, such as the one in Allston last Thursday night that before we allow these institutions any further permits or change in zoning or free property that we sit down and have discussions about that institutions PILOT payments.
Sure enough on Friday the Mayor came out with an announcement that he is going to force BC to pay more PILOT payments for the building they just bought near their campus that pays about $400,000 in taxes. He is quoted:
“This is a new era,” said Menino. “Given the dwindling finances in municipalities today, we can’t give anything away and we have to get our fair share.”
When exactly was it ok to "give anything away"?
Yet another bunch of baloney out of Menino. So it was okay to give away things over the past few years such as 300 million dollars at City Hall Plaza, 30 million dollars at Hayward Place, the rights to the Winthrop Square Garage, etc. Yet, if my memory is correct it seems like the word our of City Hall every year is that we don't have enough money for the projects we would like to do such as put more police on the streets.
It is no wonder to me why people are so fed up with politics as usual. People aren't stupid, they know when they aren't being given honest answers.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment