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| Dan Tumpson when he ran for City Council |
Advocates for redevelopment on the other side of the political fence maintain that since other municipalities are doing them extensively, Hoboken should too since we get screwed by the county otherwise and pay more than our fair share as a municipality. This is a view that was and still is shared by former Mayor Roberts as well as Peter Cammarano who coincidentally is doing two years for taking bribes from a developer. In fact Mayor Roberts used to say "No good deed goes unpunished". I feel many in reform would respond "Well, two wrongs don't make a right".
Dan has a website called Hoboken Citizens and the URL is now http://www.hobokencitizens.net/. He has some other issues archived on that site for your perusal as well. While Dan did not win as a candidate a big part of me wishes that more people had listened too him on this topic as his predictions about the effect of PILOTS and they way they were concocted were eerily prophetic. Perhaps Dan's explanations were a bit wonkish but give the guy a break; he has a Ph.D. The more important thing is Dan appears to be right in at least that PILOTS cost regular tax payers money. He doesn't completely say no to PILOTS but concludes that the agreements that are created should at least be adjustable on a yearly basis so that taxes are not increased for everyone else. It is a subtle position but based on numerical analysis. However, from a pragmatic standpoint a developer would be unlikely to engage in a PILOT if they knew the taxation would work out to be the same. In order to get buildings you would nto normally get you have to give something up as a city. You just have to make sure you get back is worth it for the city. If you are good at math, hone in your skills and get calculating with Dan's explanation below......
Here is another article on how the agreement to build the W hotel (which is a fine hotel by the way and an asset to the City of Hoboken) screws Hoboken taxpayers by over 14%.....
Port Authority Redevelopment PILOT Deal Adds 14.1% to Hoboken Taxes
http://www.hobokencitizens.net/patax01.htm
And finally, the seminar......
Dan Tumpson's PILOT Seminar on Property tax Rates from 10/22/2008:
Feel free to state your opinion either way in the comments below but regardless of your stance, do take a stab at the math. Perhaps a simpler "PILOTS for Dummies" version of this seminar is forthcoming. As for me, I don't think PILOTS should be used for residential highrises. That is my opinion and quite a few other reformers out there. ◦
