Our system of granting PILOTs and TIFs is totally antiquated and without any justification. No other city or county our size in Tennessee operates without guidelines related to granting tax breaks. It is way past time for our elected officials to address this issue.
Our Chamber of Commerce and River City have had checkbooks with unlimited funds for way too long. Their successes are judged solely on the number of projects they bring to town, never mind the cost to taxpayers or the benefit to the public. Their boards are heavily weighted with companies who are recipients of PILOTs or who are members of the law firm who represents them. These companies and law firms donate to the campaigns of our public officials. It is highly incestuous and has been running under the radar of the taxpayers for years. However, thanks to people like Helen Burns Sharp, the public is beginning to wake up and the developers are racing in with their PILOT applications before the feeding trough runs dry.
City and county elected officials…you were elected to represent the taxpayers in your district. The public. Not the few moneyed good ol’ boys who can contribute to your campaigns. The common taxpayer has to pay his taxes; the already wealthy PILOT recipients do not. We, the common taxpayers are subsidizing the services provided to the PILOT project beneficiaries. This is all determined, not by policy, but by “We like you, therefore you get preferential treatment” votes.
It is time for you to step up to the plate and adopt policies and procedures related to these tax breaks to protect the taxpayers in your district. This year alone, PILOTs will cost the taxpayers some $26 million. The cumulative total already obligated for future years is some $400 million. Imagine what our city/county could do to improve the lives of all of our citizens with an extra $400 million in the budget.
Please show me that you have my interest as a taxpayer at heart. Please place a moratorium on any new PILOTs and TIFs now until we can come to an agreement that is in everyone’s best interest, taxpayers and big money builders alike. We need written policies and procedures that govern the issuance of all PILOTs and TIFs.
If you are an elected official who is not willing to come to the table, we will just assume that you are one of the status quo “good ol’ boys who is more interested in lining the pockets of the wealthy developers to ensure you own continued campaign support than you are in actually looking out for the voters of your district.
Lynn Ashton
Chattanooga