City Council and County Commissioners:
A new housing PILOT (on Chestnut Street) is about to come before you. The developer claims that they need "us" to subsidize their project because they are going to do us the great favor of improving a piece of property in an area of town (Southside) that no one else will ever be interested in developing. They also claim that their new development will provide low and moderate income housing.
City officials, please do not fall for this yet again. It does not take a great genius to figure out that the Southside is one of the hottest new areas of town, teeming with life and renovations. Developers do not need a tax break to want to move in and capitalize on this wave of growth. In fact, basic economics of supply and demand would assert that they should be paying premiums for space there. As for the low to moderate income housing, I hardly think that a tiny cubicle of an apartment renting for almost $800 per month qualifies as being helpful to those needing low and moderate housing assistance. This is not New York City.
Something needs to give regarding the granting of these PILOTs. We, the taxpayer in the suburbs, cannot continue to carry the burden of paying for the services (police, fire, sewer, infrastructure, etc.) for these PILOT projects. If you continue to grant these at the rate that you have been recently, it will not be sustainable without increasing our taxes in order to subsidize theirs. This is basic math. If you keep giving away the farm, pretty soon there is no more farm to give.
These developers do not need our tax breaks to guarantee their projects. Please, be fiscally responsible and vote "against" these big developers and "for" the interests of the taxpaying constituents that you were elected to represent. Just say no.
Lynn Ashton
Chattanooga