Letter: Approving urban renewal district would lead to raiding school fund (May 8)

CORVALLIS GAZETTE-TIMES: OPINION 5/8/2009 Letter by John H. Detweiler - The money that will be accumulated to fund Measure 02-68, the Corvallis downtown urban renewal district (URD), is not “free money.” It is revenue foregone by governments that will not be available for other uses, such as police and fire departments. Reduced tax revenue may well result in local governments raising taxes to cover emerging requirements.

Yes, the state back-fills the money that comes out of school districts’ budgets due to urban renewal. However, that back-fill comes out of the money appropriated for all school districts. Therefore, less money will be available for all school districts. If this measure passes, Corvallis will just be the latest local government to raid the school system for urban renewal funds.

An estimate of the revenue foregone is shown in table four of “Report on the Downtown Corvallis Urban Renewal Plan,” which I have not been able to find on the Corvallis Web site. If you can’t find the report, ask your city councilor for a copy or check my Web site, http://www.peak.org/~detweij, for my analysis of the financial consequences of approving the urban renewal district, which includes table four.

It is not prudent to tie up tax revenue for long periods in good times, let alone in bad times, because we may need money for something else that is more important than urban renewal. If we want to fund projects, we can fund them individually when the details and need have been clearly stated. Vote NO on Measure 02-68.

John H. Detweiler, Corvallis