Mobility Fee Moratorum an Epic Fail?
(http://photos.metrojacksonville.com/photos/2064845466_JfJRVMG-M.jpg)
September's version of the "On Numbers Economic Index," which measures the economic health of 102 major metropolitan areas doesn't have good things to say about Jacksonville when compared to other cities in Florida and across the nation. Such data tends to suggest that the mobility plan moratorium, intended to spur economic development locally, has epically failed.
Full Article
http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2012-sep-mobility-fee-moratorum-an-epic-fail
Epic fail is the perfect description.
now if we could just convince a majority on City Council of this.
oh, gee, what a surprise. I guess the lack of development was not solely because of the impact fee. Sort of like Rick Scott saying the reason the state was not developing, was because of all of the restrictions imposed by the DEP, EPA, and DRI reviews by the DCI. Hard to believe these were not the root cause of this mess we are in.
Interesting to note that by not collecting the fee, that it conversely prevented work to be done that the fees supported.
Great Article! Going to write the city council with some facts about it. Are there city council meetings where they discuss the fee moratorium?
no one has officially filed a request to extend the moratorium yet....so not, there aren't any scheduled meetings
Let's compare two different strategies available to provide jobs:
In today's Florida Times Union, there is an article about property tax rebates given to companies based on a specific number of jobs created. The amount of rebate varies according to the type and number of jobs. If no jobs are created, the tax rebate goes away. In some cases, the owner pays the tax and then gets a refund. A case-by-case approach allows for the results to be measured.
http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2012-09-19/story/jacksonville-mayor-ramps-property-tax-rebates-compete-business-expansion (http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2012-09-19/story/jacksonville-mayor-ramps-property-tax-rebates-compete-business-expansion)
QuoteSince July 2011, the city has approved a total of nearly $7.5 million in property tax breaks.
QuotePaul Crawford, acting director of the Office of Economic Development, said without the incentives, Jacksonville would gain neither the jobs nor the investment of businesses that would go to other cities. The deals with the property tax breaks are expected to create 535 new, high-wage jobs.
That comes to roughly $14K per job, with performance guarantees built-in.
Contrast that to the Mobility Fee moratorium, which has already issued building permits resulting in $2,671,577 of lost infrastructure funding. If all of the waivers that were approved lead to building permits, we are looking at a total of $15,050,995 in lost funding. There is no way to measure the job creating success of this endeavor.
Retail jobs are support jobs. They are not a driving economic force in a city (unless we become a tourist destination for shopping). The other issue with retail jobs is that they typically come at the expense of another retail business or shopping center. When looking at retail job creation, we must look at the net gain (or decrease) for a region. The jobs at a new Wal-mart may simply be coming at the expense of a closing K-mart.
I have no problem with Wal-mart opening a store at K-mart's expense (that is a free market doing its thing). I do have a problem with it if public money was used to make the Wal-mart a viable project.
The new jobs we are trying to create and encourage need to be those that result in a net gain to our local economy. Manufacturing jobs, banking jobs, tech jobs fill this role. Higher education fits into this category. Construction and service jobs, do not (they come as a result of the other jobs).
And this opinion is coming from someone in the construction industry. We took a huge hit during the recession and I would prefer that Jacksonville focus efforts on creating a sustainable economy that can withstand future recessions a little better. It may mean a little less income during the boom times, which I am willing to trade for a little more security during the rough times.
If the answer to growth is relaxing one's barriers to entry, can someone please explain to me why every other growing city or every coastal gateway market is doing the opposite? Even the TX cities are starting to realize that their "only" negative right now is their low barrier to entry and they are taking steps to increase them. Boston doesn't have Houston growth, but it has impossible barriers to entry and excellent fundamentals making it just as attractive to new investment.
People in Jacksonville have their heads up each other's asses.
But Doug,
Do you think companies are enticed to move or expand here because they'll receive a $100,000/year property tax abatement? I would think they move to Jacksonville for other reasons. Similarly, it's more expensive to do business in NYC or Boston, but I can guarantee you every company wants to have a large presence in each city.
The way to grow your economy is not simply to buy deals or rely on warmer weather, though each can help, but to provide the fundamentals in which a company can grow and be profitable in that environment.
I agree with you simms3. I am pointing out the difference. If we are going to play the game of incentives, I much prefer that we do so in ways that are measurable.
If I had my way, we would invest our resources entirely into making Jacksonville a better place to live and work (better schools, better infrastructure, parks, etc.)
When we make things cheap, we get cheap in return. Expecting more, gets us more. It takes guts and good negotiating skills, and it can be done.
(https://encrypted-tbn3.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcS6ev0xAuPAkv_gEm0LPDsIwfyiCfzmkAxULyGUvzj14UMDhHP6pA) Doug.
also, there is apparently some major controversy with the freeway removal now in OKC...I read an article the other day where some groups are pushing for it to be rebuilt....they cite the increased traffic generated by all the new downtown activity.
Confusing considering I-40 was relocated a few blocks south.
Quote from: dougskiles on September 20, 2012, 09:40:08 AM
I agree with you simms3. I am pointing out the difference. If we are going to play the game of incentives, I much prefer that we do so in ways that are measurable.
If I had my way, we would invest our resources entirely into making Jacksonville a better place to live and work (better schools, better infrastructure, parks, etc.)
When we make things cheap, we get cheap in return. Expecting more, gets us more. It takes guts and good negotiating skills, and it can be done.
Well said. You can't cut taxes and wages enough to compete with 3rd World countries or even podunk counties on the prairie.
You have to be able to offer something they can't, like a high quality of life and an educated workforce with higher skills. Jax has yet to learn that lesson and it will be in a race to the bottom, until it changes course.
Quote from: vicupstate on September 20, 2012, 11:20:30 AM
You have to be able to offer something they can't, like a high quality of life and an educated workforce with higher skills. Jax has yet to learn that lesson and it will be in a race to the bottom, until it changes course.
Or you can pay for them to come here. With enough money, Jacksonville can have bring lots of companies come here. However, paying people to come here is just like buying friends. They'll be happy to be your friend as long as you have the money to pay them.
If (when) they extend the mobility fee moratorium, they might as well cancel the 2030 plan all together.
I checked out a dvd from the library yesterday that I think everybody should see and take very seriously. It's called,
"The end of Suburbia oil depletionand the collapse of the American Dream"
The dvd discusses what we can expect when the oil runs out. The experts say it will happen in our lifetimes. They also say that we may not even have enough time to perfect our methods of renewable energy it time to stop some of the chaos.
I don;t know how close we actually are. But I think we should assume that it could happen tomorrow, just to be on the safe side.
Jacksonville will begin to economically decline well in advance of oil running out, if it doesn't figure out that you have to invest in a community for it to prosper.
Again, the incentives that Jacksonville offers don't seem targeted or have a specific goal in mind. Very general incentives that don't "mean" much. So many parallels in real estate, especially retail. We "buy" deals pretty frequently, but with a very specific goal in mind (sometimes so specific to the point of attracting 5 specific tenants to fill 5 specific spaces in a very specific way). Sometimes we have to buy a deal or 2 to shift momentum in another direction, like going from a design tenant base to a fashion tenant base (they pay higher rent). There is always a lot of analysis and almost always our return is very positively impacted. Nothing broad-based; very targeted strategies.
Even on a little 20,000 sf retail component in a condo development where 25% is occupied and leasing momentum has stalled, we decided against "buying" Starbucks. No scenario we modeled came out positive for us, too many assumptions to be made over the remaining 65% of space and any impacts upon exit, etc. In that particular case we are at the mercy of the submarket and there is little we can do to guide results.
How do city leaders/economic development agencies look at these broad-based incentives? What is the goal? Are there specific industries they hope will be enticed by the incentives? Are there specific areas of town they wish to improve with economic development? Are there examples in other cities doing exactly the same thing that have benefited directly because of the broad-based incentives? I know in fixed-rail's case there are now dozens of examples of how to build a system that will produce a return for the city. That is something that has defined precedent and examples.
That sounds like socialism Lake.
Quote from: cityimrov on September 20, 2012, 03:14:29 PM
Quote from: vicupstate on September 20, 2012, 11:20:30 AM
You have to be able to offer something they can't, like a high quality of life and an educated workforce with higher skills. Jax has yet to learn that lesson and it will be in a race to the bottom, until it changes course.
Or you can pay for them to come here. With enough money, Jacksonville can have bring lots of companies come here. However, paying people to come here is just like buying friends. They'll be happy to be your friend as long as you have the money to pay them.
1) Jax is broke.
2) Others are bidding too, so it becomes a bidding war that turns into a race to the bottom.
3) As soon as the cost is lower elsewhere, they leave for greener pastures.
I remember Greensboro paid huge incentives to get a FedEx hub after a bidding war. I seem to remember it was over $50k per job, and most were PART TIME. After a decade or so, it closed.
Quote from: urbaknight on September 20, 2012, 03:27:34 PM
If (when) they extend the mobility fee moratorium, they might as well cancel the 2030 plan all together.
I checked out a dvd from the library yesterday that I think everybody should see and take very seriously. It's called,
"The end of Suburbia oil depletionand the collapse of the American Dream"
The dvd discusses what we can expect when the oil runs out. The experts say it will happen in our lifetimes. They also say that we may not even have enough time to perfect our methods of renewable energy it time to stop some of the chaos.
I don;t know how close we actually are. But I think we should assume that it could happen tomorrow, just to be on the safe side.
Ive seen it. Very eye opening. There's a lot of doom & gloom, but its worth watching just for the history lesson & to study the ongoing effect that unsustainable sprawl is having on cities (and our country as a whole). Health too.
Thankfully a lot of cities are becoming well aware of this & started the reversal, even if it hurts & destroys previous industry thats been running amuck. Jax obviously isn't one of them though & I have serious doubts they ever will be. I'll be VERY shocked if they ever let the mobility plan take any kind of shape. It seems like the leaders here only know sprawling type of growth & nothing else.
You don't get to be the city with the biggest footprint in the US (with ultra low density) by making great choices. Which is why pulling some of that back in might be next to impossible. They're stuck on that teet big time here. Even if the markets (housing crash) & trends are telling them different.
More evidence in this morning's front page of the Florida Times Union:
New census figures could show 'light at the end of the tunnel' for Jacksonville, nationRead more at Jacksonville.com: http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2012-09-20/story/new-census-figures-could-show-light-end-tunnel-jacksonville-nation#ixzz276fgj9iJ (http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2012-09-20/story/new-census-figures-could-show-light-end-tunnel-jacksonville-nation#ixzz276fgj9iJ)
QuoteLast year, the metro area created just 3,000 jobs, said Candace Moody, spokesperson for Jacksonville’s WorkSource,
“It’s not enough to really start putting people back to work,†she said. “It’s hard to measure. For every Kmart that’s closing on Beach Boulevard, a Nordstrom is opening in Town Center.â€
The local employment rate fluctuates, and any employment rate drops are largely due to people who are no longer looking for jobs, Moody said.
Area employment remains moribund, but she sees a couple of positive signs in the news. One is the increased mobility cited in the census figures. The other is the stabilization â€" and even improvement â€" in the housing market.
(http://inlinethumb30.webshots.com/51933/2346324740104969885S600x600Q85.jpg)
QuoteOklahoma City, OK, I-40 Crosstown Expressway: Oklahoma City voted to remove this elevated freeway to promote development in the "Core to Shore" area between downtown and the Oklahoma River. The city hoped for a pedestrian-friendly boulevard, but the state highway department designed a partly elevated highway to replace the old elevated highway. With demolotion of the existing freeway in progress, the city is protesting the states plans for a replacement.
This phase is said and done, the FREEway has opened and it is only elevated on the west end (beyond 'Western Av' on the map) where it crosses Pennsylvania and Reno Boulevards, which is as far from the core as Jacksonville's downtown is from the MLK.
Nothing going on about the FREEway removal in OKC, the plan is on track, the new FREEway, south of downtown along the Oklahoma River has long since opened for business. Any 'controversy' would be over a new Oklahoma Boulevard which will run from the Dallas Interchange to Pennsylvania Avenue along the route of the old FREEway. This along with more park land is going to make for a beautiful 'I-40 business route' which will include streetcars, and a lineal park. The park land is so massive that the former multi-floor USPS sorting center which was south of the old FREEway and north of the current one was torn down, opening up a free space from the door of Union Station to the Myriad Gardens.
Imagine if Hemming Plaza was about 8 times it's size, surrounded by a Union Bus Terminal ("Yes Martha there ARE other big carriers besides Greyhound"), city offices, convention center, arena and hotels, then one side opens up with a 2/4 block wide green space all the way to Jacksonville Terminal which would sit right at the east edge of I-95... "THAT is what OKC is doing."
The editorial writers of the Florida Times Union appear to agree that it is time to reinstate the Mobility Fee:
http://jacksonville.com/opinion/editorials/2012-10-02/story/smart-way-pay-growth (http://jacksonville.com/opinion/editorials/2012-10-02/story/smart-way-pay-growth)
^That's great.
Is there anything published that is not in favor of ending the moratorium?
Everything I've seen in the TU, Resident, Folio, First Coast Connect, MJ, etc has all been decidedly in favor of letting it expire. Hopefully that's reflected in Council votes.
Next Tuesday, Oct 9th, City Council meeting - be there.
AWESOME editorial! Thanks Doug! And all 4 comments so far are uniformly in agreement!!! If the CC extends the moratorium, some bold team of local lawyers need to ATTACK the CC and get everyone fired with a temporary replacement of volunteers. That would be an awesome news story that would be picked up nationally and could be good for the city (because by this point everyone who has heard of Jax knows one thing: the government there SUCKS).
Quote from: Bill Hoff on October 03, 2012, 10:40:15 AM
Next Tuesday, Oct 9th, City Council meeting - be there.
Is it going to be introduced? Or is that a precautionary measure to be there?
Quote from: simms3 on October 03, 2012, 12:07:38 PM
AWESOME editorial! Thanks Doug! And all 4 comments so far are uniformly in agreement!!! If the CC extends the moratorium, some bold team of local lawyers need to ATTACK the CC and get everyone fired with a temporary replacement of volunteers. That would be an awesome news story that would be picked up nationally and could be good for the city (because by this point everyone who has heard of Jax knows one thing: the government there SUCKS).
Actually, Simms, we probably have, on average, the brightest and best educated City Council that we have had in a looong time. I disagree with some of their decisions, but still think we have some of the "brightest and best" right now that we have had in a long time. Because some of them are really smart, the CC average smarts has risen above room temperature for the first time in a while.
Unfortunately, the bottom two-thirds has equal votes, but we still have a really good chance of having the moratorium ignored so that the automatic renewal takes effect. Blind Hogs and all that.
Quote from: Bridges on October 03, 2012, 12:31:00 PM
Quote from: Bill Hoff on October 03, 2012, 10:40:15 AM
Next Tuesday, Oct 9th, City Council meeting - be there.
Is it going to be introduced? Or is that a precautionary measure to be there?
It's a precautionary measure just in case someone tries to submit an emergency bill at the last minute without decent public notice.
Quote from: thelakelander on October 03, 2012, 04:41:14 PM
Quote from: Bridges on October 03, 2012, 12:31:00 PM
Quote from: Bill Hoff on October 03, 2012, 10:40:15 AM
Next Tuesday, Oct 9th, City Council meeting - be there.
Is it going to be introduced? Or is that a precautionary measure to be there?
It's a precautionary measure just in case someone tries to submit an emergency bill at the last minute without decent public notice.
Every councilmember I have talked to has strongly suggested that anyone with an opinion about the Mobility Fee show up Tuesday night.
And even if there is no emergency bill, it represents an opportunity to voice public support for the Mobility Plan.
Quote from: thelakelander on October 03, 2012, 04:41:14 PM
Quote from: Bridges on October 03, 2012, 12:31:00 PM
Quote from: Bill Hoff on October 03, 2012, 10:40:15 AM
Next Tuesday, Oct 9th, City Council meeting - be there.
Is it going to be introduced? Or is that a precautionary measure to be there?
It's a precautionary measure just in case someone tries to submit an emergency bill at the last minute without decent public notice.
There is apparently good reason to believe someone intends to do exactly that.
I have no doubt someone will try to introduce an emergency bill. Bishop will more than likely try to send it back to committee. Still a good idea to show up.
I saw Councilman Redman at ArtWalk last night...and spoke to him about it...he told me he saw no evidence that the moratoruium was successful in encourgaing new development