Born and raised in Lower Macungie Township in the village of East Texas. B.A. in Political Science from Slippery Rock University. Co-owner of Bar None Weddings & Entertainment. I love and care about my hometown and frequently blog about local issues that I think are important.
We’ve had webcasts for awhile now in Lower Macungie, but the prior delivery method was unstable on some OS systems (I always had trouble on macs) and also was it hard to fast forward and rewind and the feature sometimes didn’t work at all.
Starting this year the township has been uploading and archiving videos on a new youtube channel.
This accomplished two things:
1. Fast forwarding and rewinding is now alot easier so when referencing a corresponding agenda residents can find the topic they are looking for without having to watch the whole meeting.
2. You can now quickly find and reference past meeting videos archived on the townships youtube channel.
We spoke about Tractor Trailers and ice issues at length both during the public safety meeting and full board. This issue has been front and center in our area recently:
This winter has generated many similar but less serious incidents. Steven Crouse of Palmer Township avoided serious injury Dec. 16 when ice from a truck came through his windshield on Route 22. On Tuesday night, a driver reported a similar incident on Route 22 in Upper Macungie Township, resulting in minor damage to his car.
The goal is to have ice and snow scraped from the tops of tractor-trailers before they leave warehouses, because sheets of ice can fly off and slam into vehicles driving behind them, causing serious injury. Due to land use policies that have inundated our roads with tracter trailers we have to be proactive in dealing with safety issues. This is one of many.
Here is the action we took last night: We discussed briefly an ordinance but decided against it. This would be ineffective since we do not have a local police dept. to enforce local ordinances. Further no ordinance could retroactively require existing businesses to install ice scraper devices which I believe should be a goal. And lastly I prefer a strategy that doesn’t involve a regulation of an issue which really should be common sense.
It was agreed unanimously to authorize staff to send a letter to all existing distribution warehouses that it is the townships formal stance that we strongly encourage distribution warehouses to voluntarily install ice scrapers and require trucks departing their facilities to utilize them.
Secondly as other warehouses (Jaindl Spring Creek) come through land development we will utilize the process to encourage new buildings to incorporate these structures into design. Unfortunately, the Jaindl MOU makes warehouses a ‘by-right’ use instead of a conditional use which would require a hearing where we could require scrapers. (yet another terrible aspect of the MOU) But still at this point we can appeal to landowners to take responsibility for their development.
The costs of these units pale in comparison to a lawsuit that would surely occur if a truck leaves these facilities and someone dies because of an ‘ice missile;. I would hope that managers at these facilities understand this really should be a no-brainer and even-though we aren’t requiring them to, that they voluntarily install ice scrapers. If they don’t and if it continues to pose a public safety issues the next step would be exploring a possible ordinance and/or supporting stricter state laws.
Sorry this is late this week… I’ve been down with a cold!
FYI – In these previews I may indicate thoughts on an issue, but it in no way means my mind is set. During a critical hearing for the Jaindl issue, a Commissioner spoke before public comment outlining he was voting to move forward the project regardless of what people said during public comment. That was wrong. Public debate was circumvented when the Commissioner indicated his mind was made up.
My hope is by blogging I open the door for conversations. One of my biggest issues with the Jaindl debacle was folks didn’t truly understand what was happening until it was “too late”. I plan on doing everything I can to make sure residents have background information on issues. This is one mechanism to do that. I hope people find it useful. Please contact me at ronbeitler@gmail.com if you have any questions or concerns about any issues.
First I wanted to talk a little about a barrier that prohibits a place like Lower Macungie to deal with the impacts of sprawling commercial and Industrial growth. An issue that will further compound moving forward.
Reality is different land uses have different impacts and liabilities associated. Unfortunately, in PA we have a uniformity clause. Some states do, some don’t. Those that do have varied interpretations. As a consequence of PA’s strict interpretation, residential and commercial property cannot be treated differently for purposes of taxing absent specific provisions providing for exceptions. This is problematic because it prohibits localities to assess taxes based on new impact created. This issue is amplified in a township with a large inventory of distribution warehouses that are already and will continue to create costly liabilities and may someday be the driving force leading us to a local police force or 3rd fire station.
How does this fit into the smart growth philosophy I subscribe to?
I believe greenfield development should pay it’s own way. We must be vigilant against direct and indirect taxpayer subsidies for land use patterns that fail to generate the revenue needed to mitigate new liabilities. Downstream impacts should be also accounted for beyond the 1st lifecycle. Oftentimes as political “feathers in a cap” localities negotiate one time windfalls of up front improvements. Unfortunately, rarely is the math done to see if new revenues are enough to maintain new infrastructure over multiple life-cycles. This is shortsighted.
The solution? A local homestead/farmstead exemption. You may already be familiar with this via state and school district programs. Local government can also take advantage of this program.
A local homestead/farmstead exemption is one provisional exception to the uniformity rule. The program is a way to target property tax relief for primary residences and farmland. By enacting a homestead exclusion program the township can allow reductions in the assessed value of a primary residences or farmland property. This reduces the local property tax burden on these types properties. The homestead exclusion provides a tax reduction to all eligible properties in the taxing jurisdiction. Most importantly this applies to all primary owner occupied residences including, condominiums, single family homes.
There are 7 municipalities in Montgomery County who utilize this program on the local level. One example is Upper Gwynedd. An exclusion allows for real property tax relief of up to one half of the median assessed value of homesteads in the taxing jurisdiction. For example:
Under LMT’s current .33 mil property tax if you own a home at the township average of around 250,000 dollars your tax liability is 82.50. (Remember, that is local LMT tax not school or County)
Under a homestead exclusion program that grants a 50% assessment reduction on a primary residence the assessed value (for purposes of tax calculation only) is cut in half to 125,000. Therefore the tax bill is also reduced by half to 41.25.
Meantime Commercial properties such as a distribution warehouses valued at 24,000,000 pays the full assessed value at .33 mil which would be 7,900.00 dollars.
It’s reality that certain types of land uses like strip malls and distribution warehouses hurt quality of life and command the most resources. This is exacerbated when they are located on sprawling former agriculture fringe parcels such as the Jaindl Spring Creek Property which will unfortunately require bran new roads, infrastructure and improvements. Even portions initially funded by the school district and developer will have to be maintained in perpetuity by the township representing an ongoing liability. To me it’s a matter of fairness. Land uses that cause impacts are the ones that should pay for the impacts.
I have asked the Board of Commissioners to consider a homestead exclusion program as one way to reduce the tax burden for primary residences and farmland within the township. This would also allow us to right size taxes on commercial and industrial entities to make sure they are “paying there own way” so that residents aren’t forced to indirectly subsidize them.
The following appeared in an op-ed this AM in The Morning Call. I wanted to re-post as it succinctly sums up the reality Lower Macungie recently began to face with a tax increase in response to a budget deficit. I’m hoping we continue serious discussions about how got to this point and what we can do to keep taxes sustainably low over the long run proactively. The alternative is reacting to shortfalls and never addressing underlying issues.
To do this it’s important we understand how we got to where we are. This post is a preface to a post I’m doing later on in the week where I’ll outline some items I think are a part of the solution. This post deals with how we got to where we are.
Since the 1970s, Pennsylvania’s cities have grabbed headlines as they sank into a financial morass while the state’s townships quietly prospered.
But recent data indicates that the once booming townships – where almost half of state residents live – are also seeing troubling signs including rising service costs and tax revenue that is either declining or flattening.
The challenge for townships may soon be the same issue facing distressed cities: how to provide quality services at a price that taxpayers can afford. By recognizing that challenge now, townships can begin to implement measures to avoid severe financial problems in the future.
Pennsylvania Economy League research clearly shows the explosion of tax revenue collected by townships beginning in the 1970s as residents fled the cities and took their wealth to townships.
For well over 30 years, Pennsylvania’s third-class cities experienced an exodus that dropped population by almost 20 percent. In contrast, population grew by almost 50 percent in second class townships, where residents moved to take advantage of new housing developments.
As people left the cities, income from taxes began to decline. Meanwhile, townships were increasingly able to capture additional revenue as both population and the earnings of that population expanded.
Real estate tax collection and real estate transfer taxes in townships jumped from the development boom. Officials in these communities had the advantage of revenue increases that were the result of natural growth rather than a politically sensitive property tax hike.
In addition, escalating earned income tax revenue contributed an increasingly larger amount to township budgets so there was less need to rely on property taxes, in contrast to cities, where property taxes are the dominate source of tax dollars.
Cities not only lost earned income taxes from those who left – many of whom were higher income residents – they also saw declining revenues as the remaining population aged, retired and no longer had to pay earned income taxes.
Meanwhile, as populations moved from urban areas, the taxable property values in cities did not increase at the same rate as the townships, and in some cases decreased. Cities were also hurt by the lack of readily developable land that limited easy expansion of the property tax base. The result was a decline in property tax dollars. Revenue sources are not the only difference between cities and townships. Cities spend the bulk of their money on public safety costs including police and fire protection. In some cities, total tax revenue alone has failed to keep pace with the cost of police and fire expenses. Townships spend more of their money on roads and public works. Still, township spending on general administration and police has increased, indicating possible problems down the road if revenues stagnate.
The trend can already be seen. Earned income tax in townships peaked just prior to the 2008 economic crash and is now either declining or leveling off. Real estate transfer revenue crested in 2005 and 2006. Townships that heavily relied on those tax sources to increase services and avoid a property tax hike may now have to look to other revenues.
To meet the challenge of sustaining public services, townships should explore more regional options to both provide and pay for them. By recognizing the fiscal trends, townships can work now to implement corrective actions in an attempt to avoid the dire financial predicament currently faced by Pennsylvania’s cities.
The above scenario has played out in Lower Macungie. The past 20 years we’ve artificially kept taxes low through hyper growth. This year for the first time we faced our new reality of a capital budget deficit and spent reserves. The simple truth is we’re slowly but surely running out of space to plow and we no longer can rely on the windfall one time revenue of growth.
For decades we lived in a fantasy land of a bloated rainy day fund and one time windfalls. Fast forward to today: The one time revenues we’ve relied upon are dried up. We’ve peaked on the EIT front. Real estate transfer will see a small increase as the economy picks up but never will we again see the windfalls of the 90’s. We’ve got the 10,000 lb gorilla of police coverage. Whether 5 or 10 years from now someday we’ll have to address it. Our “rainy day fund” is now drawn down to near minimum acceptable levels. Developers who installed up front infrastructure have long since left town and it’s up to us to fund continuing maintenance and future improvements.
Add to this market factors. We simply aren’t currently positioned to compete for young professionals since they want compact walkable communities. The senior market is shrinking and we have a bloated inventory with more on the way.
We’re clearly at a crossroads and faced with a choice. Choice 1 is: Bury our heads in the sand. Shoehorn the last open space parcels in the township and continue to chase ratables, developer contributions and one time windfalls. Which in this new housing market equals low quality apartment complexes. But in the end it’s simply delaying and compounding the inevitable while simultaneously selling our quality of life down the flooding creek.
Choice 2 is: Continue the tough conversations now and get creative. Think outside the box and figure out how we move this township forward delivering the services residents demand with a stable and predictable LOW tax rate.
This is now beyond quality of life concerns. This is about financial solvency moving forward. This is a preface to a blog I’ll write later on this week. I have proposed one possible solution that I’ll outline Thursday. Remember there is a no magic bullet but I think it can be a piece of the puzzle. Stay tuned.
First what made the headlines is the report high priority recommendation for a 1 cent sales tax which would generate 33 million a year. LVEDC’s current budget is 2 million. Knee jerk reaction is that this proposed tax increase would create a bloated slush fund for a nebulous board with unelected leadership lacking checks and balances. There were some recent reorganizations of leadership and structure of LVEDC in 2013 and I’d like to learn more about them. But from what I understand decisions in the past were made in private with a public component that was understood to be nothing more then a rubber stamp.
Beyond the big picture issue I took some time reading about what exactly the report outlines be done with 33 million. Some of it is good.
For example, regionalization studies. PA has 2500 individual municipalities and 600 school districts. No other state comes remotely close. This is a big reason why we face some of the statewide problems we do. Here is what the report says:
The Lehigh Valley alone is comprised of two counties and 62 municipalities. The scale of perceived—and, as noted by the taxpayer (businesses interviewed), real—inefficiencies in providing community services is significant. Oftentimes, to a non-resident, there is no separation of lines when traveling from one municipality to another.
No, I am not in favor of forcing individual muni’s to give up local control. As a bottom up government proponent I believe local gov’t to be the most efficient taxing body. Locally a resident can account for every dollar brought in and every dollar spent. A local dollar goes much further then sending your dollar to Harrisburg or Washington to be re-distributed through a broken system. That being said I agree we should conduct studies to identify where compelling cases for consolidation are. Then, if muni’s willingly see the economic and fiscal benefits (in some cases would be a no-brainer) we should make it easy to re-organize.
It’s my understanding Alburtis at one time initiated a study of this subject on it’s own. Remember, Alburtis raised taxes again this year. Macungie raised taxes again this year. Small borough’s often find themselves in tight fiscal jams and their leaders often worry about financial future. This has nothing to do with leadership but everything to do with small size, small population and redundancy of services. Take police protection. In EPSD there are 5 individual police entities operating in one geographic area each with it’s own facilities, union and overhead. I believe in voluntary regionalization and resource sharing initiated from the bottom up.
Another issue cited is the LVIA: I truly have mixed feelings about subsidizing the airport. It is a compelling argument why. The report states:
“Focus group participants and electronic survey respondents noted the need for additional air service and more affordable rates out of the Lehigh Valley International Airport (ABE).”
Can’t argue with that. But the answer is how do we get there? How do we get a fully operational LVIA? Is the answer more subsidies distributed by another level of bureaucracy? I honestly don’t know.
Lastly here is one example of something that scares me. It deals with infrastructure subsidies. Here is one line:
“Sustainable funding source to allow for mega site development, municipal water and sewer in more areas of the counties, broadband connectivity in the rural areas, deal closing opportunities, and more.”
This is rural sewer line expansion. That means one thing to me. Sprawl subsidies. More sprawl Industrial complexes paving over cornfields in the outskirts of the valley. More mega strip centers and suburban office complexes. These practices represent the very lowest economic ROI on valuable land. Sprawl subsidies skew the land market. Without subsidies companies will build close to the people who need the jobs and where the infrastructure already exists. Not where the land is justifiably cheap cause it’s in the middle of nowhere.
It boils down to more subsidies for a wildly inefficient development pattern. Sprawl subsidies will encourage local muni’s looking for a quick windfall to build new infrastructure with no accounting on if they can actually afford to maintain it over the long run. After the subisidies dry up and greenfield developers move on to the next field local taxpayers are the ones left holding the bag. We pay for the ongoing improvements and maintenance for projects that were big ole feathers in the caps of local politicians. In many cases unfortunately new liabilities created far exceed the new revenue generated. It then becomes a simple issue of math. Sprawl is financially unsustainable over the long run.
This is definitely something to keep an eye on. I’ll say this sales tax probably has absolutely zero chance of being approved either by Lehigh or Northampton County councils. Def not with their current legislative boards. I do need to learn more about the LVEDC and this study. I’m interested in hearing from folks who have alot more knowledge on this subjec then me. Arguments for and also against. Please feel free to contact me at ronbeitler@gmail.com.
FYI – In these previews I may indicate thoughts on an issue, but it in no way means my mind is set. During a critical hearing for the Jaindl issue, a Commissioner spoke before public comment outlining he was voting to move forward the project regardless of what people said during public comment. That was wrong. Public debate was circumvented when the Commissioner indicated his mind was made up.
My hope is by blogging I open the door for conversations. One of my biggest issues with the Jaindl debacle was folks didn’t truly understand what was happening until it was “too late”. I plan on doing everything I can to make sure residents have background information on issues. This is one mechanism to do that. I hope people find it useful. Please contact me at ronbeitler@gmail.com if you have any questions or concerns about any issues.
All committees have now met. Committee agendas and meeting times are posted on the township website.
No Hearings
Public Comment on non-agenda items
Lee Mescolotto – Request to schedule hearing for rezoning 8 acre parcel at 7513 Quarry Rd. Mr. Mescolotto is requesting his property be zoned from Agriculture Protection to Highway Commercial. (Strip commercial) Mescolotto has been in front of the Planning & Zoning Committee and also the planning commission multiple times. He and any resident at any time have the right to request a zoning change hearing. The Board of Commissioners however is under no obligation to grant the change.
I believe any zoning change requests to more intense uses should only be granted under community serving circumstances. I use 4 general criteria when evaluating:
Planning Goals: Is the application consistent with township and regional planning goals? This includes transportation, financial and land use taking into consideration the purposes of each zone and the zoning pattern of surrounding land. NOTE: This request is not in accordance with both the Lehigh County Planning Commission regional plan or the Southwestern Lehigh Comprehensive plan. The LVPC provided a letter stating they are against this change.
Neighbors: Will the application negatively affect neighboring land uses, property values or quality of life. Is there widespread opposition to a change? Do you live in Ancient Oaks, Farmington or any other adjacent development? If so I am interested in hearing your thoughts.
Return on Public Investment: Will a zoning change resulting from application result in a net increase of tax revenues? Will the zoning change create liabilities? Have costs and benefits been forecasted over multiple life-cycles? I believe Lifecycle cost and benefit analysis should be completed before any up-zoning is granted.
Legality.There has been some question raised on if this request is spot zoning. It is the opinion of the the planning commissioners solicitor this is not.
Mickey Thompson of Pennsylvania Media – Request for continuance for the Schantz road billboard conditional use hearing.
Michael Huff – Statement of interest for library board.
No appointments
Dept. Matters
Engineering
Planner – Report on Joint BOC and Planning Commission Workshop
Solicitor
Manager
Committee Reports Public Safety (Beitler/Brown) – Next Mtg. Feb 20th 6pm Ivy Lynn Fox – Letter concerning Trucks Traveling Through East Texas to Macungie Borough. Specifically trucks turning onto East Texas Rd. from Brookside. I’ve forwarded this concern to Penndot via Senator Pat Browne and Rep. Ryan Mackenzie’s offices. Both East Texas Rd. and Brookside Rd. are state roads. I am in complete agreement that tractor trailers on local roads is a major concern we face.The question is how can we better work with Penndot to make sure truck routes are identified with local input.
Budget & Finance (Conrad/Lancsek) – Next Mtg. Feb 20th 6:15 PM Investigate Homestead Act –This is an initiative I suggested and support. I will be writing about this in depth in the near future. It is a way to reduce property taxes for primary residences while still maintaining current levels on Industrial and Commercial uses.
Planning Commission recommendation for East Texas study. I support the East Texas study to take a look at community serving zoning changes for East Texas Village meant to preserve the walkable town center character of the area as a traditional neighborhood. The township rec’d a matching grant from the county for 10,000 dollars to pay for the approximately 6 month planning study.
Public Works & Facilities (Brown/Higgins) Issues and improvements with snow plowing
Review of Snow Emergency Routes & Procedures – Our enforcement officer and township manager believe it is overdue for a review of what roads in the township are designated snow emergency and what criteria is used to make that designation. I agree and think there are many township roads where the designation should be removed. I am interested in learning more about what the criteria is for designation.
General Administration
Work order process for engineer requests – This came out of a recommendation by the Audit Advisory Board to review internal policies for engineering projects.
Review Board/Commission appointment policy regarding need to interview incumbents –I feel strongly that incumbents should interview each time they are up for re-appointment. Some boards (such as zoning hearing board and planning commission) have people turned away due to lack of open spots. Appointments can sometimes be for up to 4 year terms. I absolutely think incumbents should re-apply for open positions and be interviewed in person at a public meeting.
American Makeover Episode 2: SEASIDE, FL THE CITY OF IDEAS
Seaside, FL. Building a traditional neighborhood from scratch. It was a process that started some 30 years ago in Florida. Today the town stands as a testament to tried and true placemaking principles and the traditional development pattern. Of the 600 or so master planned communities in the United States there are a couple examples here in PA that were probably inspired in some ways by Seaside. It’s my hope that a Traditional Neighborhood project is someday built in Lower Macungie. The above 15 minute short film is perhaps the best synopsis of the ideas that make TND developments work.
Idea #1: Create a Town
As in: Not a subdivision or collection of pod like subdivisions. Town implies something. Place implies something. This “something” is typically missing in conventional projects — complete (many uses), complex (mixed uses), compact (close and convenient), connected (through multiple modes of transit and a robust network of route choices).
Idea #2: Incremental growth
Keep debt minimal. Build in small increments, as demand materializes. Avoid the desire to artificially induce large scale projects. Projects should be required to mitigate there impact. Taxpayers should not fund infrastructure projects that do not gaurantee a return on investment. If they can’t and require subsidies to do so, chances are it isn’t a solid investment of taxpayer dollars over the long term.
Idea #3: Versatile Infrastructure
See number 2. Infrastructure should be able to pull double (or triple) duty. Avoid the wasteful and costly sprawl practice of directing new investments to fringe developments where taxpayer ROI is low or negative.
Low-cost opportunities for proof-of-concept encourage creative experimentation. Some of these experiments will thrive. Some will fail. But entrepreneurs are (and should be) the ones who shoulder the risk while seeking the rewards.
Idea #5: Progressive Retail
Once established, thriving businesses can upgrade to permanent, higher-end space. Part B of Idea 4. A successful business will grow naturally.
Idea #6: Mixed-Use Buildings
Markets don’t necessarily support large, mixed-use buildings early on. Start with modest, one story buildings that can expand over time or be redeveloped to incorporate additional uses once demand has materialized. Organic growth.
Idea #7: Live/Work Units
The “little house on the prairie” is not the only American Dream. We also dream of being our own boss and the live/work unit is the perfect vehicle for serving that dream. Plus, they allow for the development of retail with dispersed risk. Oftentimes developers who fear these investments are the first to admit after build out they are the best selling units.
Idea #8: Agnostic to Style. Form & Function over design standards.
Get the form right above all else. How do buildings interact with the street. Are streets safe for all users not just cars? Does one mode of transportation dominate all others. Recognize and pay special attention to the impact transportation investments have on land uses, community form and function. Culture, economics, climate, and fashion will dictate the style game. In sprawl communities we over regulate design standards as an alternative to fixing the core issues.
Idea #9: Celebrate Civic Buildings
Reserve civic sites up front, but let the community champion their visioning, process and programming.
Idea #10: Amenities for Everyone
Don’t hide or privatize amenities. The most desirable aspects of community should be accessible sources of civic pride.
Idea #11: Good Street Geometry = Free Range Kids
When streets are skinny, pedestrians rule. Avoid STROADS. Build roads to move cars and streets to to generate value. Never try to combine both. Otherwise you end up with a futon.
Idea #12: Recover Trusty Traditions
Patterns evolve for a reason. There is wisdom in tradition. Sprawl was an over-reaction to our love affair with cars. Cars aren’t going anywhere. Nor do smart growth advocates want to limit their usage. It’s a matter of preference. Today more and more often people no longer want to spend a quarter of their lives locked in commute. People are seeking community. The market reflects a desire for walkable, connected communities.
Idea #13: Work with Nature
Embrace and incorporate natural responses to climate.
Idea #14: Pervious Streets
Streets can and should help manage their own impacts. Above all else this is a matter of dollars and cents. We simply cannot afford to continue to pay for inefficient development practices.
Idea #15: Original Green – Less is More
Original Green solutions can solve problems, save money and perpetuate a tactile, craftsman ethos. When we try to regulate our way out of problems the solutions are usually costly.
Idea #16: Vision = Seeing Beyond the Present
“The discipline of vision is not being sunk by present circumstances, reduced to the present circumstances, which often are nothing.” — Andrés Duany
A Snow Emergency will be in effect starting at 11 PM, February 12th, until further notice. All cars must be removed from Snow Emergency Routes or they may be towed. These Routes have permanent (red & white) signs indicating it is a Snow Emergency Route. As a courtesy, the Township may place temporary signs along Snow Emergency Routes today.
Waste Management has notified us that they are not operating tomorrow, February 13th. Thursday and Friday trash/recycling collection will be on a one-day delay. DO NOT PLACE YOUR TRASH IN THE STREET. Please place trash where it will not be impacted by snow removal operations.
Roads within LMT are maintained by both the Township and PennDOT. Click here to see a list of PennDOT roads. Any concerns regarding a state road should be directed to PennDOT at 610-798-4280.
Make sure down spouts are free and clear of snow and ice. In addition, make sure that the run off has somewhere to go, so trench a path away from the house too. If your down spouts are all blocked up, the rain water will have no where to go and you run the risk of it entering your home.
Also do you have a hydrant on your property? Please don’t forget to clear out the fire hydrant on your property. 3 – 4 feet around the whole perimeter please. This is the responsibility of the homeowner with hydrant on property.
REMEMBER: There is often confusion about municipality folks live in. Remember, this information pertains to Lower Macungie Twp. If you live in Emmaus Borough, Macungie Borough or Alburtis Borough they each declare there own emergencies which or may not start and end different times. Your address may be one or the other but you may still be in Lower Mac. If your unsure ask! Message your address. Ronbeitler@gmail.com
It’s time to stop putting off tough conversations. No one encapsulates the message better then Strongtowns.org. This short piece by streetfilms.org does a great job of giving a concise overview.
It’s all about re-examining the intersection of financing, design and long term financial viability of our places. The top down gas tax system is failing. The answer isn’t raising the tax. In fact, the answer isn’t in the inefficiencies of a top down system at all. Our system is one where localities get back nickels and dimes on the dollar. It will never workout over the long run. The math doesn’t work.
Let’s scale back DC’s role in the equation. Turn the system on it’s head. Return local control. Make developers pay the true costs of projects by rolling back big gov’t subsidies. Then municipalities will start only building the supporting infrastructure that they can actually afford to maintain. Organic incremental growth is healthier for our local economies. That is the financial foundation of smart growth.
