TIF funding for Rio Nuevo

Recently Jonathan Paton (Arizona State Senator) appeared on the John C. Scott show on KVOI. John was querying him as to whether the TIF funding for Rio Nuevo might be pulled.  TIF stands for Tax Increment Financing. A tax increment is the difference between the amount of property tax revenue generated before TIF district designation and the amount of property tax revenue generated after TIF designation. The Arizona legislature has the power to pull the TIF funding for Rio Nuevo. With the budget the way it is, Senator Paton said that basically everything is on the table. In these economic times everything in business and government should be on the table.

I don’t necessarily think that is a bad thing. It is a shame that when we are prosperous it leads to wastefulness. We have also witnessed narcissistic and profligate lifestyles flourishing when we should have been thanking God for our abundance. When times get tough we hit our knees and ask for divine guidance. I think our city officials need our prayers, and I for one commit to pray for them daily. And if the TIF funding is pulled, it could be a good thing. This will force our city officials to work with the private sector. Allowing developers to plan and profit from their labor is not a bad thing. If we lose the TIF funding, this will be the only way that Rio Nuevo is finished and our downtown revitalized.

Albuquerque is a prime example of how to get this done. Mayor Chavez (democrat) called the business community together and got their support and money and the project was completed. This could happen in Tucson. Also, Albuquerque is light years ahead of Tucson in attracting high tech industry. What with a beautiful downtown and a can do attitude in their planning and zoning department, they have attracted dozens of companies to their community. How many new high tech companies have we attracted in the last year? When I was visiting my family over Christmas in Albuquerque I was greeted by a billboard coming in that said “12,500 new high tech jobs in 2008”. It is amazing what can happen when a city competes for business and has a desirable environment that appeals to business. We have had our wakeup call; hopefully we will arise and shine.