Comments on: What are Pilot Programs? http://www.thehobokenblog.com/2006/09/15/what-are-pilot-programs/ Making Hoboken Better One Reader At A Time Wed, 07 Jan 2009 01:05:55 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.5 By: Mary Mills http://www.thehobokenblog.com/2006/09/15/what-are-pilot-programs/#comment-18 Mary Mills Sat, 18 Nov 2006 19:31:00 +0000 http://www.thehobokenblog.com/?p=21#comment-18 Pilot payments are supposed to be used as incentives for developers to buy and build in "blighted areas" as determined by a redevelopment plan adopted by the city council and mayor. Redevelopment law allows cities to change land use and take ownership from small owners and aggregate their land to attract builders. It is very unclear to me how Hoboken can argue that anything in town is blighted now, or requires such measures to develop. The natural market seems up to the task, especially since there is virtually no buildable land left. Pilots do pay the town a whole payment , diverting the school system and county money to the town for the duration of the abatement (usually 20 years). Land may be sold with the abatement. THe latter is another strange practice here. The city approves an abatement on the basis of a specific project, designed to meet public needs. Instead, the developer sells the land WITH the abatement, and the project may or may not be completed . In other words these abatements are themselves commodities that enhance the price of any god forsaken piece of land. Abatements are granted around campaign contributions, naturally. You can look them up on the state election web site. And indeed, existing residents make up the taxes needed to run the schools and the county. Have you ever noticed how dirty and messed up Paterson Plank Road and the cliffs are behind the city? Well that is maintained by the county. Occasionally the county brings over convicts from the prison to pick up trash and plastic bags hanging in the trees. You get what you pay for... Want to stay here and raise kids? Builders you may have noticed do not build here for families. They are proud of this, and frequently mention it at presentations. (no school expense) The result is that we have a very segregated school system with a HUGE achievement gap, and the gangs to go with it. Mary Pilot payments are supposed to be used as incentives for developers to buy and build in “blighted areas” as determined by a redevelopment plan adopted by the city council and mayor. Redevelopment law
allows cities to change land use and take ownership from small owners and aggregate
their land to attract builders.
It is very unclear to me how Hoboken can
argue that anything in town is blighted
now, or requires such measures to develop. The natural market seems up to the task, especially since there is
virtually no buildable land left.
Pilots do pay the town a whole payment , diverting the school system and county money to the town for the duration of the abatement (usually 20 years). Land may be sold with the
abatement. THe latter is another
strange practice here. The city approves an abatement on the basis of
a specific project, designed to meet
public needs. Instead, the developer
sells the land WITH the abatement, and the project may or may not be completed . In other words these abatements are
themselves commodities that enhance the price of any god forsaken piece of land. Abatements are granted around campaign contributions, naturally.
You can look them up on the state
election web site. And indeed, existing
residents make up the taxes needed to run the schools and the county. Have you ever noticed how dirty and messed up Paterson Plank Road and the cliffs
are behind the city? Well that is maintained by the county. Occasionally the county brings over convicts from the prison to
pick up trash and plastic bags hanging in the trees. You get what you pay for… Want to stay here and raise kids? Builders you may have noticed do not build here for families. They are proud of this, and frequently mention it at presentations. (no school expense) The result is that we have a very segregated school system with a HUGE achievement gap, and the gangs to go with it. Mary

]]> By: Anonymous http://www.thehobokenblog.com/2006/09/15/what-are-pilot-programs/#comment-17 Anonymous Sun, 12 Nov 2006 15:50:00 +0000 http://www.thehobokenblog.com/?p=21#comment-17 Boys and Girls, let's do some homework and find out exactly the positive and negative aspects of PILOT and how they affect Hoboken -- Nothing like rumors, opinions and inuendos to be mistaken for facts...it seems that facts are boring to most people... Boys and Girls, let’s do some homework and find out exactly the positive and negative aspects of PILOT and how they affect Hoboken —

Nothing like rumors, opinions and inuendos to be mistaken for facts…it seems that facts are boring to most people…

]]> By: C.G. http://www.thehobokenblog.com/2006/09/15/what-are-pilot-programs/#comment-16 C.G. Sat, 04 Nov 2006 05:44:00 +0000 http://www.thehobokenblog.com/?p=21#comment-16 Then what happens when the expenses go up? If the taxes are pre-paid, and they cost of our city's infrastructure goes up to support these new units, who will pick up the slack? The existing residents? The seniors? The lower earning hard working people? And why are we taking in less tax this way?? Shouldn't we want MORE taxes from big corporations to come in and develop? If pilot programs reduce the tax burden of big business by 40%, who then, make up for that loss? Us? And are you sure the state and county don't get any tax? That doesn't seem right. If the state and county could get more taxes out of its people, you know they would do it. Won't they come after that tax bill in some other way? It doesn't sound like pilot programs are so good for us. Why do we have them, then. Something about pilot programs smells worse than the sewers here. Then what happens when the expenses go up? If the taxes are pre-paid, and they cost of our city’s infrastructure goes up to support these new units, who will pick up the slack? The existing residents? The seniors? The lower earning hard working people?

And why are we taking in less tax this way?? Shouldn’t we want MORE taxes from big corporations to come in and develop? If pilot programs reduce the tax burden of big business by 40%, who then, make up for that loss? Us?

And are you sure the state and county don’t get any tax? That doesn’t seem right. If the state and county could get more taxes out of its people, you know they would do it. Won’t they come after that tax bill in some other way?

It doesn’t sound like pilot programs are so good for us. Why do we have them, then. Something about pilot programs smells worse than the sewers here.

]]> By: Anonymous http://www.thehobokenblog.com/2006/09/15/what-are-pilot-programs/#comment-15 Anonymous Sat, 04 Nov 2006 04:35:00 +0000 http://www.thehobokenblog.com/?p=21#comment-15 Ostensibly, PILOT programs are set up to entice developers to build in blighted areas. Property taxes may be reduced by as much as 40% and are set for a fixed amount of time, making for a more attractive deal for the developer and buyers. More importantly, the entire tax payment is made to the city, bypassing school and county taxes. The city ends up getting more than it would have with the typical municipal/school/county split. Non-PILOT-paying property owners are then burdened with funding the balance of school and county taxes. Ostensibly, PILOT programs are set up to entice developers to build in blighted areas. Property taxes may be reduced by as much as 40% and are set for a fixed amount of time, making for a more attractive deal for the developer and buyers. More importantly, the entire tax payment is made to the city, bypassing school and county taxes. The city ends up getting more than it would have with the typical municipal/school/county split. Non-PILOT-paying property owners are then burdened with funding the balance of school and county taxes.

]]> By: Anonymous http://www.thehobokenblog.com/2006/09/15/what-are-pilot-programs/#comment-14 Anonymous Tue, 17 Oct 2006 00:18:00 +0000 http://www.thehobokenblog.com/?p=21#comment-14 Pilots are Payments in lieu of taxes and a the typically thing that a developer can use to reduce the City of Hoboken taxes during and after construction. Hoboken is addicted to them because they uses these special one time payments to plug spending gaps. Instead of fixing the real problem which is rampant out-of-control spending. They also talk about new "ratables" a lot. New ratables are new apartments that can be charged at the proper tax rate without having to raise taxes on the old brownstones (i.e. long-time residences.) Who wants to raise taxes or reduce spending when we have an open spigot like Pilots and new ratables. Pilots are Payments in lieu of taxes and a the typically thing that a developer can use to reduce the City of Hoboken taxes during and after construction. Hoboken is addicted to them because they uses these special one time payments to plug spending gaps. Instead of fixing the real problem which is rampant out-of-control spending. They also talk about new “ratables” a lot. New ratables are new apartments that can be charged at the proper tax rate without having to raise taxes on the old brownstones (i.e. long-time residences.) Who wants to raise taxes or reduce spending when we have an open spigot like Pilots and new ratables.

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